Outcasts, episode 8

The last episode aired last night. Bit of a shame really. The central premise (a lone colony on a new world, struggle for survival etc) is absolutely fine, but it was hampered throughout by clunky dialogue and gaping holes in logic.

The finale had some good bits in. Fleur being an AC was a credible twist, and Berger’s political shenanigans were reasonably well done. However, the latter was hindered by the fact that the council had never before been seen and there was no reaction shown to any of Tate’s problems (such as when it was revealed he’d ordered the ACs killed).

The use of DNA through the air was a bit puzzling. I don’t have an A-level in biology, but given that sound waves are just vibrations whereas DNA is a physical structure it seemed rather a stretch. Almost as odd was the fact that nobody seemed to make the A-T, G-C connection until the sound waves had been going on for a while.

The ending (the ship Berger had been in contact with throughout landing) obviously teed a second series up, but there was no announcement of a return next year. So, it’s either definitely not returning or possibly not returning.

Sometimes a series can dramatically improve (the first Blackadder series had some good bits but was not a patch on the second series), but Outcasts would need some changes and the nod from the BBC decision-makers.

If it were up to me, here are a few changes I’d consider making:

Retcon Mitchell’s death. Have it be a Noisy One (the unseen aliens), and have Mitchell return.

Sharpen up the dialogue.

Mystery is like a skirt. A little is intriguing, but the more there is the lower the interest of the viewer. Cut the unanswered questions.

Get a science chap to scan the scripts. DNA (should that be RNA, as it involves viral genetics?) travelling through sound waves, an ancient skeleton half-buried with the sea washing over it and so on stretch credibility.

Hugely increase the number of gunfights and build up a secondary cast, some of which can be developed and others of which can be culled in the inevitable AC/Forthaven/New Ship conflicts.

Anyway, I suspect we won’t see a second series. It’d be nice if we did, and there were some improvements.

I think the next sci-fi on TV is Dr Who, at some point in spring. For those with Sky Atlantic, the TV series of A Game of Thrones is due to begin in April of this year.

Thaddeus

Outcasts, episode 7 (and other progs)

Hmm. It is quite odd to have a series with so many potentially excellent, or at least good, storylines which never seem to have a pay-off. Almost like watching an adult film which begins with the line “Hello, I’ve come to fix your sink”, features 17 minutes of plumbing and ends with the line “Your sink is now fixed. Goodbye”.

We’re 7/8 into Outcasts, and yet the writers still don’t want to let us know anything. Fleur discovered (through remarkably convoluted means) that Cass once went by another name, and has a horrid secret. Naturally, we don’t get to know what he’s actually done.

The unseen aliens want to destroy Forthaven and are communicating through high-pitched, ultrasonic means, but we don’t know what they’re saying.

At the end, Berger thanked the mothership for the information on Cass (he manipulated the situation somewhat), and found out that there’s something weird about Fleur. Of course, we don’t know what that is.

I don’t mind some mystery, but this is verging on Lost levels of annoying. It’s a shame because the ideas (a colony, XP/PAS conflict, political shenanigans) are all fine, it’s the execution that’s flawed. I’ll watch the final episode, but if there’s another series it’ll need damn good (p)reviews for me to tune in.

Mind you, the first series of Blackadder was the weakest of the lot, so maybe all hope is not lost.

Sunday also saw a much more enjoyable programme, a new series (8pm Channel 4) by historian Niall Ferguson regarding the West and China over the last 500 odd years. Except for the irritating ‘killer app’ shtick, there was no dumbing down and the first programme covered the advantage that international and commercial competition furnished the West with during the era of exploration and expansion.

I did tune into Brian Cox’s programme immediately afterwards, but 30 minutes in all I’d learnt was that time moves in one direction, the universe is quite old and the programme bored me.

Thaddeus

Outcasts, episode 6

As always, spoilers ahead.

After the tantalising end of episode 5, when Berger was revealed to be in contact with another space vessel and clearly shown to be aiming at the removal of Tate from power, episode 6 decided to ignore that almost completely.

A trio of XPs never before mentioned or seen had gone missing. One returned, wounded, and stated that the ACs had attacked her. However, there was something creepy about her, and she ended up being detained.

Meanwhile, a pair of ACs ordered by Rudi, their leader, to take out XP commander Jack “precisely” adopted a unique and challenging definition of that word. They began by killing a power station worker and then switching off Forthaven’s power, which rather alerted everyone to the presence of intruders. After this, they managed to miss Jack and kill another XP, rather predictably.

The power loss somehow opened the secure door to the female XP’s cell, and she strode off, found her kids and wandered out of the front door of the colony.

However, a rather more human version of the missing female XP appeared, prompting much confusion. Fortunately, the kids ended up safe.

The dialogue still needs sorting out. The story was reasonably coherent, but the doppelganger was not explained, beyond the suggestion of alien influence. It’s a bit irksome, because there are a number of potentially good storylines but they all seem to lack excitement or a satisfying conclusion. Mitchell was great, but got shot in episode 1, the terribly deadly whiteout led to the death of Token Gay Guy, and the clone was unexplained in the most recent episode.

Oh well. I shall persevere, and it’s worth recalling that sometimes the first series can be ropey (Blackadder, for example).

Thaddeus

Outcasts, episode 5

As always, spoilers ahead.

Last week, there was some tension. Although the action scene wasn’t great, the conflict of loyalty Cass felt between Fleur and Tate and the eventual consequences of Elijah’s death was good.

Or was it? Jack has apparently not been punished for killing someone without authority. Fleur appears to have forgotten/forgiven Cass for betraying her and taking a course which led to a mentally unstable man’s death.

Maybe Carpathia has a gas in the atmosphere which causes amnesia?

This week featured Patrick Baxter, a new character. Apparently, the gate isn’t guarded, because he wandered right in. And right out. And when in a gunfight you should always use a pistol or two rather than your rifle, and stand up so that the ACs (who can snipe the first nameless cast member with a single bullet but can’t hit a barn door with a banjo afterwards) get a bigger target. And the sea is so fantastically powerful it can cut (and polish) diamonds, but not erode hominid skeletons.

The chap playing Baxter was quite good. Unfortunately, that sort of thing seems to lead to a character not lasting the episode (see episode 1). After leading Cass and Fleur on a wild goose chase and showing them the ocean, he promptly croaked.

I must admit, I found the episode strangely entertaining despite the numerous flaws pointed out above. The dialogue remains less than stellar. I quite like Tate and Berger, and the last few minutes and preview for the next episode looked interesting.

The show’s moving to Sunday at 10.25pm.

I think I’ll watch it, but it’s a shame that a decent idea has been let down by plodding storylines and wooden dialogue.

Thaddeus

Outcasts: episodes 3 & 4

As before, big spoilers ahead. I’ve also read that Outcasts will now be on Mondays only, making way for Silk (courtroom drama) on Tuesdays.

I think episode 4 was the first not to be wholly or partly written by the series’ creator. By coincidence, it was also the best episode so far, in my view.

Episode 3 featured a massive whiteout (basically a sandstorm but with winds powerful enough to do serious damage to buildings and anybody out in the open). It slightly built on the burgeoning trust between Rudi (AC leader) and Fleur (PAS officer), and had a rather meaningless death of a character of no importance.

A bit disappointing, to be honest. However, I liked episode 4 more.

The 4^th episode featured an AC captured just beyond the wall. He subsequently escaped and involuntarily attacked an innocent women. It turns out the AC in question (Elijah) had undergone traumatic and failed experimentation on the orders of President Tate. Fleur contacted Rudi and wanted to help him leave with Elijah, something Cass was reluctantly going along with until he found Berger trying to use the panic spread with Elijah’s escape and seemingly unknown whereabouts to manipulate Tate. In a botched effort to tranquilise Elijah, the AC ended up dead.

The conflict for loyalty Cass felt between Fleur (fellow PAS officer who he has rather a thing for) and Tate (the president) was nicely done.

Both episodes also saw the rather tedious relationship (such as it is) between Stella and Lily continue, and the slightly more interesting Berger trying to manipulate Tate, Stella, Lily and Jack.

Episode 4 ended with the discovery by Jack of what seemed to be a human jawbone from tens of thousands of years ago, throwing into doubt whether or not the Forthaven people are the first humans on Carpathia.

A bit more conflict would go down nicely.

Thaddeus

Outcasts, episodes 1 & 2

I’ve got pretty mixed feelings about this new sci-fi series. Obviously, there’ll be some spoilers below for those who intend to watch it but haven’t yet.

The Bad

I was a bit annoyed that the best character in the show got shot and killed so early on.

Dialogue could generally be a bit sharper.

It took me a while to think of what the first two episodes were missing, and then it came to me: not enough action. I don’t mind slow and steady plots and building up to a point, but there should be more gunfights, explosions and so on.

Subtlety, mystery and intrigue are great, but there’s no need for almost everyone to have a mysterious past, or for there to be a conspiracy behind every door.

The Good

I like the chap who plays President Tate, and the banter between Jack and Cass.

Although I’d’ve preferred someone else to be killed, I do like the fact that main cast members might end up dead.

The storylines so far are decent enough, albeit a little lacking in fiery explosive death.

So, what next?

Well, there is plenty of scope for improvement but I thought the first episodes were ok and will definitely watch the next. A little less mystery and a little more murdering would go down nicely. It’s a bit lacklustre, and in need of a big dose of excitement.

Thaddeus

Forthcoming TV sci-fi

There are two BBC sci-fi progs coming in the near future, one on Monday and one later in the year. The former is the new show Outcasts (I did read somewhere or other they don’t like it being referred to as ‘sci-fi’ but given that it is sci-fi, that’s how I’ll describe it).

The programme is set on the world of Carpathia, in the settlement of Forthaven where a small group of humans have made their home, having fled Earth. There are 8 episodes (unlike America, the UK doesn’t seem a fan of massive 20-24 episode seasons) and the first is on Monday at 9pm, BBC1.

Ben Richards, the writer, has said that Outcasts is about the possibility of redemption and refuting the idea that humans are bound to be bad. I subscribe somewhat to the tabula rasa (blank slate) view of humanity, so that seems fair enough to me.

Hard to say how good or bad it’ll be, given it’s entirely new, but the cast seems decent enough. If I do a review, it’ll be on Tuesday.

The other programme is Doctor Who, which returns in the Spring. I’ve got a bit of a love-hate relationship with New Who. Some bits have been excellent (the entire Blink episode, for example) but some have been abysmal (the Master). The new series sees the return of River Song (not a fan of her), and both companions.

Here’s my Doctor Who wish list:

1. When the Master comes back, he must have an evil beard
2. Killing robots/cyborgs with emotions is a cop-out, stop it
3. No gaping plot holes, please
4. Return of the Mondas cybermen
5. Sort out the Time Lords. The daleks have been brought back properly, the same will eventually happen for the Time Lords, so get on with it

For the first time ever, it’s been shot on location in America. I wonder if they’ll mess about with cowboys and Indians, or suchlike.

Neil Gaiman, famous fantasy author, has written one of the episodes but I don’t have any details of what’s written.

Incidentally, I think Matt Smith is signed up for at least this year and the next, which is good. I rather like his sarcastic utterances. Not sure about companions (I’d quite like an alien, or someone from the past, as the next one).

For those with Sky, Game of Thrones (the television version of George RR Martin’s fantastic first part of A Song of Ice and Fire) will also come out later in the year. Damned shame I won’t be able to watch it, but there we are.

Thaddeus