Ascension
SyFy | Release Date: December 15, 2014
CRITIC SCORE DISTRIBUTION
56
METASCORE
Mixed or average reviews based on 14 Critic Reviews
Positive:
2
Mixed:
12
Negative:
0
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Critic Reviews

Critic scorePublicationBy date
70
TV Guide MagazineMatt RoushDec 15, 2014
Season 1 Review: The less revealed about the story the better. Let's just say that if you make it to the end of Monday's introductory chapter, you'll very likely feel compelled to see where else this unusual space/soap opera is heading. Read full review
63
St. Louis Post-DispatchGail PenningtonDec 17, 2014
Season 1 Review: The characters are well-enough developed in the early going.... As the story deepens, though, it also becomes so complicated that it threatens to squeeze out marginal fans of the genre. Read full review
60
New York Daily NewsDavid HinckleyDec 15, 2014
Season 1 Review: The dialogue only occasionally gets "Star Trek"-ish, and the special effects are nothing special. But it’s not a bad story, it moves well and you don’t have to wait a hundred years for the conclusion. Read full review
60
The New York TimesNeil GenzlingerDec 15, 2014
Season 1 Review: The opening installment is sharp over all but has squishy spots; that makes you wonder if the premise and the execution are up to the challenge of a series run. Read full review
60
RogerEbert.comBrian TallericoDec 15, 2014
Season 1 Review: Some of the performances are thin and I wish the dialogue went through one more rewrite but it’s the narrative here that’s surprisingly fun. Read full review
60
Washington PostHank StueverDec 15, 2014
Season 1 Review: Ascension is a handsomely made riff on an irresistibly interesting story pitch. Read full review
60
Los Angeles TimesRobert LloydDec 15, 2014
Season 1 Review: I like what I've seen, though there are more than a couple of moments where the only possible reaction is "Naaah." Read full review
58
Entertainment WeeklyJeff JensenDec 12, 2014
Season 1 Review: Everything intriguing is nearly squandered by poor casting and clunky scripting. Still, I suspect the first night's climactic reveal, while clumsily foreshadowed, will make you return for the second. Read full review
50
Boston HeraldAmy AmatangeloDec 15, 2014
Season 1 Review: The direction, at times, has a jerky feel. The dialogue is riddled with cliches.... But just when the whole miniseries, which Syfy is clearly hoping will become a regular series, is starting to feel mundane, there’s a last-minute twist that will demand your attention. It has the potential to make the series fascinating and much more than it originally seems. Read full review
50
The Hollywood ReporterTim GoodmanDec 15, 2014
Season 1 Review: Ascension has tons of potential and meets a little more than half of it in this early going. Read full review
50
Philadelphia InquirerDavid HiltbrandDec 15, 2014
Season 1 Review: Ascension is hokey and hyper-staged (in the same way CBS's recent astronaut thriller, Extant, was). But there's a twist at the end of the first night that should have you coming back. Read full review
50
Pittsburgh Post-GazetteRob OwenDec 12, 2014
Season 1 Review: There are several intriguing concepts built into Syfy’s Ascension, but the execution is not quite up to snuff in the first episode and infuriating by the conclusion. Read full review
50
VarietyBrian LowryDec 11, 2014
Season 1 Review: Ascension” initially mixes genuinely clever twists with what amounts to a semi-claustrophobic soap opera.... Yet as the mythology mounts, some of the parallel plots become considerably less interesting, even as Levens keeps piling on additional sci-fi riffs and cliches. Read full review
42
Uncle BarkyEd BarkDec 12, 2014
Season 1 Review: Ascension aspires to be a cautionary tale on a grand scale. But its cardboard characters and a paint-by-the-numbers script just aren’t up to the task. Read full review
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