Virtuality

TV episode review
US airdate: 26 June 2009 (Fox)

The Phaeton is the first ever interstellar space mission, financed by a reality TV streamed live from the ship. The crew are under incredible pressure and virtual reality modules are their only escape. Until they begin to see the same man appearing in each sim, becoming progressively more violent…

Created by Ron Moore of Battlestar Galactica, Virtuality was originally intended to be a series and now appears to have been largely written off. If so, it’s a crying shame as this is some of the most interesting and chilling science fiction produced so far this decade.

The large crew are all well drawn, in particular Nikolaj Coster-Waldau’s Commander Pike and Ritchie Coster as his bitter second in command, Jimmy Johnson, and their interactions almost feel as real, as nuanced as the crew in Firefly. These are normal, flawed people in a situation which is far more dangerous and unstable than they realize and the end result crackles with tension and implication.

This is where the script really flies, hinting at a bigger picture and climaxing in a final scene that’s as chilling as it is hopeful. Backed up by great special effects, this is fascinating TV. Highly recommended. Alasdair Stuart