Outcasts - Shouldn't be out in the cold!

Outcasts, the new sci-fi series on the BBC block is inexplicably living up to its name as far as the British public are concerned, having been moved from prime time on Mondays to a late night Sunday slot; the initially competitive 4.4 million viewers raked in by the premiering episode have unfortunately dwindled to around 2.6 million and reviews have been scathing, to say the least.

The premise of the eight-part show is that select, small groups are making a five-year journey from a failing Earth across space to the so-called ‘Goldilocks’ planet, Carpathia: not too warm, not too cold, just right.  There, they have been colonising what ostensibly is blank territory, although as the episodes progress we are to gather that the citizens of Forthaven may not have been the first humans there, nor as alone as they had hoped.  Exactly what is also present is still up for debate, the mysterious other presence not fitting comfortably into the category of ghosts, machines, clones, or mere illusion.

Actors such as Liam Cunningham, Patrick Lyster, Eric Mabius, Amy Manson, Daniel Mays and Hermione Norris help make up an interestingly eclectic cast and faces already familiar to our screens, big and small.  It is true that thinly veiled comments on ethical issues like imperialism or the bitter end of scientific progress are hardly original (‘AC’s, or Advanced Cultivars, continue the trope of technology for the sake of consumerism).  More discontent was expressed over the fact that the show’s ‘best character’ and first protagonist, Mitchell, is bumped off at the end of the first episode, even though this is the man who does his utmost to first kill his wife and comes worryingly close to treating his young son the same way.

However I would argue that the latter complaint points to the originality of Outcasts.  The writers have tried to redefine the way we categorise themes as various as bad leaders, good mothers, happiness, and how things we view as ‘supernatural’ – for example being faced with the spitting image of yourself – may in places other than earth be natural.  In addition, the show demonstrates how religion can be used as a political tool and means of controlling people.  The multi-nationalism of the cast gives it a modern edge, fitting in well with our increasingly global village and happily refutes the American monopoly on pioneering.  The acting is convincing, combining fast-paced action with a flushing out of biographies the hour-long episodes make possible.  Even better, most people’s whimsical desire to see some form of romance played out at the same time, with its pitfalls and hopefully requited end, will be rewarded without having to endure the misogynistic stereotyping of Supernatural.  Pretty as Ackles and Padalecki are, as a female viewer I can safely say that after four seasons I am beyond tired of the guys getting all the action, so to speak.  Contrastingly the characters Cass and Fleur represent the emancipation of male emotions and female agency, without being portrayed as a soppy mess or frigid dominatrix respectively.

Outcasts’ lack of success then begs the question whether the BBC can really do sci-fi.  Other BBC series like Merlin and Being Human come safely under the umbrella of fantasy, whilst Doctor Who, although sci-fi, has a strong element of the fantastic too.  These are hits with all ages and return year after year, whereas true sci-fi programmes such as last year’s The Deep attract infinite criticism.  Nevertheless Outcasts possesses none of the same slow pace or frustrated resolutions of The Deep.  Surprisingly, aspects which seem to irritate sci-fi fans are the psychological dimensions to the mysterious hurricane ‘white-outs’ and, for lack of a better word, the clones; apparently not putting real monsters in serious sci-fi automatically illegitimises any attempt at creativity.  It does seem to me, though, that there are enough ‘real’ monsters in the series mentioned above, as well as in Torchwood, Primeval, Misfits, and the popular American Vampire Diaries and Seinfeld.  A second series of Outcasts is looking unlikely at present, but one can always hope.

Phoebe C Linton