The crew of the Demeter 227 evacuate the ship after an accident. Most don’t make it to the surface. The ones that do soon realise how much trouble they’re in.

This show looks like nothing I’ve seen this decade. It’s a remarkable achievement, the fluid animation evoking European cult classic La Planète Sauvage as much as it does Akira. The wildlife that menaces and aids the crew by turns feels like interacting with an alien watch. Monolothic herds of cow-like cylindrical crabs destroy Azi and Levi’s crops while Sam and Ursula use fish as breathing masks and escape equipment. Visually the show is sumptuous. Words don’t convey how graceful and weird and cool it is.

They do convey how well written it is though. This first episode dots between three plots. Sunita Mani and Bob Stephenson play Ursula and Sam, two crewmembers stranded together and working to get a signal to the Demeter in orbit. Mani and Stephenson have an easy, affable chemistry even as their quest gets distinctly Cronenbergian and you like them instantly. Likewise Wunmi Musaku and Alia Shawkat as Azi and Levi. Azi is a pragmatist, building crops to survive until pickup while Levi is their jovial, and possibly corrupted robot. They have a tetchier relationship than Sam and Ursula but it’s no less likable and Musaku and Shawkat are standouts in a cast of great voice talent. Ted Travelstead, as Kamen, gets the least to do so far. Traumatised and alone for months, he looks set to be closer to the planet than any of them and his scenes balance nightmarish flashbacks with moments of genuine beauty.

That’s the big thing you take home from this episode. These people have been on the surface for a while and their different methods of survival are all struggling to gain traction. As the episode finishes, and the Demeter answers Sam and Ursula’s signal relief is balanced by tension.

Verdict: Whether these people can work together again remains to be seen but based on this excellent first episode, finding out is going to be a ride. 10/10

Alasdair Stuart