Krypton stars Cameron Cuffe as Seg-El, Georgina Campbell as Lyta Zod, Ian McElhinney as Val-El, Elliot Cowan as Daron-Vex, Ann Ogbomo as Alura Zod, Rasmus Hardiker as Kem, Wallis Day as Nyssa-Vex and Aaron Pierre as Dev-Em.
The series airs of E4 here in the UK and on SyFy in North America.
Synopsis
Superman’s grandfather, Seg-El, learns Krypton is in danger of being destroyed so that his future grandson will never be born.
Review
The idea of Krpyton was not one I initially found overly interesting. As much as I enjoy the Superman character did I really need to watch a show about his lesser known Grandpa?
But, like many others, I was intrigued once it was revealed the SyFy series would tie in to a present day mystery involving the Man of Steel. The premise is simple: travel back in time and stop Superman from ever being born. We’ve seen the idea done many times before in various shows and movies. But not like this.
This is where the series really begins to subvert the genre and even the El family. The show uses the Kryptonian class system as an excuse to put a new spin on the El family. Here Seg-El is from a family stripped of its standing in the community. Forced to live in the slums of Kandor this is instantly not the Superman tale we expected.
Whilst the usual pilot tropes are there they sufficiently masked in an intriguing story to make it worthwhile viewing. If, like me, you go in to the series with preconceived ideas about the Superman mythology you will easily be pleasantly surprised.
Krypton’s pilot episode features some stunning visuals. It takes some serious cues from Zack Snyder’s world building in Man of Steel but gets to take it much further. This is, by far, the most exposure Krpyton has ever had in live action.
From the various levels of Kandor City to the fortress of the solitude, the whole episode is a visual feast. The show does have an overall very dark pallette though. It seems this version of the Krpytonians were not overly keen on colour.
Anyone with a working knowledge of SyFy programming knows that on occasions their shows can look cheap. CGI is often what lets down these high concept shows. This problem does not befall Krpyton. For a show with a lot of heavy CGI scenery it’s easily on par with Doctor Who.
Pinar Toprak’s score is fairly emotive. Instead of swamping the soundscape of the show it enhances it in subtle but pleasing ways. I hope as the characters grow individual themes will come to the fore. This show deserves a standout musical score.
Verdict
Krypton‘s pilot episode is an intriguing jump off point in to the world of Seg-El and co. It’s visuals are stunning and tying its story to the present day helps set this show apart from generic prequel series.
6/10
In the next episode…
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