In a bold new age, NASA and the Soviet Union are both racing to get to Mars. Meanwhile, closer to home, Karen’s latest ambitious project plays host to a special wedding, but will it all be happily ever after?

Fair to say, a lot has changed since we last saw the characters of this alternative history show, and to its credit, it catches us all up quickly.

Up in orbit, the Hotel Polaris, the world’s first space-bound hotel, is about to play host to the wedding of none other than Danny Stevens himself. The first wedding on the new facility and a chance for it to shine and bring glory to Karen and Sam’s newest venture. Yes, Karen and Ed’s marriage didn’t survive that counselling, though they seem to have reached an amicable enough place (presumably for the sake of daughter Kelly) and where Karen is with Sam, Ed is with a new wife we gather isn’t the first.

As you might predict from the outset, the whole escapade on the hotel doesn’t go according to plan, and there’s tension, excitement and even some casualties along the way. But that’s not why we are really here.

As always the characters are what make the show. Ed and Karen’s apparently amicable post-divorce life is only the tip of the iceberg. We have a new (and perhaps surprising) Republican Presidential candidate going up against Bill Clinton. Margot continues to run NASA with her trademark sense of control but has the twin issues of Molly being a giant pain in her backside and her continued relationship with Sergei, in which each occasionally gives the other a tip to help their respective programs along. Not the best tightrope to walk when you’re in direct competition to get the Red Planet first, even less so when it looks like the competition might be about to steal a march on you.

Aleida is now a fully-fledged engineer at NASA and juggling the pressures of working on a new engine to get her employer’s space craft to Mars while living with her partner and son and father, which presents challenges all of its own.

And then there’s the Stevens kids. Gordo and Tracy died heroes, but their kids show every sign of being just as messed up as their folks ever were. Danny may be getting married, but there’s a flicker there of awkwardness between him and Karen, a sense of unfinished business which may rear its head down the line. As for his brother Jimmy, he’s got reasons of his own to feel bitter, and he doesn’t much seem to mind who he lets know about it.

As the show brings us up to speed in an opening montage that skilfully blends real world history with its own embellishments, the meat of the episode brings us right back to the heart of a cast of fascinating characters and the struggles, triumphs and tragedies experienced by every one of them. Space missions might go wrong, lives may be risked and lost out in the big black. But the human drama at the heart of it is what keeps this show compelling.

Verdict: A great return for a strong show which promises some interesting developments for this new season. 8/10

Greg D. Smith