An experimental television series made with AI tools, including MidJourney, Pika, Eleven Labs, and Suno, The Disposable Soma is an adaptation of Zeb Haradon’s book series. To review, dear reader, I was granted the opportunity to watch the first episode titled The Little Assassin. Framed as an epistolary, Arthur (Zeb Haradon) is a medical practitioner in the field of longevity medicine. He has a burning enmity for Doc Kramer, his main competitor. Doc Kramer is very successful. So successful, he’s running for President of the US. Determined to prevent Doc Kramer from achieving the highest office, Arthur has prepared a method of destroying a man on the chromosomal level and has long plotted to use it on Doc Kramer.
However, Arthur has been slapped with several setbacks. First, the mechanism to trigger the murder device is malfunctioning. Second, Arthur is forced to take his obnoxious children for the weekend. Pam and Tim are rambunctious hellions. Thus does The Little Assassin unfold into an unexpected and charming confection of an episode.
“…Arthur has prepared a method of destroying a man on the chromosomal level and has long plotted to use it on Doc Kramer.”
The Disposable Soma: The Little Assassin is a showcase of what AI Tools can provide in the form of technical filmmaking. As the human – or shall we say ‘the user’ – you provide the creative spark and the story to unfold. The AI creates an environment, allows for the animating of characters and creatures, and can present basic visual effects. The visuals created by the AI tools are part of the fun. We witness uncanny, strange visions of humanity. Oftentimes, when characters move their very corporeality distorts in aberrant ways. This is a production that is nestled deep in the proverbial uncanny valley.
Despite that, I found The Disposable Soma: The Little Assassin to be a delightful, if demented, little story. It was 22 minutes well spent. There are plans to make a total of 9 such anthology episodes for the first season. If you enjoy dark comedy set in a short form science fiction trapping, this is for you. It promises to be exceedingly fun.
"…delightful, if demented..."
