Photo Credit: Diego Uchitel/Syfy)
It is no secret that Syfy is a network that has been struggling in recent years. With declining viewership and once-popular series ending their runs, the network has decided on a back-to-basics approach and returning to what made it so widely popular nearly a decade ago — pure science fiction. With Helix returning for season 2 and the highly-anticipated new series 12 Monkeys premiering next month, we can already see some of this new plan coming to life. However, if the pilot of Ascension is any indication, it could be that Syfy’s ace-in-the-hole may have already arrived.
The premise of the series is a ship that is sent in 1963 on a century-long mission to seed a new space colony on the planet Proxima with a group of men, women and children to insure the survival of the human race. But, when a woman is mysteriously murdered on the ship, everyone begins to seriously question the true nature of their mission.
Photo Credit: Jan Thijs/Syfy
The stars of the series are Brian Van Holt (Cougar Town, The Bridge) as the ship’s captain William Denninger, Tricia Helfer (Battlestar Galactica) as the captain’s very manipulative wife Viondra Denninger, Al Sapienza(The Sopranos, Person of Interest) and Andrea Roth (Rescue Me) as the ship’s head doctor Juliet Bryce. Van Holt and Helfer are joined by Brandon P. Bell as First Officer Aaron Gault, Tiffany Lonsdale as Chief Astronomer Emily Vanderhaus, Jacqueline Byers as her daughter Nora Bryce, P.J. Boudousque as Nora’s love interest James Toback and Ryan Robbins as Safety Officer (and Emily’s husband) Duke Vanderhaus.
One of the common problems with a new series is creating a compelling story, introducing several new characters at the same time, and doing so without making everything feel unnatural and disjointed. Have you ever watched a pilot where so many characters were introduced at once with the vast majority of them feeling forced, almost as if they were added just for the sake of getting the characters out there? Ascension is in no way like this, with every character introduced by the end of the episode and doing so without even the slightest interruption in the flow of the narrative. How were they able to pull that off? They did it with exceptional storytelling. An enormous amount of thought was put into the underlying story line and how each and every character fit into the overall arc. The end result was a pilot that never had a dull moment, never slowed in pace, and one where you knew each and every character by the end of the episode. That’s a lot to do in just an hour and a half, but Ascension managed to pull it off and did so perfectly.
Of course, no review of this show would be complete without mentioning the set and its surroundings. All I can say is when Philip Levens decides to do something, he really does it, no holds barred. Wow. The ship itself is several stories tall, with each level complete with fully-functioning rooms. There is an huge amount attention to detail, with all of the equipment functioning and completely authentic. As you are taken through Ascension through the eyes of the characters, it feels completely real almost as if you are actually there. And why is that? Because it IS real — all of it. Even the portions of the set way off in the distance that we are told are digital, you actually have to look closely at to realize that they are computerized. Again, a big kudos and plaudits to the set designers for an end result that is utterly amazing.
At the end of the day, you have a pilot that really raises the bar for other series. The story is intriguing and compelling, the actors’ performances are superb, and it quickly lays the foundation for what I see as one of the best new series the network has seen in a good, long while. The only remotely negative thing I can think of is that the series is being somewhat marketed as a pure space drama, but that is not entirely true. Granted, those who are fans of legacy series like Star Trek will definitely enjoy this show, but the potential audience spans much more than that. Viewers who enjoy thrillers or who are fans of the suspense genre will absolutely love this series, and I strongly encourage you to give this show a watch. I’m absolutely certain you will be just as hooked as I am by the end of the first episode.
CRITIC RATING: 5.0/5.0 stars
Ascension premieres tonight at 9/8c on Syfy.
You can also check out my full Preview of the pilot, which includes sneak peek videos, photos, as well as an interview with Executive Producer and Showrunner, Philip Levens.
