The Last Voyage of the Demeter: from the Captain’s Log

People forget Bram Stoker’s Dracula is an epistolary novel, probably because most film versions cannot replicate its use of letters and journals to tell its classic tale. One of the scariest sections of the book was the “Captain’s Log” of the Demeter, the ship contracted to transport Dracula’s coffins to London. Focusing on those often glossed-over passages is good idea for a fresh take on the legendary vampire, but the results are somewhat mixed in Andre Øvredal’s The Last Voyage of the Demeter, which opens nationwide tomorrow.

Obviously, this voyage will end badly, especially for Captain Elliot. It is too bad, since he just announced his retirement. Their journey starts promisingly, except for the local Bulgarian seamen, who freaks out at the sight of their Dragon-stenciled cargo. He will be replaced by Clemens, a trained doctor eager to return home after knocking around the Balkans.

Clemens gets on famously with the Captain’s grandson Toby (whose life he saved) and mostly passably with the rest of the crew. However, tensions start to rise when their livestock is mysteriously slaughtered. Clemens comes into more direct conflict with cruder, more superstitious crew members, when he insists on nursing an emaciated stowaway back to health, after they discover her buried half-dead in their strange dirt-filled crates. Obviously, she was supposed to be food for the vampire now hunting the Demeter crew.

The Dracula of Øvredal’s Demeter deliberately resembles Max Schreck in Murnau’s Nosferatu, which is a shrewd aesthetic choice for a film partially conceived as Alien on a 19^th Century sailing ship. The vampire makeup applied to Javier Botet is appropriately monstrous and creepy. A distinguished looking gent in a cape just wouldn’t work in this context.

Frankly, the best part of Demeter is the gothic look of its period production. The design team (including production designer Edward Thomas and art director Marc Bitz) create a richly detailed shipboard environment, showing us all the narrow passageways and rat-infested chambers of the Demeter. The ship is cool, in a dank, uninviting kind of way.

Unfortunately, screenwriters Bragi F. Schut and Zak Olkewitz depart from established lore in distractingly annoying ways. No longer does the sight of the cross hold any power over Dracula. This does indeed seem to reflect an ugly anti-Christian bias, considering Joseph the abrasively Catholic Filipino cook, is the first rat to abandon the ship—and the audience is not expected to feel sympathy for him, when he gets his gory comeuppance.

The Vault: Balaguero Goes from Horror to Capers

The Bank of Spain’s celebrated subterranean flooding vault has a reputation for impenetrability, but it has been breached twice by the Spanish entertainment industry. The first time came during the second season of Netflix’s Money Heist. This English-language co-production is the second. Shrewdly, the team of “salvagers” plans to use Spain’s 2010 World Cup run as a distraction (most Spaniards would gladly trade national treasure for a Cup), but surviving the flooding waters will still be quite a trick in Jaume Balaguero’s The Vault, which releases tomorrow in theaters and on-demand.

Walter Moreland went to great trouble and expense to “salvage” one of Sir Francis Drake old shipwrecks, but the Spanish authorities swoop in at the last minute to confiscate his booty. Drake plundered it from Spain and his ship sank in Spain’s waters, but the old scoundrel believes his sweat equity gives him a morally superior claim. The good news is they do not fully understand what they have yet. The bad news is the stashed it in the Bank of Spain’s underground vault.

For his crew, Moreland recruits his chameleon-like god-daughter, a former British special forces SCUBA daredevil, a local scrounger, and your all-purpose hacker, but he needs Thom Laybrick’s brain to solve his big technical problems, both the expected and the unforeseen. Fortunately, the genius university student needs a challenge to stave off boredom. He is also clearly interested in Lorraine, the master-of-disguise pickpocket.

Balaguero is best known for horror films like the [REC] franchise and Sleep Tight, so it maybe figures that Vault gets considerably darker than the typical caper movie. There comes a point when things look ultra-grim for salvage team, but that helps distinguish it from the pack. The heist itself is also pretty impressive and the bank’s vault and subbasements look unusually big and cinematic.

Tribeca ’19: The Hot Zone

Maybe there’s something in the air. Thanks to zombies, viral outbreak movies never went away, but straight-forward pandemic productions appear to be seriously flaring up again. There were several doomsday virus projects at the 2019 Tribeca Film Festival, but by far, the most eagerly anticipated was the premiere of Nat Geo’s The Hot Zone, which screened the first two episodes of the limited series at this year’s festival.

For years, producer Lynda Obst has tried to bring Richard Preston’s reads-like-a-novel nonfiction book to the big screen, but after long periods of dormancy, it finally took hold at National Geographic TV. It is still rather distressing to think a mysterious strain of ebolavirus broke out in Reston, Virginia a mere thirty years ago. Of course, I’m sure we’re totally more prepared for something like this now, aren’t you?

In fact, there were a few people who were pretty well prepared for this in 1989. Lt. Col. Nancy Jaax was one of them. The veterinary pathologist was comfortable working in Fort Detrick’s ultra-secure bio-lab, but a freak (but non-lethal) mishap will throw her off her stride during the early hours of the outbreak. Jaax was probably Fort Detrick’s leading expert on all things Ebola and Marburg related, but her semi-disgraced mentor, Wade Carter, had more real world experience responding to viral outbreaks than any of else on staff. Unfortunately, his wild man prophecies of doom led to his ouster (for the sake of morale and decorum).

Jaax’s commanding officer is not happy about it, but he agrees to bring Carter back temporarily, due to the gravity of the situation. Meanwhile, Jaax’s arrogant and recklessly irresponsible civilian colleague realizes he might have exposed himself and another researcher to ebola, but he does not immediately come clean. (Is it unfair to point out he spends most of the first episode wearing a Dukakis-Bentsen t-shirt?) Regardless, if someone in an infectious disease lab asks you to smell something, just say no.

There were some interesting points raised at Tribeca’s post-screening discussion panel (featuring Preston, Obst, and co-stars Julianna Margulies and Noah Emmerich and showrunners Kelly Souders and Brian Peterson), but most of the audience probably would have preferred to watch more episodes. The first two (out of six) are highly bingeable. The science and the stakes involved are presented in a clear and understandable manner. Considerable time is devoted in the first episode to the detailed safety measures required to enter the “Hot Zone” lab, but it completely riveting rather than tedious.

Margulies and Emmerich also have quite the compelling on-screen rapport together as the Jaax and her husband, Dr. Jerry Jaax, an Army veterinarian also assigned to Fort Detrick. They are totally convincing as a couple with years of history together that are also keenly aware of the risks of her particular specialty. They also sound credible talking science. Naturally, the great Liam Cunningham steals plenty of scenes as crusty old Carter, who plays him like the kind of jaundiced but decisive maverick you would want to have on the ground during a crisis. The consistently strong ensemble includes Robert Sean Leonard as the slimy director of the infected primate lad and Topher Grace as Jaax’s arrogant and contemptibly contemptuous civilian foil.

Based on the Tribeca panel, it seems like Preston and the scientific community are behind the mini-series, which definitely good to know, but more importantly it is quality television. It is also pretty scary. While imperfect (there are some clumsily didactic attempts to draw parallels with the early days of AIDS public health challenge), it is definitely addictive. In fact, the TV track accounted for some of the best programming at this year’s Tribeca, thanks to the premieres of The Hot Zone, Chernobyl, and I Want My MTV. Highly recommended based on the first two episodes (out of six), The Hot Zone airs May 27^th, 28^th and 29^th, on Nat Geo.

24 Hours to Live: Ethan Hawke Gets an Extension

Travis Conrad is a bit like Edmond O’Brien in D.O.A., except he knows exactly who killed him and why. Frankly, he would be the first to admit he had it coming, so when his shadowy employers give him a brief extension, he will ironically spend it protecting the Interpol agent who shot him dead. Redemption better not dally in Brian Smrz’s 24 Hours to Live (trailer here), which is now playing in New York.

Even though he still grieves for his wife and little boy, Conrad agrees to come back and do one last assignment for the Red Mountain merc agency. They are offering two million very good reasons. The job is to rub out a former operative turning state’s evidence in South Africa, but Lin Bisset, his Hong Kong-based Interpol handler has proved unusually resourceful thus far. Conrad tries to get to the target through Bisset, but he just cannot stomach killing the single mother, so she does him instead.

However, mean old Wetzler at Red Mountain secretly funded a project to bring back the recently deceased for twenty-four hours. The plan was to revive Conrad, extract the safe house location, and then put him down again, but the groggy assassin goes rogue before they can get to the third step. Rather disappointed in his colleagues, Conrad decides to protect the understandably distrustful Bisset and her witness, as a means of getting a little payback for the crummy things Red Mountain did to him.

So yes, Ethan Hawke sort of plays a zombie as Conrad, the dead man walking. Be that as it may, Smrz downplays any possible science fiction or horror angles, doubling down on action instead. Indeed, this definitely looks like a film helmed by a longtime stunt-performer, which it is. There is no nauseating shaky-cam to endure. His fight scenes and shoot-outs are crisply and clearly executed.

Hawke is decently hardboiled, but Xu Qing (a.k.a. Summer Qing) really emerges as the action star. As Bisset, she demonstrates impressive dramatic and action chops. We really pull for her rather than Conrad. Usually Liam Cunningham makes a reliably flamboyantly villain, but he sacks off a bit as Wetzler. On the other hand, Paul Anderson really makes things interesting playing the morally conflicted Jim Morrow, Conrad’s supposed friend and former supervisor. Rutger Hauer is mostly misused and under-employed as Conrad’s genial father-in-law, but at least he has a nice Hobo-with-a-shotgun moment.

Believe it or not, 24HTL is way better than you think it is. Granted, this is probably much more of a VOD release than a theatrical happening, but as a working-class action film, it has its merits. Smrz definitely knows what he is doing, while Xu and Anderson elevate the whole show. Recommended for action fans, 24 Hours to Live is now playing in New York, at the Village East.

The Numbers Station: CIA Bingo

Forget about the jocks, the CIA prefers to recruit math geniuses.  If they happen to be drop-outs with socialization issues, so much the better.  Of course, they still need people who can kill, but any old losers can do that, even someone who looks like John Cusack.  Unexpectedly, one such field agent babysitting a remote code transmitter will have to do what he does best in Kasper Barfoed’s The Numbers Station (trailer here), which opens tomorrow in New York.

Short wave radio is untraceable, making it the perfect format to convey messages to operatives in the field.  Periodically, conspiracy nuts and Democracy Now listeners get all worked up about mysterious “Number Station” broadcasts.  Typically, they are simply series of numbers that have no meaning to listeners without the code.  After a dirty job gets downright ugly, Emerson Kent is reassigned to a station somewhere in the English countryside.  He provides personal security to Katherine, who analyzes incoming code and reads out the resulting number sequences.  Neither he nor she has any idea what any of it means.

Typically, they alternate with the other team every three days.  However, when they arrive a few hours early in accordance with their new schedule, they find the station under siege.  Thanks to Kent’s skills they are able to hole-up in the station.  Ominously though, they discover fifteen unauthorized messages have been sent.

A film like Numbers Station would do so much more business if it actually celebrated CIA agents’ service and sacrifice for their country.  There are now 103 stars on the Memorial Wall in Langley commemorating officers who have fallen in the line of duty.  However, screenwriter F. Scott Frazier is unmoved by that, preferring to represent as the Agency in the person of Kent’s boss, the ruthless Michael Grey, who constantly growls euphemistically about tying up loose ends.  Those 103 stars deserve better than that Mr. Frazier.

It is a shame too, because Numbers Station is a pretty tightly executed cat-and-mouse-game thriller.  Barfoeld uses the claustrophobic constraints of the station bunker to build tension, shying away from conventional action sequences.  Both couples’ developing extracurricular attractions also ring true, given the intimacy of their working environment.

Frankly, John Cusack is pretty convincing as the guilt-ridden, clinically depressed black ops agent.  Perhaps Barfoed was reading a list of his recent direct-to-DVD credits to him off-camera.  Likewise, Malin Akerman proves she can credibly play smart and attractive simultaneously, which should put her on a short list for bigger and better roles.  Unfortunately, the usually super-cool Liam Cunningham is largely wasted as the generically villainous Grey.

Numbers Station features some better than average chemistry and respectable thriller mechanics.  However, the constant demonization of the intelligence service is clumsy, didactic, and clichéd. Frankly, it is so familiar it makes a film with a few new ideas still feel old hat.  The victim of its own self-sabotage, The Numbers Station opens tomorrow (4/26) in New York at the AMC Empire.

Tribeca ’12: Pitch Black Heist (short)

Michael Fassbender is fully clothed, while Liam Cunningham is really drunk.  Together, they are a mismatched pair of crooks hired to pull off a very dark caper in John Maclean’s Pitch Black Heist (trailer here), the winner of the 2012 BAFTA Award for best short film, which screens today as part of the Status Update programming block at the 2012 Tribeca Film Festival.

Known simply as Michael and Liam, two safecrackers are meeting each other for the first time on a very unusual job.  They are two retrieve some item (it hardly matters what) from a safe with a light-sensitive alarm.  To prepare, they practice navigating a dummied-up room in complete darkness.  On the day in question, they meet in a quiet pub and wait for their employer to send them the all-clear.  However, they find themselves cooling their heels far longer than they expected, so they start doing what you’re supposed to do in a pub, lest they attract attention.

Pitch has a nice little twist at the end that Maclean adroitly lays the ground work for, without glaringly telegraphing it.  Frankly, this concept could be relatively easily expanded into a feature, which makes the economy of Maclean’s thirteen minute storytelling all the more noteworthy.  Still, the real entertainment is watching the boozy interaction between co-executive producers Fassbender and Cunningham.  Both actors have genuinely intense screen presences, perfectly suited to their roles in Pitch.

It all looks quite stylish as well, thanks to Robbie Ryan’s appropriately noir black-and-white cinematography.  A neat little ironic crime drama, Pitch Black Heist is one of the overlooked treats of the Tribeca line-up.  As per tradition, all short film blocks screen today (4/29), the concluding day of this year’s festival.

Black Butterflies: Madness and Apartheid

Ingrid Jonker was on the right side of history. Unfortunately, she was nearly impossible to live with. Often dubbed the “South African Sylvia Plath,” her Afrikaans verse passionately condemned Apartheid, but her inner demons would eventually prove fatal. Though undeniably a symbol of white South African dissent, Jonker’s deep emotional turmoil trumps the social strife of her times in Paula van der Oest’s bio-drama, Black Butterflies (trailer here), which opens tomorrow in New York.

Jonker and her father were never close, nor did they ever agree on much. It was only after the death of her guardian grandmother that Jonker met the father whom her late mother had walked away from just before her birth. While even as a child she exhibited precocious poetic talent, Abraham Jonker served as a hardline state censor. Clearly, conflict between them would be inevitable.

Conversely, the novelist Jack Cope would look like an excellent match for Jonker, at least on paper. Both were liberal Afrikaans writers with children who were in the process of divorcing their spouses. They certainly meet under fortuitous circumstances, when Cope saves her from drowning. Indeed, they quickly become an item, but it is not long before Jonker’s erratic behavior undermines their relationship. Needy does not begin to describe her, nor does faithfulness.

While Cope adamantly ends their affair, he stops short of cutting ties altogether. In fact, it is the novelist and a mutual literary friend who package Jonker’s breakthrough collection while she is institutionalized. Through their efforts, her poem “The Dead Child of Nyanga” (which Mandela would read at his inauguration) would be published and duly censored (by her father).

Rather than revisiting Apartheid era non-controversies yet again, Butterflies is much more a portrait of the artist as profoundly disturbed woman. Yet, this is actually quite a legitimate biographical-cinematic strategy. While the film provides plenty of reminders of Apartheid’s unjust nature, its depiction of Jonker’s mental illness is often quite harrowing and more visceral. It is also arguably far more relevant for contemporary audiences.

Carice van Houten gives a truly brave performance, portraying a cultural icon coming apart at the emotional seams. Frequently self-destructive and often unsympathetic, it hardly constitutes hagiography, but it is true to her troubled life. However, the real lynchpin of the film is Liam Cunningham’s rock solid turn as Cope, making him a fully-dimensional flesh-and-blood human being. Though we can anticipate the tragedy that will result, we can never blame him for ending his involvement with Jonker. Frankly, it is hard to see any what else he could have done under the circumstances. While Cope benefits from Cunningham’s nuance, Rutger Hauer plays Abraham Jonker as a stone cold villain, but in his defense, this seems to essentially match the historical record.

Despite its serious subject matter, Butterflies never feels preachy, thanks to van der Oest’s intimate focus. Though certainly celebrating her artistic integrity, her film never whitewashes the tragic nature of her life. Several cuts above standard bio-pic fare, Buterflies is definitely worth seeing when it opens tomorrow (3/2) at the Cinema Village.

Blackest Ops: Strike Back

As far as Section 20 is concerned, the only good terrorist is a terrorist getting renditioned to within an inch of their lives. Well, God bless them for that. As a result, disgraced former U.S. Delta Force soldier Damien Scott finds he fits in rather well in the double-secret British counter-terrorism unit in Strike Back (promo here), which has its series debut on Cinemax this Friday.

Like 24 in its Surnow heyday, viewers should not get too attached to reoccurring characters, including John Porter (a lead protagonist from Strike Back’s pre-Cinemax first season on British Sky TV). Captured while investigating a large scale operation code-named Project Dawn, Porter has been captured by terrorists loyal to the Islamist mastermind, “Latif.” Aside from Porter, only his former American counterpart from the early days of Iraq can identify the mysterious Latif. That of course would be Scott, whom Section 20’s Sgt. Stonebridge finds drinking, whoring, and pit-fighting his way through a Southeast Asia redlight district.

Naturally, there is major friction between the Yank and the Brit, but they are all business when the bullets start flying. If the first four installments are representative of the entire season, Strike Back’s wider overarching storyline will be advanced by a succession of two episode mini-arcs. On the micro-level, the show is a breath of fresh air, featuring terrorists who are not simply misguided, but horrifically evil. For instance, Scott spends the balance of episode two protecting an innocent young girl from Islamic terrorists (who are explicitly identified as such), only taking occasional breaks to bed the beautiful women of the hotel taken hostage by the terrorist thugs. Seriously, that’s an apt description.

However, on the macro level, Strike Back’s shadowy meta-conspiracy threatens to be a real buzz kill. Supposedly, Scott was unceremoniously mustered out of service because he caught wind of a plan to plant the WMD stockpiles that would “justify” Operation Iraqi Freedom. Those infamous weapons are now at loose ends, doggedly pursued by Latif for his nefarious purposes. This sort of potential demonization of the American military and intelligence services is exactly what we do not need any more of on television.

It would be a shame if Strike Back’s macro themes continue in this direction, because they could spoil some genuinely rip-rousing television entertainment. As Scott, Sullivan Stapleton is an undeniably likable and engaging hard-nosed bad-attitude protagonist. Though the relatively by-the-book Stonebridge is probably not as fun to play, Philip Winchester displays plenty of square jawed action cred. There are also plenty of James Bond worthy women, like the gorgeous Karen David (sort of geek-famous for Scorpion King 2) as the barmaid Scott protects when the terrorists break up their hook-up. Likewise, the villains are truly villainous, such as the workaholic Liam Cunningham, chewing the scenery with relish as IRA enforcer turned mercenary Daniel Connolly.

At least in episodes one through four, the Indian and South African settings are quite cinematic, while the stunt work and effects are all first class. Scott and Stonebridge deliver quite a bit of vicarious satisfaction, administering on the spot justice to Islamist fanatics and their craven accomplices that should be well worth returning for throughout the show’s run. Yet, if it loses sight of who the real bad guys are, sliding into the sort of moral equivalency frequently peddled by Hollywood, it will alienate its core viewership, while those sharing such a hostile view of American and British military and intelligence personnel will be put off by the Jack Bauer tactics gleefully indulged in throughout each episode.

Strike Back could be flat-out awesome, so let’s hope it minimizes the clichéd conspiracy themes and plays to its strengths. This week, the totally entertaining first episode is definitely recommended when it debuts this Friday (8/12) on Cinemax.

Brendan Gleeson is the Guard

Sergeant Gerry Boyle is too corrupt to be corrupted. The Archie Bunker of the Irish Garda (with a dash of Hunter S. Thompson), his flaws are manifest, but misunderestimate him at your own peril in writer-director John Michael McDonagh’s The Guard (trailer here), which opens this Friday in New York.

When Boyle and his new partner discover a dead body connected to a trio of rogue drug traffickers, the curmudgeonly copper takes it in stride. He is certainly not about to cancel his regularly scheduled assignation with two up-scale call girls imported from Dublin. However, when Boyle’s partner turns up missing, he starts to take matters more seriously.

In contrast, the FBI is quite concerned about the ruthless (but eccentric) gang, dispatching Special Agent Wendell Everett to take charge of the case. Needless to say, the straight-laced agency man clashes with the decidedly unimpressed Boyle. Unfortunately for Everett, Boyle is not only the smartest cop on the force, he is also the only one not on the take.

McDonagh’s razor-sharp dialogue is a joy to hear, particularly coming from Brendan Gleeson as the jowly and jaundiced Boyle. Gleefully subverting the jolly Irish cop stereotype, his Boyle comfortably occupies the hazy border between hero and anti-hero. Likewise, Don Cheadle is appropriately intense, but still cool, as the strictly business Everett. Their standoffish relationship and pointed banter is well beyond the stuff of standard buddy-cop fare.

Completing the package, Guard also boasts a full battery of colorfully distinctive villains. Liam Cunningham, recognizable as the commanding Pres. Richard Tate in BBC America’s Outcasts, chews the scenery with relish as Francis Sheehy-Skeffington, a homicidal self-styled gentleman of literary refinement. Though much more understated, Mark Strong’s turn as Clive Cornell, the gangster cynically disaffected with illicit drug trade and the crooked cops who abet it, gives the film a real cutting edge.

Cleverly written from start to finish, The Guard is the most quotable film in years, right up there with the original Fletch. Boyle may very well be a character Gleeson was born to play. In fact, he more-or-less reprises the role in Noreen a very funny short written and directed by his son, Domhnall Gleeson, that also screened at Tribeca this year. Indeed, his richly comedic work as Boyle ought to make him a household name in America as audiences see and recommend The Guard. It’s that good. Thoroughly entertaining, it opens this Friday (7/29) in New York at the Angelika Film Center.

Brit SF: Outcasts

Life on Earth has become untenable. It is not so much environmental conditions, per se, but man’s own inhumanity towards man that is destroying the planet. With drug cartels taking over Europe and Chinese militarism running unchecked, war is the only terrestrial constant. As a result, many have evacuated in giant space arks. Those lucky enough will find refuge on the planet Carpathia (named for the ship that stopped to rescue Titanic survivors). However, the colonists of Forthaven will find their new home is not exactly an Eden in Outcasts (promo here), a new eight-episode science fiction series premiering on BBC America this Saturday.

Though still a relatively young community, Forthaven already has a tragic history. During their early years, a mystery disease called C-23 nearly wiped out all their children. The steps President Richard Tate took to deal with the disease will haunt the geneticist turned political leader in future episodes. With post-C-23 birthrates perilously low, the arrival of a new ship from Earth is understandably big news. Forthaven needs to replenish its future generation. Bringing down the transport safely is Tate’s highest priority, but a domestic incident will have macro implication for the colony.

Viewers quickly learn Carpathia’s dirty laundry. Tate had initiated and then canceled an ambitious genetic engineering program to create cloned humans, or “Advanced Cultivars” (AC’s). Presumed dead, those AC’s now live a nomadic existence outside Forthaven, which they most definitely hold a grudge against.

After a strong start, episodes three and four get somewhat bogged down with the dour ethical implications of the AC program. Fortunately, Outcasts rebounds thereafter (no sense crying over spliced genes), as the nefarious Julius Berger, a prominent survivor of the transport ship, plots a coup d’état against Tate. Series creator Ben Richards establishes a suitable environment for intrigue, with the PAS officers (the cops in charge of internal security) remaining loyal to Tate, while the XP’s (the military Expenditionaries) are inclined to side with Berger. As if Tate did not have enough to worry about, he also learns in dramatic fashion there is a reason the Carpathia’s indigenous hominid life forms died out eons ago. As they say in science fiction, they are not alone.

Richard Tate is a great sci-fi character and the key reason why Outsiders works so well. Initially, he appears to be a commanding humanitarian in the Jean-Luc Picard vein. Yet, Tate is a darker, more complicated figure. Profoundly touched by tragedy, he is still able to make hard decisions and sleep relatively well at night. Character actor Liam Cunningham has the perfect hard-nosed gravitas for the part, as well as the sonorous voice that plays so prominent a role in episode one.

In a bit of a misfire, Hermoine Norris plays PAS chief Stella Isen, Tate’s closest ally, with frosty reserve, much like her character Carol Jordan in Wire in the Blood. That worked much better playing off the manic squirreliness of Dr. Tony Hill than the steely resolve of Tate. Conversely, Amy Manson and Daniel Mays are rather engaging as Fleur Morgan and Cass Cromwell, respectively, our primary POV PAS agents, who harbor a Tracey & Hepburn attraction to each other, but are also burdened with secret pasts.

Though the effects of Outcasts are imminently presentable, the series is more concerned with social speculation and character development. Sadly, it appears that the first eight episodes are all we are getting, at least for the time being. While the conclusion offers a measure of satisfaction, it provides little closure, leaving Forthaven poised on the brink of a multi-front war for survival. Indeed, one could easily envision the story continuing in a hard-driving action film. It is worth hoping for. Indeed, Outcasts is one of the better conceived and executed science fiction series featuring a genuinely compelling lead protagonist. It is recommended for all sf fans and Anglophiles when it debuts this Saturday (6/18) on BBC America.