When space cruiser Avenue 5 is knocked off course, it’s up to its captain, Ryan Clark, to come up with a solution. But he’s not the best man for the job.

Armando Iannucci’s new eight-part sci-fi comedy series for HBO certainly shows promise in its half-hour premiere episode, displaying the knowing wit and invention we’ve come to expect from the Thick of It writer.

It’s an undefined year in the future and the wealthy are spending their holidays on interstellar cruises. But whatever the year, some things never change. We have the precocious millionaire owner (Josh Gad), the charming but useless Captain (Hugh Laurie), the irritating guest (Iannucci regular Rebecca Front), a bickering couple, an ex-astronaut (Star Trek: Voyager’s Ethan Phillips) and many more.

We meet a lot of characters in 30 minutes, some being little more than brief introductions, and one assumes that as the season progresses we’ll get to know them better. What really kicks things into gear is an event that knocks the ship off course, meaning that it’ll take them three years to get home.

Verdict: A comedic disaster movie in space, populated with snarky stereotypes who drop some absolutely delicious lines in the face of stupidity and peril. Well worth a trip. 8/10

Nick Joy