Stars: Liam Cunningham, Hermione Norris, Daniel Mays, Amy Manson, Ashley Walters, Eric Mabius, Langley Kirkwood, Michael Legge, Jeanne Kietzmann, Juliet Aubrey, Rebekah Nathan, Maddy Baskerville, Dylan Fourie, Melissa Haiden, Sean Cameron Michael, Bongo Mbutuma
Writer: David Farr
Director:  Andy Goddard
Network: BBC America, airs Saturday nights
Original Telecast: July 23, 2011

In the sixth episode of the BBC America sci-fi series, OUTCASTS,  Josie Hunter (Juliet Aubrey), the only survivor of a missing expeditionary force on a mysterious mission, returns to Forthaven and reunites with her children but exhibits strange behavior. When it turns out that she herself attacked her teammates and that an identical Josie is limping back to town, the obvious question arises: What the hell has come to this struggling colony, and is it part of the simultaneous AC assault on the compound or something wholly…alien?

The only problem with this episode is one of predictability, and that’s where casting comes into play here. The moment Aubrey – best known to BBC America viewers as the evil Helen Cutter from PRIMEVAL – shows her face, you just know that her character is going to not only be the lynchpin of the story but dark and devious. And naturally that’s just what she is; at least this time, she didn’t bring any carnivorous dinosaurs or future predators with her…yet.

Nevertheless, you can’t do better if you want to cast someone to play a haunted, duplicitous, insane and possibly alien woman intent on manipulating everyone around her for her own personal agenda. To Aubrey’s credit she also gets to play a haunted, honest, completely victimized Josie as well. In fact, she gets so much screen time that it’s to the detriment of a lot of the regular cast’s ongoing stories.

The doppelganger angle also feels a little tired after a lot of original character building in past episodes. The notion of this other being seeking to know what love is feels like bad third season STAR TREK rather than OUTCASTS, although the existence of the character is at least intriguing for the implications it holds about alien life on the planet Carpathia. Since we’re two episodes away from the final installment ever, we’re not likely to find out where she came from.

The secondary plot concerning the birth of dead expeditionary Brian Docherty’s baby is also a bit old hat. We know the colony is struggling with mortality and birth rates, but when mother and child are threatened by the loss of power just before the AC attack, it feels like typical soap opera stuff. If they have to choose, who will they save, the mother or the baby? We just don’t know enough about the Dochertys to care as much as we would if they had based this storyline on one of the previously introduced characters.

The result is that after a run of superb episodes, this one feels a bit like running in place or even losing ground. As for the continuing tug of war between President Tate (Liam Cunningham) and Julius Berger (Eric Mabius), this part of the saga needs to move forward instead of lingering on repetitive verbal sparring sessions. In fact at this point, even with what little Tate knows about Berger’s machinations compared with what we know as viewers, there’s still no reason he shouldn’t just put a bullet in this troublemaker’s head and blame it on the ACs. Still, if this is as bad as OUTCASTS gets, that’s not bad at all.

And yes, I was wrong last week, it wasn’t about a “creepy girl” at all but her creepy mother instead. The preview led me astray, what can I say? Next week, Cass (Daniel Mays) has an identity crisis of a different sort.

AGREE? DISAGREE? LET US KNOW HOW YOU FEEL – COMMENT BELOW!

Click on link: AX’s Interview with OUTCASTS and MI-5 creator Ben Richards
Click on link: AX’s review of OUTCASTS – Episode 1
Click on link: AX’s review of OUTCASTS – Episode 2
Click on link: AX’s review of OUTCASTS – Episode 3
Click on link: AX’s review of OUTCASTS – Episode 4
Click on link: AX’s review of OUTCASTS – Episode 5

CLICK HERE for AX’s List on “THE FIVE QUESTIONS WE HOPE DOCTOR WHO – SERIES 6 ANSWERS”

CLICK HERE for Neil Gaiman talking about scripting his Season 6 DOCTOR WHO episode

CLICK HERE for brand new photos from DOCTOR WHO – Season 6 – including new poster

CLICK HERE to view the new EXTENDED SEASON 6 DOCTOR WHO trailer

CLICK HERE for Actor Mark Sheppard talking about his role in a Season 6 episode of DOCTOR WHO

Article Source: Assignment X
Article: Review – OUTCASTS – Season 1 – “Episode Six”

Click on link: AX’s review of OUTCASTS – Episode 3

Click on link: AX’s review of OUTCASTS – Episode 3

Eric Mabius and Hermione Norris in OUTCASTS - Series 1 - Episode 6 | ©2010 Kudos/BBC

Click on link: AX’s review of OUTCASTS – Episode 4

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