BECKS APPEAL

Beyond the mysteries of this planet – the answers to which won’t come as much of a surprise to anyone who has ever consumed any stories about lost alien civilisations – the real driving force of The Gunk’s narrative is the relationship between Rani and Becks. Space explorers more in the vein of the Nostromo than the Enterprise, they’re a pair of labourers wrestling with worries about money, regrets from the past and cheap second-hand tech. In other words, they’re easy to relate to – and thus to like. There’s a classic dynamic to the partnership, with one hothead explorer and one fretting pragmatist, which provides exactly enough fuel for a few hours of conflict, leaving us rooting for them to kiss and make up.