Two Royal Navy ships in 1846 get icebound in the Arctic while trying to navigate the Northwest Passage. Despair and disease are the least of the crews’ problems as a lurking terror starts making its presence known.

AMC’s 10-part adaptation of Dan Simmons’ 2007 speculative history fiction novel delivers a sense of unease and dread rather than jump scares or a kinetic pace. Based on the real-life account of the expedition of the HMS Erebus and the HMS Terror (what a prescient name!), Simmons takes historical fact as his jumping off point and then posits a hefty ‘What if…’ story to explain what happened to the crew.

The shipwrecks were discovered as recently as 2014 and 2016, and in the show’s opening scene it’s explained that the ships have disappeared without a trace. So this is less about whether they make it out alive rather what befell the poor souls. Sir Francis Crozier is leader of the expedition and captain of the eponymous Terror, played by Jared Harris (The Expanse). He realises the futility of the situation sooner than proud Captain John Franklin (Ciaran Hinds – Game of Thrones) and over-confident James Fitzjames (Tobias Menzies – Outlander). They put on a brave stiff upper lip in the face of the grim reality they find themselves in.

When thinking of polar bears and creatures on the ice, I immediately think of Lost and Fortitude, though as this is a limited-event series, we can be reassured that this won’t drag on beyond its sell-by date.

In the opening episode the crews have to deal with consumption, a man falling overboard into the icy waters, and failing to release the propeller that will set them on their way. A gory autopsy ups the claret factor, but this isn’t a series that jumps out from the dark corners. The second episode (shown back to back with the opener) is set eight months later and the crews are making lengthy expeditions in different directions with the hope of finding help or civilisation. But when one of the party is picked off by what looks like a giant polar bear, things rapidly go downhill.

This is a handsome looking show, the icy landscape being well realised with two very authentic looking sets. The only difficulty at present is in distinguishing between some of the bearded ‘below decks’ who don’t register as individuals and are likely to be the show’s red shirts, albeit in Navy blue.

Verdict: Chilling and chilly, this is an atmospheric show that is in no hurry to show its hand too early and instead cranks up the tension and dread. Like the Titanic’s fateful maiden voyage, you know something bad is going to happen on the ice, and you can only sit back and watch it happen in slow motion. 8/10

Nick Joy