Stream It Or Skip It: ‘The First’ on Hulu, Sean Penn, Family Drama, and Mars Collide in Ambling Space Travel Series

Sean Penn makes his small-screen leading man debut in the dramatic space travel series The First. Now streaming on Hulu, the series follows Penn’s Tom Hagerty, a man who gamely attempts to balance family drama with the perils and roadblocks associated with one of the most extraordinary feats in human history: leading a team of astronauts to Mars.

THE FIRST: STREAM IT OR SKIP IT?

The Gist: Right from the get-go, Hulu’s “Sean Penn goes to Mars show” has one major problem: Sean Penn’s Tom Hagerty gets booted off the monumental expedition to Mars. We watch as Hagerty is relieved of his duties and forced to watch the historic event from the comfort of his futuristic (the show takes place in 2030) home. It doesn’t take an astronaut to deduce what that means for Hagerty’s former team: The shuttle explodes minutes after takeoff as the first manned mission to Mars ends in tragedy.

The First doesn’t use this inciting incident to jump right into their main story, as the repercussions and sorrow felt over the loss of lives is the driving force of the pilot. I thought it was going to be more of a “six months later” scenario in which we see Hagery return to his post, but creator Beau Willimon (House of Cards) instead chooses to dwell in the immediate aftermath of the disaster. Despite having been relieved of his duties, Hagerty races to the scene to help. He’s a shoulder to cry on, a voice of reason, and a soothing presence in the face of tragedy. But Tom’s day is far from over as he returns home to find his estranged daughter Denise (Anna Jacoby-Herron).

At this stage, Tom’s personal life is going about as well as his professional life. His wife’s passed away, and his daughter is an addict struggling with the death of her mother. The episode concludes with no firm resolutions as all those affected by the accident ponder an uncertain future.

Our Take: My biggest takeaway is that two-time Oscar-winner Sean Penn is a very good actor. Sure, that can be filed under “duh,” but Penn delivers a truly remarkable performance in The First. The whole series is extremely well acted and contains a medley of stunning visuals, but the pilot moves at an incredibly slow pace. The entire episode feels like a captivating cold open, but cold opens are intended to set-up the larger story, not last for 45-minutes.

With its gloomy disposition, The First feels like more of an emotional family drama than space travel adventure, but maybe a better balance is reached in future episodes. If you’ve seen the trailer, you have an idea of where the series is going. Tom is called back into action and attempts to find an impossible balance that allows him to be a world-class astronaut and supportive father. That sounds compelling, but The First seems more interested in dealing with the effects of space travel than the actual act of traveling to outer space.

Sex And Skin: Nope. The episode begins and ends with a shirtless Sean Penn jogging around town. Other than that, nada.

Sleeper Star: Penn is even better than expected, but Natascha McElhone’s steely Laz Ingram is the character to watch. McElhone portrays Laz’s unique combination of emotional reticence and covert vulnerability with grace and pathos.

Parting Shot: Moments before the episode officially ends, Tom puts his daughter to bed before going into his room and collapsing to his knees. Physically and emotionally spent from a day of unimaginable surprise and misery, the typically withdrawn Tom allows himself to grieve, if only for a few seconds. It’s a powerful scene that showcases Penn’s quiet charisma.

The episode concludes with Tom staring up at the night sky as if to say, “I’ll get you yet, Mars.”

Our Call: STREAM IT, but a soft “stream it.” The First moves at a snail’s pace, but there’s enough here to stick with it. The show’s lack of urgency could become problematic in future episodes, but the inherent intrigue and Sean Penn’s magnetic performance is enough to make me want to watch Episode 2.

Stream The First on Hulu