Reach for the stars!
Dame Helen Mirren plays an OAP heading into space in a new sci-fi series…
Available: Friday 21 May Genre: Sci-fi drama Season: 1 Eps: 7 Runs: 30min
An impressive A-list cast including Dame Helen Mirren, Anthony Mackie, Morgan Freeman and Anne Hathaway heads up new sci-fi anthology drama Solos, taking a closer look at what it means to be human. Each of the seven episodes follows one character into uncharted territory, from a physicist making a breakthrough in the field of time travel to a woman locked in a battle of wits with a smart home she suspects wants her to leave.
One episode tells the story of Peg, played by acting legend Dame Helen Mirren, who is a woman in her 70s going on a trip to outer space…
‘Peg sees an advertisement saying,
“Go on the adventure of a lifetime!”’ says Dame Helen. ‘Her whole life has been avoiding adventure, and stepping back rather than stepping forward. She’s coming to the end of her life – she’s in her 70s – and I think she just has one of those “Let’s go for it!” moments and signs up.’
With nobody to talk to except for the spaceship’s on-board computer, Peg finds herself looking back on her life and the decisions that she made – as well as the things that she never did…
‘The adventure is being launched into space, and you don’t really know to what or where – all that she is aware of is that there is no return,’ says Dame Helen.
‘So, in a way, it’s a metaphor about life
– we are all on an outward journey, and there is no return for any of us. But the journey allows her, because she’s isolated in this little space pod, to reflect on her life and what’s brought her to this point.’
The entire episode takes place within the pod, and Dame Helen was impressed by the attention to detail. ‘When I looked out of the window, I had these back projections of stars going slowly by,’ she says. ‘It was believable being in there!’