The One: Finally a good original series from Netflix

Netflix has been putting out some real stinkers lately and when I say this I mean their original programming. It seems that aside from true-crime series Netflix hasn't really had much in the way to offer with original programming, series or films, lately.

There are exceptions though and in my mind The One is an excellent series that you should definitely watch.

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The show is basically a long and less dark Black Mirror but rather than being a self-contained episode, it is a series and it also ends indicating that there is plenty more to come in future seasons. The basic premise of the film is that a firm has developed a method of determining who your "perfect match" is based on your DNA and is somehow, using said DNA is able to find who that perfect person is for you out there. This person is meant to be completely irresistible to you and you will fall for them immediately and fully.

There are a lot of plot holes here of course because 1, how would they have the DNA of everyone on the planet, and 2, the people involved are all quite conveniently alive at the same time you are, are attractive and not fat, and also happen to live quite near where you do. This part of it is very implausible but there are other questions that are asked in the film that make it very Black Mirror esque.

For one thing, as is only touched base upon in the show, the amount of people that were already married to their "one" is a very small number and the number of divorces and now children with separated parents and family lives torn apart would definitely skyrocket if this sort of technology actually existed and also, there are loads of other problems that arise when bad things happen to people's "one." If your perfect and only match meets an untimely death, the whole "there's plenty of fish in the sea" adage is no longer going to apply now is it?

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I think they had to work pretty hard on making an actual story out of this and as far as I know this show is based on a book, which is normally a good thing. The show also has a bunch of corporate espionage built into the story and this is important because we couldn't just have romance success story after romance success story and keep the show interesting for very long, let alone multiple seasons.

Some of the situations they encounter is people finding out who their "one" is and then trying as hard as they can to maintain their current relationship that they had invested so much into only to realize that no matter how hard they try, they are magically drawn to their perfect match once they find out who they are.

It also raises some social issues such as some people ending up with their "one" being someone of the same sex as they are even though they never really thought they would be attracted to someone like that.

It isn't a perfect series because it presents a lot of problems such as what I said before about the statistical near impossibility of your "one" just happening to be alive right now when there are thousands upon thousands of years of human existence that would exist in the DNA pool. Once you can just put that aside though, the series is very captivating and is one of the few series that I have properly binged on in the past 3 years or so. I think the last time I did this with a Sci-Fi series was Battlestar Galactica remake.

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I don't know if there were focus groups involved or something but a bit later on in the only existing season right now they kind of address the possibility that there are more than one "one" out there and that the technology that they use in order to determine who your perfect match is might not be as well-understood as we are made to believe at the start.

Should I watch it?

I honestly feel as though this show will appeal to everyone out there even though it is a bit outlandish but then again, that is what almost all Sci-fi is all about anyway. I think this one is a little bit more relatable to most people because it doesn't involve spaceships or aliens or other aspects of sci-fi that turn a bunch of people away. If you enjoy Black Mirror, and it is one of my favorite series of all time, I think there is a very good chance you are going to eat this one up, one episode after the next, and be wanting for more once it is over.

Also, considering the lack of good original programming that Netflix has been coming up with lately, you may as well use your subscription for something good... and I believe that is exactly what The One is.