The end is near in ‘Salvation’
CBS’s summer sci-fi show “Salvation” makes the possibility of the extinction of the planet somewhat of an uninteresting affair.
The 13-part series begins with a reminder of the 2013 Chelyabinsk meteor that exploded about 18 miles above Russia, with the blast injuring more than 1,000 people. It had been undetected. Then astrophysicist Neil deGrasse Tyson informs us there is likely more out there.
Once warned, we meet an MIT grad student Liam Cole (Charlie Rowe) racing to catch a lecture by tech billionaire Darius Tanz (Santiago Cabrera of “Big Little Lies”), who is talking about mass extinction events and advocates colonizing Mars as a safety net.
Meanwhile, Grace Barrows (Jennifer Finnigan), a Pentagon public-relations officer, is worried about her daughter’s highschool graduation and getting a transfer so she can date her current boss, Harris Edwards (Ian Anthony Dale) in the open.
Back at MIT, Liam scores a hot night with a sci-fi writer, Jillian (Jacqueline Byers), but in the middle of the night, his computer program alerts him to the fact that an asteroid — a planet killer — is headed to Earth and impact is in 186 days. Bad timing. He tells a professor who then mysteriously disappears, and Liam gambles Darius will. With the tech mogul’s clout, he gets himself and Liam a meeting at the Pentagon where Harris tries to assure them the country is working on the little problem with the launch of a gravity deflector, a theoretical solution being rushed into production.
Liam and Darius are skeptical, but since everyone agrees that the public couldn’t handle the truth, the group heads off to a posh embassy party. “Try not to spill any wine or national security secrets,” Darius advises Liam when they arrive.
That’s about the extent of the wit.
When Liam asks Jillian what a story she may have published is about, she replies, “The future. What else?” Yep, pithy.
Of course, it’s obvious that the government is clueless. They are going to need the tech genius’ help whether they want him or not. Others like Liam and Grace, whom Darius has a thing for, are going to have to pitch in. It also turns out there is something sinister going on, too, and, oh my, the press is snooping around.
It’s all a pretty standard sci-fi end-of-the-world scenario — high stakes and soap opera and silly plot snags like quibbling over relatively minor amounts of money as the apocalypse nears.
At best, “Salvation” is a minor reprieve.