On March 1, NBC and Amediatek began airing Debris. The leading roles include the incredibly talented, but lacking title roles, Jonathan Tucker, and the creators – the writers of “The Edge”, “Hannibal”, “Almost Human” and other curious shows. We’ll tell you why you should pay attention to “Wreckage”, despite the simple formula and minimalistic style.
A good part of the sci-fi genre rests on the interaction of earthlings with aliens of all sorts, stripes and moods. Sometimes humanity learns to dominate them, as in “District 9”, sometimes the alien invasion is completely irreversible, as in “Annihilation” by Alex Garland.
Debris somehow occupies a niche between Annihilation and, oddly enough, The X-Files. This is both a good interpretation of “evil and strange aliens from outer space” and an interesting procedural with tense moments. Although the very plot of the series is most easily explained by “Roadside Picnic” by the Strugatskys (who are well known abroad).
The idea is quite simple: somewhere above the Earth (completely similar to ours, ordinary Earth) a spaceship crashed. The debris was scattered across the planet, and rather quickly revealed unusual properties. Months later, all earthly intelligence services hastily collect the remains of the ship in different corners of the Earth so that they “do not fall into the wrong hands.”
The plot revolves around a team of two such debris-hunting operatives – Finola Jones (Rianne Steele) of MI6 and Brian Benvenety (Jonathan Tucker) of the CIA. International collaboration turns out to be more enjoyable than they both expect: in the very first episode, Finola and Brian talk heart to heart and get along well, so there is more time for their intriguing adventures.
Things for them are really interesting, moderately frightening, strange, but without excesses. The fact is that each wreck of the ship has its own peculiarity: for example, in one of the first scenes, the hotel maid accidentally touches this artifact and immediately falls fourteen floors down. So the fragments of the ship pose a danger to others – and are very valuable on the black market, which is actively hunting for them.
The creators of “Flinders” do not overdo it with graphics, do not exploit the most common clichés from similar films and series. NBC can hardly boast of a blockbuster budget, so all the effects here are spent sparingly and wisely. Even the aliens themselves are not in the frame, at least in the first two episodes.
But there are things that are not too scary, but definitely tickling the nerves – bodies flying over the surface of the earth, a refrigerator crawling through the whole city, or a one-on-one meeting with their double.
The main characters of “Flinders” are divided, as is often the case, into the so-called “skeptic and believer”, but very conditionally. The characters, even if they turned out to be a little one-dimensional, but healthy skepticism and at the same time the ability to surprise, feel and empathize with both is enough. So Finola and Brian won’t have a second Mulder and Scully, but that’s for the best.
They are separated by other factors: experience and occupation. Finola’s father was one of the first scientists to see the wreckage. After his death, the woman decided to continue his work, considering everything that happens from a scientific angle. Because of this, Finola does not always have time to stop in time – in the first episode, she falls under the influence of the splinter (however, in the second, Brian also gets it).
But her American partner has been working for the CIA for a long time and has a military career behind him. This makes Brian more composed and tough, but not callous. He constantly has colleagues on the wire, who are simultaneously conducting a secret investigation – so secret that no one should know about him, not even Finola.
This is another easy confusion and intrigue, which will last for a maximum of a season. And yet, because of her, watching the interaction of the characters is more interesting. And Jonathan Tucker brilliantly withstands all the moments when his partner opens up to his character – and he, in response, no, no, yes, slows down, as if he wants to reveal an unpleasant secret to her. But then Brian blinks, sighs and shakes off the moment as if nothing had happened.
A huge plus of “Flinders” is precisely in the rate on the actors’ play and the relative simplicity of the plot. One episode per episode, one main intrigue and a whole story – this is what the procedures are good for. Moreover, the episodes are built really well, catching at the level of a strong thriller; what is only one scene with the parallel suffering of three clones.
The potential of such shows usually dries up not earlier than 2-3 seasons, so now is the time to enjoy “Debris”. It is also the perfect benefit for Tucker. The actor already finds a chance to show himself brilliantly, for example, in “Kingdom”, “American Gods” or “Westworld”.
But the role of Brian – the role of the forefront – is practically written for him. And even if the whipping up intrigue in “Wreckage” ends up being resolved by a weak ending, the series should be given a chance, at least for Tucker’s sake.
