Every Philip K. Dick TV Adaptation Ranked Worst To Best
3. Total Recall 2070 (1999)
With a name like Total Recall 2070, you might expect this 1999 television show to be heavily influenced by Philip K. Dick's short story We Can Remember It For You Wholesale or, at the very least, Paul Verhoeven's ultraviolent action adaptation from 1990. But in reality, there are only a few nods that confirm this show exists in that same universe.
Instead, with its neo-noir setting and paranoid psychological thriller-esque storylines, involving self-aware androids, Total Recall 2070, takes far more inspiration from Ridley Scott's 1982 genre classic Blade Runner, itself based on another of Dick's stories, Do Androids Dream Of Electric Sheep?.
Generally, the show works as a police procedural where the characters tackle a new case each episode but with an overarching plotline slowly uncovering the despicable motives and ethics of the world's evil megacorporations. Despite being a touch dated, it's generally a decent watch.
The stories are engaging, the characters are interesting, the world is suitably dark and grungy and there are decent performances across the board from the main cast. Unfortunately, only a single season of 22 episodes was made and as a result, significant plot points were left unresolved.
Total Recall 2070 is not officially available on streaming services (although it can be found on YouTube) and with only limited DVD releases worldwide it's very difficult to get a hold of the full series. However, the two-part pilot episode is readily available on DVD as Total Recall 2070: Machine Dreams, which is definitely worth checking out.