Although the ‘spaceship’ is in fact a gigantic self-contained simulator, for the ‘crew’ is their 51-year-long journey towards Proxima Centauri all too real.
Ascension is a Canadian/American science fiction 6-episode television miniseries that aired on Syfy television channel in December 2014.
Inspired by the real-life Project Orion that existed under the administration of president John F. Kennedy, the show portrays an alternative version of reality beginning in 1963, when president Kennedy and the U.S. government, fearing that the world is heading for the World War III that will lead to a nuclear holocaust and the destruction of human civilisation, decide to launch a covert space mission in order to assure the survival of western society and the human race as a whole.
Ambitious William Denninger, Captain of the USS Ascension (right) and his principled Executive Officer Aaron Gault (left) are at the top of chain of command.
350 volunteers, men, women and children, including some of the world’s brightest engineers, scientists, doctors and other professionals, embark on a century-long voyage aboard the USS Ascension, a massive, self-sustaining generation spaceship, with the mission to colonise a planet orbiting Proxima Centauri.
The show starts with the Ascension and its crew at 51 years into their 100 year journey (i.e. in the year 2014, with the ship's population now numbering 600). Just as they approach the point of no return, the mysterious death of a young woman – what was initially thought to be a tragic accident, but turns out to be a murder – the first homicide aboard since their departure – causes commotion amongst the ship's crew and leads some of them to question the true nature and purpose of their mission and their role in it.
The microcosm of the Ascension reflects the structure of the western society: while for the ‘upper class’ living on the top levels of the ship the life is good…
Little they suspect that their ‘spaceship’ is in fact a gigantic self-contained, sound-proof, underground biosphere, which never left the Earth and that they are all part of one huge, multi-billion dollar sociological experiment, overseen by Harris Enzmann, son of Abraham Enzmann - the founder of the Ascension project. Enzmann and his employers in the U.S. government use the ‘crew’ of the Ascension not only as the unwilling participants in a life-like experiment studying the long-term effects of a multi-generational interstellar spaceflight on the human body and mind, but also use them as unsuspecting ‘guinea pigs’ for biological experimentation, particularly to test the effects of advanced mind-enhancing drugs in order to produce an individual with paranormal abilities, which they call a ‘Star Child’.
…the resources available to the ‘underclass’ living on the bottom levels are scarce, driving some individuals to a campaign of sabotages and bomb attacks.
The show stars Brian Van Holt as William Denninger, Captain of the starship, Tricia Helfer (previously gaining fame as the ultra-racy Cylon No 6 in Battlestar Galactica TV series) as Viondra Denninger, captain’s wife and ship's Chief Stewardess (the position which also doubles as Madam), Brandon P. Bell as Executive Officer Aaron Gault and Gil Bellows as Harris Enzmann, CEO of the Ascension project.
There has been no official statement from SyFy about the renewal of Ascension for Season 2, but Philip Levens (Smallville - Season 1 & 2), who conceived and written the show and is also its co-producer, had said earlier that the series could potentially run for multiple seasons – but the decision will ultimately depend on the viewer ratings.