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Virtuality is a serious science fiction story that follows the 12 person crew of the Phaeton on its one-way journey to a distance star in search of intelligent life and hopefully someway to save a failing Earth or at least a way to keep the human race alive (or that's how I interpret it, anyway). That much of it sounds like something we've seen before and that's not entirely a bad thing, there's some comfort in watching a well-established concept... but things are a little different on the Phaeton.

First of all, the entire journey is being filmed by various cameras positioned within and outside the ship, edited onboard, and beamed back to Earth as a reality television program with 5 billion loyal fans. No pressure guys... Second, as a way to give the crew their needed privacy and a break from the stresses of long-term space travel, they have been provided with a virtual reality system. Think of it like Star Trek: The Next Generation's holodeck, except initiated through a set of goggles instead of a special room. Third, there's a glitch in the system.

Since this two hour feature was meant to be a pilot for a television series, we get some basic insight into several of the characters and their motivations and personal tragedies. We see their breaking points and what they do to find release from these stresses. Most of the actors are entirely new to me and those I do recognize aren't big names that I immediately know. Yet, they're all quite good and I found their performances, which felt rather reality show-like (complete with a Real World style confessional) to be convincing and satisfying.

There are some really intriguing conflicts set up throughout the program and by the end things have really gotten complicated. It's all setting up for what could be a really good weekly drama... only, it almost certainly won't be. The show aired on FOX on a Friday night with no advertising to speak of resulting in only 1.5 million viewers. That's half of what other shows like the now canceled Terminator: The Sarah Conner Chronicles earned. This saddens me. Virtuality looks to have been a really entertaining science fiction drama that definitely would have kept me tuned in every week. Way to go FOX. If you want a chance to see it, you can find Virtuality on Hulu right now, but only for 14 more days.

4/5