IR TV Review: NAUTILUS - EPISODES 1 & 2 (“Anahata” & “Tick Tick Boom”)[AMC]
The path of Captain Nemo has been seen in many aspects but it always reflected in a megalomaniacal approach fueled by revenge and ultimately strife. The new series "Nautilus" is not unlike that thought process in certain ways but very different than others. Airing on AMC after playing via Prime in the UK, "Nautilus" was originally supposed to be on Disney+ which suggests a legacy connection that might have been built into its development. With Episodes 1 and 2 ("Anahata" and "Tick Tick Boom") of a 10 episode series, it establishes the motive and path but with slightly different characters moving the needle. Shazad Latif, who is still best known from the first season of "Star Trek: Discovery" plays a slave to the British Colony in India who had in fact come from means. His ability through a Frenchman (who figures heavily in the story) to help build the Nautilus seems a little far fetched in its plausibility (in terms of access to these kind of sensitive systems). The military machine is obviously a big part of the proceedings but when a break happens, it is more like a base crew and then people who happen to be along who have no idea how to operate a submarine.
The Nautilus is not infallible but the first ship it encounters with a young Captain called Youngblood provides the fuel for pursuit but not by Youngblood or a younger lieutenant but in fact from the old guard operating in a way outside their realm of government. Nemo has a plan but the reality is that his whole approach is not revealed which sows some resentment or even distrust on the ship with his would-be crew. Also as the series proceeds into Episode 2 there is also an aspect related to "The Hunt For The Red October" and even "U-571". Certain aspects that worked for those films in terms of tensions (even though they were set much later) do offer a sense of pace and thoiight process. Georgia Flood plays Humility, an aristocrat taken as captive with her chaperone when Youngblood's ship is attacked. She of course provides the balance in certain. She like Nemo is hiding something but the redemptive qualities of both these characters fuel the rest. There is a sense of lightness in the rest of the crew alythough there is a sense of pending doom. One almost shore excursion goes bad but reinforces what they are up against as well as a bigger looming threat that requires a deeper way of thinking. By the end two new plot points, one legacy and one more modern keys into what fate might befall the characters. B+
By Tim Wassberg
