Intergalactic (2021)

 

It is 2143.  After climate change wracked the Earth and endangered our species, a new government - the "Commonworld" - arose to govern the planet.  The resulting society has strict laws and severe economic disparity, but under its aegis, Earth does appear to be slowly recovering.

Ash Harper is the daughter of a deceased hero, and a dedicated police officer in her own right.  She is also a firm believer in the Commonworld's mission.  Her life is thrown into chaos, however, when she is framed for the theft of aurum (the Commonworld's energy source) and sentenced to life on an off-planet prison.

The other inmates on her ship have no intention of making it to the prison planet, however.  They have a plan to seize control of the vessel and escape to the secret headquarters of the resistance; and they need Ash's skills as a pilot to do it.

Still loyal to the Commonworld, Ash resolves to play along and stay alive long enough to ensure the prisoners' recapture.  But the more time she spends 'on the run', the more she begins to wonder if the Commonworld's idea of justice is fatally flawed ...

Intergalactic is an eight-episode British science fiction show that was clearly intended as the first season of a multi-year story.  It failed to find an audience, however, and was not renewed for a second series.

Honestly, I can see why.  As much as I appreciate the show's emphasis on casting a racially diverse group of women in the major roles, its decision to make the central characters such as an aggressively dysfunctional and adversarial group did make it hard for me to engage with them or care about their fates.  Most of the characters did slowly become more likeable over time, but right to the end of the season the show fails to answer the question "why are any of these people still tolerating Tula?".

Also, despite the admirable overall diversity of the casting, I'm not convinced by their choice for Ash Harper.  I never quite believed Savannah Steyn in the more action-oriented sequences, which is a problem given she's playing someone who is supposedly tough and capable.  Ash's slow burn relationship with one of the other prisoners is more effective and convincing, at least.

Slow burn is perhaps something of an over-used motif in the show, for that matter.  Even at only eight episodes, it feels slower and more meandering than it needs to be.  The plot simply isn't that complex or innovative.  Tightening the show down to six episodes would would probably have done it a considerable favour.

I wanted to like Intergalactic much more than I actually did.