'Minority Report' Primer: How the 2002 Film Sets Up Fox's New Series

Fox’s action-packed sci-fi procedural Minority Report shares the name and timeline of Steven Spielberg’s 2002 big-screen blockbuster, which starred Tom Cruise as a police officer capable of stopping crimes before they happen. The series takes place in 2065, a decade after the events of the film, and while it tells an all-new story, it also features some familiar characters (though not Cruise himself… at least, not yet). In case you haven’t seen Minority Report in a while — or if you’ve never seen it — here’s a quick primer to bring you up to speed.

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Spielberg’s film unfolds in the year 2054, six years after the creation of the PreCrime program. The initiative was launched by Lamar Burgess (Max von Sydow) using technology developed by Dr. Iris Hineman (Lois Smith). The controversy was due to the fact that the source of PreCrime predictions are psychic humans nicknamed Precogs, who are capable of foreseeing crimes before they happen. The system Burgess developed demands that the Precogs spend their lives hooked up to a machine that processes their visions of murder and mayhem and passes them along to officers like John Anderton (Cruise), who use them to prevent crimes rather than merely solve them after the fact. Those not-yet criminals are then zapped into a comatose state and placed in deep storage, out of sight and out of mind of the general public.

Initially launched in Washington D.C. (where the series takes place as well), Burgess has plans to take PreCrime national, but the implications are hotly debated, both in terms of what it means for citizens’ personal freedom as well as the lives of the Precogs themselves, who are virtual slaves to the system. In fact, the three Precogs who “solve” Anderton’s crimes have been sequestered from the outside world for years, under the watchful eye of their caretaker, Wally (Daniel London). Their names are Agatha (Samantha Morton), Dash (Matthew Dickman), and Arthur (Michael Dickman), and while they function as a unit, Agatha is generally recognized as the strongest of the trio. All three Precogs re-appear in the series, albeit as different actors. Dash is played by Stark Sands, while Laura Regan takes over the role of Agatha and Nick Zano is Arthur. (London, meanwhile, will be reprising his role as Wally.)

PreCrime may be the most significant technological development in the future imagined by Minority Report, but there are other notable advances as well. For example, conveniently located public eye scanners allow the government to monitor citizens at all times. Advertisers take advantage of this technology as well, confirming a person’s identity and then pitching products and services directly to him or her on a first-name basis. In other words, the eyes aren’t merely the window to your soul: they also provide direct access to your wallet.

The kidnapping of Anderton’s son — a tragedy that cost him his marriage — has made him a firm believer in PreCrime. But that belief wavers when the Precogs conjure up a vision in which he commits a premeditated murder. He immediately goes on the lam, pursued by his former colleagues on the force as well as dogged Department of Justice agent Danny Witwer (Colin Farrell). In order to avoid detection, Anderton undergoes risky eye replacement surgery provided by a doctor of ill repute (Peter Stormare). That scene hints at some of the black market activities available in this otherwise sunny future; later on, Anderton visits a brain hacker who runs a virtual reality den where his clients are able to live out their wildest fantasies while strapped to a table. One can only imagine what other illicit medical and entertainment options we will discover as the series progresses…

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To aid him in is attempt to prove his innocence, Anderton frees Agatha out of her watery prison and brings her along to the fated moment where he’s supposed to cross the line from cop to murderer. Overwhelmed by being in the outside world, the Precog nevertheless provides invaluable assistance, helping the fugitive escape from a crowded shopping mall and helping him arrive at a necessary moment of catharsis about his long-missing son. Although the Agatha we meet in the series doesn’t directly discuss her experiences on the lam with Anderton, it’s clear from the haunted expression in her eyes that she still thinks about it often.

Eventually, Anderton clears his name, reunites with his wife, and proves that Burgess was behind his frame-up all along, in order to hide the fact that, years ago, he killed Agatha’s mother to ensure his prize Precog wouldn’t leave the PreCrime program. The government subsequently steps in and shuts down the PreCrime division for good. That means all of the potential murderers are “woken up” and allowed to return to daily life. (That seems like a plot point ripe for revisiting in the series.)

Meanwhile, Agatha, Dash, and Arthur are all sent away to live in isolation on a remote island. Except, as the series premiere shows, they can’t stay there forever. Dash is compelled to return to society by the murderous visions he still glimpses in his mind’s eye, and he teams up with post PreCrime D.C.-area detective Lara Vega (Meagan Good). Agatha warns him off of such a path, while Arthur… well, let’s just say that Arthur seems to have his own plans up his sleeve. Stick around to discover what exactly those plans might be.

Minority Report premieres Sept. 21 at 9 p.m. on Fox.