Mrs. Davis is a deeply silly show deeply committed its silliness. And that's
precisely what makes it so much fun. The new Peacock series from Tara
Hernandez (The Big Bang Theory) and Damon Lindelof (Lost, The Leftovers),
pits a nun with a mysterious past against an all-powerful, seemingly
omniscient artificial intelligence. Her mission: to find the Holy Grail. You
know, another one of those stories. Along the way, there are a slew of messy
beheadings, a cheesy '90s-era car chase and a group of villainous German
henchman spiritually descended from The Big Lebowski's trio of Nihilists.

If you were looking for another complex genre exercise like Lindelof's
excellent Watchmen series or The Leftovers, Mrs. Davis ain't it. But from the
first scene of the show, you can tell that he probably had a lot more fun
making this. Initially based on a spec script by Hernandez, who also served
as showrunner, Mrs. Davis is practically a live-action cartoon, filled with
colorful set-pieces and a never-ending slew of zany characters, all set in a
world where humans willingly subject themselves to the demands of an AI via
wireless earbuds.

None of Mrs. Davis would work without Betty Gilpin (GLOW, The Hunt) as its
heart and soul. As Simone, the nun being targeted by Mrs. Davis, she
effectively juggles a hard-edged cynicism with an openness to pure devotion.
It's hard enough to be a believable action lead, it's even tougher to make
that same character seem believably devout. By the time we see Simone racing
through city streets on a motorcycle, while also wearing her nun habit, we
fully buy Gilpin in the role. It's like seeing Kill Bill's The Bride with a
samurai sword � it's sure to be an indelible pop cultural image. (And of
course, it hearkens back to Abel Ferrara's cult revenge classic, Ms. 45.)

As a piece of cultural commentary, Mrs. Davis is practically allergic to
subtext. It's a nun versus AI, what else do you need? It's easy to draw
parallels between religious devotion and the way we live with technology
today. That's particularly true when it comes to the explosive rise of
generative AI. Is there really a huge difference between plugging in a string
into ChatGPT or Midjourney and hoping for an interesting result, compared to
putting your hands together and praying for divine help? And if AI ultimately
ends up fulfilling our needs more effectively, wouldn't people treat it with
a certain amount of religious reverence?

These questions danced around my head as I watched Mrs. Davis, but the series
itself is far more interested in goofy shenanigans and soapy plot twists than
attempting any serious philosophical exploration. But I suppose even Damon
Lindelof needs a vacation sometimes. Your enjoyment of the show will depend
on well you sync up with its farcical wavelength. Why is there a group of
well-funded, anti-AI militia bros, led by a shirtless buffoon? Don't worry
about it, they're hilarious (Chris Diamantopoulos, one of the more memorable
VC bros from HBO's Silicon Valley, truly commits.)

The idea for Mrs. Davis arrived in the early paranoid phase of the pandemic,
Lindelof told us in an interview. During that time of sheer uncertainty �
back when we were still wiping down groceries � Hernandez wished for an app
that could just tell her what to do. "What if there was something that we
trusted?" Lindelof said. He was also intrigued by the role of algorithms in
our lives, something he noticed while going down YouTube and Tiktok rabbit
holes with his teenage son.

Mrs. Davis was written and produced long before ChatGPT and other generative
AI tools reached the public, but its release couldn't be better timed.
Despite just making a show about an all-powerful algorithm, Lindelof is
intrigued by the new AI tools. "Artificial intelligence is basically coded to
give us what we want," he said. "And so, never before in the history of of
technology have we had more of an opportunity to get clarity on what it is we
want.... What is human existence? What is the meaning of life?"

If Mrs. Davis more effectively wrestled with those questions, it would have
been another prestigious series for Lindelof. Instead, it feels more like a
creative exercise, one that gave Hernandez the opportunity to move beyond the
world of sitcoms.

"I think that we we have an unprecedented opportunity for the greatest
therapist in the history of of of our species to tell us, here's what you
really are like," he added. "For any fan of Douglas Adams, we now have that
computer that's going to spit out "42" [Adams' comedic answer to the meaning
of life]. I'm just curious to see what it says."

The first four episodes of Mrs. Davis premiere on Peacock on April 20th.

--
Let's go Brandon!

On Wednesday, April 19, 2023 at 7:42:45 AM UTC-4, Ubiquitous wrote:
> Mrs. Davis is a deeply silly show deeply committed its silliness. And that's
> precisely what makes it so much fun. The new Peacock series from Tara
> Hernandez (The Big Bang Theory) and Damon Lindelof (Lost, The Leftovers),
> pits a nun with a mysterious past against an all-powerful, seemingly
> omniscient artificial intelligence.

> "I think that we we have an unprecedented opportunity for the greatest
> therapist in the history of of of our species to tell us, here's what you
> really are like," he added. "For any fan of Douglas Adams, we now have that
> computer that's going to spit out "42" [Adams' comedic answer to the meaning
> of life]. I'm just curious to see what it says."

4 8 15 16 23 42

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https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=4F4jGn-Ms_g