Outcasts (TV Series) Episode #1.5 (2011) User Reviews

Diamonds and old bones

[Tweekums · 8/10 · 21 February 2011]

This is another good episode that gives us more hints about Carpathia and what the devious Julius Berger is really up to. The episode opens in Forthaven's bar; a strange man enters and asks for a drink then instead of handing over a card he drops a handful of diamonds in payment! Not surprisingly this creates a bit of a stir and he ends up in a fight with the Expeditionaries. Cass and Fleur are called and end up chasing him out of town, when they catch up with him they are lost but he offers to take them to the sea claiming that there are bodies there and that they will find paradise… they aren't keen to follow but have little choice. Stella, Jack and a tracker follow when they realise they are missing and that the strange man is Pak, part of the original group to land on Carpathia many years before. Meanwhile back in Forthaven people are obsessed with finding diamonds of their own which leads to an unusual agreement between Julius and Tate although it seems likely that the former is just using the situation to further his own agenda.

This episode had some gripping moments and gave the makers an excuse to show off some beautiful South African scenery as Fleur, Cass and Pak trek to the sea. Once again things are hinted at rather than explicitly explained; it is said the Pat murdered the leader of his group but we never learn if he did or if something else happened; we also don't know if the animals he sees are imaginary or part of some strange phenomena on Carpathia. One strange thing was the population's excitement about the discovery of diamonds; there was no obvious use for them so they would have little real value there.

Episode #1.5

[ComedyFan2010 · 6/10 · 23 December 2011]

This episode wasn't bad. I didn't like it as much as the previous one, but it had good points. My problem is that while it brings a lot of promise for the future with it's development, there wasn't that much action in it

I liked the introduction of Pak. They got the viewers interested in the character and his actions as well as in what happened in the past. The scene at the beach was very well done, good setting, dialogue and acting

The diamonds seem to be a beginning of an interesting storyline, it is interesting to see how it develops

And the ending was great. I liked the cliffhanger with Julius Bergher having the conversation about Tate, this shows us a promising future.

Not a bad episode...some lingering pitfalls

[gruff_morris · 5/10 · 22 February 2011]

This was a good episode, much better written than the first couple of pilot episodes. If they had written the entire series like this episode the ratings would be climbing....not falling.

Having said that, once again it suffers from the same bad eggs similarly to Lost. They introduce an intriguing character that has appeared from the wilderness (an original ExP from the advanced landing party). It is rumoured around the camp that he killed his fellow officers in cold blood, although in the back of the viewers mind lingers the thought of whether he did or not. On many occasions there are references to the killing and suspicions grow as to whether he did it or not, but the character doesn't want to explain it when asked by Cass and Fleur. The disappointing thing here is they kill the interesting character off (once again) without ever getting to the truth about the killings. It is so frustrating having a point of intrigue draw you into the show, and find out they never had the intention of answering it (Cue Lost). Why do this?

The whole thing about the diamonds is quite interesting, as it maintains the actual human incessant need for material things. Whilst it has no use (as Tate points out) human nature is to lust after precious materials and stones. I hope they keep the diamonds in, it adds another dimension to the life of people living at Fort haven.

Dumb and dumber..........

[fowler190 · 3/10 · 24 February 2011]

I have watched all the episodes so far (and commented on 3). i decided to watch the next few before posting a comment again.

The biggest problem i have with "Outcasts" is that it does not know what it wants to be. It is certainly a "personal issues" soap opera. I find the characters very thin and lightweight, the plot, dull and plodding with easy to guess story lines and how the next few episodes and the internal "political conflicts" will go. So episode 2 we have the "bad" guy, who by episode 4 is going to "take over", yawn.

It is SciFi in as much as it is on an Alien World.

But those who see mankind's first colony as a great story for the exploration of this new world, mapping and traveling this strange land will feel let down. No strange animals, no maps of the land (well not seen on screen), no outposts, no farming of the land, no economy that we can see, no roads or tracks, no vehicles, no aircraft, no wells, no wind or solar power plants etc etc etc People seem to live in the town and drink in bars, walk around and well....thats it.

The idea that the "ACs", a large group of genetically engineered clones are somehow hidden from the thousands of colonists is a stretch. But now they live a la Mad Max, like some hip and trendy cult outside the town. They live in and on the land, they know where water is and how food can be got, yet the people in Forthaven seem never to go outside and have no idea of their local surroundings.

And so we find in episode 5 that the first man to land on the planet is not dead, but alive. He wanders into the town, sprinkles diamonds on the bar and the place goes crazy. So the town starts to fall apart in five minutes flat, muggings take place as diamonds are sought,society crumbles......A lazy and more dumb piece of writing i have yet to see. And then we throw in a "touching" scene of finding the perfectly formed bodies of a "human like" man, woman and baby fossilized by the sea in the sand rich with thousands of diamonds.

The BBC are moving it to a late night Sunday "Dead spot" from now on. I am sad to see such a chance lost, the story has been weak and slow from day one. If the story was better, the characters better written and the plot more believable, then maybe it would not be the flop it is.