Eerie ‘Legion’ adaptation milks the psych genre
HERE is the thing, sometimes comic-book stories should never be adapted into the “real world”, the real world in this case being the TV world. This is because, there’s a certain breed, much more geeky than the norm, who reads comics and revels in them.
With TV, most of us just want to relax and watch that addictive show, not because it is cryptic but because it is easy to understand. The world is complicated enough as it is and it is not necessary to show yet more confusing material during our down-time.
That is the first problem you will encounter with Fox’s latest addition to the schedule, Legion. Adapted from a Marvel comic, by Chris Claremont and Bill Sienkiewicz, the plot orbits around a frail-looking David Haller (played by Dan Stevens) who is locked up in what appears be a mental institution.
That’s probably as exciting as it gets, because right after learning that he has some psychological issues that go beyond ordinary schizophrenia, Legion’s plot direction starts getting a bit foggy.
We learn that David has been in and out of psych wards since he was a child, when he was diagnosed with schizophrenia. In his condition, he tends to see people and ghosts alike and they interchangeably have conversations with him.
We catch up with David in a psych ward and are introduced to his loud friend, Lenny (played by Aubrey Plaza), who also has neurological issues. She is actually a bright spark and breathes life into in an otherwise dry plot, thanks to her comic relief. She has memorable oneliners that will have you chuckling every time she appears on screen. That’s one highlight.
Then we have a smoking hot girl called Syd (played by Rachel Keller), who has just been admitted in the hospital. She is socially awkward and paranoid about her personal space, so much so that she will not even be touched.
Syd’s entry into the storyline leads to David seeing and hearing a lot of people who try to piece together a reason for David being in this predicament.
It soon becomes clear that he has to escape and with the help of Syd, he attempts to do just that.
We also see that the hospital establishment is not what it seems to be because, on many occasions, they interrogate David in a way that the armed forces would. Then you realise that this mental institution is not necessarily a hospital and David is really not insane.
Legion has a lot of potential, but it just doesn’t connect all the dots.
To begin with, the first episode is about an hour long and only midway through do you get a sense of where the show is going – and that’s too much to ask for from any audience.
The plot tries to be as vague as possible... until you lose interest. The main character hears voices and so the directors decided to place real people in the shots to represent the voices. This helps to place who is saying what but further complicates things because you can’t really decide which voices come from real people or from David’s imagination.
Without spoiling it for you, look out for some action scenes that could have been cool if more attention had been paid to visual effects. For what it is, it really shocking that Marvel let such a show leave the shop.
Perhaps there is a market out there for a show like this, but not for this reporter. Don’t take my word for it. Rather see it and decide for yourself.
Legion airs on Fox Africa (DStv channel 125), Thursdays at 8.10pm and repeats on Saturdays at 7.20pm.