AWAY [Netflix]

After watching two episodes of Hilary Swank’s new series, Away, I am walking away. I like Hilary Swank and I like the premise of an international mission to travel to Mars. But, from showrunner Jessica Goldberg (“The Path”) to executive producer and writer Jason Katims (“Parenthood,” “Friday Night Lights”) the emphasis of this series is on family drama.

Hilary Swank plays Emma Green, the mission to Mars commander. But two of her crew members–the Russian engineer and the Chinese chemist–don’t trust Emma. Even the pilot from India and the botanist from Africa are shaky allies. So there’s a lot of drama with the crew. I could deal with that, but then there’s all the family drama. Just before the flight to Mars, Emma’s husband (Josh Charles) has a medical emergency. Emma’s teenage daughter (Talitha Bateman) specializes in angst.

So, not enough action, not enough Science Fiction, and too much emoting by all the actors on the screen. I have plenty of other TV programs to watch. GRADE: C-

22 thoughts on “AWAY [Netflix]

  1. Steve Oerkfitz

    SF and soap opera with emphasis on the soap opera. I gave up after two episodes for much the same reasons you did. And I am not much of a Hilary Swank fan. I give it a D-.

    Reply
    1. george Post author

      Steve, our local TV critic commented that the AWAY video connections were way better than our local TV channels that have been plagued with “technical problems” during the pandemic.

      Reply
  2. Michael Padgett

    This is the sort of thing I might try if it got great reviews, and it hasn’t. So I’ll pass. The only thing I’ve seen on Netflix so far this month is Charlie Kaufman’s truly weird “I’m Thinking of Ending Things”, based on the terrific Iain Reid novel. There’s no in between on this–you’ll love it or hate it.

    Reply
  3. Jeff Meyerson

    Of course, Jackie liked this a lot more than I did, though we only watched the first episode so far. It is not looking promising to me either.

    One thing no one else has mentioned (a minor point). How old would those of you who watched this guess the daughter is? With the looks, the very babyish voice, and the crying, I’d say early to mid-teens, but the actress playing the role is 19. Hard for me to believe.

    I’ll give it one more try before abandoning it to Jackie. But then, she watches a bunch of shows I don’t – ABSENTIA was the latest.

    Reply
  4. Patti Abbott

    To be fair, I think they did indicate it was about the issues of leaving your family. “Home Can Never Leave You” is right on the poster.

    Reply
  5. Jeff Meyerson

    There was no indication of it in the first episode, but Wikipedia says the Chinese woman is “in a loveless marriage” with her husband. Frankly, who cares? If I wanted to watch a soap opera, it wouldn’t be about a cold, obnoxious b!tch.

    Reply
    1. george Post author

      Jeff, I liked the crusty and difficult Russian astronaut who knew more about Space Travel than the rest of the crew put together. There are elements of AWAY that could have made it a fascinating series, but the emphasis on angst and drama rather than action and adventure caused me to pull the plug on this show.

      Reply
      1. george Post author

        Steve, meanwhile, I’m watching Ridley Scott’s RAISED BY WOLVES on HBO Max. I’ve only watched one episode so I need to watch more before I form an opinion on the series.

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