* * * B
Not another TV series based on a superhero comic book! Wait. This one is different. Legion is technically part of the X-men universe, but this series, based on the Marvel comic book, is far from run of the mill. The protagonist David Haller is incredibly powerful, but he is insane. The other heroes in the story have lesser powers. One can enter people’s memories. Another can touch things an make them fly away.
The enemies are mostly of the human variety. He is rescued from them by Dr. Melanie Bird and taken to her house in the woods, a sort of low rent version of Professor X’s mansion. There, David learns about his power, but gradually, Bird and her team discover a dark secret lurking within him. Syd Barret, a mutant that David has fallen in love with, acts as his anchor, but the power seeking to rip him away from reality rivals his own.
This is a cerebral story, at times whimsical, often bizarre. Dan Stevens and Rachel Keller give solid performances, with the rest of the cast acting as quirky supports or implacable enemies. The eight episodes are split over two short plot arcs, the first of which was the better of the two. It remains to be seen if the series will return to the level it achieved in the first few episodes or continue to slip. I intend to watch season 2 when it is released.
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