4 Star

Disaster Split Asunder

From Apple TV+ comes an exciting new Sci-Fi thriller, that sees a stellar cast enthral the viewer in this twisty cat-and-mouse tale, as the cast chase the truth of their shattered lives. Filmed in Berlin and also filmed in the municipality of Inari in Finnish Lapland, which gives the sense of being totally isolated from the rest of the world, which is the same as the star Noomi Rapace (The Girl with the Dragon Tattoo, Sherlock Holmes: A Game of Shadows) felt while she was on the ISS.

This series will twist your Sci-Fi nuts off.

The ISS circles the Earth as the astronauts see sixteen sunrises and sunsets every twenty-four hours. On board the space station is Jo Ericsson (Rapace) who is virtually taking her daughter around the station as Paul Lancaster (William Catlett, A Thousand and One, The Devil You Know) goes about his daily experiments for ex-astronaut Bud Caldera (Jonathan Banks, Breaking Bad (TV Series), Mudbound), who since returning from space has been having visions, and is on medication for his psychosis. Which seems to be the norm for returning spacefarers.

Things are going to plan until Paul powers up Bud’s quantum physics experiment. Then suddenly every thing turns to a disaster, as something collides with the station. Paul is severely injured during the incident, and while he is being treated, Jo must go on a spacewalk to inspect the damage and make repairs. What she doesn’t expect to find is a human body as the projectile. Shocked, she pulls the body from the framework, and it drifts off into the blackness of space. The mission is scrubbed and three of the crew have to use one of the capsules to return, but Jo has to fix the other capsule, as there is no more space in the main one. With the sun appearing and disappearing, the batteries only work during the daylight minutes.

Eventually, Jo returns to Earth and is reunited with her husband Magnus Taylor (James D’Arcy, Master and Commander: The Far Side of the World, Dunkirk), and daughter Alice Ericsson-Taylor (Rosie Coleman, The Larkins).

Jo has to be debriefed, and when she tells the tale of the dead astronauts, her judgement is put into question, which annoys her as she is so meticulous. This and other observations, like the car is not the colour she remembers just a year ago and what is this piano doing here? She undergoes a psych evaluation and she is given the standard medication for returning astronauts. Her frustration puts a strain on the family, as Jo tries to explain all these discrepancies and that her daughter should speak Swedish.

I just don’t think that you’re my mum.

Jo feels cut-off from her job and her husband, and her daughter. Can she unravel this mystery?

Constellation is released on the 21st Feb, with the first three riveting episodes being released, then it’s back to old style, one episode a week. Time for you to form your hypotheses. A full on Sci-Fi thriller, that will have you listening and watching for every clue. Director Michelle MacLaren (Breaking Bad (TV Series), Game of Thrones (TV Series)) makes great use of the fact that Rosie Coleman has an identical twin in (Davina Coleman, The Larkins).

Constellation is available to stream on Apple TV+