Monday 17 January 2011

TRAILER: 'Outcasts', BBC

Monday 17 January 2011

The BBC have released the first full-length trailer for their upcoming sci-fi drama Outcasts, about a group of colonists in the future trying to settle on an alien world known as Carpathia. There's even a handy summary and character list, below:

Summary:

With Earth no longer habitable, a group of courageous pioneers have traveled to another planet to begin again. They've built the town of Forthaven on Carpathia and have the unique opportunity of creating a new and better future on another planet. Led by President Tate (Liam Cunningham, Clash Of The Titans) and his core team of Stella (Hermione Norris, Spooks), Cass (Daniel Mays, Atonement) and Fleur (Amy Manson, Being Human), they're determined to run the civilization in a democratic way, but some tough decisions in the past may prove divisive.

As the series begins, it's a moment of incredible anticipation. Forthaven has lost all contact with Earth but the arrival of the last known transporter, with Julius Berger (Eric Mabius of Ugly Betty) on board, signals fresh hopes and dreams. But why does President Tate seem anxious about the imminent arrival of Berger and will the transporter land safely with Stella's husband and daughter, who she heartbreakingly left behind?

Meanwhile those appointed Expeditionaries, Mitchell (Jamie Bamber, Battlestar Galactica) and Jack (Ashley Walters, Hustle), have a mission to explore the new planet and bring back vital information to the settlement. Will they find other life out there, or do they truly have the planet to themselves?

The settlers are a diverse group of individuals who left their old lives behind in extraordinary circumstances. They've been promised a second chance but are far away from home, friends, family and their pasts. Passionate about their jobs, confident of their ideals and optimistic about the future, they work hard to preserve what they've built on the planet they now call home.

Carpathia offers the possibility of redemption as the new inhabitants try to avoid the mistakes made on Earth. Inevitably they cannot escape the human pitfalls of love, greed, lust, loss, corruption and a longing for those they've left behind. As they continue to work and live together, they come to realize this is no ordinary planet. Is there a bigger purpose at work? Is the peace of Forthaven more fragile than they think?

Characters:

  • Liam Cunningham (Clash Of The Titans) is President Richard Tate, who runs Carpathia and is dedicated to keeping the human species alive.
  • Hermione Norris (Spooks) is Stella Isen, Head of Protection and Security (PAS), who sacrificed everything for the chance to save the world.
  • Amy Manson (Desperate Romantics) is Fleur Morgan, PAS Officer –- young, bright and idealistic.
  • Daniel Mays (Ashes To Ashes) is Cass Cromwell, PAS Officer -– unpredictable and fiercely loyal to Tate.
  • Jamie Bamber (Battlestar Gallactica) is Mitchell Hoban, Head of the Expeditionaries -– progressive and ambitious.
  • Ashley Walters (Small Island) is Jack, Mitchell's second in command -– tough, armed and dangerous.
  • Eric Mabius (Ugly Betty) is Julius Berger -– vice president of the Evacuation Programme on Earth. Berger is en route to Carpathia on board transporter CT9, expecting the power and status he enjoyed on Earth.
  • Michael Legge (Shameless) is Irish charmer Tipper Malone; a rebel who speaks out against the authorities representing the voice of the displaced youth.
  • Langley Kirkwood (Generation Kill) is leader of the ACs, a group of cloned human beings and one of Carpathia's darkest secrets.
  • Patrick Lyster (Invictus) is the dignified and brave commander of transporter CT9.
  • Jeanne Kietzmann is Lily -– lost, troubled and seeking answers.
Outcasts will air sometime later this year on BBC1/BBC America.