Now who'll save the world?

I've been itchin' for some Odyssey 5 for months now, and finally, with the addition of the complete series to my DVD collection, I'm granted sweet relief. It aired on Showtime in 2002, for all of 19 episodes before it was cancelled. What makes its cancellation particularly frustrating is that it was in the midst of exciting plot development just as it was axed. Ah well, that's tv for ya.

In the pilot, we meet the crew of the space shuttle Odyssey, who in short order are treated to a front row seat for the destruction of Earth. The five crew-members are bogglingly rescued by what they later deduce to be an inorganic intelligence, and their consciousnesses are sent back five years into the past so they can head off the events that lead to the end of the world. They quickly discover that even covert inquiries garner unpleasant results, and that it's impossible not to change history. In the course of their quest to save the planet, they learn that the internet is populated with "sentients," living programs with some wacky abilities to affect the real world. The bad guys outside the 'net, "synthetics," are humanoids grown in vats, with crazy super strength and the occasional odd personality. Throw in the usual amount of standard human conflict, and disturbing wackiness ensues.

One of the best things about this show is the long-term story. Odyssey 5 tucks arc-related tidbits into one-off episodes, and the show maintains a nice balance of long range story with the instant gratification of wrapping up single episode puzzles.

The absolute highlight of the show, though, is Peter Weller. In the couple of decades since he played scientist/brain surgeon/rock star Buckaroo Banzai, Weller has matured nicely. On Odyssey 5, he's down-to-earth shuttle commander Chuck Taggart, and while I could enjoy watching Weller read the phone book aloud, I'm treated to a character I find charming, funny & resourceful, with just enough asshole to make him plenty human.

Overall, I think it's a great show, with cool characters, entertaining episodes and some pretty cool ideas. I like that it includes scifi staples such as aliens, time travel & sentient computer programs, but that it mostly takes place in the day to day lives of the protagonists. Unfortunately, with only a single season to work on development, the characters remain largely two-dimensional. Nonetheless, their individual storylines are interesting, most of the actors are entertaining enough to enjoy, and there is some significant character growth. The worst thing I can say about the show is that its all-too-abrupt ending really smarted. To rub salt in the wound, the very last episode featured a startling revelation that stood to thoroughly upend the entire story. *sigh*