Dispatches from Elsewhere

Peter occasionally has to be dragged along to play—what makes Simone excited makes Peter anxious—but viewers will need no encouragement at all to stay on board. “Dispatches” may represent the last gasp of appointment television marred by commercial breaks. But a sweetly tantalizing gasp it is.

Watching the first four episodes of “Dispatches From Elsewhere” is akin to jumping into the middle of “Lost” without a clue. ... And yet I was not bored or frustrated as the characters’ dreams became real, as their memories became open to alterations, as backstories were told in animation. Almost miraculously, “Dispatches” is oblique, but not off-putting.

What exactly is going on in the series is no clearer at the end of the four episodes I watched for review. That also doesn't really matter all that much. The series is as intriguing as it is heartfelt thanks to stylishly imaginative storytelling and richly developed characters.

Thanks to the skill and charisma of these players, Dispatches’ human moments resonate even in the midst of a murky swamp of absurdity.

We’re hoping that some of the quirkiness of Dispatches From Elsewhere meshes better with story as the series goes along, but the ensemble’s initial chemistry compels us to keep watching.

In building its own voice, the show thieves profitably from several schools of self-conscious yarn-spinning as it toys with oblique approaches to straight stories, with a rigor that counters its bits of squishy whimsy. ... I don’t dare guess what the vignettes add up to, other than a show so lyrical with dream logic that it’s intriguing even when it’s not strictly successful.

Despite Octavio's guarantee of refraining from the obligatory background introductions for Peter, the opening four episodes of "Dispatches" purposefully profile of each character through episodes depicted from their point of view. ... Anyone who isn't quite buying this malarkey after three hours might want to stick around for Fredwynn. They might discover that Fredwynn, as the narrator intones, "is you." This presumes that "you" care enough to make it that far – and some will. As for whether the series can sustain the mystery for a full 10 episodes, that's anyone's guess.

It can all be overwhelming, but Segel weaves in enough insights on human longing to keep the chase compelling beyond its often confusing clues.

The stylistic acumen of “Dispatches From Elsewhere” remains strong, if somewhat derivative of more successful works, and performances are strong across the board, particularly those from Grant, Findley, and Benjamin. But these strengths, paired with the show’s playful metatextuality, are certainly held back, to a slight degree, at least, by a well-intended relationship arc which is unfortunately misjudged.

A lot happens, but as setpieces rather than as a unifying force or plot driver. ... But it’s got heart and charm and it is quite clearly and endearingly the result of one man’s sensibility and vision. If it keeps its focus on what we really want to invest in and doesn’t slide fully into whimsical nonsense, then there will be every reason to stay.

In its first four episodes, the road may feel familiar and it may be a bit slow to get where it’s going, but it’s a lovely stroll all the same.

Does Dispatches From Elsewhere earn its quirkiness? It’s hard to tell based on the limited sample of episodes AMC made available to critics. But it’s not boring, and its optimism is appealing in and of itself. Still, it is a lot.

“Dispatches From Elsewhere” feels like it’s as disconnected as the title implies; as though each episode is a message from a faraway place featuring faraway people that are too formulaic and flat to believe in.

There are moments of grace and beauty through all four episodes of “Dispatches from Elsewhere,” but its overall tone of forced eccentricity and lessons about life started to wear on me over time. It may simply be a show that works better in weekly doses.

Even with its initial centering on airless, ersatz Peter, the pilot manages to arouse fierce curiosity about where the show could go and what it could do next. That energy gradually dissipates, though, as the stakes become increasingly muddled and the narrator continues to explicitly point out — for reasons I assume will become clearer — the characters' archetypal natures.