Some good, a lot of bad... [Spoilers ahoy!]
The good included:
- The acting. In general, it was a well-acted show, despite the lacklustre material, and a few scenes had real gravitas.
- The set design and effects. The ship looked great, as did all the digital hocus-pocus conjured up on the holographic screens. Real money was spent here and it showed.
- The backstories. There was too much time given to Shun's unlikely yakuza roots, and Katy's Irish hokum was underdeveloped, but Logan's, Henri's, Rey's, Baum's and Lana's backstories were interesting, well realised and added to their characters' predicaments and actions. It was a Lost-y device, but it was warranted and it generally worked.
The bad included:
- The alien concept. It was pretty cliched and predictable. An evil parasitical presence takes people over, and the other characters have to develop a way to detect it, as in the 80s version of The Thing. In the last episode, we start to see things from the alien's point of view, and realise that it wasn't necessarily the emotionless bloodsucking beast that we might have thought. It's a shame that this perspective didn't come sooner, as it would have made for a much more complex show.
- The physics and engineering. The Origin has rotational gravity on the rims of its ten rotating rings, but we're shown that gravity is actually everywhere, even along the neutral axis (with the 'shuttle'), and it's 1 g everywhere. When the asteroid breaks away from unit/cell(?) 50, the amount of wind is absurd for a pressure differential of 1 atmosphere. The drama is amped up to maximum and it rings false. I could write an essay about how many of the problems encountered by the characters would easily have been solved by standard and obvious engineering practices, but I'll hold my tongue for now.
- Logical inconsistencies. If the alien infestation kills memories, why not simply test each person on what had transpired since they woke up? Why not use their suitcase of belongings for the same purpose? Why did Lana not exit the hole in the hull and make her way along the ring before it broke off? Why didn't Shun at least attempt to break the glass/plastic to get Lana out of the damned section? And finally, and most importantly, why did SIREN want to populate its new planet with criminals and screw-ups - a planet that it knew was under threat from killer aliens? What more unsuitable people could there be to start a new civilisation?
- Rey's engineering knowledge. She knew nothing at all. This is a cheap shot I know, but she was ****ing hopeless. She knew nothing about the ship's layout, its operation, the control systems or anything else. Other than being an attractive French lady, I'm not sure what she added to the show.
- Katy and Logan's relationship. We learn later that she was damaged goods, but why she fell for the untrustworthy, flighty and selfish Logan so early on made no sense. Despite being a murderer, she was still a sensitive soul looking for reassurance. Logan had nothing to offer.
Despite all of the above, I enjoyed this show. It was kind of rubbish, but there's not much high-budget sci-fi out there, so it was sometimes pleasurable to watch. The women (and men I suppose) are generally hot and there's a real sense of danger at times, even if it is undermined by the bollocks. Recommended for anyone looking for an idiotic, picturesque, well-produced piece of escapism.