A group of strangers wake up on an island with absolutely no memory of who they are or where they are. They remember nothing, not even their own names. All they have are a few trinkets they found on the beach and a serious distrust in each other. That is where The I-Land begins.
It's an unusual start to a show. All 10 strangers seem absolutely fine with the fact that they are stranded on a desert island. They don't even question it. There is no panic, no ‘how the hell did we get here?', no freakouts, no tears. Basically nothing you would expect normal human beings to react to.
And instead of the usual ‘let's work together to figure this out', they are all just downright nasty to each other. From the get-go, a couple of the bigger personalities emerge. Once they learn each other's names, which they discover on the label of the identical shirts they are all wearing, Chase (Natalie Martinez) becomes the only person even remotely interested in figuring out where they are.
Bizarrely, most of the others seem happy enough to sunbath and ‘enjoy paradise'. All the while scoffing at anybody that even suggests that food and shelter should be the group's priority. Vacuous doesn't begin to describe the largely idiotic ensemble.
By the time the true premise of the show is revealed it's a welcome break from the bickering and nastiness. It also answers some of the questions as to why the characters are acting the way they are. I don't want to give any spoilers away, but suffice to say, The I-Land does take an odd turn.
It ventures from drama into sci-fi and the fight for survival changes gear into redemption and rehabilitation territory. The problem with this and The I-Land in general is that it is so rushed almost none of it makes any sense. If they had taken the time to write more than seven episodes, it could have been a lot better.
The characters are not developed enough. Almost none of them are likeable and that's if you can even remember their names. It should have been a great show. Sadly it isn't. It is not a patch on other Netflix Limited Series such as The Alienist or Godless which you should definitely watch instead.
