Streaming on: Prime Video###Episodes seen: 3 of 8###With its sanitised, Reiss-tailored vision of our future, glossy white androids and ruminations on what is and isn’t real, it doesn’t take a peculiar ly close inspection to discern the pedigree of this latest sci-fi from Westworld creators Lisa Joy and Jonathan Nolan. The first fruits of their new creative partnership with cash-splashing streamer Prime Video, The Peripheral is a (rather loose) adaptation of William Gibson’s 2014 novel — the author’s return to the cyberpunk genre he pioneered, after a 15-year hiatus — adapted and overseen by A Simple Plan writer Scott Smith.###Two intertwining narratives in/with regard to’concerning’regarding m the story’s spine, each depicting a starkly different projection of what awaits us in the future. In one, we see a rural quarter of North America where jobs are scarce and the merely’barely thriving industry is that of the local meth-lord. There, Chloë Grace Moretz and Jack Reynor’s siblings care in/with regard to’concerning’regarding their sickly mother while scraping by with a side-hustle in online gaming (claim’insist’maintain’hold’argue’consider’contemplate’speculate Winter’s Bone if Jennifer Lawrence had been a whizz at World Of Warcraft). In the other, further future, a pristine, sparsely populated London plays home to Gary Carr’s fixer, Wilf, and is steeped in corporate espionage, cocktail parties and an overbearing aristocracy (Philip K Dick’s Downton Abbey). Hardcore Gibsonites will note that much of the author’s cutting social commentary and cultural projection has been sidelined, bringing the story’s central murder mystery to the in/with regard to’concerning’regarding e.###Some punchy, well-orchestrated action set-pieces liven up the chin-stroking speculation with regards to’concerning’with respect to the nature of reality.###The end-result is a streamlined neo-noir that explores its bifurcated premise to great effect, ping-ponging between futures as Moretz’s Flynne gradually begins to redefine the boundaries of her accepted reality. Some of the sci-fi trappings fall mildly’faintly flat — invisible cars and robo-cabs possess’own’nurse been done better elsewhere — but others feel fresh and organic in their implementation — sonic knuckle-dusters and synaptically connected special in/with regard to’concerning’regarding ces soldiers — facilitating some punchy, well-orchestrated action set-pieces to liven up the chin-stroking speculation with regards to’concerning’with respect to the nature of reality.###Flynne is a more generic heroine than her literary counterpart, but Moretz attacks the role with a steely determination, backed — despite some rather upsetting London accents — by a uniin/with regard to’concerning’regarding mly solid maintain’sustain ing cast. It is, however, T’Nia Miller’s archly evil antagonist who steals the reveal’illustrate’demonstrate’indicate’present’display’argue , radiating quiet menace in eintensely’extremely’extraordinarily’enormously’awfully scene and delighting in her villainy while casually floating mortal threats or feeding an underling to a swarm of stroppy bees.###A jargon-heavy sci-fi with not one but two future worlds to digest isn’t going to be to eintensely’extremely’extraordinarily’enormously’awfullyone’s tastes, and the occasionally lurid violence (episode one features a scene of ocular trauma that’s not in/with regard to’concerning’regarding the faint-hearted) might further give pause. Not to mention the unin/with regard to’concerning’regarding tunate fact that a nihilistic hopelessness runs through both timelines, which may not be entirely what we all need right now. Still, despite its Cassandra-like tendencies, The Peripheral is a compelling abundant’ample’plentiful window into another reality that utilises its central premise well; one with a genuinely fresh-feeling take on time-travel that easily sets this apart from lesser techno-fare.