I finished watching “Away” yesterday, after starting it over the weekend. It’s a Netflix original show, starring Hillary Swank, about the first manned mission to Mars.
(this review contains spoilers)
It’s not bad, but it’s not great. I really had difficulty with suspending disbelief as the high-rate sci-fi is bogged down by ridiculous melodrama. It’s ostensibly the goal of the series to show how such a trip and the isolation it entails might affect both the crews out there and the families, friends and coworkers on Earth, but it was really hard to swallow. And it was particularly egregious in the very first episode, which almost made me quit. I simply cannot believe that a crew that trained together for two years or more would behave like this, let alone 24 hours into the mission. And some of their subsequent behavior was also incredibly unprofessional.
I also don’t believe that NASA would kickoff the manned mission without making sure that the Pegasus resupply ship had landed safely.
Other than, that it was… okay. I do like that the characters had a fully fleshed out background, each with their unique perspective, and the cast is great. Also as mentioned, the production value is stellar (no pun intended). The zero-G is extremely well done and only a few details (like tears) betray the artifice. It’s just a shame that the script is lacking.
I’ll be on the lookout if there’s a Season 2, but I’m not on the edge of my seat. Like “Amelia” (also with Hillary Swank), it feels a bit like a missed opportunity.
