Salvation - Season 1 (2017)

	Also Known As: -
	Year of first release: 2017
	Creators: Elizabeth Kruger, Craig Shapiro, Matt JL Wheeler
	Actors: Santiago Cabrera, Jennifer Finnigan, Charlie Rowe
	Country: USA
	Genre: Thriller, Action
	Conditions of visioning: December 2017, VOD, 10" tablet screen
Synopsis: An MIT student (Rowe) discovers that an asteroid will hit the Earth half a year later. He brings the news to billionaire Darius Tanz (Cabrera) that will take it to the government.
Review: This new series popped up on my radar probably because I watched others in the same genre recently, in particular The Expanse. The series starts like an End of the World / Fight for survival story that I usually like (and I am a fan of Deep Impact), except that the main characters are too much of a melting pot to be believable: the genius grad student quickly getting big responsibilities, the Tech billionaire with no doubt inspired by our real-life Elon Musk including his Tony Stark syndrome, and the White House press secretary Claire (Finnigan) who on top of being the center of a love triangle (or even a square) will act as link to the government which will be more and more present in the story. Because if the series starts as a SciFi one it quickly evolves to politics, and even World politics at that. But those stakes are tackled with the same naivety as in Designated Survivor. The omnipresent role of Darius Tanz is overwhelming, the love stories out of place and sometimes embarrassing to watch, the Science more than approximate (the most revolutionary propulsion system ever built is assembled in one day in a hangar!?!) and the special effects barely acceptable. But the series is not as cheap as any SyFy production, and even though it tries similarly to cover too many topic, it is done well enough to be entertaining. More annoying is an embarrassing product placement in every single episode, a bit more discreet but more frequent than, again, in Designated Survivor. So I started watching Salvation for the asteroid story, continued for the rapid evolution of the series, and finished it because it was easy and I waited for a resolution that didn't come.
Rating: 4 /10