2015’s Parallels delivered a good sci-fi film that incorporated elements of Sliders and Lost, and it developed a notable following but was never allowed to continue and fully explore its premise.
What Is It?
The story 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 that has been devastated by nuclear war. They also meet 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 ride 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, March 3, 2015
Cast: Mark Hapka, Jessica Rothe, Eric Jungmann, Constance Wu, Yorgo Constantine
Crew: Christopher Leone (Creator/Director/Executive Producer)
Legacy:
This telefilm came and went rather quickly, though it has gained somewhat of a following, and it delivers and interesting premise that could carry it into an ongoing series if given the chance.
A Closer Look:
Parallels is an original telefilm written and directed by Christopher Leone, who previously created the mini-series The Lost Room for the Sci-Fi Channel. It was considered the launching point for more movies or perhaps an ongoing series. And it was initially released on Netflix—though it was not considered one of their original productions—but it has since left that platform.
The film is basically Sliders meets Lost, with an intriguing stand-in for Doctor Who’s TARDIS thrown in for good measure. It incorporates some of the best aspects of the former series while bringing along many of the Lost-style mysteries that we expect from a sci-fi series these days (but 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 tales—something that happened all too often with Sliders.
I stumbled upon the movie while scrolling through Netflix offerings one day, and it drew me in with its premise and left me wanting more. This struck me as a much better approach to the Sliders premise seeing as that one fumbled through several seasons of failing to live up to its promise, in part due to network tinkering (more on that at this link).
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, know-it-all scientist, or even the typical leader type. Instead, we get three young people (though not annoying, angsty, pretty-faced teens) along for a WTF ride. The film does wrap up its story but leaves open the possibility for plenty more to follow—something that has, sadly, not yet been explored.
Cancelled Before It Began?
Christopher Leone definitely had plans for this to continue with more movies or as a series, offering the following comments in an AMA he did on Reddit :
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.
He also commented that the the response to it thus far has been “phenomenal” and on his twitter account he stated that:
We are hellbent on making more PARALLELS! We’re figuring out the next steps now but I should have news to share very soon.
But sadly, no more installments in this franchise have followed. No viewership numbers were made available, though apparently it did prove to be a success for Netflix. An online petition was put up to support an ongoing series and it collected over 3,400 signatures, but the streamer did not seem to have an interest in picking up the property, so it still stands as a lone film at this point.
The Story Continues:
The year after Parallels premiered on Netflix, another attempt to turn the concept into a series emerged—this time with Neil Gaiman onboard. Apparently, he had seen the telefilm and believed it had potential, and his company, Angry Films, worked with 20th Century Fox TV to develop a TV series titled The Building. Christopher Leone was still on board as writer, and Albert Kim (Sleepy Hollow, Pantheon) joined as well. It sounded like a reboot of Parallels, but it would basically follow the same premise. According to Deadline:
The series will explore the origin of the building—who built it and why, what happens on each floor, and how, if at all possible, do they get back to their original Earth.
It was unclear whether the actors from the first movie would return or if they planned on going with an entirely new cast. But somewhere along the way, plans stalled and the series never happened.
Should It Be Rebooted?
Parallels possesses a lot of potential for an ongoing series, and Leone himself has said: “I still hope to do more with it one of these days”. This could come back as a complete reboot—which might have been the track The Building was following—or it could involve new characters entering the building and joining up with those from the original film, who have been traveling for a while. This could actually turn into a Doctor Who-like series where the cast turns over from time to time as the building continues to travel from one Earth to the next. So there is plenty of reason to revisit this property, whether through a complete reboot or a revival.
Interesting Facts:
While Parallels has similarities to the Sliders series, Christopher Leone claimed in his AMA that it did not influence him much because he did not watch that show. In fact, he claims that one of his major influences was Land of the Lost, particularly the episode “Pylon Express” as well as the 1985 TV series Otherworld.
Jessica Rothe would go on to star in the Blumhouse Happy Death Day horror films which also involved alternate timelines.
Where Can You Watch It?
The movie is no longer streaming on Netflix and it did not get a DVD or Blu-ray release. It is available to purchase VOD from sellers like Amazon.com, and if fans do want to make a push for a series, setting up a campaign to purchase it there would certainly draw some attention.
