Its name revoked, its members shamed, the House of El is no more, and its youngest son struggles to make ends meet as a hustler in the dark underbelly of the city of Kandor. But his own heroism and the arrival of a mysterious stranger set in motion a series of events for which young Seg-El could never have been prepared.

What I heard about Krypton was a lot of talk about how it would be ‘going its own way’ and ‘writing a new mythos’ in the Superman universe. Disappointing then, that for all its promise in certain areas, this show really doesn’t seem to know how to let go of the coat tails of the big red and blue boy scout.

It starts in the first scene, in what I’m sure the showrunners thought would maybe translate as a subtle nod, as Val-El, Seg’s grandfather, is sentenced to death for ‘treason’ by the corrupt regime running Krypton. Ian McElhinney strides forth in a one piece suit with a red cape flowing behind him, that big ‘not an S’ symbol resplendent on the back as it whips in the wind. Unfortunately, the people behind the show obviously decided that this was too subtle. Over the course of the episode we get multiple references, call-backs and props that seem designed specifically for the show to keep nudging you in the ribs, winking and giggling pleasedly at itself for cramming in yet another reference to the origin property that it’s definitely not clinging to.

Seg himself is a reasonably likeable character in the brief moments when Cameron Cuffe is actually allowed to act, but unfortunately the pilot seeks to cram in so very much that it’s impossible to avoid the feeling of him just being wheeled from one scene to the next for the sake of exposition, and this combined with the variable tone of what little personality the script allows him makes it feel frankly all over the place. Other characters come on screen, deliver whatever bit of dialogue is needed to shove proceedings along to the next major plot point and then vanish again with almost machine-like precision. It’s a shame, because it’s a decent cast, filled with people doing their best with what they have, but what they have isn’t really enough.

But my biggest bugbear, if I’m being honest, is that between obviously big budget effects, decent set design, and a whole rich, unexplored tapestry of Kryptonian history, social change and everything else, the show sees fit to focus on one of the most mundane, hackneyed plot devices ever, and then doubles down by executing it in the most cliched and overused ways possible. Seriously, if you don’t groan when the ‘hourglass’ line gets delivered, you’re a better person than me.

There’s potential here – the relationship between Seg and his lover is one that comes loaded with possibility, both because of its circumstances as well as the resonance of the names involved. I’m intrigued to learn more about the current regime and how it took over from the previous, more enlightened one (although a show set on an alien planet populated by a super advanced civilisation which is presided over by an authority whose central tenet of faith is that they are alone in the universe – contradiction of which is considered ‘treasonous’ – is a little hard to swallow), and to learn more about how Kryptonian society works (and doesn’t). But for that to happen, the show needs to get out of its own way, allow its characters to breathe, and stop clutching the end of that big red cape so tightly.

Verdict: It was always going to come weighted with an enormous burden of expectation, and in fairness, it doesn’t completely buckle under that pressure. But it needs to grow up and be its own thing sooner rather than later if it isn’t going to be another one season wonder in the genre. 4/10

Greg D. Smith