Missions

A great serial which keeps one hooked from one short episode to another. A great change from the US derivative-seen-it -all-before-adventure-of-the-week-drivel.

Just watched series 1 and what a pleasant surprise this show is. The actual running time of each episode is quite short. The story is interesting and the characters, especially the lead, are on the whole well acted and likeable. Well worth a Binge.

This French Sci-fi drama follows the first manned mission to Mars; as they arrive in orbit they learn that they were overtaken by a mission sent by an American concern. However contact with that crew is lost so our protagonists are ordered to investigate. They find what appears to be a survivor; he wasn't one of the American crew though... he appears to be Vladimir Komarov, a Cosmonaut who died re-entering Earth's atmosphere in 1967! Over the course of the series the crew, in particular Jeanne Renoir the ship's psychologist, try to find out who or what Komarov really is. They are also concerned about how they will ultimately leave the red planet.

If you want lots of action in your sci-fi this might not be for you but if you want intelligent and intriguing science fiction then this should keep you gripped. There may not be action but there is plenty of tension when various things go wrong. Things turn interesting when Komarov is found; there is a real sense of mystery about whether it is really Komarov or something else altogether. I liked how they incorporated the very real story of the first death in space into the plot. There are some weaknesses of course; particularly when a rather aggressive second US team arrives. The cast do a solid job; with Hélène Viviès standing out as Jeanne. The ending does leave things open for a second season; I'd certainly watch if one is made. Overall I'd certainly recommend this series to fans of the genre.

These comments are based on watching the series in French with English subtitles.

Missions 1-2-3 I don't know if the writers had physicists as advisers but some of the aspects of quantum physics concerned the particles and parallel worlds are imagined in a magic narration. Some scenes could be found in Star Trek's multiple episodes concerning space-time on one hand and quantum physics currently proposed theories, on the other hand without any coherence all along with the episodes. Technically well done, well played, brilliant actors... All these to say what? Human beings are genetically unadaptable to live in a transcendental space civilisation. At the end of the last episode (3rd series), the action taken proves that we are not able to think about others, other living beings... I enjoyed watching the 3 series and hope for the 4th next year! Who knows?

What irritates me about these films about missions to Mars is that they always arrive with a single module without having had any preparation, plan B, etc. Before going on a distant and risky mission like this, any minimally intelligent person would first send a ship to land and install a shelter and they would then send a mother ship with at least two landing modules. It's the minimum level of security, but all screenwriters fall into this trap, the same as FOR ALL MANKIND, MISSION TO MARS, etc.

This already discredits the entire story. I'm a Navy pilot and any soldier would not approve such a risky mission unless there was a war.