There has long been discussion in interpretations of cyberpunk, and Gibson in particular, about whether Neuromancer and texts like it fantasise about an escape from the ‘meat’ of the human body. Thinking about the show in terms of the body, relationships with technology, and issues of disability is perhaps one way towards thinking about how the show differs from Gibson’s vision, and from the goals of cyberpunk more broadly described. Likewise, the clipped dialogue of the show, giving little away in terms of exposition, will be familiar to Gibson’s readers. The early episodes are almost straight from the pages of the novel, with Flynne donning a slick headset in her brother’s run-down trailer. Now his work seems to be having a moment, as Neuromancer is finally being filmed for Apple TV after being optioned inconsequentially for decades, while The Peripheral is brought to the screen by the team behind HBO’s Westworld and Vincenzo Natali (director of The Cube and Splice). Gibson has had dalliances with visual interpretations of his work in the past, working on Robert Longo’s 1995 Johnny Mnemonic (based on a Gibson story of the same name), and trying his hand at screenwriting through two episodes of The X Files, as well as a screenplay for a version of Alien 3 that was never filmed, but has since been made into a comic book and inspired a novelisation by fellow cyberpunk, Pat Cadigan. William Gibson is known as the godfather of cyberpunk, giving us the word ‘cyberspace’ in Neuromancer (1984) and taking the reader on a joyride through the neon dataspaces behind the computer screen. Flynne realises that the latest ‘game’ she’s been playing is in fact a view into a future London she is piloting an advanced robot (the titular ‘peripheral’) and her actions have real consequences. The show stars Chloë Grace Moretz as Flynne Fisher, a young woman from a rural, near-future America making some pocket money by playing video games, clearly a source of minor income for her, her army veteran brother Burton, and others trying to scrape together a living wage in the gig economy.

Amazon Prime should probably be applauded in this market for taking on an original science fiction series, albeit based on William Gibson’s 2014 novel The Peripheral. Streaming services are desperate to break into the cultural zeitgeist that an instant-classic science fiction or fantasy blockbuster series can provide by reheating existing franchises look no further than House of the Dragon, Bored of the Rings (I’m sorry, The Rings of Power), or Apple TV’s expensive flop Foundation (though the failure of this show to capture the discourse could be due to the hoops Apple makes people jump through to watch their shows they really don’t want you unless you have an iPhone…).

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