NBC’s Surface was one of a few similarly themed sci-fi mystery series to air in the fall of 2005, in hopes of appealing to the same audience base of ABC’s hugely successful Lost. Despite a fairly large fan base, and numerous save-the-show online petitions, the series was cancelled after a mere 15 episodes.
The series follows two main and somewhat disconnected storylines. Dr.Laura Daughtery, a single mother and marine biologist who encounters a huge, previously unknown aquatic creature, while on a deep sea dive. A cover-up-type-thing ensues, Daughtery is out of a job, and seeks to find the truth with a fellow seeker Rich. The pair struggles to maintain their respective faltering family ties and responsibilities while on a seemingly downward spiral involving conspiracies and danger. A teenager Miles encounters the aquatic creatures, and takes an eggform of one of them to his yuppified home, out of curiosity and intrigue. Unsurprisingly, destruction and hi-jinx ensue as the seemingly benign egg hatches and matures.
There are some obvious and not so subtle Speilbergian elements to NBC’s Surface, including a hero journey, mythic, mysterious creatures, aand even a Close-Encounter-Devil’s-Tower style Calling. Surface is a twist on the Alien Invasion theme, but is also a Coming of Age saga, trimmed with the Government Conspiracy. It’s got a lot going on, but one gleaming thread that ties it together is the journey of the characters’ beginnings from familial indifference and domestic anemia through a meaningful and authentic connection to each other.
The devices of miniature replica are used rather intriguingly throughout the series. Miles’ miniature creature “Nim” is used to convey the idea that cuteness and ignorance masks complexity, destruction and monstrosity. Miles seeks to keep the creature a secret at all costs, from his family. We find out the creature is growing into something unfathomably huge, as is Miles-his pubescent brink is the point of much discussion-and in maturing, destruction and betrayals set in, which not only literally shatter aquariums, but also the cardboard status quo of the family.
When we first meet Miles’ parents, they are unflinching in their one dimensional boomer-style hideous materialism and aloofness. Miles’ ridiculously vain and cliquish sister Savannah likewise seems unredeemable as the series begins. As things start to burst, however, they begin to thaw into real people, indeed their surface breaks, and show Miles some true love and care.
Another rather interesting façade is the playhouse in Miles’ backyard. But it isn’t a simple childlike structure-it looks like a real house– a replica of the family’s house. The miniature house at once symbolizes the family unit, its smallness and instability, and also stands as a symbol for Miles’ fleeting childhood. The quaintness and cuteness of the perfect little house, and its later destruction, mirrors the journey of Miles’ similarly constructed family.
I found the series fairly predictable, but my 12 year old son and his friend were transfixed. It is certainly appropriate for a young adult age group, and I recommend it for tweens who enjoy adventure and suspense. The complete series is now available in a 15 episode, 4 DVD set.
