NEW YEAR NEW SHOWS : HELIX

Helix, as the title hints, is about the DNA helix. The story is set in the Arctic circle at a research facility that is beyond international borders. It is there so that unregulated experiments can be carried out without oversight. Something goes wrong with an experiment and there are deaths. The CDC (Center for Disease Control) are sent in to help, and to investigate the cause of the outbreak. A scientist called Julia Walker is asked for specifically and she takes along Dr Alan Farragut because his brother is the only survivors of the outbreak.

The team that goes in is made up of Julia and Alan plus Dr Sara Jordan who looks about 12 years old, which makes it a little difficult to take her seriously as a scientist, and Dr Doreen Boyle.An army engineer called Ballesteros goes in with the team. So we know that the situation is dodgy because the army are involved somehow. Of course, with this being a TV piece we can't stick to the subject and have to throw in some love interest (yawn!). It turns out that Alan and Julia were married but Julia had an affair with Alans brother Peter (the infected guy).

When they first see Peter he is manic looking with black eyes and his blood is black. When the two dead operatives are examined they have turned to a pool of black goo. The team were under the impression that the site dealt with retro viruses, but this is like nothing that they have ever seen before. The site director is Dr Hiroshi Hitake and he and his team are reluctant to tell the CDC what they are working on. They deny that there are any monkeys on the site, but Dr Boyle finds hair in a drain.

Peter feels the effects of the infection

Alan Farragut finds a video-log made by his brother. On it Peter makes a hand signal, one that the brothers used to use as kids when their father got drunk and abusive. The sign he gives means "run like hell". The team have to be micro-chipped to give them access to all areas. (Perhaps this is a little warning to us that micro tagging is on the way.) Boyle and Ballesteros go looking for monkeys and find an area that they are not able to enter. They break in and see that the place has been ransacked.

Meanwhile, Peter, who was sedated heavily manages to escape quarantine and get in to the air conditioning unit. So not only are the team in a scary location hundreds of miles from civilization they have darkened corridors and a tunnel system to search.This is not a program for claustrophobic viewers. As the first episode nears its conclusion Peter has killed a security guard and stole his uniform. He is intent on going round the base infecting everyone he can. We are left with the feeling that Hitake is not cooperating and is in fact holding back information.

The Arctic Monkeys?

The team learn that someone on the site has been able to create a virus that carries with it the ability to change the DNA of the host. It is obviously some kind of weapon. As the series continues there is a lot of subterfuge, a lot of conflicts and danger to team members at every turn. The level of tension keeps you watching and the way the story comes together, with team members in different locations on the base facing different dangers is well done. The back story of each character is interesting and brings something to the story and, mercifully, there are no sex scenes thrown in for the hell of it. (Be honest, reader, how many sex scenes in such shit as Banshee are not relevant to the story? Almost all of them.) 
The cast is a strong one featuring:

Billy Campbell (Full Circle, Revolution, The Killing, The 4400) as Alan Farragut
Hiroyuki Sanada ( Revenge, Lost) as Dr Hiroshi Hatake
Kyra Zagorsky ( Supernatural, Smallville) Dr Julia Walker
Jordan Hayes is Dr Sara Jordan
Neil Napier (many video game credits inc. Assassins Creed franchise) Dr Peter Farragut
Catherine Lemieux (White House Down) Dr Doreen Boyle
Mark Ganime (Soldiers of the Apocalypse, Eve of Destruction)
Meegwun Fairbrother Daniel Aerov

This is one of the best new series I have seen in a long time. I await each episode with excitement, and I don't get exited by much, believe me. Episode six will air in the USA this week. I would love to go in to more detail but there are some great twists and a smattering of jumpy moments that I wouldn't want to spoil for the viewer. I highly recommend this show.