‘Alpha Planet’ Blasts Off on KoldCast

Tuesday marked the launch of indie drama Alpha Planet, a science fiction web series taking place on a post-apocalyptic earth 250 years in the future.

With the entire human civilization living on a refugee ship for 200 years, supplies are running short. Four explorers (Michael Sweeney, Don Jeanes, JD Mendonca, and Jen Sweeney) are sent back to Earth in search for signs of new life. The series logline, “They know the risks, but not the truth,” suggests a high-stakes conspiracy that involves the fate of humanity itself.

Executive produced by Mike Darling, head of Rena’sance Robot, an independent production company that produces low-budget short films, sketches and web series, Alpha Planet

looks like a cross between Brett Register’s The Crew and After Judgment, with a dash of Battlestar Galactica.

The preview episode “Prelude” displays some decent special effects during the news broadcast from the A.R.C. refuge ship on the day the Columbus II reaches Earth, and the first episode “Prodigal Sons” (above) features a great score and a well played cliffhanger. The performances, like the sound and cinematography, are hit-and-miss, but when they’re on—like in the final scene of the first episode—the story is quite compelling. I’m looking forward to the next episode.

Alpha Planet is distributed on KoldCast.TV and YouTube. The twelve episode series will release new episodes every two to four weeks.