Odyssey 5: The Complete Series (2002)

Odyssey 5 is Apollo 13 meets 12 Monkeys (or even Lost). I saw the first half of this 20-episode series on Sci-Fi and was very impressed. Now I'm finally working my way through the DVD set. Peter Weller is always good but the nail-down-the-timeline premise is what carries this show like a train. A space shuttle crew led by Commander Chuck Taggart (Weller) is performing a challenging satellite retrieval just before the planet Earth is catastrophically destroyed. A time- and space-traveling alien tells the crew he has found 50 other worlds similarly destroyed and offers them the chance to go back in time five years to try to stop the apparently external influences that will lead to Earth's destruction. At first, several crew members just want to seclude themselves and try to change history for their personal benefit but they finally accept their joint and dangerous mission. Who or what is behind the two code names, Bright Star and Leviathan, that seem to have led to doomsday? As the crew begins to uncover an apparent conspiracy and cover-up, alien or artificially designed supercreatures, and threads that go progressively deeper and more dangerous, their actions and inquiries affect the timeline and may even accelerate the foretold destruction. Can their actions change the future -- for the better -- and amidst so many moving targets, can they ultimately succeed? This series was Emmy nominated for its Farscape-like musical score. 4.5 stars. (3-27-08 updated 10-24-09)