On Apple TV - Rod Bishop recommends STAR CITY (Ronald D Moore, Matt Wolpert, Ben Nedivi, USA, 2026)

After five seasons of For All Mankind on Apple TV, the showrunners Moore, Wolper and Nedivi have produced an official spin-off.

It’s another space-race alternative history and Star City starts with the same premise: the Russians beat the Americans to a crewed landing on the Moon. But the similarities end there. This new series plots its own course as a paranoid spy thriller embedded in a counterfactual account of the 1970s Soviet space program.

The Russian “Chief Designer”, played by the underrated Rhys Ifens (channeling Max Von Sydow), pushes for a new, clandestine operation to send a crew of cosmonauts on a nine-month mission to Venus and rack up another space victory for the glory of Mother Russia.

The Americans have other ideas of course, and Star City spends almost as much time on spy craft as is does on space exploration. Le Carre’s “Moscow Rules” apply here and the malevolent Head of KGB surveillance Colonel Lyudmilla Rascova (the equally underrated Anna Maxwell Martin), holds command over the space scientists. She has to combat traitors and the dastardly Americans, with their CIA sponsored espionage, subterfuge and shadowy agents.

The grainy, gloomy cinematography and the totalitarian brutalist buildings of Star City give the series an unmistakable 1970s feel, reminiscent of the television adaptation of le Carre’s Tinker Tailor Soldier Spy. George Smiley would feel at home here.

It’s one of those series that gets better with each passing episode, and as the surveillance increases, so does the tension. Every character comes to feel they are being watched, and only one mistake will end their careers and maybe their lives. Things might turn worse at any moment; like the old 1970s saying “paranoia is true perception”.

Ryan Britt: “Sometimes, and this is a compliment, you forget this is a show about space travel…When Star City is at its best it’s a slow-burning spy show with the subject of optimism under extreme pressure.””

 

Streaming on Netflix - Rod Bishop is intrigued by THE SIGNAL (Sebastian Hilger, Philipp Leinemann, Germany, 2024)

Spoilers ahead:

In 1977, American astronomer Carl Sagan chaired a committee to choose 116 images and a variety of sounds for the “Golden Record” to be carried on the Voyager missions into the cosmos.

The hope was extraterrestrial intelligence would find the Voyagers and presumably sit down over a nice cup of tea to marvel at our Greetings from Earth in 55 languages and our documented sounds, including wild dogs, volcanoes, Morse Code and even Carl Sagan laughing.

More than twenty countries contributed to the music section including folk music from Peru; the Brandenberg Concerto from Germany; Mariachi from Mexico; and Yolngu songs from Australia.

Unsurprisingly, the USA chose four unique contributions – Navajo music; Louis Armstrong; Blind Willie Johnson; and Chuck Berry (“Johnny B. Goode”).

A year after the first Voyager launched, comedian Steve Martin claimed an alien civilization had already listened to the Golden Record:

“They sent us a message that actually proves it. It may be just four simple words but it is the first positive proof that other intelligent beings inhabit the universe. The four words that came to us from outer space…are… Send More Chuck Berry.”

In The Signal, a four-part sci-fi series from Germany, the Golden Record produces more laughs, perhaps unintentionally, but perhaps not.

Astronaut Paula (Peri Baumeister, above) is on a space mission funded by Indian billionaire Benisha Mudhi (Sheeba Chaddha) when she hears “Hello”… “Hello”… “Hello” coming from outer space on a craft headed to Earth. Paula is not entirely well, however. She once took an acid trip in a fun park and had “full blown psychosis” from it for some time after. She also managed to hide it from Mission Control.

About the time she hears the repeated “Hello” in space, she starts finding little crawling bugs under her skin and has to spend time in her sleep-capsule recovering. Nevertheless, she manages to plot the trajectory of the sound and work out where the alien craft will land on Earth.

There’s much skullduggery on the ground however, and a consensus among some powers has decided Earth isn’t ready for contact with an alien intelligence. Seems what they fear most is getting sick and dying, like the Aztecs. Better then to just blow up the alien craft with a big atom bomb.

Problem is, Paula has craftily concealed the true co-ordinates. It’s left to her hubby and daughter to be in the right place at the right time. When the alien craft does arrive, it turns out to be one of the Voyagers.

The stylus has stuck on the Golden Record with a voice repeating “Hello” “Hello” “Hello”, providing us with yet another reason to not go back to vinyl.

Seems these aliens are indifferent to us and our civilization, and not even impressed with Chuck Berry.

They just sent our space junk back to us.