Liverpool Sound and Vision Rating 7/10
Cast: Savannah Steyn, Imogen Davies, Sharon Duncan-Brewster, Eleanor Tomlinson, Natasha O’Keefe, Diany Samba-Bandza, Parminder Nagra, Samantha Schnitzler, Thomas Turgoose, Craig Parkinson, Oliver Coopersmith, Neil Maskell, Hakeem Kae-Kazim, Emily Bruni.
The future for humanity is one still yet to be decided, and whether we make it through the current sets of crises more or less unscathed; whether we take heed of the lessons being taught us as the Earth, our home, screams in pain through our abuse, remains to be seen. Yet still, the golden future could come to pass, there could be silver towers glimmering in the sunlight, we could all be equal under law until we break it, the science fiction utopia could be ours; if we are willing to sacrifice something else that’s precious instead.
The far-off future holds many a writer enthralled, a time we haven’t seen yet but can see its form taking shape as each passing day brings us closer to its arrival, and unlike historical fiction, the future is replete with endless possibilities.
The galaxy awaits, and perhaps trembles, and they would have every right as a crew of prisoners take over the craft they have been placed in, and with the reluctant aid of one remaining guard and an officer of the law placed within their ranks, the sense f trouble that is forthcoming from their adventure, is only made worse by the fact that the near paradise that Earth has become, has been built on the rape and plunder of other planets.
Intergalactic is arguably the science fiction equivalent of understanding the past has done to the continent of Africa, the souls of the Native American, and the indigenous people of the southern lands of Australia and New Zealand, of how countries such as Britain, Belgium and Germany prospered because they stole the natural resources of another to survive, to thrive, and then wonder why the people who suffered for their crime, were not happy about it.
There will be those who see such storylines as not being in keeping with entertainment, of the escapism needed in dark times, but it should be noted that all science fiction relies heavily on teaching a valuable lesson, whether directly and in the audience’s face, or subtly, discreetly, enough to have the audience think for themselves about how history is the provider of tales of suspense in the future.
With several intriguing performances by Savannah Steyn as Ash Harper, Sharon Duncan-Brewster as the volatile Tula Quik, Eleanor Tomlinson as the drug addicted former trainee doctor Candy Skov-King and Oliver Coopersmith as the space pirate Echo Nantu-Rose, Intergalactic has all the hallmarks of a 21st Century version of the beloved Blake’s 7, a comparison that cannot be ignored, but in its own way, welcome.
The first series is worth taking in, if nothing else it will remind viewers of the fragility of our prosperity and learning, and hopefully will instruct that such utopias are built on the backs of others’ lives.
Ian D. Hall