It’s possible that the temporal distortion of lockdown makes this the perfect time to experience the beauty of Tales from the Loop, the retro-futuristic TV series just recently released on Amazon Prime.

Based on the retro-futuristic art of Simon Stalenhag, it’s a combination of snowy retro Midwest and Scandinavian style with worn and semi-realistic glimpes of scifi. And it’s soundtracked elegantly by Phillip Glass and Paul Leonard-Morgan.

It reminded me a little of recently watching Alex Garland’s Devs (currently on BBC iPlayer), where a fictional city somewhat akin to San Francisco exuded a real inherent menace.

Except that Tales From The Loop feels little more like a live action Swedish style blog. Every single frame appears to have some notable element, whether it’s a random robot peering from behind a tree, an unusal chess set, or what appears to be the entire 1970s H&M range.

What made watching the first episode interesting is that under normal circumstances, I’d have been conscious of the relative lack of anything approaching an actual story.

There’s a plot, but it’s a pretty flimsy one. You could describe it as ephemeral, but it would also be lightweight for even the shortest of science fiction short stories.

Amazon actually acquired the rights to Stalenhag’s first art book, ‘Tales from the Loop’, which was set in 1990s Sweden, and with art accompanied by a novel-length written story. Which pulls together the images in a hazy way.

And usually that would drive me made with a television series. I don’t mind slow moving sci-fi, or ambiguity, but I generally need something to get me hooked in the first place. Obviously, Arrival is a well-known example of a brilliant film developing characters and stories at a fairly slow place compared to most films about aliens.

But I don’t know whether it’s down to the fact I’m already a big fan of Stalenhag’s art. Or the fact that I wanted to enjoy seeing wide open spaces covered in snow during a time when I’m locked down in a heat wave. But I ended up really enjoying just admiring the set design, the wardrobe, and the composition of the filming. Even if the hour of television contained less actual plot points than an IKEA advert.

So it’s more highly crafted moving art than a traditional television series. But Tales from the Loop is certainly worth experiencing, so you can make up your own mind…