LemonLadyR I just got around to seeing this, in 2015, since I rarely watch TV, so at first I thought it was a crazy movie with even crazier ending. Now I know it was a pilot. While it is shot beautifully and the science of the set decoration is wonderful, I was a bit bothered by the character writing. The crew do not seem like NASA people or even scientists. So it falters fatally there. Why was the mission, a very serious thing, being used for a reality TV show? Other than to advertise that general idea to Fox audiences. Although the quizzical characters did fit that plot line and it would have been food for little plot lines and maybe solve some of the mysteries on board. Even with the character issues, I would have liked to have seen at least one season, although if it had been picked up in 2009, we might not have had Nikolaj Coaster-Waldau (the Commander) on Game of Thrones (Jamie Lannister). Very hard to imagine GOT without him, so all worked out for the best.

estronbase This is a pilot for a cancelled TV series. If I had realised that, I may not have watched it. As it happens, I'm glad I did. This is the sort of science fiction I prefer. No ray-gun shoot-outs, just ideas (some confusing).A big warning for those who dislike unresolved endings, this is about as bad as it gets. On the other hand, If you enjoy imagining what the writers intended for this series, have fun.If anyone wonders what I made of it, I supposed the mission itself was virtual. The strange occurrences being intended to provoke confusion and conflict among the "crew". They were making a TV program after all.

George Orwell The elements for an original approach for the series were in this pilot but the director chose to accentuate the clichés and the popular themes instead of grabbing onto the real value. Many series that have died have tried to stretch the interest of the viewer beyond the practical – in a series, wasting many episodes on mindless action outside the arc, here, in the pilot, wasting air time with over used old ideas or overused statements.The core of the idea is at the very end where, as a few commentators have brought out, the virtuality encompassing the ship itself, or whatever the deep secret that only the commander knew and wouldn't share (the "down the rabbit hole" is the allusion to it as well). This seems to have been augmented by the vision of the evil virtual player being seen in MD garb toward the end – as well as the meta observation of not setting up how kill off the main character in a pilot when clearly he's the only one with leadership capabilities in the bunch. This scenario fits well with the lack of credibility that the crew could have passed the tests for a 10 year mission.In any case, more substantial exploration of the above virtual set up would have given more of a tease and interest. Certainly more than the naive assertion that if you throw in a gay couple you'll get an interested audience, even given that they are cooks who can't even cook , an odious psychologist whose running a reality show, and a tiresome boring phony dramatic dialog (oh how dumb was the bantering there along the way) of "go/no go" when it's clear what the answer has to be.So I give it a four because I did watch it, but it is oh so sad to see a wasted 90 minutes.

igoatabase Considering its very interesting topics saying I anticipated it is an euphemism. Covering virtual reality, space travel and reality television in a single pilot episode was a challenge and I think they successfully achieved it. However even if the few clips I saw convinced me it would be great I was a little worry about the way the writers would deal with reality elements.Their work is both inspiring and very smart because I find reality shows far too dramatic and not real enough. When they began to produce such shows I was hoping to find new tools to better understand the human's psychology but most of them are just empty shells meant to brainwash viewers. Hopefully there're also good productions like Project Runway that blend ideas very nicely. As for the Virtuality reality scenes there were quite many but most of them were short and filmed throughout a lipstick camera. It made them even more realistic, specially considering the female host looked quite superficial at first. But as in real life a coin always has an other side and it was quite emotional to discover it. So even if she looked like a Gossip Girl you should soon appreciate her for what she really is, not just an other pretty face. And in general the characters worked really well and some of them quickly grew on me as the minutes passed by. I already knew Clea DuVall wouldn't disappoint me but I was also gladly surprised by the other performers. My only complain would be the whole Benetton vibe because in some way it made the reality side less authentic but maybe the creators intention was to parody the other shows. It's specially true for the gay couple as sending them into space as a last hope doesn't make any sense. I found it was quite disrespectful towards the homosexual community in general as their members are often used to bring more drama. A good example would be Top Chef last season and its ridiculous "Team Rainbow". But again maybe they just wanted us to believe so. In fact that's what I really enjoyed in Virtuality, its ambivalent complexity.It leads us to the space travel topic. If you appreciate the genre and are a science howl then you'll definitely dig the few outdoor scenes, the ship design, its interior… It should also remind you of your favorite space opera film. So watching it I really felt like I was part of the crew. It's specially true considering there're many characters you can relate too. I also found the story quite inspiring because there's nothing more fascinating than following the daily life of astronauts sent into deep space to save humanity. It brought many great memories like my first battle in the Homeworld video game and of course the astonishing Battlestar Galactica miniseries. And I can reassure you that it has nothing to do with apocalyptic productions like Armageddon, even if I enjoyed it. Here the psychology is probably one of the most important element because the big question is "Will they be able to survive and reach their destination ?".Yes, because it's a lot about survival. Not the Survivor mumbo jumbo but the real and dramatic Robinson Crusoe adventure, like in Cast Away for example. I think the analogy is right because living alone on a desert island can be compared to traveling into space with a few crew members. You'll definitely miss Earth and its beautiful green and blue landscapes. Breathing the air in the morning and energizing yourself before a rising sun. All these tiny details that make you feel alive even when the weather is rainy and the mood even more sad. To solve the problem the writers decided to introduce the virtual reality module, extrapolating the novel's concept. It's supposed to be a key solution to the mission success but of course events didn't occur as expected and the virtual scenes were so disturbing, well directed and written that they actually reminded me of cult films like Event Horizon and The Lawnmower Man. The team behind Virtuality is so talented and has so many twisted ideas that they brought many refreshing and interesting elements to a topic that has already been well covered by others.All these great things made me a fan of the show even if the FOX decided not to pick it up. In fact I don't blame them because I can't imagine the pressure on their shoulders. I even call it the Carnivàle syndrome because both producers and most viewers are not ready for such a smart show. If you're accustomed to such artistic creations you shouldn't be surprised and only enjoy it for what it is, one of the best space pilot ever aired. However if you're not open minded and think Tim Burton and George A. Romero should be held into an asylum then Virtuality is definitely the wake up call you need. Yes because I recommend anyone to watch it, again and again to understand all the messages he has to deliver.