You’re probably going to hear several things about Netflix’s new sci-fi series The Boroughs, and I can predict two that almost everyone is going to say. The first is a mention of Steven Spielberg (and yes, we’ve already had one before even this point), because the Duffer Brothers-produced series feels like a love letter to Amblin sci-fis, with a very clever twist. The second is Stranger Things (partly for the same reason, given the Amblin vibes there), and not only because the Duffers are involved. It’s a suburban sci-fi where a band of plucky underdogs comes together to stop a supernatural threat. And when they eventually get to it, you’ll also probably hear it’s good.
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The series follows an Amblin-like collection of characters – Alfred Molina’s Sam is the curmudgeon and square, Bill Pullman’s Jack is the jock, Denis O’Hare’s Wally is the cool quirky one, Clarke Peters’ Art is the stoner (his wife Judy – played by Alfre Woodard – is the mom), and Renee (Geena Davis) is basically the hot one with moxxy. They’re drawn into a strange adventure when Sam moves into the seemingly perfect retirement community of The Boroughs, and people start dying. A conspiracy unravels, as they so often do, and what results is a witty, charming ode to great 1990s sci-fi stories, with a big slice of Stephen King thrown in. In other words, if you’re into genre storytelling, this is your jam.
Rating: 4 out of 5
| PROS | CONS |
|---|---|
| An exceptional cast from top to bottom | The story feels a touch familiar |
| Knowing – and very loving – sci-fi references that feel like a love letter to Spielberg | It does occasionally get a little silly |
| It’s lots of fun, has comic moments and lots of heart |
The Boroughs is King + Spielberg + Stranger Things
I don’t particularly want this to become an exercise in ticking off references and vibes from the three major influences The Boroughs wears so consciously on its sleeve, but you can’t ignore the parallels. The series opens, quite fittingly, with a prologue starring Dee Wallace, who famously played Elliot’s mom in ET for Spielberg, and which sets up the sort of alien slasher vibe that the first episodes push. Then comes the assembly of the hero gang, who are all in their final acts of life, as it were, and who range in personality and idiosyncracies pleasantly. They’re a delightfully likeable bunch – though Sam is played by Molina as consciously guarded after the death of his wife (Jane Kaczmarek) – thanks to the assembly of an exceptional cast. The chemistry alone carries scenes and allows for some of the goofier elements of the story to be forgiven.
Through Sam’s eyes, we’re introduced to a sort of Eerie Indiana/Stepford Wives sort of world where everything feels a little too chocolate box (though the image disappears quickly with a shock death in episode 1). The others, as an existing group of friends, welcome in their new neighbor to show him his life is not, as he suspects, over. And then things get really bad: without wading into spoilers too much, it turns out there’s monsters hiding in the community, and a deeper conspiracy that the hastily assembled Mystery Inc gang must get to the bottom off. Throw in some side quests, including Sam being haunted by his wife’s ghost, and it’s a great mystery box set-up that survives some slower character building nicely.
The Boroughs Inverts a Very Famous Sci-Fi/Fantasy Trope
Stranger Things was obviously as much about youth identity at times as it was about fantasy monsters and the coming apocalypse, and The Boroughs pushes the condition of living in the Third Age as just an important story element. The show’s creators revealed well before release that they wanted to make the central gang elderly because they’re just as overlooked and unheard as children. It’s a genius premise (and as a bonus, evokes memories of the widely beloved Cocoon) because just as the Stranger Things gang is ignored because of their age, the Boroughs heroes are too. There’s quite a deep commentary on how society makes older people redundant that avoids being too on-the-nose, and benefits for it.
Each of the elderly heroes has an Avengers-like special skill from their days before retirement that helps on the mission: Sam was an engineer, Wally a doctor, Judy was a journalist, Jack was a TV celebrity, Renee was a music manager (and retains her go-get-’em attitude), and Art… really likes to smoke weed. Ok, maybe not all of them, but he remains important for other reasons. The performances are all excellent, and picking out any of them as the stand-out feels unnecessary, but Denis O’Hare’s humor is great, and Molina is typically excellent as we watch his shell peel off, and his bubbling rage at the condition of his being sidelined by life burn subtly.
There’s also a strong supporting cast, who are somewhat difficult to describe without giving too much away, but here goes. Bill Pullman’s doppelganger Seth Numrich plays Blaine Shaw, CEO of the retirement community, and Alice Kremelberg plays his wife, Anneliese. They are not as they seem, inevitably, and are a walking, talking commentary on elder abuse (albeit through a very wild filter). Jena Malone plays Sam’s daughter; Carlos Miranda is a security guard and lover to Renee; Eric Edelstein is another security guard with a decidedly less pleasant demeanor, and Ed Begley Jr pops up quite briefly as an Alzheimer’s-suffering resident who is key to the central mystery.
The other character here that needs to be praised is John Paesano’s score. The composer drew on 1980s emotional orchestral scores, and the result is a perfect, nostalgic treat that I can see myself listening to on its own. “Sam’s Theme” in particular is gorgeous. The soundtrack too is excellent, with songs chosen to suit the characters in their “heydays” and an excellent choice of final song that really sells the emotion of Sam’s story.
Final Thoughts on The Boroughs
The Boroughs is, quite impressively, both very like things that came before it and yet still entertaining enough for that to be a selling point. The cast is excellent without exception, the story is silly but compelling in a sort of Twilight Show sort of way, and there’s a lighter tone to it than the relentless darkness that overtook Stranger Things by the end. The other big advantage over its sibling show is that it feels more real-world, even with the supernatural elements, because Eleven’s story spiralled so far into the realms of fantasy. That’s very much to its credit.
If there’s anything to complain about, it’s that the story is a little signposted (and familiar, because it leans so hard into its references), and things do hurtle towards wackiness very quickly. There’s some uneven monster design later on as well, and I’m not entirely sure the final scene actually makes any sense. The show takes its time in places, which won’t be for everyone, but I had a lot of fun along the way, and the characters and performances more than justify the “gimmick” of swapping what would usually be a kiddy cast for golden girls and boys. The very fact that it should have to be considered a gimmick is a rather ironic commentary on the whole thing.
All 8 episodes of The Boroughs are available to stream now on Netflix. What do you think? Leave a comment below and join the conversation now in the ComicBook Forum!
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