Here in the United States we do have an attitude that lacks a certain quality of humility especially when it comes to our films and television series. We proudly boast of our originality but the fact is many of the ideas that serve as a basis for these shows actually began in Britain. This trend is prevalent but fortunately the material in the United Kingdom still continues to lead the way in quality and thanks to the fantastic proliferation of media distribution we no longer have to wait for the watered down American versions it is now easy to view shows from the BBC than ever. One thing that did occur in American TV in advance of English telly is the widespread use of high definition. It’s only been a couple of years that they have been making the transition; one fortuitous side effect of the budgetary commitment necessitated a change in format that turned out to be a truly positive element in television programming. It started with the BBC’s world renowned science fiction series like ‘Doctor Who’ and its more adult oriented spin off, ‘Torchwood’. The special effects were cost prohibited for a full season so the network substituted mini-series ranging from six to eight hours in length. While it was started as a finically sound production method it produced some of the best material those series have seen. The reason comes down to not only greater efficiency in production but more importantly the story. The shorter time on air meant the writers had to get to the point with the story and speed up character development. Of course, the British teleplays have the tendency to be of superior quality anyway. These mini-series tend come across like a finely honed novel instead of trying too hard to fill 23 to 22 episodes. They are also self contained so if there are renewed the fans rejoice otherwise they still get the entire story, start to finish, this avoids the all too common pull the fans in, set up a cliff hanger and kill the show. One example of a new show like this is yet another jewel in the treasure trove of BBC science fiction, ‘Outcasts’. It takes some extremely familiar themes and archetypes remixing them into a series that is imaginative and fresh.

I admit I had a certain amount of trepidation when I initially heard the premise for ‘Outcasts’ but was willing to put aside much of my reservations in consideration for my prior successive experience with British Sci-Fi. Yes, this is another post apocalyptic colonial planet story not unlike the cancelled before its time American series ‘Earth-2’ or any of a dozen flicks along similar lines. The main difference noticeable from the start is the undeniable English sensibility basing the story on the interaction of the characters. While the circumstances provide the stage it is the impeccable writing and expertly controlled acting. The year is 2060 and the planet that has cradled us since throughout history has been ravaged by man’s greatest folly, the exchange of nuclear weapons. This has left the Earth a dying rock spinning in space force the remnant of mankind were forced to look to the blackness out the galaxy for salvation. The salvation came in the form of the planet Carpathia, planet five distant from Earth. It is what the scientist refers to as a ‘Goldilocks planet’, hot too hot, not too cold, just right; planets in the narrow habitable zone that can realistically support human life. Most of the transplanted people live in or around the settlement of Forthaven, established ten years before the time depicted in the series. The people of Carpathia have little contact with the mother planet hearing little news from any subsequent ship that survives the arduous transverse of the tumultuous atmosphere. The action is provided by focusing of the president of the settlers, Richard Tate (Liam Cunningham) and the central members of the PAS, the Protection and Security Team and the intrepid group, the XP’s (Expeditionaries) who venture outside the relative safety of the outpost to explore the new planet on foot searching for resources. What is likely to be the final evacuee ship arrives bringing a new group of settlers.

Having a group new to the situation is a tried and true method to provide the required exposition in a more compelling fashion. The newbies allow the writers to give the audience someone to readily identify with while giving a rationale reason for asking pertinent questions and listening to explanations provided by more seasoned characters. The series concentrates on conflict generated by interpersonal relationships instead of that which is derived from taming an unknown terrain. There are elements of some classic westerns were the story may take place in the frontier but the emotional core is the school marm and the marshal. The special effects are exceptionally well done but refrain from being too flashy. For example much of the clothing is contemporary rather than futuristic. This would be expected since after all this is a frontier world not a fashion forward city. There is also a well played plot device of the caste society. Besides the humans the settlement is home to AC’s, Advanced Cultivars. They are artificially engineered humans designed to operate in extremely harsh environments. They were blamed as the source of a devastating plague the nearly destroyed the settlement by killing the children. This provides a social dynamic that generates excellent tension and provides just the right touch of social commentary. It also nicely moves the stories to more adult faire without needing to overly consider the influence of children in the mix. The pacing is expertly distributed through the episodes building slower than normal but demonstrating a well appreciated economy. This series would have been over played here in American but as it is the nuances infused here are something quite enjoyable.