A new BBC scifi series started yesterday, called "Outcasts".

http://www.bbc.co.uk/programmes/b00x8fw4


Next episode is tonight.

Cast includes Jamie Bamber (Apollo from BSG), Hermione Norris (Spooks), Eric Mabius (Ugly Betty).

I wonder if this will be on BBC America eventually? I'd like to check it out and see Lee Adama again.

Might be good. Wish I'd watched Being Human on there from the start. My wife and I started watching the US version (which stars another BSG alum, btw) and it's really good. Has me curious about the original now that's further along.

Watched it, in two minds whether to watch episode 2 tonight. Probably will whilst ironing.
Not slick US style Sci-Fi, but not really gritty British style either, possibility of improvement...
SLIGHT SPOILER ALERT FOR BELOW















Most interesting characters killed by end of 1st episode, don't like remnants.

Yeah. Had some good ideas but felt a little like 'Spooks' in space, which I suppose was unavoidable considering it's by the same writers AFAIK. Like a lot of 'Grown up' Brit Sci-fi shows it was a little bit dull.

Mind you, there was enough in it to make me want to watch tonights episode, which is good because it feels like the only thing I've seen for the last couple of weeks has been 'Boardwalk Empire.'









*********************SPOILER***************************

Killing off Bamber's character in the first episode was strange. He was about the only one who had any real depth to his character. It's odd because he seems to be the one they chose to do all the PR for the show in the press. Hey, who knows, maybe he'll come back some how. Maybe flashbacks, maybe reborn with tentacles!

I'm thinking perhaps they'll tell the story in reverse now, at least with flashbacks.

Not sure how it'll progress or if I'll be interested enough to keep up.

I had the feeling most of the plot could have been dropped straight into other situations!

Cheers

By a "little bit dull" do you mean cerebral and having complex characters? I love shows like that.

Just an FYI, there's a button to put spoiler tags around text. It's the S with a diagonal slash through it. Hides what you want to say, but not everyone notices the button to do it.

woops

No, I mean they tend to be a bit grey and nondescript. It sometimes seems like British Sci-fi television gets embarrassed about being Sci-fi. I mean we have Doctor Who and all of it's spin offs, obviously, and sci-fi comedy like Red Dwarf or Hyperdrive which tackle the genre with glee but we don't seem to ever have any more sober sci-fi which seems comfortable with itself. It's like it frequently tries to be something else.

Far from being complex, the characters in 'Outcast' so far seem fairly one dimensional. More than one of the actors came across as rather wooden. It was only the first episode, though, They will hopefully get better. As for cerebral: well, it would be nice to think so but it didn't really come across as cerebral so much as cold and a bit stilted. This is exactly what I tend to notice about the bulk of British Sci-fi - not that we actually do terribly much of it, which has always seemed strange considering what a role Sci-fi once played in our TV and the truly great Sci-fi writers who have come from Britain.

There were things I liked about it a great deal. It is beautiful, really gorgeous - especially in HD. The shots of the colony ship in orbit were breathtaking, and there were a number of little touches that were great like the White outs caused by the arrangement of the planet's moons.

Having said all that, my favourite Sci-fi show just now is Misfits which is about superheroes. well, superidiots is probably closer to the truth. I'm quite taken with the one of characters whose super power was telekinetic control over dairy products. It reminds me very much of a strip in 2000AD back in the 80's called Zenith, (I think,) where the superheroes were portrayed as whiny, selfish egotists more concerned about getting sponsorship deals than saving humanity.

I think Outcasts will get better, and I think there is probably a great story being hinted at in the first episode. We shall see what tonight brings.