b e a u h a v e n ...: November 2009

BR: Andrew Airlie, Karen Leblanc, Peter Howitt, Florentine Lahme, Ron Livingston, Laura Harris, Maxim Roy, Eyal Podell, and Christina Cox. FR: Malik Yoba, Paula Graces, Dylan Taylor, Zahf Paroo, and Ty Olsson.

You know me and sci-fi … love it, love it, LOVE IT!! And this has become my latest love. Which kind of sucks, as I DVRd it over the Summer then only got around to watching it this weekend. My very, very bad, as it’s since been canceled. Well, ain’t that the suckage? And it’s a combined US/Canadian/German production, so you just know it couldn’t find a network home anywhere (in the US that is … Canada, Germany, and the UK are going ahead with the entire season, although I doubt there’ll be any more).

Anywho ... in 2052, the eight member ethnically diverse crew of the Antares sets off on a six year multi planet research voyage of the solar system … which is actually a mission having less to do with research and more to do with “Beta”, the alien in Pod 4; the result of an encounter 15 years prior. Beta has all kinds of thrills and chills in store for our crew that emerge throughout the series.

The crew, led by a couple veterans who were involved in the (failed) Mars mission a decade earlier, is made up of highly trained rookies. The timeline is a bit fluid, in that there are so very many flashbacks that it really doesn’t matter in which order later episodes are viewed. The story shifts back and forth between the Antares-in-the-present-day and the mission selection/training that took place five years earlier. Said flashbacks do nicely to fill in character history and relations (Ted dated Jen but is now wed to Eve; Jen is now married to Rollie; Donner loved Sharon, had a one-night-stand with Zoe, and is now fuck-buddies with Schilling; Claire and Evram are engaged; Morales and Wassenfelder seem to have begun the typical young romance of folk-who-have-nothing-in-common-but-luuuurve).

Oh, yeah … and it has Ron Livingston and Ty Olsson in it. SCORE! And the rest of the cast is freakin’ perfect … A-plus for the casting director here:

Beta/Antares: Some sort of mind-bending alien life-form (or not?) that resides in Pod 4 of the Antares. Had a hand in who made the Antares team (which most likely means had something to do with Ajay’s and Rollie’s heart conditions) and subjects Antares crew members to mild-to-strong hallucinations regularly.
Zoe Barnes/Antares Geologist (Laura Harris): United States. Had a one-night stand with Donner that resulted in an aborted pregnancy of which he is unaware. Shares recurring dream with Donner. Hallucinates sounds of a baby.
Jen Crane/Antares Biologist (Christina Cox): Canada. Married to Rollie Crane, had past relationship with Ted Shaw, best friend and confidant to Zoe Barnes. Is attempting to raise a bunny from test embryo she neglected to destroy once experiment was complete. No hallucinations to date.
Rollie Crane/Mission Control (Ty Olsson): United States. Married to Jen Crane.
Grounded Antares Commander who was medically removed due to mysterious heart condition.
Claire Dereux/Mission Control Flight Surgeon (Maxim Roy); Canada. Evram Mintz's girlfriend. Knows about “Beta”.
Maddux Donner/Antares Flight Engineer (Ron Livingston): United States. Was part of Mars mission that haunts him because they left two behind – his lover Sharon Lewis and crewmate Jeff Walker – all have been led to believe, by Goss and the ISO, that the Mars mission failure was Donner’s fault. Got Zoe Barnes preggers prior to training for the Antares mission (but doesn’t know it) and shares a recurring dream with her. Is sleeping with crewmate Nadia Schilling. Was a last-minute replacement for Ajay on the Antares mission, due to Beta interference (e.g., Ajay’s and Rollie’s heart conditions). Hallucinates various elements of the failed Mars mission; most notably the suited-up Sharon and Jeff.
Mike Goss/Mission Control Commander (Andrew Airlie): Was on the Mars mission; made the decision to leave crewmembers Sharon and Jeff behind. If he seems to have a hidden agenda that’s only ‘cuz it’s true, and its name is “Beta” … and it’s hidden in Pod 4 on the Antares … and he doesn’t want the Antares crew told until they reach Venus. The prick. To Goss the ends almost always justify the means.
Sharon Lewis/Mars Mission Casualty (Lara Gilchrist): was left behind together with Walker during the Mars mission. She was Donner's lover at the time.
Evram Mintz/Antares Psychiatrist & Medical Officer (Eyal Podell): Isreal. Claire Dereux's boyfriend. Suffers horrific PTSD from when he served in the military prior to joining the Antares mission. Currently undergoing treatment for alcohol withdrawal. Hallucinates the bomb strike and his subsequent entrapment under the wreckage that resulted in the terrible burn scarring on his back.
Paula Morales/Antares Payload Specialist, Lander Pilot, and On-Board Documentary Producer (Paula Garcés): United States. Finds true comfort in her faith. Produces terrific documentary episodes for the children of Earth (this is a multinational endeavor after all). Continually frustrated by Wassenfelder, with whom she is stuck working often. Hallucinates the death of her beloved dog.
Nadia Schilling/Antares Pilot (Florentine Lahme): Germany. Sleeping with Donner, but no strings. Hallucinates some dude running around the Antares (it was later revealed by series creator James Parriott that Schilling was an hermaphrodite and Beta was causing her to “turn” male).
Ted Shaw/Antares Commander (Malik Yoba): United States. Married to Eve Weller (although had a past relationship with Jen Crane). Knows about Beta, and is torn because he’s been forbidden to tell his crew for the time being, but knows that if they were told it would take a load off their minds of the oh-so-I’m-not-going-crazy-after-all variety. Hallucinates windstorm of failed Mars mission.
Ajay Sharma/Mission Control (Zahf Paroo): India. Grounded Antares Flight Engineer (due to that pesky heart problem caused by Beta). Forced off the Antares mission by Goss, but has been reinstated due to mini-mutiny of Antares crew, who demand Ajay’s return as he is intimately familiar with the ship and is very necessary to aid in repairs. Fiercely loyal to Donner (e.g., H2IK).
Jeff Walker/Mars Mission Casualty (Rick Ravanello): was left behind on Mars with Lewis.
Steve Wassenfelder/Antares Theoretical Physicist (Dylan Taylor): United States. Comes across as a big oaf who eats too much and doesn’t contribute much but, as Schilling once said, sometimes he finds a thumb. Delights in tormenting Morales (but that thumb he found? hers). Considered a failure, but Beta wanted him on Antares for some reason. No hallucinations to date.
Eve Weller-Shaw/Mission Control’s Bertram Corporation Scientist/Liaison (Karen LeBlanc): United States. Was ostensibly in charge of Antares crew selection (but really that was Beta). “Communicates” with Beta on occasion. Married to Ted Shaw. Knows about Beta.
Trevor Williams/BBC Journalist (Peter Howitt): United Kingdom. Suspects the ISO isn't being entirely candid regarding the Antares mission, so has made it his mission to figure out what is really going on.