2015’s Parallels offers a Sliders-meets-Lost type of premise, though without stealing too much from those shows, and it definitely had the potential to deliver a decent sci fi series if it had been given more of a chance.
What Is It?
The story of this alternative timeline film begins with a brother and sister coming home when they receive a cryptic message from their estranged father. They follow his instructions and (along with a childhood friend) go to an abandoned building where they believe they will meet up with him. However, a strange power surge occurs in the building and when they emerge from it they find that they are on an alternate Earth which has been devastated by nuclear war. They also meet up with another person who has been inhabiting the building and she explains to them that it travels between alternate timelines and only stays there for thirty-six hours. They must then either find some way of controlling the building or riding it out until they can make it back to their own timeline and/or find their father who appears to have a connection to all of this.
Aired: Netflix, 2015
Starring: Mark Hapka, Jessica Rothe, Eric Jungmann, Constance Wu
Developed By: Christopher Leone
Why Didn’t it Fly?
This film came from Lost Room‘s Christopher Leone and showed up on Netflix as an original streaming film in 2015. It offers a Sliders meets Lost type of premise with an intriguing stand-in for Doctor Who’s TARDIS thrown in for good measure. Leone talked about Parallels in an AMA he did on Reddit offering the following comments:
PARALLELS is kind of unusual. I made it with Fox Digital Studios, which isn’t a TV studio — they make content for the web. But now that these worlds have converged, especially on Netflix, the digital realm is now this kind of wild west for creating new stuff. We always knew PARALLELS was the beginning of something, we knew we were going to do more, but we weren’t sure what form it would take, whether it would be another ~90 minute installment, or a TV series, or what. So we’re figuring that out right now, which is pretty damn exciting.
And while Parallels was well-received by those who did watch it, the film did not get much promotion from Netflix and never found much of an audience. Leone tried to push it and I tried to help get the word out to other sci fi fans at the time as well, but the movie never drew enough interest to carry forward with additional installments or an ongoing series.
Would It Work as a Series?
This film definitely had the potential to carry on as a series as it incorporated the best aspects of Sliders while bringing along many of the expected Lost-style mysteries without feeling too derivative. The alternate Earths offer plenty of story opportunities, though it seems like that thirty-six-hour deadline could prove somewhat of an impediment to story development. On the other hand, it could also be a device that keeps the show from descending into stock genre stories, something that happened all too often with Sliders. The characters in Parallels are also interesting because they refreshingly deviate from the archetypes you expect with this type of show. There’s no history expert or know-it-all scientist or even the typical leader-type as instead we get three young people (though not annoying, pretty-faced teens) along for a WTF ride. I had great hopes in this one carrying on, but sadly only the one movie has been made so far.
Should It Be Rebooted?
In 2016, it was announced that Neil Gaiman was working with Christopher Leone on a new series to be titled The Building which appeared to be a reboot of the concept or a continuation with a new name. It is unclear if the Parallels film would be the starting point or if they would bring in new cast members and start all over. Sadly, nothing came of that and the project appears to be in limbo at this point. It would certainly be worth revisiting, though, because there are plenty of interesting sci fi storylines a series like this could follow. Christopher Leone does not appear to be too busy at the moment, so maybe he could get something moving again at some point, though likely not until the strikes are other. And if fans of Parallels were to make some noise on the social networks or start a campaign to buy the movie VOD (see below), perhaps that could get the ball rolling.
Where Can You Watch It?
Parallels is no longer available for streaming on Netflix, but you can buy or rent it VOD from providers like Amazon.com. If there is an interest in seeing more installments from this property, a campaign to buy up the film digitally could definitely spark the interest of execs at Fox Digital Studios assuming the rights are still held by that company.
Read about more Sci Fi TV pilots that did not fly at this link.
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