Away
Hilary Swank stars as the leader of the first manned mission on Mars. The initial two episodes feature some exciting space travel moments, but subsequent shows concentrate on the relationships with her crew and her family back home, including her husband (Josh Charles) who also happens to be the smartest scientist at NASA. Naturally, each member of the crew packs their own emotional baggage, which gets unpacked when it’s their turn in the spotlight. While viewers hoping for cool sci-fi stuff will be disappointed, the solid performances help make the interactions more interesting. Furthermore, there’s too much focus on the teenage daughter’s story (probably an attempt to appeal to a young audience) and the whole series slowly deteriorates into a tearfest (Swank cries at least 2x in every episode). This is much more a relationship drama, than an exciting outer space adventure. Think This is Us goes to Mars
(3 / 5)
Raised by Wolves
Ridley Scott returns to one of his favorite genres with this HBO Max effort (he directed the first 2 episodes and Executive Produced the series). After our planet has been devastated by a war, 2 androids are sent to a far-off planet to raise 6 babies and create a new civilization. This is only the beginning of an exciting science fiction effort with plenty of thought given to futuristic projections and action adventure. Only 4 episodes have been released (new ones every Friday), but so far, it an interesting take on the development of future society with cool sci-fi elements that approach the horror angles of Scott’s Alien films.
(4 / 5)