We watched the first season with interest, and the first episode of the second is also quite good.

The show can be a little jarring as they jump from Mars in 2060 (or whatever) to Earth in 2018 where we discuss technology and social issues. (The 1st episode of season 2 spends a lot of time discussing oil exploration in the arctic areas of Earth.) It can also be a little crazy as the Mars timeline jumps back and forth. We see a lady on a space ship and then we see another lady working as head of the UN and then we see the two ladies discussing that if the first one goes to Mars the second one can become head of the UN. No reason for that pseudo-creative nonsense.

Anyway, the theme of season two is that some corporation plunked down their own "commercial colony" 25 miles from UN Mars Base One. They didn't ask or announce they just did it. The corporate colony quickly showed its politically incorrect evil by accidentally showering the UN colony with space debris, telling the UN colony that "we saved money by not bringing enough water and under the UN space treaty we are astronauts in distress so you have to share your water" and then by running their 25 mile pipeline through a pristine science preserve where humans are trying to culture bacteria that will terraform Mars. The Sleezy Corporation then says they will trade solar panels they manufacture on Mars for the water and re-route to avoid the science preserve.

Now my question is if you saved money by not bringing enough water how did you find the money and load-lift to bring 25 miles of large-bore pipe?

By Richard B. Eitzen (Rbeitzen) on Thursday, November 15, 2018 - 04:25 pm: Edit

Well, it's all made up story and a plot hole (about the pipe).

By Ted Fay (Catwhoeatsphoto) on Thursday, November 15, 2018 - 04:31 pm: Edit

It's carbon-nanotube ultra lightweight, micron-thick collapsible pipe which pops open, resists any force, and was just wrapped around the spacecraft for disassembly and delivery when you arrive at Mars.

Or whatever. Pick your technobabble.

By Steve Cole (Stevecole) on Thursday, November 15, 2018 - 04:50 pm: Edit

I pick "the writers wanted to show corporations are evil and ended up only showing that they (the writers) were incompetent hacks."

By Marc Michalik (Kavik_Kang) on Thursday, November 15, 2018 - 04:56 pm: Edit

So... kind of like Avatar, then.

By Paul Howard (Raven) on Tuesday, November 20, 2018 - 03:08 pm: Edit

Well first series was pretty good.

Watched half of the first episode of the new series.

I think (it is done by National Geo) they are trying to combine science and entertainment - to avoid it being Sci Fi - and so some things may seem a little strange.

3D printing for example might be a really easy way to get stuff built in a more efficient way - but you can't make 'water'.

Using a corporation as the 'baddies' is perhaps a reminder that if not done correctly, various other issues can arise.

No doubt we will learn more as it goes on.

By Chuck Strong (Raider) on Wednesday, November 21, 2018 - 12:27 am: Edit

As usual the Hollywood writers’ bias shows that they really don’t understand business and that the pursuit of profits means you don’t care about anything other than profit.

I also didn’t like the real world clips portraying the self righteous activists as some of sort of heroes. I wish NatGeo would play it a bit more neutral.