If you blinked, you missed what might the one and only showing of Virtuality, the pilot/tv movie shown on fox last Friday. According to reports, it had terrible ratings.

Virtuality is the brain child of Ronald D. Moore, re imaginer of  Battlestar Galactica , together with BSG writer/producer Michael Taylor. Peter Berg, of  Friday Night Lights fame, lends a hand as executive producer/director. 

The premise starts as classic sci-fi : a dozen crew members aboard a ship on a ten year round trip to the nearest star where they hope to find an inhabitable planet. Because, you see, earth is not doing so well - Moore et al are big on sounding alarms about global warming and other end of days causing problems.

That is only the beginning though. The next  layer is that the voyage is financed by treating the trip as a reality tv show, adding a layer of tension and human drama, and permitting the writers to explore issues of how tv pervades and distorts reality.

 The 'what is reality?' theme expands to include the recreation provided by a virtual reality module tied to the ship's computers, which allows each crew member to escape to their own alternative story. If you were a BSG fan, you know that just isn't going to go well.

 Classic dramatic conflicts of deceit, sexual tensions, secret agendas, faulty computers, and  ulterior motives abound. As I said to mid-sized B, it is like BSG without the grown ups - ie, if only the Starbuck/Apollo/ Baltar/No. 8 emotionally immature sorts were around.none of the characters descend to caricature though. all are multi-layered, continuing the theme of 'things are not what they appear'.

Human character growth, how we get along, how we learn, are all subtly played themes.

The casting is phenomenal, especially considering that the most  recognizable name is Clea Duvall, a superior character actress best known recently for her part in  Deadwood.  I quite enjoyed eye candy Sienna Guillory , a cult favourite (Resident Evil) , who does a fine job being more than merely decorative. As in BSG, there is eye candy for all genders. Unusually for a Fox show, there is an openly gay couple (who complain that the reality show makes them come across as a 'pair of bitchy queens' - as they appear to validate that image, but only for the moment), adultery, and a wheelchair bound character who just might be the hero- or villain?

 We might never know.  Fox has not committed to the show as a series. If they did, it would, in my opinion instantly be the second best show on tv. The ending was open ended, designed to be a pilot, not a movie. If we don't get more, we will be left to think for ourselves. why would Fox want that?

Is it too late? Try to see if you can beg or borrow (not steal) a copy. Email Fox. Post on blogs.  Demand intelligent television. If nothing else, it will be two hours well wasted, which will plant seeds in your brain that may grow into something beautiful.