By Jonathan Klotz
| Updated
Ronald D. Moore changed the face of sci-fi with the 2004 Battlestar Galactica reboot, but after a few hours of failed network pilots, he returned to SyFy with Helix in 2014. It’s a dark and twisted sci-fi horror series about a deadly virus being studied in a secret Arctic base.
What starts as a dialogue-heavy, slow-burn thriller slowly peels back the layers to reveal the history of the bioweapons, the megacorporation behind it, and a wild late-season twist that turns the whole premise upside down. Seemingly forgotten today, it was a small hit for SyFy, and with only two seasons, it makes for an easy weekend binge that will keep you glued to the screen.
Nothing Good Happens In The Arctic
Helix begins with former couple Dr. Alan Farragut (Billy Campbell, The Rocketeer) and Dr. Julia Walker (Kyra Zagorsky) leading a team to investigate the black site ArcTech BioSystems Facility, where Alan’s brother, Peter, was stationed and succumbed to a deadly new virus. The site operates under the watchful eye of Dr. Hiroshi Hatake, who seems to know more than he’s letting on. Upon discovery of the zombie-like infected, the vectors, the new team realizes they are in way over their heads.
The first season starts slow, but as the number of vectors and dead bodies start to pile up, it’s clear there’s a sinister purpose behind the clandestine research. Things pick up over the halfway mark in Episode 7 when Star Trek: Voyager’s Jeri Ryan arrives with heavily armed mercenaries to take control of the situation, but even a military force falls to the arrival of a mysterious assassin determined to protect the base’s secrets from prying eyes.
Avoids A Lazy Writing Crutch
Helix makes two bold storytelling choices that set it apart from other mystery box shows. Each episode represents one day, which keeps the timeline consistent, and there are no flashbacks. That second part I didn’t appreciate until recently after I re-watched it, having recently gone through The Event. The SyFy series uses hallucinations that may or may not be revealing the truth to the audience. At the time, it annoyed me, but a decade later, it’s a refreshing way to tell a story.
I enjoyed Helix Season 1 when it first aired on SyFy and thought it struck a good balance in its pacing, even if a few episodes were a little slow; for once, a sci-fi puzzle box series has a payoff that’s worth the journey. I wasn’t alone in feeling that way either, as Rotten Tomatoes Season 1 has a critic’s rating of 79 percent fresh with an audience score of 72. And, like most of the fanbase, I didn’t return for Season 2, thinking the story was wrapped up.
Helix Finishes The Story
Helix Season 2 takes the same tension and mystery of what’s really going on but moves it to an island settled by a religious cult. Steven Weber (Wings) plays Brother Michael, and there are no points for guessing that he’s up to no good on the island. Backtracking on the bold choice of Season 1, Season 2 includes real flashbacks and lots of them, but this time, they help fill in the 15-month gap between the seasons because some characters are drastically different when we see them again.
It wasn’t until recently that I even knew Helix Season 2 existed and continued the story. Lacking the tension of the first season, it goes off the rails by the end but goes so far into crazy town that I can’t help but respect how the writers didn’t play it safe. By picking up the pace towards the end, the story comes to a close, but whether it’s satisfying or not is up to everyone’s interpretation. I’m happy it has a real ending and not a cliffhanger teasing a third season that will never come.
You can stream Helix on Tubi, Disney+, and Hulu.