Outcasts (2010–2011) User Reviews

Good light entertainment which is improving each episode

[alanbill1074 · 8/10 · 15 February 2011]

I don't normally write reviews but I was compelled to do so for this series in light of many of the general downbeat comments. I have to say that I am enjoying this show. Like anything new, I believe it is important to give it a chance and by the third episode I was finding it to be quite a good series, for what it is - light evening entertainment. It's filled with plot holes and the characterisation is a little light, but when you have an 8 episode series character development probably isn't going to be a major factor of a show, particularly in action dominated sci-fi. The concept is interesting, and hopefully more questions about what happened on earth and why there is no military presence in the colony will be answered over the series. The acting is good, as are the set pieces and most of the FX, particularly in episode 3. Script wise it is at times a little clunky but I think the actors have done a respectable job with what they have to work with.

A note now on all the "one star" reviews. Writing a negative review and brandishing one star ratings is unfortunately a way for people to excercise a little bit of the power that is lacking in their life. I do not believe this series is a one star show, but that is my opinion. I think people can state if they truly feel something is poor without resorting to some of the vindictive things being said here. No one deliberately sets out to make a bad show just to ruin your day. Many people have worked very hard on this series (and no I am not one of them or affiliated with anybody involved). Ultimately it is about entertainment, and if people do not like it, don't watch it. Why waste your time writing such horrid things. There are zillions of channels to choose from now. Often the comments people write online are things they would never dare say to someones face, and are a complete overeaction to what is in reality just a TV show. All that negative energy could be channelled into something much more constructive.

So, soldier on Outcasts. I for one am enjoying the ride, and grateful to the BBC for trying something new in sci-fi.

Series has a lot of potential

[henri-979-572302 · 8/10 · 16 February 2011]

OK, so I've read some negative comments from a lot of you guys but I think this series has so much potential. Just give it a chance!

I live in Cape town, the series was filmed about an hour away from where I live and I think they have made an amazing effort so far, it's only the 4th episode and I want more!

I agree that there is much more scum on TV at the moment that shouldn't be there, but seriously, I'd love to see where this series will go in the future. Characters are interesting and I honestly want to see what happened with the AC's. I think so far episode 4 has been the most intense, with action and suspense and all that goes alongside a good sci-fi.

Give it a try ... and time

[hillrosemary · 7/10 · 9 February 2011]

I'm going to swim against the tide, I'm afraid. I can't judge the whole series, because as I write this only 2 episodes have been shown. However, while I wouldn't put 'Outcasts' into the same class as 'Spooks,' I have enjoyed what I've seen so far. Yes, some of the dialogue has been a little heavy-going, but I write myself, and I know that it is a very difficult thing to do, so I wouldn't be perhaps as judgemental as others. I think the cinematography is stunning, as are the settings, and I have no major complaints about the acting. While the quality of it varies - with Hermione Norris several giant strides ahead of most of the others, which is usually the case in anything I've seen her in - I've seen an awful lot worse.

I personally like drama involving moral conundrums and the interplay between characters as they develop, and I have no problem with something that moves slowly; if you do, and those things spell 'dull' to you, then Outcasts is possibly not for you.

Reading other reviews, the one thing that surprises me is the widespread criticism of minute detail - this wouldn't be used, they wouldn't have done it like that, that couldn't have happened, it wouldn't look that way. Forgive me, but how does anyone know? It's set in the future, which none of us have seen, and it's fiction anyway. It puzzles me.

Anyway, there is enough in the story lines to follow to keep me watching ... if no-one else!

Greatly underrated sci-fi series

[ioan_alx · 15 March 2011]

I read the previous review, and I totally disagree. Em Squared apparently hasn't got a clue about the sci-fi genre. He condemns the lack of "phasers" and the abundance of lens flare. My friend, you need to stop watching Star Trek, I believe that 20 times is enough... Now, in my opinion this series was a good one, the only down side to it might be the fact that it got canceled ahead of time. The story is decent, and so are the performances. It has that bit of drama which reminds you that you are not watching a continuous gun/"phaser"/light saber fight. All in all, I would definitely recommend it for all SG and BSG fans.

Not as bas as folk make out!

[aliferste · 7/10 · 8 March 2011]

A bit of a shame that this series is being ripped to shreds when it is actually quite interesting - it has some good scifi elements for example aliens and genetically engineered humans. The story that links all these things together is actually pretty good.

Sure it is not the same as the fast paced series like Battlestar Galactica however it is its own show that is taking its time in revealing all its secrets.

What I think the haters do not like is the fact the actors.....act. When they do it well they are very good however when they do it bad they are very very bad - the main baddie is very very bad.

Sometimes I think it is weird watching British TV shows as we are so used to the way Americans act - it takes a few episodes and it will probably not be for folk that want to see explosions in space but if you stick in there it really is a wee gem.

Why only 8 episodes

[phillspry · 10/10 · 6 June 2013]

I started watching this series and as it progressed it got better and better. The plot was very enthralling and kept me wanting to see more and more.The way the the story progresses with the 2 types of foes and how it all started was excellent. I was looking to see more of the turmoil between the two groups. After 3 episodes I was hooked well and truly. I was extremely disappointed that the series was terminated only after 8 episodes just at the point where a third element was added to the story line. I cannot understand why the TV stations start something and after a short time they decide to scrap it without any consultation to the many avid followers of the series. I do hope they reconsider and bring it back.

Not great yet, but give it a chance

[michaellaing71 · 7/10 · 9 February 2011]

Well Outcasts has finished its first season and the odds of there being a second season are small. It started of slow, with to much story and with some cringe worthy dialogue. It has grown though and I think that by the end it had the making of a decent second season. People forget that the first season of ST:TNG was pretty awful and it grew into an extremely good series. These things take time and with the way the BBC is funded it is able to do so. Unfortunately I doubt the BBC will though. Fingers crossed I am wrong though.

The production values are quite good considering as is the special effects. The actors have grown into their character and I think the direction is good. My biggest problem is with some of the writing, I can understand what the writer was doing but some of the characters are just two dimensional and the dialogue and character conflicts don't help a lot of the time (a problem I also with New BST as well). I think the series would have been better received if there had been epic space battles and dog fights but the writer has been brave to try and go down a different route and in the end it just works. This is proper SF and should be applauded for it.

I do think 10 minutes could have been losted from most of the episodes and that would have helped with the pacing. Overall the series wasn't as bad as many have said and there could be much more. I also hate the fact that they have finished the series on a cliff hanger and hope that even if they don't do a second series they do a two hour special to finish it off.

Needs some fine tuning

[coolfreshair-1 · 5/10 · 1 March 2011]

After a friend of mine suggested I watch this, I decided to play catch-up on BBC iplayer a few weeks ago. The first 15 minutes of it and I thought "OMG - this is like an updated Blake's 7 I can't watch this!!" Recently the same friend complained I hadn't given it a chance and told me it was "getting good". So I gave it another go ... I thought "I'm gonna sit through this and REALLY try to like it".

Okay - the first episode was PAINFUL. The characters seemed boring, the kid that kept repeating his "tiger tiger" poem almost put me off watching ... but I struggled through. First episode felt very long. However I persevered and watched a second episode ... then a third ... then a fourth ...

It's actually turning out to be quite interesting in certain respects but doesn't have me completely hooked as yet.

I think the characters could be improved - they are currently REALLY difficult to warm to - they have no spark. They feel a bit like cardboard cut-outs at the moment, stilted and awkward - and certainly need a bit more depth.

Looking past the stilted characters are the predictable character relationships ... just a bit boring and uninspiring - again no SPARK.

The story is somewhat intriguing in parts but with the lack of charismatic characters or interesting dialogue it just makes it difficult to wade through.

The jury is still hung for me on this.

This show COULD be better, but needs a whole lot of fine-tuning if it ever wants to become a really good show.

Excellent

[michael-strait · 9/10 · 21 February 2011]

"Trolling" is the word that springs to mind when I skim over the many 1- star reviews here - an impression only reinforced when I spot that the spelling and grammar of some such reviews is roughly befitting that of a sub-literate 8-year old. Still, it would be unfair and arrogant to dismiss every single person who dislikes Outcasts as one of these, so instead I'm just going to go straight to the review.

I'll be blunt: in its 4 episodes so far, Outcasts has become one of my favourite TV series ever. I've always been a fan of sci-fi series in general, but Outcasts is a rare example of a "hard" science fiction series - in other words, it's actually befitting of the title "science fiction", unlike Doctor Who or Stargate (not that there's anything wrong with those shows, either). Faster-than-light travel seems like it's out, there aren't any shiny purple laser guns, the possibility of aliens is only a vague one and time travel, to my knowledge, hasn't even been brought up. If you don't like this and prefer the more fantastical variant of sci-fi (sometimes called "science fantasy"), then Outcasts probably isn't for you. I suppose that's why so many people don't like it - they've been conditioned into wanting magical time travel with weird aliens and bright phaser beams by the media for a long, long time now. Depressing really.

In fact, the show Outcasts reminds me of most is not Star Trek or any other popular sci-fi, but Heroes - because, like Heroes, it's a slow - paced show with a focus is on the characters. The show doesn't disappoint in this regard - the characters are all interesting, and the relationships and dialogue between them is entertaining. More importantly, there is some genuine emotion involved as we learn more about the characters' pasts, and as they are developed. Where it differs from Heroes, though, is that it isn't padded out to the ends of the Earth. Honestly, I only realised just how needlessly padded out Heroes was after watching Outcasts - though I will grant that the latter doesn't have quite as many characters, and, well, they don't have superpowers.

Outcasts is also great at creating tension without resorting to one- dimensional card-carrying villains pointing guns at the heroes. Again, I've got no problems with the Daleks - in fact, I rather love them - but it is nice to see a show break from the mold every once in a while and do something original.

The special effects are probably the best I've seen in a TV series. That's a bold claim, but I stand by it - and you know why? It's because they are used in moderation. There's a few shots in the first episode of the space ship above Carpathia, and they all look beautiful. The "white- out" in episode 3 also looks great and believable - as do the effects marking its approach (the odd effect it has on the sunlight...) and the shot of it from space. That said, it lacks the interesting art direction of other, softer sci-fi shows - but that's to be expected, since it's much more down-to-Carpathia in general.

The plot in each episode is also compelling and well written - and I can't say much more about it without giving away major spoilers (I've already given away minor ones as it is). There isn't much in the way of an overarching story, however, which I am a little disappointed by - oh, there is a hook at the end of each episode, but nothing I'd call a "story arc". However, this is justifiable as it's a British series, and as such is typically short.

The acting is also very good, much of the time - particularly from Liam Cunningham, who plays the president, Tate. It seemed a bit flat at times in the opening episode, but it has improved and is properly convincing. On the other hand, this is one of those few areas where Outcasts CAN be directly compared to other sci-fi shows, since acting talent has nothing to do with setting or premise - and while the acting is great, it's no Patrick Stewart or David Tennant. Still, it's not very far behind.

One thing that can't be classified in those categories is the overriding theme of the show: humanity, starting again in a new environment they simply do not understand. What's more, they appear to have learnt nothing so far - a subtly depressing commentary on the human race, which may turn some people off. I wouldn't call it grim - "gritty" is slightly more apt, but I'd rather not apply either term to it after Warhammer 40,000 (which is both of those things, several times over). The best word for it is "bleak" - but there is certainly light at the end of the tunnel. Besides, the depressing overtones are confined to the background for the most part and don't saturate the show, which contains its fair share of light-hearted jokes.

I think I've covered everything, although it was quite late as I wrote this so forgive me if I missed anything.

Summary: Do you adore the crazy escapism that goes with things like Doctor Who? Stay away from this. Do you like down-to-Earth shows, where the muted science fiction is placed behind the characters and themes in terms of importance? Then this show is for you. Looking over the review, I see that Outcasts is actually for a rather niché market, in the end - I suppose I shouldn't be surprised by the falling ratings and poor reception. Nonetheless, I must admit to being a little disappointed in my fellow Brits.

If you hate Dr Who and like SGU you probably will like this

[maratron · 7/10 · 13 February 2011]

I was positively surprised seeing a Sci-Fi show from the UK ) with such a high production en par with Stargate Universe.

The show is slow at times but the title Outcasts surely fits very well after watching the first 2 episodes.

There are plenty of plot holes and bad dialogue but the high production with nice visuals make more than up for it.

I kept wondering where they filmed it while watching so I looked it up and was surprised it was filmed in South Africa.

As far as the plot goes: It opens up with a spaceship trying to contact humans while orbiting around an alien planet. We learn that people evacuated from earth and went to Carpathia, a planet not unlike the earth. There's a few thousand human settlers on Carpathia now and they do not get along with each other. There's essentially 2 factions: The people around the elected president and the more savage AC's (supposedly clones?). The show has a big environmental and utopian undertone questioning whether the settlers would repeat their mistakes they made on Earth.

I never liked Dr Who with it's slapstick ADD approach and aliens designed by Kindergartens' drawing class, so this show is very welcome.

Whilst seeing it as drama alone I would probably give it 2/10 but intermixed with Sci-Fi I give it 7.5/10 and am looking forward to episode 3:)

I was expecting worse

[bob_b_you · 1/10 · 8 February 2011]

It was bad but the BBC have done worse. I posted a cut down version of the script in case you missed this episode.

Ship's Captain: Are there any human beings down there? Planet: Erm... what other English speakers were you expecting?

Middle Class Kid: Oh poetry, oh poetry, why must the other boys keep kicking me?

Angry Scottish Bird: You were stealing medical supplies Irish Druggie: Well if you didn't want a drug dealer on Carpathia why did you bring me along?

Cougar woman: With this device I can see your memories Irish Druggie: How does it work? Cougar woman: Well, with you it shows your memories in first person, but with me it shows them in the third person Irish Druggie: O...kay....

Angry Scottish Bird: This woman has been hit on the head. Hard. Take her to Holby City immediately.

Gun Totting Mad Man: Got to get away! Big Guy: It's not time Gun Totting Mad Man: Got to get away! Big Guy: It's not time Gun Totting Mad Man: Got to get away! Big Guy: Why? Gun Totting Mad Man: Dunno

Cougar woman: Fancy a shag? Irish Druggie: I haven't had my beer yet

Angry Scottish Bird: I'm shouting in your face! Big Guy: Why? Angry Scottish Bird: To show how tough I am Big Guy: That's not fair when all have is my hugely superior physique and rifle to protect me

Ship's Captain: We've traveled through space for 5 years and we're coming down President: Fix your shields first or you'll explode Ship's Captain: No time for that, we want to get down before the tea gets cold President: Well... don't say I didn't warn you!

Gun Totting Mad Man: I'm away and I'm taking my softie son with me Angry Scottish Bird: A MAN? Taking care of a CHILD? Wait till the Family Court hears about this!

Gun Totting Mad Man: You've been a naughty boy President: I have been a naughty boy but trust me, I'm a politician and the state knows best

President: Go after that crazy gun totting guy! Scruffy lower class person: Who, should I take? The big guy with the muscles and the gun? President: No, take the loud Scottish girl. She'll be handy.

Boring person 1: Hey, did you see that thing that just happened? Boring person 2: Yes I did Boring person 1: Well, let me just tell you about it anyway. Nothing makes events you've already witnessed more interesting than hearing about them in long segments of exposition. Wouldn't you agree? Boring person 2: Sorry, could you repeat that?

President: We decided to call this planet Carpathia. I can't remember the whole story but I think if they'd had more life boats... Ship's Captain: We don't have enough life boats! President: If only the planet namers had spoken to the ship designers...

Gun Totting Mad Man: Do you really think human beings can make a better life for our children? Angry Scottish Bird: Human beings? Gun Totting Mad Man: Yeah, you know... US Angry Scottish Bird: So why didn't you just say "WE"? Why can't we make a better life for our children?

*silence*

Gun Totting Mad Man: I know I'm the main character here but how about you just kill me now?

*Bang* *Explosion* *Poetry*

The End

Outcasts is exciting and always leaves you wanting more!

[lindseycoutret · 10/10 · 27 February 2011]

Outcasts shows a lot of promise for a great new Scifi show involving deep character relationships, a unique plot, interesting idea's and a fresh storyline that hasn't been done yet.

Each episode has it's own individual story, but still has a continuous main story throughout the episodes. Outcasts contains Scifi elements, but still appeals to people who aren't hardcore science fiction fans. It focuses on different types of relationships with the characters, dilemma's people can actually relate to, and also contains suspenseful drama.

The acting is very well done and after only a few episodes I found myself intrigued with the series and interested in what would happen next. The show has a lot of fantasy ideas, but still manages to be very believable. It contains many different elements and diverse characters, and makes you feel involved in their lives and feel for them.

The show is exciting and always leaves you wanting more.

I can see why it got cancelled

[ComedyFan2010 · 6/10 · 29 December 2011]

The show is about a colony on Carpatia after it became impossible to live on Earth. There are many scifi shows like this and yet theidea was interesting and I found the pilot very promising.

Unfortunately Jamie Bamber and his character couldn't help it anymore after he was killed off. Right after the pilot it went down into a slow show with unlikable characters, poor acting and bad writing.

I kept on seeing ideas that I felt would make an improvement, but unfortunately nothing was happening. The acting was mediocre, I only want to keep Liam Cunningham out of it who did a good job throughout the show. The rest, especially Jeanne Kietzmann, were disappointing most of the time.

Toward the very end the show seemed to pick up, and the 7th episode was the one that I was actually watching with real interest. Unfortunately it was too late. Would it become better if the show wasn't cancelled? Who knows. But the finale wasn't one of those that would keep me waiting eagerly for a new season to begin, so it is safe to assume that it would be just the same.

Wretched beyond belief

[marianne_marlow · 1/10 · 8 February 2011]

Outcasts is a 2011 British television serial science-fiction drama, portraying a group of pointless colonists who spend their time ignoring the fact they are probably the last humans left alive. They mostly miss the point that they need to concentrate on populating an alien planet, Carpathia, if they do not want to be extinct in a generation. Unfortunately, the Earth has met some strange fate requiring the complete evacuation of the British middle-classes sometime in the next ten to twenty years. Having made "hard choices" about not having children, the females form the local police force while the males become unemployed brutes with a gun fixation, occupying their time together at the local gym. Increasingly desperate for children and a future, the colony is willing to accept anyone who might have survived the five year journey to their world, no questions asked.

"President" Tate (Cunningham) and his harem of emotionally over- sensitive women, Stella (Norris), Cass (Mays) and Fleur (Manson), take charge while the only group of armed-men on the planet are too busy pumping iron and pouting in front of a mirror. An underused group of individuals, who never had any lives worth spit before coming to Carpathia, are given a second chance at being boring slackers far from their homeworld. Clustered in the toy-town of Forthaven on Carpathia, the new civilisation has so far managed to rise to the level of making its own beer and whining to themselves over very little. In "development" since 2007, it became apparent that the concept was so lame and done to death, that only the BBC could be cheap enough to pick up the series. The series enjoyed a very nice holiday at License Payers expense in South Africa in May 2010.

As the series progresses it will most likely shed viewers by the bucketload. By the end of the concluding show, it will probably have less viewers than BBC Parliament. Although there might conceivably be one or two high-points in the shows short run, it is unlikely to be renewed for a second season, with most of its participants pretending it never happened. It is expected that the phrase "disappointing" might be used a lot.

Although hopes were not high (having watched the promotional trailers), it was so dull that one of us unexpectedly fell asleep by the last 15 mins of the show. We agreed they we wouldn't get that hour back and would probably only watch the second episode if it was a choice between that and having their toenails pulled out.

Whereas most Pilots attempt to hook the audience and pique their interest, the BBC took the daring strategy of preaching at any audience foolish enough to watch it. Force-feeding the viewers politically correct, right-on entertainment that aped sensitivity and relationships, would have only worked if there were interesting bad guys that the viewers could sympathise with. Unfortunately, there aren't any, leaving only a vaguely Stalinist idea that all opposition equals mental illness.

However, the pilot showed no real plot or continuity with its own reality, the cast not even having a culture or unifying ideal that they might otherwise have brought with them into the inky infinity of outer space. There was no action, no real characters, and no engagement with the viewer. It would have been wiser to stick to just one plot-line for the pilot and build-up a lot of tension with the "end of the human race" motif. The most that could be said for the last transport from the Earth was that they clapped well.

The shows cunning inclusion of at least one American actor per episode is unlikely to fool anyone in the slightest as even the viewers of BBC America aren't that stupid. The American public had enough of overly- sensitive sci-fi shows about relationships and feelings like Defying Gravity, Flash Forward and The Event, long ago. The vogue for this brand of entertainment has, however, only just filtered through to the BBC dinner-parties, by way of overhearing the catering staff talk about how rubbish Flash Forward was during their working-class fag-breaks.

At the end of the day, being frightfully intellectual instead of action oriented is just dull, boring, and rubbish. Trying to maintain the logical impossibility of a science-fiction series without any real science-fiction might also be seen as a bit of a problem. Poor script, poor acting, and too many plot-lines are unlikely to help either.

The terms used to describe Outcasts by the BBC must have only been written by their spin-doctors and have no real baring to reality. To say that Outcasts is science-fiction is the same as equating the Sound of Music as an S&M porno, because of all the nuns, jackboots, and "the Captains" desire to maintain discipline among the ranks.

Good show

[sharpcreative · 16 July 2011]

I really enjoyed this series and was rather surprised, and a little disappointed, to find out that the BBC has decided not to make a second series. It is particularly annoying when a series develops an unresolved theme and then is canceled, without the story coming to a full conclusion. You feel rather cheated! I noted (elsewhere) the comments of the writer - to the effect that the series took a while to develop its storyline. I tend to agree and feel that the decisions to firstly move it to a late night time slot (in the UK - not in Australia) and then to can it completely, were both premature and self-serving. I hope there is some consideration made to making another series, or at the very least a one-off episode to bring series one to a full conclusion.

not as bad as all this lot think

[dominic-978-711441 · 7/10 · 15 February 2011]

This isn't at all bad,

Just watched the first 2 episodes and if your not to slow to get the premise, its about people and there situations not Sci Fi ( though i presume there will be some monsters etc to keep the lower attention spans interested )

Not Overly original and not HBO, but intriguing and Moorish and not up its self

A little LOST ( but could be an ending to it ) and a little Mad Max, good dialogue ,sets and acting, will definitely keep watching

Good Job

worth looking at again

[HotMamaTaylor · 9/10 · 28 October 2021]

First of all - I'd say most of the review made on here are by people that I think only watched just the first couple of episodes. Really this was a show that you had to stick with to get the full benefit - you'll never see the story and character arcs with just an episode...if you stick with this its worth it (then you'll be gutted it was cancelled).

In regards to its cancellation, it should be noted that this was the BBCs biggest budget show to date when made. So they obviously had faith in it. By the time Outcasts was aired though, the recession was really starting to bite and the BBC had massive cuts in its budgets. The BBC simply couldn't afford to make another season so buried it, never properly promoting it and having an ever changing time slot. Fans struggled to keep track. All BBC drama suffered at this time btw, Dr Who episodes numbers were culled, Torchwood axed despite being popular and Being Human barely scraped through. Its a shame because this is a gem of serious sci-fi.

The premise is smart, an off world colony of what is the last of humanity trying to survive on a planet that seems to not want them there - perhaps a world/entity with an awareness of the human parasites that have set up home on it. With every lifeboat of people that arrives, the worst of 'civilisation' starts to infiltrate the already shaky colony (capitalism, religious power, old world hierarchy etc). This plot clearly had a lot of thought behind it and the story arc was moving into seriously interesting territory by the season end.

The cast is great (tho too many Brits considering this is supposedly the last of humanity). Don't get me wrong the actors are top notch though. I thought Eric Mabius was an odd (lightweight?) choice since he'd just finished Ugly Betty, however he turnout out to be the stand out performer in this and up against those 'well respected' thespian Brit Actors (just can't believe he's now doing those Hallmark movies tho - a real waste of talent based on how superb he was in this).

I loved Outcasts when it was first shown on tv. 10 years later I decided to finally watch the dvd version I'd picked up a few years back. Im not disappointed. If you like pew pew pew action sci-fi then this is not for you. If you like stuff thats a little slower and more cerebral this is right up your alley...theres a lot happening in this and if you're not paying attention you'll miss whats really going on....

six episodes of exposition

[pensman · 6/10 · 27 April 2012]

Production values are pretty good for this series but it plods. The first six episodes really provide background exposition but even then it's not complete. Episode seven gets off on a tangent and episode eight doesn't really provide a conclusion as someone must have hoped there would be a second series but the series was canceled because of poor viewer ship. Eric Mabius is the epitome of unctuous and makes for a good villain. If you do decide to watch then you have to watch the first two episodes to get the basic background but when you get to the end and there is no real resolution there is a sense you have wasted eight hours.

Characters with IQ well below room temperature

[lepietz · 1/10 · 13 November 2013]

President of small colony of few surviving humans on friendly planet has most people employed cleaning weapons and spying each other. Wife keeps spying papers about her husband in their apartment for the husband to see. Violent husband kills his loving wife about nothing. Gunless security people shout at violent guy with gun instead of deescalating and have someone shot in the process. Security guy walks too relaxed behind violent husband and almost falls from a cliff on a wide wide path. Security people almost gets shot by shouting at violent husband again. Violent husband gets shot by extremely clever security people. People from another spacecraft arriving at planet start fixing temperature protection after five years of apparently doing nothing. On entry into the atmosphere huge spacecraft burns anyways - even after fixing things for almost a day.

A good show

[snowweaver_dp · 9/10 · 23 February 2011]

This show won't be for everyone, as you can see the reviews are either good or bad with very little middle range. Instead of giving you a hard- sci-fi show like BSG, BBC has gone with a reboot of humanity, showing what happens when people from the old world are set up on a new planet, able to create a Utopian society, but struggling with old world opinions and in some cases old world actions such as subterfuge and scheming. The arrival of new people to the planet shows how the old settlers who have learned to live in relative harmony are returned to all the pains and struggles of earth, and yet in every episode you can see as people try to overcome their old habits in turn for good.

If you're looking for something new that is still planting its main story plots and creating characters, you should at least give this a try. If you're looking for a British BSG, you should go elsewhere.

A pity this show vanished into Oblivion.

[Sleepin_Dragon · 7/10 · 16 July 2018]

Outcasts seemed to be something of an anomaly, coming at a time where sci fi wasn't particularly in Vogue, so a full series, particularly an eight parter was a welcome surprise.

I've just re watched all eight episodes and enjoyed it more then it's original run. The problem I found with it is that the early episodes are very raw, almost full, and in this day and age viewers would have just switched off, and they did. Half way through the series changes, it becomes gripping, more entertaining, the characters are more likeable, episodes seven and eight are excellent.

I understand why it was axed, but I'm sad it was, it had heaps of potential, Liam Cunningham in particular was excellent. Good special effects, stories which felt as though they could have been from Blake's Seven.

Watchable, but wasted potential. 7/10

Wasted potential

[sam-greer · 4/10 · 11 February 2011]

Everyone is being a tad harsh on this program, there is far worse tripe out there on TV. Seriously, go watch some of it. Or don't actually...

Anyways, whilst I felt this was a competent sci-fi drama with dazzlingly high production values including a rather sumptuous and lovely planet as well as thorough sets for the "Fort Haven", I do feel this is a lot of wasted potential.

Despite a promising premise, the last of Earth's survivors (Fleeing Earth following an unexplained cataclysm) forced to live out on a new world and re-build society and survive the planets harsh hazards, it mostly falls flat. Part of this comes from a bad sense of what to do with the concept...instead of watching the first wave of settlers start to build a settlement and the struggles for power and resources that entails, we come too late, they have a whole town going with electricity, law and order and even a gun ban. It's like we've missed the really good parts, you know, the compelling struggle, fighting and survival.

This further carries into the waste of the first episodes one truly compelling and intriguing character: Mitchell Hoban(Played by an excellent Jamie Bamber), a revolutionary with psychopathic tendencies who wishes to break away from bureaucracy and establish a new settlement free of government. Instead of letting him carry out his coup, establishing a new settlement and providing some much needed conflict for the series, he's killed off. In the first episode. And with his death, the series main point of interest is gone and I can't see it becoming compelling enough to pull in viewers for the rest of it's run.

It's a shame because on paper, a story about pioneering colonists who are torn over politics and resources, struggling to survive on a remote world with a good cast and high production values does indeed seem ripe for viewing. But the potential is wasted, sacrificed for safe tidy plots and a fear of going truly dark and interesting.

Not bad but not memorable or compelling past the first episodes decision to kill it's one genuinely interesting character. Shame. In the hands of someone better, it could have been an absolute classic.

Thinking person SciFi

[pilot1009 · 8/10 · 24 July 2023]

Actually a good series but requires some patience and thought, definitely not your star trek / star wars adventure. Done on a fairly low budget - after all BBC save their budgets for re-makes of literary favorites or 19th century costume dramas rather than anything radical and imaginative.

The acting is good and scripts work quite well with a political focus, the science is OK but as with all these sort of pioneer type scifi efforts I always wonder where the manufacturing of the stuff they seem to have is. Arriving on a new world you would want to organise power and food and then basic manufacturing of metals and fundamental materials. No sign of that here. Still a good show with a cliff hanger end which we will never get to find out about.

The Gravest Threat to Exoplanetary Settlers Is . . . Network Cancellation

[FloodClearwater · 7/10 · 25 August 2015]

Outcasts was a fast-canceled BBC sci-fi series released in 2010.

Set on a futuristic exoplanet in a 'Jamestown,' the show asks the questions "what lies beyond the palisades?" and also "when can settlers leave their regimented communities and become pioneers?"

Classic questions which the writers pair with a natural rivalry between the military "expeditionary" characters and the more civic- minded scientists and politicians wishing to set the colony's policy.

The large ensemble cast is credible as a group of hardscrabble survivors on the planet Carpathia. The dialogue is keen and well paced.

When the action ventures outside of the settlement walls, a delightfully spooky 'alone in the woods' vibe burbles up, creating frissons of anticipation as we follow the lonely fellow travelers searching their unknown environment.

The show was sacked before reaching 10 episodes.

Pity.

Awful, awful, awful, awful, awful.

[morrells · 1/10 · 9 February 2011]

So many stereotypes. So many clichés. So little thought. So badly written. Do these overpaid writers/producers/directors EVER watch any TV? I re-watched the Martian Chronicles on DVD recently. It was made in 1980. It's a little dated, the sets and special effects are ropey to say the least. But even that is far far superior to the garbage that is Outcasts. Not to mention the recent Sci-Fi masterpieces like Battlestar Galactica and Firefly. But someone already made the point, this really isn't sci-fi. It's a woefully written drama in the vein of casualty that just happens to be set on another planet. I really really wish I could opt out of the licence fee when I see it being wasted by people who don't have a clue.