The crew hatch an idea to try to stop Cynthia’s influence over the ship. Thale gets invited to be more of a team player. Rowan continues to be fascinated by the contents of the probe. D’Branin continues to struggle with his own emotions.

So, the probe came back and it was full of biological matter. That was weird, right? Then it turned out that it was human biological matter. Weirder still. Then it turned out that biological human matter was literally genetically identical to Karl D’Branin. So we’re off the scale with the oddity now, yeah? And then Lommie spoke to the probe and found out that it had so much data on it, and the reason for that was that it had been out in space for over a thousand years.

My point is, why is anyone not talking about that last part in this episode? Doesn’t merit a mention, not even once, because people (Lommie included) are too focused on their new genius plan to put Cynthia back in her box so that they can get on with the mission uninterrupted by any more minor inconveniences (like people dying).

I struggle to empathise with the show not because its central concepts are bonkers (they are) nor even because it has so many different sub-plots and threads running alongside one another (it does) but simply because none of these people reacts to anything normally. They’re on a ship in deep space hunting down First Contact with aliens, and the fact that people are dying, the ship is haunted by the Captain’s dead mum and the aliens themselves appear to be messing with them now by sending back time-travelling versions of their own probe filled to the brim with the guts of one of them hasn’t sent them all barking mad or made anyone sit down and say ‘You know what? Maybe this mission really isn’t worth the hassle.’

Still, Thale continues to be the most interesting and compelling presence to watch about the whole thing, now being brought in to properly assist as a part of the team. Despite (or perhaps because of) his antics when he’s bored, people actually seem to be willing to start treating him a little more like a person, which is nice, and whether he can continue to rise to that expectation and they can continue to treat him normally remains to be seen.

Rowan seems the only one majorly interested in the probe, and it’s at least starting to become a little clearer what his major malfunction might end up being, given the outcome of his first appearance on screen. D’Branin is still agonising over his wife and his obvious affection for his ex who he brought along on this mission for totally professional reasons, honest, and Lommie might just be the most interesting character of all this time out.

That she’s a tech specialist with direct linking capabilities with computers who happens to have grown up on a Luddite commune is bonkers enough, but here we get to explore a little about Lommie the person, and it turns out she isn’t just the shy, retiring wallflower IT nerd after all. I’m genuinely interested to know more.

Verdict: Still too much going on, and still hitting a 10 on the bonkers factor, it’s now at least starting to feel a little more original in a lot of what it’s doing. I just wish the cast felt as if they were reacting in a realistic fashion to the madness unfolding around them. Still, points for effort. 7/10

Greg D. Smith