TV Review - Virtuality - Pilot
The Creators of Battlestar Galactica Venture Back Into Space
Jun 28, 2009
The Battlestar Galactica redux took a slow ride to legendary status in its four seasons on the Sci-Fi Channel, ending this past March with a controversial finale that soured some on the series. But no one can deny that when the show was firing on all cylinders it was top-notch entertainment. Its smart action, dialogue, and exceptional focus on character garnered it widespread praise as one of the best dramas on television, much less one of the best sci-fi dramas.
On June 26th, BSG creators Ron Moore and Michael Taylor returned to the stars with their new pilot-turned-tv-movie-that-may-still-be-a-pilot, Virtuality.
Synopsis of Ron Moore's Virtuality
The show seems to take place about 50-100 years in Earth's future. A 12-person crew pilots the Starship Phaeton on what was supposed to be a knowledge-gathering mission to a distant star, as well as the first opportunity to test a brand new propulsion system. But a few weeks after launching they are contacted with news that scientists have predicted an environmental doomsday scenario for Earth, and the Phaeton's mission is now a much more important last-ditch colonization assessment of that same star. We meet the crew as the captain, Frank Pike, is on the verge of making the all-important decision to proceed past the point of no return and begin their 10-year journey to reach the star, or to head back to Earth.
The Phaeton is privately owned by a corporation, and perhaps in order to make full use of their investment, they have installed as part of the crew a reality show host and producer documenting daily life on board, broadcasting episodes back to Earth on the fly. The producer also happens to be the ship's therapist, which seems to have struck no one as a conflict of interest.
The role of virtual reality on Virtuality
Integrated into Phaeton's design is a virtual reality system, accessed through a basic pair of wireless goggles. Initially created as a means for the pilots to more easily interface with the delicate operations of the new starship, the "virt modules" were then suggested as an essential means of recreation and relaxation for the crew. The goggles can be donned to live out any fantasy programmed through the ship's computer - a computer which, by the way, has a voice, a name (Jean), and some semblance of personality. Shades of HAL are hard to ignore.
Something is wrong with the system, however. As each member forays into their private world, a mysterious figure intrudes into their programs and attacks them in different ways, in some cases going so far as murdering them, virtually. This doesn't affect them in real life, however, save for kind of freaking them out. So much for recreation. With no apparent cause of malfunction, though, and facing ten years of isolation with the same 12 people, a lack of viable stress relief and privacy becomes a serious issue. One that also might be indicative of an even bigger problem as the show progresses.
The cast of Virtuality
Much like Battlestar Galactica, the cast is filled mostly with unknowns, save for Clea DuVall, of Carnivale and Heroes fame. And also like BSG, the whole cast is strong, spearheaded by Nikolaj Coster-Waldau as Commander Frank Pike. We don't have a lot of time to get to know the 12 characters in the space of the show, but they all still come across as very human, and very believable - from the nervous reality show host with dreams of a Japanese pop band career, to the butch gay couple of engineers who do the cooking, to the scientist who designed the new propulsion system mourning the tragic loss of his son. This is a testament to both the careful writing of Moore and Taylor, as well as the subtle performances of the ensemble.
The format of Virtuality
The idea of a corporate-sponsored space mission as reality show fodder is intriguing, and very timely. Some of the character development is handled by reality show testimonials, a la The Office, and one's tolerance of this format will probably affect enjoyment of the show, but they are used sparingly by director Peter Berg, and are, once again, performed very well.
The ultimate fate of Virtuality
The show was clearly set up as a pilot, not a self-contained story, as the central mysteries are not answered, and even more are posed in the last few minutes. Moore says that popularity and word of mouth will ultimately determine if the show goes to series, so head on over to Hulu and check it out! Yes, Ron Moore and Michael Taylor's story borrows liberally from many other sci-fi sagas, including their own. But it's been said there's very little that's new under the sun - it's how the elements are put together that matters. With Virtuality, they might just have another hit on their hands.
