Was it a perfect premiere? I’ll start off with what was missing: action! I can’t fault the writers for that, though, because there was no room, no place I could suggest to put it. The only time the soundtrack ramped up the tempo was when Ethan ran into the woods (a short-lived chase) and when Molly erased the space station footage (frantic, but not exactly action-packed). That being said, I don’t regret the absence of overwrought excitement; I could just have used a bit more oomph in the narrative. Honestly, though, the only slow-paced part of the episode was the beginning when they were rolling out the cool toys: the bathroom mirror touch screen, the self-driving car, the garbage-zapping trash can. I especially enjoyed the transparent mobile devices and the 3-D PowerPoint presentation, although someone should tell John Woods to cool it with all the unnecessary floating bullet points. Thankfully, once the Humanichs demonstration began, the pace picked up nicely. I really enjoyed the ethical debate John’s presentation presented, and I imagine the theme of what constitutes life or humanity will continue throughout the series. That’s not to say there aren’t some interesting villains as well. Hideki Yasumoto, I assume, is being set up as the selfishly motivated corporate tycoon, although it should be noted that he’s done nothing wrong – yet… other than emerge from a golden coffin, naked and covered in goo, with absolutely no explanation. And it remains to be seen whether the android son, Ethan, will be a devil-child or a misunderstood machine. Either way, I’m good. But it’s the understated nature of the alien presence on Seraphim Station that really intrigues me. What does it want? Why does it not show up on video? Why would it impregnate a human? I can’t help but suspect ill intentions. And lastly, but certainly not least creepy, why the hell are both Yasumoto (whom I thought was only interested in John) AND Director Sparks watching live surveillance of Molly’s supposedly private psychiatric appointment? That’s just wrong! With the abundance of promotional material, I thought there would be no surprises in the Extant premiere, but there was one shocking moment at the end that, even having seen it in a preview clip, elicited a satisfying “Woah!” from me just before the credits. It wasn’t so much what the guy in the shadows represented for the conspiracy elements of the show; it was his identity as it was revealed that provided an eye-widening moment, making me realize they didn’t give away all the secrets in the promos. Want more Extant discussion? Join me and Dave over at http://extantpodcast.com each week for episode analysis, predictions, and plenty of fan interaction! Like us on Facebook and follow us on Twitter for all news updates related to the world of geek. And Google+, if that’s your thing!