Maureen has discovered what is causing the environmental problems on the planet, but should she tell the others what they’re facing?

There’s some really nice location work when two chariots set off across the plain in a quest to recover the fuel from West’s crashed ship. The roguish smuggler completes his transformation into Han Solo by revealing how mercenary he is (trading life-saving information for money) and even calling Penny ‘Princess’! But his is one of the fun characters in an ensemble of very serious people, no more so than leader Victor, who is determined to remove the fun from any situation.

Angela gets the chance to shine in this episode, being manipulated by the machinations of Parker Posey’s Smith. It’s a great performance, and the imposter doctor veers from being a coward to full-blooded psychopath. Her control of Angela leads to the climactic scene where Robot is forced to protect his charge, but in doing so reveals himself to be too dangerous to have around. It’s a heart-breaking scene when Will takes control and walks Robot out to his death by instructing him to commit robo-suicide.

There’s some lust in space when Penny and Vijay finally confess how they feel about one another, though you can’t help but feel this is a doomed relationship. The scenes between Toby Stephens’ John and son Will are also well-played, the absent father getting the chance to bond with his youngest child and explaining the tough realities of responsibility.

Verdict: Another solid episode with excellent special effects and impressive use of barren locations. The planet is about to explode, but so too are the tempers of our feuding spaceship-wrecked survivors. 7/10

Nick Joy