Hulu’s The First Review — A Future Worth Watching

For sci-fi fans, Star Wars ’n’ Trek remain the starry standard. Which leaves a whole lot of high tech dystopian misery and grime flicks portraying the gap between our Now and their Then. But one of the greatest sci-fi events in history is looming up at us, maybe 15 or 20 years out, and that’s a story that in the right hands should be nothing but captivating.

We’ve already witnessed one tech version of this with Ron Howard’s The Martian. And now we have this achingly beautiful The First streaming on Hulu, portraying that adventure in a languid coalescence of art, music, human drama and vision that frames a heart-breaking and emotionally uplifting experience celebrating the best of what we can be.

Starring a rugged and nuanced Sean Penn as the mission commander who’s got to find a balance between his family and the challenges of a two-and-a-half year mission with the first crew to land on Mars, the beauty of this premiere season is reflected in the pacing of each scene.

It’s safe to say we’ve grown accustomed to seeing video from space walks, satellite orbits and the space station, displaying a paradox of space travel — the seeming snail’s pace of movement while traveling at 18,000 mph. The show’s lingering shots amplify the effect on the ground, from Collin Stetson’s gorgeous musical score to the measured pace of extraordinary people managing their extraordinary lives while training for this historic moment.

In fact, this whole first season is devoted to that mission’s prep. But don’t let that put you off. Because you’re going to watch it convey this emotional connection with the deep resonance of familiarity and grace under pressure that slams home in the context of this spectacular adventure before us. It’s a big weekend binge of inspirational hope, and some extraordinary tech that’s just around the corner, portraying a future right here on earth that’s utterly tantalizing.

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Hulu’s The First Review — A Future Worth Watching