On TV: Monday 7th February 2011
Channel: BBC1 9pm
Episode Type: Episode 1/8
In 1 Sentence: Potentially good Sci-Fi series, but still a little creaky.
BBC Summary: A group of courageous pioneers face a unique opportunity: the chance to build a new and better future on another planet.
Episode Summary: 1/8. Carpathia awaits the arrival of what could be the last transporter from Earth. Loyalties are tested as the head of Forthaven's Expeditionaries attempts to break away from the settlement, and the beginnings of a mystery which goes right to the heart of human life on Carpathia are uncovered.
My review: Having another stab at Sci-Fi, despite its track record (including The Deep and Paradox: both more cheesy than a cheese factory, but fun nonetheless), the BBC have produced Outcasts. Shown on Monday, following numerous ominous trailers featuring the OTT dramatic music the BBC are favouring nowadays, Episode 1 was finally revealed to the world. And my reaction... hmph.
Now I settled down to watch Outcasts with, as always, the best intentions, but it is hard for me to believe a programme is altogether credible when it starts out with an inter-com voice asking “Are there any humans out there?” and a little boy spouting tiger poems. Which will no doubt have some importance at some point. I hope.
The whole introducing a bunch of characters and killing them off thing was a little cliched. As were the grubby faces, army neutral clothing and the grittiness. I found it hard to follow some of the jargon, and the pacing was a tad creaky - the whole episode just didn’t ring true. Relating to most of the characters was hard and there wasn’t much time to get to know them, what with all the drama going on. It ranged from slow to incredibly fast, but for one thing - it wasn’t boring.
What was good was the special effects, which were brilliant and added a bit of quality to the whole thing. Obviously most of the acting was good to, and the relationship between Fleur and Cass kept me interested. I will probably watch the second episode to see what happens there.
But overall, nothing much grabbed me and I mostly felt that I would be better off watching one of my Torchwood box-sets - that’s fantastic BBC Sci-Fi right there. Because that’s what Outcasts seem to lack - a sense of humour. It’s a shame as the trailer was so good. I will probably continue watching, as it has the potential to be outstanding.
Score: 5.5/10
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