Helix makes audience do double takes

Up in the frozen white Arctic, black goo has taken over half a research facility and robs its victims of their sanity. At least, in the new Syfy television series Helix it does.

Helix debuted on Jan. 10 with an hour-long pilot, which introduced a mysterious disease spreading through a research facility, Arctic Biosystems, and hinted that the first case was no accident. The Center for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC) responded immediately by deploying a team of determined scientists: Dr. Julia Walker, Dr. Doreen Boyle, Dr. Sarah Jordan, and Dr. Alan Farragut. Farragut also happens to be the brother of patient zero, Peter Farragut.

The head of the facility, Dr. Hiroshi Hatake, subtly resists cooperation with the CDC, seemingly keeping secrets of his own involving the outbreak. On top of Hatake’s reluctance, Major Sergio Balleseros, sent from the Army, carries out his own hidden agendas, even destroying evidence and burning live monkeys for his mission.

Before even beginning the investigation, the team already bears stress from its own members. Farragut must put his grief on hold in order to save his brother and Arctic Biosystems in time; Boyle discovers infected test monkeys; Jordan suppresses a schoolgirl crush.

Several frightening and sudden encounters with the infected, called vectors, give an idea about what the black goo dripping out of them does. Vectors are infected victims who have survived initial infection and show erratic, paranoid behavior. They run with superhuman speed, sometimes aiming to kill and other times to spread the virus through “kisses” – violent, open-mouthed attacks.

It’s a wonder the team gets any work done with all the constant hindrances and sabotages. Still, Farragut orders them to forge ahead into the white unknown. Any life lost is another weight on his shoulders.

Helix, shot in Montreal, Canada, has “hauntingly beautiful” scenery, as creator Cameron Porsandeh describes. The same could be said for the story. Here is a disease that breaks down a human being into a pile of bones and rot in days, and those who survive this face a deterioration of the mind, starting with hallucinations and turning to rabid behavior, but on the other side is the humanity of Farragut and his team.

Farragut refuses to kill the infected, even one coming right at him, because he still believes he can save them. Jordan, regardless of the danger a vector would bring, shelters one in her own room who pleads she is still human.

Helix shows off a smart script about genes, proteins, and discovery. Each episode brings a shocking discovery, an “Ah-ha!” moment, and is an exciting, promising 45 minutes.