Circle (2017)

Korean television rarely does science fiction, so Circle has novelty in its favor. Unfortunately it tries to cram the entire genre into a mere twelve episodes. It dashes from alien encounters to mad scientists to dystopian utopias to cyberpunk hackers to clones without ever stopping to flesh out a single theme or develop a unique voice and production style. It raises some interesting questions about the role memory plays in identity and whether trauma is an important part of our humanity or an impediment to happiness, but it never digs into its ideas in a meaty, revelatory way. Plot points are introduced to provide “twists” and then discarded when they’re no longer useful. Characters often behave in unbelievable ways, and perfunctory directing leads to visual inconsistencies and hackneyed acting choices. Yeo Jin Goo is talented enough to be riveting anyway, but the rest of the cast suffers. The final result is a show that feels more like a sketch than a finished product. It’s fast paced enough to hold viewers’ attention but it doesn’t give either of its worlds or timelines the care and attention they deserve.

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