6 Months after an spacecraft of unknown alien origin exploded above the earth, debris from the ship which possesses powers that bend or break natural laws has been gradually falling to various places throughout the world. To and contain the threats posed to the public and national security by the debris, the UK and US create a joint task force called Orbital to secure and contain these debris.
One of the standouts from last season's pilot cycle, Debris was an early favorite for series pick up prior to the COVD shutdown. Based on the strength of the material and clout of series creator J. H. Wyman's (as well as the circumstances given the ongoing pandemic) success with the cult hit Fringe, the series like many new shows bypassed the traditional pilot process in favor of a straight to series approach. For the most part Debris' debut episode is very well done, but does experience the expected hurdles regarding exposition as typically of a high concept show like this.
Rather unusal for a show like this we don't see the impetus that brought about the current situation. When the show begins we're already half a year into this world and there's not only an established task force for dealing with alien debris, but also a black market where unknown parties are acquiring debris for some unknown purpose. To a degree I understand why they did this because it's a way to get to the action and spectacle of the show a lot quciker, but by that same measure it doesn't quite feel like we get a proper introduction to this world or many of the team members of Orbital. A lot of the exposition in character related to MI6 Finola Jones (Riann Steele) and CIA agent Bryan Beneventi (Johnathan Tucker) comes off very clunky when they're talking with their respective superiors being relayed information that given the amount of time that's passed they should already know. That's probably my biggest criticism with Debris' pilot, it feels like it wants to rush through the set up as quickly as possible so it can have the freedom of a post pilot episode to get to more elaborate things with its premise.
Despite my criticisms involving the story structure, I do like what I'm seeing of this show so far. The show plays like a mixture of The X-Files and the sci-fi novel Roadside Picnic and the scenes involving the debris are effectively alien and otherworldly as the debris shows itself to possess abilities of psychic resonance, levitation, and Intangibility. It's definitely a show that lays open ended groundwork for endless possibilities involving the powers of the debris and its effect on the denizens of Earth. Intermixed with the high concept is the shadowy inner workings of both MI6 and the CIA as they both have their own agendas related to how they plan to use the debris. I'm not too sold on a plot thread related to agent Jones' astrophysicist father as it seems like a cheap way to create drama, but most of the long running plot threads seem promising.
Debris' pilot episode is a mostly successful introduction to its high concept premise, while it feels a little rushed in its setup for character and motivation, it makes up for it with a fun sense of mystery and some rich ground for character and plot development. In the end it made me interested enough to see the second episode.