Nightflyers: Season One - Blu-ray Review

[Michael Scott]

Nightflyers: Season One

Movie:
Video:
Audio:
Extras:
Final Score: ​

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Movie
The big claim to fame for Nightflyers is it’s blatant tie in to George R. R. Martin, who has given us one of the longest lasting adult fantasy shows of all time (and probably one of THE best shows HBO has ever put out). Nightflyers was originally a short novella from 1980 that was soon forgotten about, but hence forth brought into a TV show through the SyFy network. Unfortunately George R.R. Martin has not been brought in for consulting on the TV show, and subsequently his involvement is only in the writing of the original novella, which severely dampens the impact of the show as his input would have been greatly appreciated. A sci-fi/horror show, Nightfliers: Season One is a moderately fun romp, but it lacks a sense of over arching cohesion and has a few misses and stumbles along the way. It’s a solid watch, but not nearly as epic as one would have hoped coming from a George R.R. Martin pedigree.

Kind of a hybrid of Event Horizon and modern Sci-fi TV shows like Killjoys, The Expanse, Nightflyers is a dark and disturbing series that can only be described as Sci-fi/Horror. With on the brink of total collapse, a crew of scientists embark out on the most advanced space craft they have an their disposal to try and intercept an alien space craft that might hold the key to Earth’s survival. However, as the mission continues on the crew finds out that the ship’s artificial intelligence (and a captain whom the crew never sees) may have ulterior motives, dragging them into horrors and terrors that the deep space has in turn for them.

Nightflyers feels very rote and familiar overall. There’s this sensation that it’s copying and piggybacking off of all the other shows mentioned above, rather than creating something new. That’s not to say that the she isn’t fun or doesn’t have a lot of potential, as there are several episodes with some neat twists. It’s just that Nightflyers hits all of the same beats and check boxes that other, better shows adhere to, which exudes a sensation of “been there, done that” to the viewer.

The awkwardness of the series pretty much falls directly on the face of the crew, which does little to inspire confidence. We have a gender fluid Biologist named Lommie (Eion Macker) who mopes about the ship most of the time, and can interact with the AI via a network port in her arm. Then there’s utility infielder Melantha Jhirl (Jodie Turner-Smith) who is supposed to be all statuesque and magnificent, but ends up being the sexpot of the show by sloppy design. Captain Roy Eris (David Ajala) sits around in his cabin the entire time and only shows up as a hologram, while the telepath Thale (Sam Strike) who gleefully messes around with the damaged psyches of the rest of the crew. While all of this seems neat on the surface, this jumbled mess of crew stereotypes can be more annoying than endearing. The saving grace of the show comes from a couple of last minute reveals in the final few episodes, proving that the show might have more potential next year when it finds it’s footing.




Rating:

Not Rated By the MPAA




Video:

As you can expect from a modern day TV show, Nightflyers was shot via digital cameras and provides a good looking, if not slightly glossy, digital presentation to enjoy in 2.00:1 AVC (a strange new aspect ratio that seems to be gaining more traction as I’ve seen it crop up more than a few times in the last few months of reviews). The show is a mixture of grim and grimy or shiny and clean depending on what portion of the Nightflyer that we’re in, with a decidedly blue and green tinge to the show. Power panels and displays show the colors in the series, while the rest of the ship is that grim and drab look that is kind of devoid of “pop”. Black levels are strong, but never excessively detailed, and the overall clarity level of the show is more than good enough.






Audio:

Nightflyers comes to Blu-ray with a fairly standard 5.1 DTS-HD MA track for a sci-fi show. Meaning, it’s really great. The series had a kinetic energy to it for the action sequences, and is more than detailed enough for the intricacies of the space ship itself, with creaks groans and other ambient noises. LFE is deep and punchy, adding weight to said action sequences, and some rumble to the Nightflyer’s engine pulses. The surrounds are wide and spacious when necessary, but also takes full advantage of the claustrophobic nature of the ship to provide and intense and surreal listening experience. Dialog among the crew is crisp and clean, and I really heard no imperfections at all. It's a great mix, and probably the highlight of the entire package.
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Extras:

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Final Score: ​

Nightflyers is not a BAD sci-fi show, but it’s not a great one either. The show’s biggest problem stems from copying other, better, sci-fi shows and trying to blend in horror with a more “millennial” vibe to it. I really did enjoy the twist to make it a terrifying show rather than a drama, but it’s the implementation that falls a bit short. Universal’s Blu-ray set is quite good though, with good video and even better audio, but the discs once again are barren in terms of special features. Nightflyers is a middle of the road sci-fi show with horror elements, and as such, it sticks very firmly in the “rental “category.


Technical Specifications:

Starring: Eoin Macken, David Ajala, Jodie Turner Smith, Angus Sampson, Sam Strike, Maya Eshet. Brian F. O'Byrne, Gretchen Mol, Bronte Carmichael
Created by: Jeff Buhler
Aspect Ratio: 2.00:1 AVC
Audio: English: DTS-HD MA 5.1
Subtitles: English SDH
Studio: Universal
Rated: NR
Runtime: 459 Minutes
DVD Release Date: February 12th, 2019

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• Michael Scott
• May 11, 2017

Recommendation: Rental

 

[tripplej]

Thanks for the review. Never heard of this one. Will check it out once on amazon prime/netflix.