"Arguably the happiest [episode] I've ever written was San Junipero and I just did that off my own back. I was aware we're going on a global platform now, so we've got to make these stories a bit more international. And I wanted to mix it up a bit, as in not just keep doing bleak-a-thons."

That said, "San Junipero" is one of my favorite episodes. Probably because, at the time, it was the rare happy ending.

But at the end of the day, it's still a great show that wonderfully extrapolates current tech trends into varying "10 minutes into the future" dystopian scenarios. Sometimes we need to think everything will work out. :shrug:

[–] Stovetop@lemmy.world 18 points 1 week ago (2 children)

I think San Junipeiro is distinguishable not necessarily because it made the world seem nice, but just for the fact that it gave a couple of characters the happy ending they deserved while the background noise still illustrates a somewhat broken world.

The elderly are still being shoved away in a simulation of their golden years, because I guess that is easier than trying to make room for them in the real world, and the simulation acting dual purpose as an "afterlife" still places everyone's continued existence at the mercy of real-world infrastructure that could decide to just turn them off at any time.

[–] IcedRaktajino@startrek.website 15 points 1 week ago

The elderly are still being shoved away in a simulation of their golden years, because I guess that is easier than trying to make room for them in the real world

Yorkie kind of had it bad in the real world her whole life. I can sympathize (though mercifully not directly relate). And I'd much rather San Junipero myself than live out my days in a nursing home. YMMV, obviously.

afterlife" still places everyone's continued existence at the mercy of real-world infrastructure that could decide to just turn them off at any time.

In a lot of ways, Upload is something of a sequel to San Junipero lol

[–] Mycatiskai@lemmy.ca 6 points 1 week ago

I couldn't help but think as they showed the two plugs of the women being plugged into the giant wall of residents that the only reason they would plug them next to eachother is if people visited them in reality which I doubt would actually happen, and that it is a huge amount of prime computing power they have plugged into that wall with only a small portion of that power being distracted in a simulation while the rest could be put to use for whatever that corporation wants.

[–] Okokimup@lemmy.world 8 points 1 week ago (1 children)

I feel like everyone's forgotten that the reason Kelly was ambivalent about joining the digital afterlife was because her late husband wasn't there and she'd have no chance to be with him if it turned out there was some other kind of afterlife. It was, at most, a bittersweet ending for her.

[–] IcedRaktajino@startrek.website 6 points 1 week ago (1 children)

Yeah, I never got that. I mean, I got what they were going for, but the realist in me always sees what goes into a "digital afterlife" as being a copy with no continuity of consciousness. The copy could still miss her husband, though, and I wasn't even thinking about that TBH.

I guess the way I saw it was that "If there is an afterlife, that wouldn't have been 'her' in the machine and she'd have been able to have both.".

[–] mrgoosmoos@lemmy.ca 4 points 1 week ago

exactly, total SOMA situation.

I don't think anyone will ever be able to convince me of 'transferrance' of the mind/soul through digital means. it's copying

[–] Rokin@leminal.space 5 points 1 week ago

My favorite episode as well. I think it was the first one with a happy ending.