Con SuiteThe Reactor

Impulse on YouTube Red

by Miclpea

YouTube Red resumes its foray into scripted drama with Impulse, a continuation of the Jumper saga. Impulse is the story of a rebellious, teenage girl whose power to teleport starts to manifest as she experiences stressful and dangerous situations. YouTube Red introduced the audience to Impulse with a special presentation at WonderCon in Anaheim. Take a look at the teaser trailer dropped at WonderCon.

This teaser trailer, along with never-before-seen clips from the show, gave the fans at WonderCon a unique sneak peak of this new series on YouTube Red. After the trailer, the fans were treated to a panel discussion which featured Executive Producers Doug Liman and Gene Klein, Showrunner Lauren LeFranc, and actors Maddie Hasson, Missi Pyle, and Daniel Maslany.

I had the opportunity to attend the panel and see the first two episodes of Impulse. The panel was interesting and informative. Doug Liman talked about how the idea for the show had been germinating since Jumper. He had the idea for the series and pitched it to YouTube Red during a meeting. To his surprise they agreed to produce the series at the meeting! There was one problem when he told his producing partner about the approval for the new series, his partner reminded Doug that there was no show. They had to pull one together. The result is Impulse.

Since the series is on YouTube Red, it is more intense than Jumper and touches on current events. It deals with one of the big issues in the news today: assault and date rape. Fortunately, the showrunner is not afraid to deal with this issue in a forthright manner, and neither are the actors.

All of the actors are excellent. As members of the audience you feel the awkwardness of Daniel’s autistic character (Townes Linderman), the fear of Maddie’s character (Henrietta Cole), and the hope of Missy Pyle’s character (Cleo Cole, Henry’s mother). The writing is fresh so the story being told feels original and real. Lauren, the Showrunner, does not let the show fall into the tired old tropes of the daughter versus the evil new boyfriend and his evil daughter. Henrietta’s mother’s new boyfriend genuinely cares for Henrietta (Henry) and Cleo. The boyfriend’s daughter shows amazing sympathy for Henry when she discovers that Henry could be a victim of assault.

The production values on Impulse are high, the acting is excellent, and the scripts are compelling. As Henrietta wades through the minefield of those who want to use and abuse her power as she comes to grips with it, the audience will feel that they are part of her journey. At a minimum, I would suggest watching the first two episodes. I believe that this will be enough to get viewers hooked. Look for Impulse this summer on YouTube Red.

Miclpea

I love going to conventions around the US and Canada. I'm an ardent fan of all things science fiction and especially The Expanse. I'm a senior writer for Friends of CC and I have co-written a science-fiction script called Punctuated Equilibrium.