Ascension: Wagon Train to the Stars

Syfy's three-night mini-series Ascension begins Monday night (Dec. 15), and it looks like the beginning of a full series if all goes well.  The basic story relates to a JFK-era space mission to save the human race by sending a new Noah's ark to a distant planet.  We get involved in the story about 50 years into the mission after a murder takes place.  Is this CGI meets Lost in Space? Maybe, but I am hoping for more.  You can find a trailer here. 

One of the stars in the new series is Tricia Helfer, who you may remember as the beautiful yet treacherous cylon from Battlestar Galactica.  In her former state, she is not a woman you would want on a long space mission.  Hopefully, her character is a little more helpful in this series.  

According to TV Guide, Syfy is thinking about the future as well:
 
"We're already thinking about Ascension becoming a series if [the mini] does well," says Bill McGoldrick, Syfy's executive vice president of original content. "We've made a huge commitment here, creatively and financially. It would be great to get the band back together." The set of the ship alone is a budget-buster: five stories tall with a fully functioning elevator at its center.

However, Variety magazine does not see such a future:

In the broad strokes, it’s hard not to admire Syfy’s bet on something of this magnitude without the sort of built-in following or name recognition that’s normally considered a prerequisite to such a launch. Even “Galactica,” after all, was a reboot of an existing title.

You can decide for yourself next week.