Season 4 Continuum

Farewell to the time-traveller’s life

UK Broadcast Syfy from 17 November

Canada Broadcast Showcase, finished

Episodes Reviewed 4.01-4.06

It’s never nice when a series we love gets cancelled, but it is nice when there’s enough warning for the show to go out on its own terms, without one of those bloody awful cliffhangers that are the bane of our lives. Thankfully Continuum’s final season – a curiously shortened chunk of six episodes – had enough “end is nigh” warning to weave a finale that satisfies on almost every level. There’s a perfect conclusion to almost every single character’s arc (and there are a lot of arcs to juggle), the action and drama keep the pulse rate up while those final acts play out, and the convoluted plotting finally unravels enough to allow a peaceful final scene that makes so much sense you’re surprised you didn’t see it coming right from the very start. Somehow, the most complicated show on TV has managed to give us a simple, calm ending. And... relax.

The best thing about this final season, however, is that it ends at all – because Continuum was in real danger of collapsing under its own weight. This has never been the easiest of shows to watch, its time-travelling conundrums, political wrangling and soapopera-style double dealings often threatening to confuse anyone not playing close attention – and even those who are. If another season had been greenlit, I suspect the series would have tried our patience a little too much: heck, there are even scenes in this limited run that leave you feeling weary (how many times can Kellog/Brad/Travis/Dillon/Alec/ etc double-cross someone, anyway?). Soldiers jumping through portals to invade our time, Kellog ruling the future and threatening his own self in the past, Kiera dilly-dallying with fellow time-traveller Brad, who may or may not be a traitor... And then throw in the show’s only duff note, a mega-time-traveller who looks a bit like a hipster Jesus, and you’ve got a lot to take in.

And yet, of course, it’s all immensely enjoyable, with killer fight scenes and so much chutzpah you wish other shows on TV would take note. Farewell, Kiera Cameron, Liber8 and your various messed-up realities: we will miss you. Jayne Nelson