James Cameron speaks to film-makers and subject experts about the history of science fiction in a series of face-to-face interviews, supported by clips.

It’s easy to see why with such a big name behind it AMC greenlit this six-part exploration of sci-fi. James Cameron has created and directed his own fair share of genre movies, but more than that, he is incredibly well connected with Hollywood and on the basis of those he spends time with here, has a most impressive set of contacts on his phone.

How else would you get Steven Spielberg, George Lucas, Christopher Nolan, Ridley Scott, Will Smith and Arnold Schwarzenegger to share their own personal experiences to camera? They sit opposite Cameron, who doesn’t so much interview them but engages in a conversation. And because he can relate his own experience to theirs, it’s a dialogue that’s easy-going, insightful and full of anecdotes.

The big hitters reappear across most of the episodes, which are divided into Alien Life, Space Exploration, Monsters, Dark Futures, Intelligent Machines and Time Travel. In each segment a number of key films or TV shows are singled out and then the star, director, writer, producer shares their insight around inspiration and what they were aiming for. Among the celebrities we also get talking heads from scientists, astronauts, astronomers, culture critics and historians, each adding their own take on the subject.

As you’d imagine, Spielberg and Scott are back multiple times (they have the CVs to earn this right) and they’re never less than witty and enthusiastic. I particularly liked the archive footage of HG Wells, Robert Heinlein and Ray Bradbury and snippets of behind-the-scenes footage that I’d never seen before.

Verdict: Inevitably, a personal journey through such a large universe of material occasionally leads to the absence of the viewer’s own favourites, but as a rounded introduction to the genre it certainly deals with all the obvious classics and even the most well-read aficionado will likely find something new – I’m off to find The Killer Shrews! 9/10

Nick Joy