Debris (2021) User Reviews

Pilot Episode review

[doppleganger19692 · 6/10 · 2 March 2021]

A most interesting premise: the Earth has been peppered with parts of a disintegrated spacecraft, which apparently possess alien technology which can create unusual effects such as matter transference, levitation, and mind control. A multi-agency international task force is out to track down the pieces, and quickly since people who come across them either succumb to bizarre activity or even death. That's the intriguing part and the reason for my giving the pilot episode a decent rating.

However: the characters, so far, have not been riveting and seem out of place. What makes the two lead agents to top choice to carry out the investigations? They do not seem to possess any special knowledge, skills, or even a vested interest (like Fox Mulder in the "X Files"). Maybe future episodes will divulge some reasoning for the team composition, but the pilot failed to make the case for why we should be invested in them - which is why I did not rate it higher. IE premise: 10, execution: 6. Hoping things will be better next episode.

A great start!

[paul_eatherton · 8/10 · 2 March 2021]

Ignore the haters, most pilot shows tend to start off a bit rocky but this show throws you straight into the storyline, sets up a very intriguing premise and I can't wait to see more! A binge of all episodes would have been great but I'm more than happy to wait another week 😄

Fringe meets X-Files. A perfect combination.

Finally an interesting show on network TV

[savethecloudsfoundation · 7/10 · 2 March 2021]

In world of police dramas, medical dramas and emergency dramas we finally have another sci fi that looks promising. Though not perfect I have hope for this one. Its kind of reminding me of Fringe and X Files. I hope it can be just as good. Can't wait to see more.

Give it a chance, could be a classic given time.

[lmfwhitfield · 2 March 2021]

I like this show, which means it probably won't last. I like the X-Files type vibe.

Fringe wannabe

[eunique-233-530163 · 7/10 · 2 March 2021]

Reminded me of Fringe, but not quite as good. A couple of parts were a bit confusing. But, it's an interesting premise, and not fair to judge after only 1 episode. Giving it a solid 7 for originality, and will wait and see how it goes.

Recommended, original SI-Fi, despite the Naysayers.

[fatfil-414-451797 · 8/10 · 2 March 2021]

This show seems to have received some pretty low star ratings on here, and I'm really not sure why. Perhaps in this age of social media and smart phones, people just haven't got the patience to wait for the story to evolve, and if it's not flashing and banging at them they lose interest. Despite other opinions on here, I thought the two leads were good, with interesting back stories and a good chemistry. The whole premise of the show if really intriguing, pieces of a wrecked alien craft of unknown origin falling to earth over a long period of time. Each piece has different qualities and is widely sought after on the black market. The series starts 3 years after the initial pieces of Debris fell to earth, and a joint US and UK task force are tracking down any pieces they can find. Not a spoiler, as this is pretty much gone over in the opening titles. There were some really cool scenes, with peopl affected by the debris, and yes, an undeniable X-Files feel to it, but than can only be a good thing in my book.

I'm digging it but it's whiny.

[amccandlesandcameras · 7/10 · 11 March 2021]

I love the concept and the effects are legit. The female lead is good. The male lead is a bit of an over actor. Sometimes that happens in the first few episodes. Only time will tell if he sinks in to a more realistic portrayal. The heavy focus on personal dramas for both leads with almost no background or character development isn't helping any.

The music during the mysterious parts is interest and sets a nice tone but it's too loud which makes it distracting. I'm hoping they'll tone it down in the next few episodes.

I will probably watch it in the future. It's not going to be my never miss series unless they town down the whiny drama stuff. I get that you want the characters to have back stories but no one in real life talks about their drama this many times in one situation let alone BOTH leads doing the same thing. Please tone it down a little.

A jumbled, melodramatic mess

[mrkevin · 2/10 · 2 March 2021]

Too many ideas make for an unengaging narrative in this sappy sci-fi series. As two drab agents investigate the supernatural effects of the debris of an alien ship crashed to earth, they are racing against terrorists who are assembling the ship for ostensibly nefarious purposes. That would be enough for most decent shows, but instead the debris somehow brings the dead back to life only to feast on the living through psychic manipulation which can be thwarted by acts of love and care. Preposterous enough yet? Wait, different pieces of the ship have different supernatural characteristics, so we can look forward to an unpredictable circus of weird every week with an overarching cloak of a global cabal lingering in the background. The special effects are jaw-dropping, which is unfortunately counterbalanced by two leads with no charisma. It may be too early to tell if this swirling miasma of ideas eventually coheres into something more engaging, but the pilot did not pull me in.

good at the weirdness, bad at the people

[cherold · 8/10 · 3 April 2021]

Just finished the season, and Debris is a series that started as an okay-but-problematic series and becomes, by mid-season, a gripping one with a fascinating story arc.

Here's my review from a few seasons in, when it was just beginning to right itself:

Debris is an X-Files/Fringe type of series in which a couple of agents investigate a series of strange events caused by the remnants of an extraterrestrial ship.

The stories are all effectively intriguing and spooky, involving reanimated corpses, people trapped in other planes of existence, and DNA-rewriting rain storms. (So far every episode has had an agent say something like "I've never seen *this* before," which would be a great thing to do in a parody of shows like this.)

The series has a surprisingly strong interest in emotion - the debris seems to actually react to things like love and memory and the agents talk a lot more about their feelings than something like the X-Files.

What makes this extra weird is the series is emotionally distanced. The agents are uninteresting people with no chemistry and it's really hard to care about them as people. Also, the delving into emotions is often tediously maudlin; episode 4 had long, sincere chunks that were unwatchable.

Around episode 5 or 6 the series starting picking up as it moved into a grander story arc and lowered the emotional temperature. So it's worth sticking with.

Music needs to go

[phastdawgs · 7/10 · 10 March 2021]

Love the Fringelike show. But the music is just too much. Too loud and too distracting. Makes it hard to watch and concentrate.

Good concept/terrible execution

[davehoopermpp · 4/10 · 28 May 2021]

Good concept, terrible execution. The two leads had zero gravitas/zero chemistry/zero audience appeal. The plot was scattershot, frequently got bogged down by needless emotional diversions and there were enough plot holes to play wack-a-mole. There's more story to tell but not by Wyman and not with these lead actors.

Excellent show! Too bad it's on NBC

[dan-859 · 10/10 · 9 March 2021]

This is a promising show with a compelling story. Unfortunately, it's on NBC, which means that if it actually even makes it to a full season order, it'll get pushed around the schedule so nobody will every watch it, or they'll find some vapid brain-in-neutral "alternative programming" reality show that will marginally do better in the ratings among the sub-70 IQ crowd before it comes back as a post-mid-season filler.

There's a chance

[cheddavis-85503 · 6/10 · 2 March 2021]

There's a chance this show can make a go of it, but they really should have started with a better explanation. Instead of details of what's going on, we get treated to strange things 'a happenin', with little context. The score and music are alright, even good, but there needs to be better editing so it doesn't distract from the story. Riann Steele gives a very credible performance, but Thomas Cadrot is going to need to step up his game to get in sync. Special effects are well done, but there's simply not enough backstory at the beginning to allow the viewers to really follow along. All we really know is that lack of gravity is involved.

If the next episode or two ties things together and gives us a foundation then we could have a sleeper program that could rise to the top. If instead we get the same kind of "weird things of the week" style of programing I doubt it will last very long. The pilot did little to provide any conclusion or explanation of why we should have enjoyed the previous hour - so I think the next week or two is going to be sink or swim for the show. I'll give it a 6 for now, and it could go either way quickly.

Very little science/logic..... lots of unconnected emotion

[Gagarr · 3/10 · 12 March 2021]

I had high hopes based on the premise and hoping for a X-Files/Fringe type show. Sadly disappointed, made it half way through the second episode before I finally gave up on childishness.

I LOVE SCI-FI, easily my favorite genre, but when the scientific methods used is "poke it with a stick and see how you feel about it", I just can't accept it.

Honestly, is it Science Fiction without science, logic, or common sense? A Scooby Doo cartoon is more rational.

Complete failure unless you hate Sci-Fi and love sappy emotion drive plot lines without any reason for what or why anyone does anything.

Gave it 3 stars only because of the production value was high, but acting, directing, and writing were soap opera-ish at best.

A few bright moments that never pan out

[albethere · 31 March 2021]

Writers opted out of writing instead using the 'debris' euphemistically as everything else they should have been developing, plot included. The high emotion from the female lead character who loses it every week is almost as distracting as the weird soundtrack. Neither are sufficient to carry the series. In fact the action is all over the place and never goes anywhere. Too bad because the premise had potential. Very disappointing.

ENOUGH!

[jac-23434 · 7/10 · 1 April 2021]

Please enough of the never ending, nonstop background "music." We can't hear the actors.

Good Sci-Fi, I knew it reminded me of Fringe

[johnwwwatson · 9/10 · 26 March 2021]

I knew it reminded me of Fringe 2008-2013. After the 1st episode I was hooked, after the 2nd, I looked up writers & directors and saw why; creator/writer J. H. Wyman and director Brad Anderson both have Fringe roots. Those of you too young to have seen Fringe 2008-2013 need to find it and watch the 100 awesome episodes. Many recent shows are being compared to the 60's show Twilight Zone which wasn't Sci-Fi more surrealism but how many viewers can actually find or want to watch old Black & White TV? For me, I had this reminder of a great show Sci-Fi show that lasted 5+ years, 100 episodes: Fringe. Fringe was very expensive to make with top casting and special effects etc. Millions of viewers would have watched Fringe for another 5 years but at least it helped to spawn a change in television. Fringe had 20 episodes each season and Debris so far has 13. If it continues putting out good stories and quality production, it should keep viewers and avoid the network cancel culture (there, I said it).

Worth following for now

[ajray-1 · 6/10 · 2 March 2021]

The real enemy here is the treatment of previous sci-fi series on network TV and this series offers me absolutely nothing to assuage my fears of it being cancelled in short time. How many years since Lost ended?... and I *still* want to see more Sawyer or Hurley or that Hobbit guy. Debris has zero characters with likeability but some really cool plot aspects. I can wait for character development... can the network heads? Shyah. Not. I don't get this whole morose character thing on the part of the writers and I do not blame the suits for pulling plugs.

This show is boring and flat. It is missing something.

[jk-692-236394 · 4/10 · 29 March 2021]

I loved Fringe. I love SciFi. This show is so flat. It has some cool ideas but it feels like it dumped us in the middle of something without bothering to set it up or explain anything. The two leads have no chemistry. You have to care about the main characters to care about a show. I am going to watch the entire season because the premise is interesting. But they need to up their game on the writing.

I would say most viewers these days are not looking for another last season of "Lost". I will say ,I quit watching Manifest after season two because it got so convoluted and turned into a soap opera. Come on writers up your game here.

Debris(2021-)

[robfollower · 8/10 · 2 March 2021]

Visually this is an intriguing episode. The pilot episode did test my attention span to some degree, but I stuck with the show and I am pleased I did. Debris Episode 1 was filled with hi-tech special effects and good production value. No amount of money was spared in the special effects department, and it shows.

The writing has a cool "Heady" formula which I'm not necessarily smart enough to figure out but it definitely kept me engaged .I like the cerebral aspect of the show. The two lead characters had strong acting chops. I particularly liked English actress Riann Steele. Debris taps into light horror elements to some degree which I always appreciate. Somewhat thought-provoking series. The mystery is just getting started. I will stick around a few more episodes and see where the series goes. 7.5/10

I can see why it was canceled...

[johnnythreeper · 7/10 · 21 September 2021]

Really cool show. Great premise. Good-ish characters. Good acting. I feel like the show was trying to do too much in the first season. This type of show needs an architect to build the world, a conductor to match the flow of character development and a prophet to know where its all going. Sadly, it doesn't seem like these 3 units were on the same page. For anyone who enjoys deep scify shows like that could see it wasn't happening. I really hope a streaming service picks this show up and tweaks it. The first season is definitely worth a watch.

Imagine the fate of the world was in the hands of Agent "Crybaby?"

[rander-88123 · 3/10 · 2 March 2021]

After watching the GENIUS of "Wandavision" and "Resident Alien" we are subjected to this "network TV" work of nonsense. The show concerns some alien spacecraft blowing up or something, showering Earth with bits of DEBRIS that exhibit anti-gravity properties, along with causing supernatural occurrences. The two agents tasked with locating pieces of the craft and investigating what effects they are having are a REAL pair. A sensible sounding MI6 Brit female and an American male agent who looks like he'd be more at home in a show about someone who robs 7-11's. The agent is so out of charge of his emotions that he falls half apart when some girl tells a sad story. In-fact, the show is FILLED with melodramatic sub-plots about dead parents, dead kids, etc,. As sci-fi, it's nonsense, with little to no ideas posited about why the debris acts like it does. Hollywood is SO terrified of offering solid scifi stories that they resort to fantasy, because it requires no thought on the part of the viewer. They could have done a LOT better here.

Ambitious but worth your time!

[footingslow · 8/10 · 3 March 2021]

Definitely a little strange but i have faith. Dark gritty sci-fi drama that could potentially be a great show.

Great Start.

[Beanbagels · 6/10 · 2 March 2021]

Ignore the naysayers, this got off to a great start. Production quality and special effects are top-notch. Some reviewers complained that it seemed like a couple of episodes had been missed, because the story picks up part way through the events. However, I found this very refreshing, and had no trouble understanding what was going on. I guess some people's IQ is just so low, that they have to have everything spelt out for them. Looking forward to the rest of the episodes.

Interesting premise but too many flaws

[jpvoelkle · 4/10 · 30 March 2021]

First, why are the lead characters from CIA and MI6? Why not real scientists? Plus they're boring. Second, the loud background music is distracting. Last, how did the "scientists" learn so much in such a short time (eg: setting little devices around pieces of debris to neutralize the anti-gravity effect)? After three episodes I'm growing tired of this tedious series.