Last night was the premiere of Extant, the new Steven Spielberg-produced, Malia Obama assisted, Halle Berry television vehicle about an astronaut’s mysterious space pregnancy.
Full disclosure: I did not watch the premiere of Extant last night. This might be because I reside in the 18-49 demographic which Extant did not do well in, ratings-wise. The show “skewed older” doing well in the 25-54 demo, probably because it is on CBS, home of The Olds. (Sorry, Olds.)
However, what I did do was speed-watch the pilot this morning so I feel highly qualified to discuss. I found Extant entertaining in a because-I-wanted-to-figure-out-what-the-hell-was-happening kind of way, but mostly very, very odd. It’s kind of like iRobot meets Contact. Halle Berry plays Molly Woods, an astronaut who recently returned from a space mission. She lives with her husband and their robot kid and she possibly had sex with an alien/her dead black husband while she was in space.
We here at Jezebel were a bit flummoxed by it all.
Regarding the audience
Hillary Crosley: Isn’t CBS for old people though in general?
Dodai Stewart: Halle Berry Was on TV and Only Old People Cared
Kate Dries: I mean. She is not young… So that sorta makes sense. Also the show is about like pregnancy and space. Right?
Regarding the premise
Dodai: Invisible alien sperm?
Hillary: She got pregnant while in space and not having any sex I believe
Me: I don’t know I’m trying to watch
Regarding Halle Berry’s white cyborg child
Me: Ok a couple minutes in and she has a son but he looks very white
Kate: Isn’t he like a cyborg? I feel like I saw that in the commercial. He doesn’t have emotions I feel like.
Dodai: Halle Berry Went to Space and All She Got Was a Cyborg Baby
Kelly Faircloth: So it’s Spore, or whatever that movie was from the 90s
Regarding her husband and alien lover
Me: At the moment she’s very sad as she looks at old pictures of her cute black husband. She has a cute white husband now.
Kate: Is it Eric Benet?
Dodai: Halle Berry Went To Space And Learned About the Swirl
Additional thoughts
Me: I wonder how Mae Jemison would have felt about this? Yay black female astronauts!
Dodai: What is Olivier Martinez doing right now?
Me: Hey look! It’s the mass shooter from Grey’s Anatomy!
Did you watch Extant? Were you confused? Did you enjoy it? Do you know what Oliver Martinez is doing right now?
Image via CBS