Ascension
2014
Original language: English
- sci-fi & fantasy
- drama
The story
In 1963, the U.S. government launched a covert space mission sending hundreds of men, women and children on a century-long voyage aboard the starship Ascension to populate a new world. Nearly 50 years into the journey, as they approach the point of no return, a mysterious murder of a young woman causes the ship’s population to question the true nature of their mission.
What it’s like
Cool, muted palettes built on pale grey corridors, brushed steel and the ochre glow of emergency lamping, with a 1960s retro-futurist design sensibility that makes the ship feel both cramped and quietly unsettling. Long, deliberate takes hold on ordinary rooms and faces, and the camera tends to linger in silence, letting the hum of machinery and distant echoes do much of the work, with a restrained, mournful score that surfaces sparingly. The vibe is paranoid and melancholic, a slow-burn unease that settles in like cabin fever, best suited to a late-night watch alone or a rainy evening when you want something absorbing rather than fast. The pacing is methodical, with mysteries unspooling across episodes, and the emotional register stays cool and uneasy as people who have spent their whole lives inside one sealed world begin to doubt its purpose. Its arcs follow tight-knit, suspicious communities slowly unravelling as loyalties fray. Violence is present and occasionally sharp, including a murder at the outset and some tense confrontations, but gore is limited and the dread is psychological rather than graphic. It suits viewers who enjoy confined-space mysteries, retro sci-fi aesthetics, and conspiracy-laced drama.
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