There is an intriguing concept at the heart of Ascension, although since I only watched the first episode then gave up, I don't know how well it was handled (although I did find out what happened through wikipedia). But based on the first episode, that intriguing concept is less interesting to the series' makers than its soapier aspects. The episode had a good deal of sex and intrigue, a chunk of mystery, and just a little sci-fi. I'm also skeptical about the show's world-building. The idea of sexy stewardesses and a sexist society frozen in amber seems unlikely. The show would have been better off either creating a somewhat satirical exaggeration of a society created in the mid '60s or an honest exploration of how people would have altered their environment to reflect a natural desire to refashion the world and make it their own. And that, I think, is a main problem with Ascension; it has a cute idea, but it doesn't exhibit the sci-fi author's desire to really ponder how a closed-in society would evolve. The result is watchable but unsatisfying.
