MEPA-12X
MEPA-12X (めぱ12X in Bahasa Sokoku) is a dystopian sci-fi drama series made in Sokoku, broadcasted in a dozen countries around the globe. The series are set in an unnamed future, about 60-120 years from now, aboard an interplanetary vessel making its second journey between Gotha and Koth. The 15 person crew, mainly of Sokokan origin, battles against the unreliable nature of the experimental vessel and the internal tension among the crew members on a mission to rescue a stranded expedition attempting to set up a first Orderist colony on the distant planet. In this setting, Sokoku is an Orderist state partaking in an enterprise to colonise new worlds due to the overexploitation of Gotha by free market capitalists.
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This article is a work in progress. |
Plot, seasons and episodes
The series comprises of three seasons with 11 episodes of 55 minutes each. The first series covers the launch from Gothan orbit towards Tyr and ends when the commander explains the true purpose of the mission. The uncertainty about the mission's goal, which is only known by 3 of the 15 people crew, and the mysteries surrounding this are the main story line.
The second season covers most of the journey towards Tyr, with the crew having to prepare for the uncertain events to some on Koth. Season 3 mainly takes place on Koth, where there are some dozen survivors of the disastrous colonisation attempt. Until the final episode it is unclear what exactly has happened to the colony. A season 4 was planned, but funding was cut which left a rather open end to the plot.
The series is mainly told from the perspective of the 8 person "night crew", which operates on a 12 hour shift opposite the "day crew". While the day crew is executing the mission, the night crew is only there as some sort of back-up. Which explains why the medic and the caretaker are on the night crew. The mission is not sanctioned by the Orderist Commonwealth at first, who had already given up on the nearly 200 colonizers on Koth. The dangerous journey was planned by an opposing faction within the Orderist military. This is one of the reasons the crew mainly consists of Sokokan members, it is considered too dangerous to risk an Anarian crew for.
A main motif throughout the series are the collisions in leadership style between Captain Anji and Commander Tsumugi. Where Anji is an Orderist military following a strict hierarchy, wanting to control every detail of operations, Tsumugi on the other hand is a senior project manager from the Orderist secretariat preparing the mission out of sight of the Orderist military, who operates more as a motivating and stimulating team manager leaving much responsibility to the specialists. These differences become evident and crucial when the vessel MEPA-12X needs a lot more maintenance and repairs en-route than planned, leading to serious malfunctions and life threatening incidents.
Interplanetary vessel
The unreliable nature and claustrophobic environment of the spaceship add to the eerie feeling present during the entire series. MEPA-12X is considered a dead end in interplanetary transportation development, consisting of twelve nuclear powered thrust engines with 6 external units tethered with cables and narrow passages between them. Two of them serve as crew quarters and are heavily isolated against interplanetary radiation. The isolation was refurbished after the first journey which led to severe medical problems with the (then) 24 people crew. Two units are only used for vegetable and protein production in the form of aquaponics, playing a rol in water and air management as well. The last 2 units are only technical in nature for life support. In flight, the 6 units spin around the engine compartiment, creating .7G gravity on board. At launch and arrival the units are folded in and connected directly to the engines, giving the vessel its nickname "the umbrella". The vessel was built in orbit, so it is launched from orbit. For the mission on Koth, a smaller space plane shuttle has been taken along as cargo.
Episodes
| # | Title | Date | Plot | Music |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | MEPA-12X (pilot) | On an orbital space station, Ana is recruited by a dodgy middle man for a classified mission with an Orderist experimental vessel. Ana has to take the offer, since she is wanted by authorities on the surface. | "Jalan boloh" (Idiot walk) by Gatal-Gatal | |
| 2 | Ana: Weeds | Ana's role on board becomes more clear when the night crew starts to build an aquaponics nursery in one of the 6 units, starting growing vegetables. Tsumugi, Toru and Kurumi assist her. | "Pelangi" (Rainbow) by Aina | |
| 3 | Kurumi: Skywalker | When one of the 12 engines starts acting up and threatens to throw the vessel off course, unexperienced Kurumi has to undertake a dangerous spacewalk during the acceleration phase in order to fix the problem. | "Kotor" (Dirty) by Sanrokuni | |
| 4 | Endo: On course, off course, of course | Night crew pilot has to alter course before the day crew takes over and hide the data on a direct order from Tsumugi, who wants to keep the entire incident out of captain Anji's eye. | "Lago ilahi: Gota" (Divine music: Gotha) by Shingeki | |
| 5 | Kei: Appendix #1 | On one of her night time food delivery trips towards the day crew, Ana meets engineer Geru who is in considerable pain, prompting doctor Kei to perform an emergency operation. | "Lemas berderah" (Bloody limb) by Telinga Pelanting | |
| 6 | Tsumugi: Motivation | Commander Tsumugi takes a blow for her night crew from captain Anji. Thanks to Geru reporting this to Kurumi, she is welcomed back by her own team as a hero. | "Bertimbal" (Ambivalence) by Trisula | |
| 7 | Shinsuke: Red tape | While life support and propulsion are showing more and more flows, engineer Shinsuke tries to address the issues with the help of the several terabyte large Stoldic manual, while Kotono just sets out and fixes most of the issues with gaffer tape. | "Upacara" (The ritual) by Nekuru | |
| 8 | Toru: The hustle | While the captain and commander are disagreeing on aborting the mission due to vessel malfunctions, Toru assists Shinsuke and Kotono with his secret stack of supplies and spare parts. The night crew manages to addresses the issues the much more experienced day crew can't tackle. | "Pola pikir" (Mindsets) by G:Putaran | |
| 10 | Frank: Watch your mouth | Frank, the only Anarian on board, openly states he needs a higher position in the internal hierarchy in order for the mission to be successfull. Which trigger the night crew in understanding that they haven't been updated about the true nature of the journey. | "Angin dari kemharajaan" (Winds from the empire) by Gigitan Cinta | |
| 9A | Kotono: Idol | Kotono is on the brink of receiving an official reprimande due to lack of focus and routines. At the same time she bonds with Ana and Kurumi about her favourite passtime: watching corny rom-coms and phantasizing about handsome blokes. Which leads to an all to honest assessment of all the male crew members while running from malfunction to malfunction. | "Tidak ada jawaban" (No answer) by Aki Arin 87 | |
| 11 | Anji: This is your captain speaking | The point of no return is approaching, which leads to tension between the minority wanting to continue and the majority urging to abort. An Orderist mission is however no democracy and captain Anji has to come clear about the true nature of the journey in order to avoid a mutany. | "Taalii" (Tides) by Bahijii |
Note: episodes 9 and 10 were meant to be broadcasted the other way around, but there was a technical failure in the original episode 9 which meant that the broadcaster decided to prematurely air episode 10 instead. Within a week, a new version of episode 9 was cut which took care of any chronological inconsistencies.
| # | Title | Date | Plot | Music |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | Lightning strikes | The crew finally gets the OK from Orderist command to proceed with the mission, but at a cost. | "Petir" (Lightning) by Cihiro & Hani | |
| 2 | Poser | Ana discovers Kohei's secret due to her work in the ship's aquaponics units. He isn't the brilliant agrobiologist he claims to be, which makes Ana debate herself if she should report him for this. | "Masalah sulit" (Poser) by Daruga | |
| 3 | Blue wind | Shinsuke is facing an energy crisis since the electricity generators are not nearly as efficient as promised in the original specifications anymore. He finds a solution for the problem inspired by the lyrics of a song that Kurumi tends to play so often that it starts to annoy most of the crew by now. | "Angin biru" (Blue Wind) by Mogas | |
| 4 | I won't stand down | When doctor Kei orders captain Anji to take a stress break and catch up on some sleep, his day crew replacement Taisan refuses to hand over commanding duties to Tsumugi when the night crew takes over. Tsumugi lets him continue his shift long onto the night and prevents doctor Kei from relieving him from his duties due to fatigue. | "Aku tidak akan mundur" (Won't stand down) by Semu-semu | |
| 5 | Engine #5 | Kurumi makes a haunting discovery when revising engine #5, finding multiple issues while the sensors never showed any malfunctions. The engine is beyond repair and now she is facing a dilemma, revising more engines with the risk of finding similar failures elsewhere, or stick to the maintenance plan. | "Rasa biru" (Flavour of blood) by Kode Sandi | |
| 6 | Searchlight | Kotono has an accident during a space walk, trying to get some essential heat sources for a functional life support system, resulting in her drifting hundreds of meters away from the fast moving vessel. | "Menyoroti" (Spotlight) by Umse | |
| 7 | My heart is clear | Bored due to the lack of assignments during the night shifts, Toru has started making a makeshift musical instrument from broken components replaced by the ship's engineers. Kurumi makes a worrying discovery when he shows her the finished instrument. | "Hati, cerah dan cerah" (My heart is clear and sunny) by SSTB | |
| 8 | Decompression | Disaster strikes as a micro meteorite creates a violet decompression with a lethal outcome. | "Thaalaí bee hólooh" (Slaughter beach) by Kuruc | |
| 9 | Ban your hurt | The night crew has to cope with the loss of a team member, while at the same time facing the blame from the day crew and having to address the consequences of the meteor strike. | "laranglah rasa sakitmu" (Ban your hurt) | |
| 10 | I don't believe in helsike | With only one pilot and some malfunctioning engines, the breaking procedure that should bring the vessel in orbit, first around Tyr and then Koth, becomes a nailbiting procedure. Overshooting the target and ending up floating into endless space is never far away. The whole process takes week and takes its toll in the mental health of some of the crew. | "Herusike" (Helsike) by Komidi Putar | |
| 11 | Orbit | Geru and Kurumi trim the engines after recommendation by Taisin. The unorthodox routine results in the vessel in some form of orbit. The colonisers, in the person of Von Funkhausen, are however not pleased with the arrival of a rescue mission. | "Putih keluar" (White Out) by Miisu |
| # | Title | Date | Plot | Music |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | A slight change of plans | A part of the day crew makes a landing at the colony and find it in ruins, with only a couple of dozen survivors. For the night crew, the situation is still pretty abstract and they prepare for a plan if the day crew would not return. | "Helreich" by Tenji Sa Reta | |
| 2 | Koth, koth | Kohei and Alto have conflicting ideas about restoring a viable colony and fight out their differences in front of both crews and the settlers. | "Di atas bulan" (Over the moon) by Koki Gila | |
| 3 | Machine reset | While most of the day crew is assessing the situation on Koth, pilot Taisin starts education Toru as the new second pilot for the mission. Aiyana seems to be able to get Alto to open up a bit, convincing him that he can't win his arguments on his own. | "Mesin reset" (Machine reset) by G:Putaran | |
| 4 | Pardon me, I have to go now... | The tensions between the female juniors of the crew and captain Anji comes to a boiling point, not in the least thanks to actions by Frank and Taisin, where Kohei steps in for the women and physically assaults the commander. | "Permisi, saya harus pergi sekarang" (Pardon me, I have to go now) by Bunga itu dingin | |
| 5 | Fxxk you very much! | Kohei is demoted. Von Funkhausen recommends to leave him behind when the colonisers leave Koth, since there is no room for everyone aboard the MEPA-12X anyway. This prospect leads to huge unrest among the colonisers. | "Piro" by Piro | |
| 6 | Call my name | Anji and Tsumugi try different tactics to get more information from the settlers about the fate of 85% of the colony's population. But it's doctor Kei's approach of the mentally scarred survivors that results in some people opening up. | "Panggil namaku" (Call my name) by Akhirnya | |
| 7 | Sindre's clone | Kai reports the fate of Sindre, the young coloniser who became the first fatality in the settlement, to Tsumugi. She then is in doubt if and how to report to captain Anji and confides in Geru instead. | "Kloningan Sindre" (Sindre's clone) by MOZU | |
| 8 | Maiden | Doctor Kei diagnoses serious PTSD with Mimmi when she finally gets the possibility to examine her away from her overprotective parents. | "Gadis" (Maiden) by Kanaria | |
| 9 | Present past future | Slowly the recent history of the colony is revealed, creating a dark image of the future of the mission: either staying behind and merge with murderers, or abandon it and become murderers. | "Masa kini, masa lalu, masa depan" (Present past future) by Sekarang Drama | |
| 10 | Dark manifestation | Von Funkhausen intervenes and appoints Frank as new pilot and second in command for the now joint mission. Toru fears for his position on board of the vessel, and as such a return trip. | "Gekibun gelap" (Dark manifestation) by Kekaisaran Keempat | |
| 11 | The principles of dischord | Captain Anji gets stuck between the only two possible outcomes of the mission, being replaced by Tsumugi or being left behind by Von Funkhausen who has appointed the 24 spots for the return journey on his own. | "Principia discordia" (Principles of dischord) by ERIS |
Music
The music score plays an important role in the series. The main theme Tidak aman pada kecepatan berapa pun (Unsafe at any speed) was written specifically for the TV-series by the Sokokan hard rock band Kumis. Instrumental parts of the song, including the trademark opening guitar riff, are recurring interludes during the episodes. Kumis has become a major entertainment group thanks to the domestic popularity of the series.
Each episode features one more musical interlude, often in the form of a hard rock or metal style song. These are usually existing releases used "on loan" for the TV series. After the success of season 1, many bands lined up wanting to deliver a song to the production. This led to the federal secretariat for cultural affairs getting involved in the production, synchronising the promotional efforts of the federally supported bands with the TV producers. Season 2 and 3 each got a different track used during the end credits as well, creating exposure to more bands. This type of cultural product placement became a main sponsor for the production of season 3. After each season, an album with all the songs was released.
Closing song for season 1 was Jalan boloh by Gatal-Gatal, an up-tempo garage rock type of song with satirical lyrics. For season 2, a special version of Tidak ada waktu untuk mati by Koki Gila was used, with one of the characters delivering the opening line of the song as some sort of cliffhanger. The version with Ana delivering the line was released as a single, while the Koki Gila album version had Kurumi as opening vocalist. This pop rock song had some metal elements due to the duelling guitars in it. On the TV-series album, Tsumugi was featured instead. Season 3's end title track was Cermin Tergores by Perpaduan Rasa. This rap metal track had a very gentle pre-chorus sung by an angelic voice contrasting the in-your-face lyrics of the chorus.
Characters
| Character | Role | Actor | S01 | S02 | S03 | |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Anji | Male, early 50's | 1st command, captain. Autocratic, almost dogmatic leader with military background. Mostly eloquent and softly speaking. Father of two, but divorced so hardly seeing his teenage children. | Slamet Tahyadi | Recurring | Recurring | Recurring |
| Taisan | Male, late 40's | 3rd command, military pilot. Could be labeled as a womanizer, therefore notoriously single when it comes to long term relationships. Great multitasker when it comes to handling manoeuvering, navigating and communicating at the same time. | Hadian Tanudjaja | Guest | Guest | Recurring |
| Frank | Male, mid 50's | 5th, chief engineer from Helreich. Acts as if he is in charge, since he participated in designing and testing the vessel. It is his second journey, which makes him continuously make remarks how easily they fixed challenges on the first trip. Has therefore a problem with the chain of command on the ship and is gathering support for a change of hands. Insists on using Stoldic as main language on the ship, it being the main language of the Orderist Commonwealth. | Gerald Sumner | Recurring | Guest | Recurring |
| Geru | Male, early 50's | 10th, executive engineer. Kurumi's uncle, but thanks to his close relation to her functioning as a sort of uncle and informal mentor for all the younger crew members. Typical blue collar worker attitude despite his university degree. | Eohan Manuputty | Recurring | Guest | Guest |
| Alto | Male, early 40's | 7th, mission specialist with a background in exogothan geography and climate, originally from Mirapan. A bit of a lone wolf, both by nature but also by his ethnicity, being the only mainlander on board. Only an off-screen character in season 1. | Chayton Askii | - | Guest | Recurring |
| Kotono | Female, early 30's | 9th, energy and life systems engineer. Bit of a short tempered hothead who gets things fixed quickly anyway, but not much of a planner. Gets into conflict with her direct colleague Shinsuke from the night crew because of this. Her favorite passtime is watching rom-coms, just to swoon over the boys. | Djuliana Bulan Hardja | Guest | Recurring | Guest |
| Rina | Female, mid 30's | 13th, payload specialist trying to leave an abusive relationship behind her, sees this journey as a possibility for a new start. Only an off-screen character in season 1, introduced in season 2 to add to the emotional mix of the crew. | Tandubuana Ya | - | Guest | Guest |
| Character | Role | Actor | S01 | S02 | S03 | |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Tsumugi | female, late 30's | 2nd in command, team commander, Kakuri. Originally the planner of the mission, but when the intended #2 fell ill before lift-off, she was the only logical replacement. Punching way above her weight, creating authority issues with staff seniors, which is about half the crew. Adored and respected by the night crew, but frowned down upon by the day crew. | Sakamoto Miho | Main | Main | Main |
| Endo | male, early 40's | 4th, military pilot. (Spoiler ahead:) Killed in S2 due to decompression caused by a micro meteorite. | Nahum Lumbanbatu | Recurring | Recurring | - |
| Kohei | male, late 50's | 6th later demoted to 16th, mission specialist with a background in microbiology and agriculture. His tensions with Alto, his colleague from the day crew, become a focal point in season 3. | Kuwat Lumbantungkup | Recurring | Recurring | Main |
| Shinsuke | male, early 30's | 8th, mission specialist for vessel maintenance and repairs. Engineer who always wants to do things by the book, finding out the hard way that he can work together very effectively with the always improvising Kotono from the day crew. There's always a hint of romantics between the two happening. | Tjokro Shi | Recurring | Recurring | Guest |
| Kurumi | female, mid 20's | 12th, master's student in propulsion engineering, technically more like an intern to her uncle Geru on the day crew. Most junior in the crew, but still outranking both payload specialists. Loves the louder rock varieties of music from the late 77th century. | Susanti Patawala | Main | Main | Main |
| Toru | male, early 30's | 14th, payload specialist, later also trained as pilot. Usually comes up with some unexpected supplies or tools from what he considers his private property aboard the vessel. A bit of a hussler who manages to get as he wants, using the all-around corruption within orderist society. | Nahan Daparik | Main | Main | Main |
| Kei | female, early 40's | 11th, medical doctor providing mental assessments and individual training programs for every crew member. Executing a lot of soft power by her ability to take anyone out of his or her function due to medical reasons, even the commanders. | Dian Lesmana | Main | Main | Main |
| Ana | female, late 20's | 15th, caretaker. Originally from Anisora but traveling incognito, on the run for authorities. She is seen as ballast on this mission, since the commanders didn't see a reason to take someone along who can grow vegetables and prepare meals. Last minute addition to the crew under a false identity, has difficulties using Bahaso and no knowledge of Stoldic at all. | Vanessa Selano | Main | Main | Main |
| Character | Role | Actor | S01 | S02 | S03 | |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Taka | male, late 30's | Sokokan settler | Wiraatmadja Banjarkasi | - | - | Recurring |
| Kai Tönderbua | male, late 40's | Aedelish settler | Pål Jonasson Fisk | - | - | Recurring |
| Adam Seltzer | male, mid 30's | Settler from Helreich, married to | Jimi Hargraves | - | - | Recurring |
| Helga Seltzer-Adenauer | female, mid 30's | Settler from Helreich, married to | Rua Schleck | - | - | Recurring |
| Mimmi Seltzer | female, 8 | Settler from Helreich, daughter of | Ava Caldera | - | - | Recurring |
| Zander von Funkhausen | male, early 50's | Colony commander from Helreich | Erin Wolds | - | Guest | Recurring |
| Aiyana | female, late 30's | Settler from Mirapan, the first person able to let Alto open up a little bit | Chooli Elu | - | - | Recurring |
Reception, reviews and rewards
The series was not an immediate hit among the Sokokan audience. Viewer numbers were in the single digits during the first episodes, but with the numbers rising after each showing. When S1.E06 reached an audience rating of 10.0 (indicating that 10% of the population above 16 years old was watching) the previous episodes were put on repeat on regional and state channels so that people could catch up before E07. Main reason for the slow success of the series was the dark setting and rather unpopular setting of Sokoku as a future Orderist nation. However, the compelling story arch and the relatable characters for a wider audience had a captivating effect, making the TV series much talked about on the work floor. During season 1 it became obvious that the series presented a highly negative image of both orderist and capitalist systems. The writers clearly included some Häverist elements in order to create worse circumstances for the main characters in the series. The season finale of season 1 was the best watched episode in TV drama of 7686 in Sokoku.
The main domestic criticism was about the lack of mainland characters and actors involved in the production, while the obvious Kakuri was present in a crucial role. In season 2 some guest appearances were made by the Iztomal actor Chayton Askii in the role of the Mirapanian mission specialist Alto. The season 1 finale featured a Shaaniah Izto dialect song , while in season 2 the key episode "Decompression" was accompanied by a Tsidii Izto language song.
The series was presented at the annual Fjärran festival in Talpå, Vittmark that same year. Both the anti-orderist and anti-capitalist tendencies attracted an underground audience at the pilot's showing, resulting in the series being bought by the the public broadcaster Länken, affiliated with the Unity Connect political party. It became a viewer success despite the odd airing times on Vittmark's third public service channel. This led to more progressive and counter culture orientated networks and broadcasters acquiring the television rights. The income of the foreign franchise were invested in season 2.
After exporting the series, people wondered where the Anarian looking actors like Gerald Sumners (Frank) and Vanessa Selano (Ana) originated from. In season 3, five more Anarian characters were introduced. They all are 3rd, 4th or 5th generation settlers of Hallisian, Anisoran, Vittmarker and Auresian descent. Some critics and even fans criticized the immense accent the actors used when speaking Stoldic. But at a TV interview, one of the writers simply stated that "languages are always changing and this is simply what Stoldic will sound like in the future". Gerald Sumners had to memorize his Stoldic lines syllable by syllable, since his only other language than Bahaso is a Hallisian pidgin used in his family. The Aedelish settler, depicted by a Nubugaru actor with an exotic version of Wortsproke as his native language, does not use a single word word of Aedelish in the series, only some Stoldic.
The music featured in the series meant a boost for many of the artists and bands involved. The opening song is a Sokokan classic, still on heavy rotation at radio stations all over the country. The closing credits tracks all reached the #1 position in the sales charts. One of the more unexpected hits was the Stoldic language song called Helreich that was used in the season 2 final episode of the first landing of a part of the crew on Koth. It was the first and so far only occasion a song in this language made it into the Top 10 in Sokoku. The domestic success of the music affiliated with the series led to a special release after season 3 called Unsafe at any speed with a selection of re-recorded songs with parts being sung in languages like Kamuran, Hallish, Livarian and Wortsproke. Tidak ada waktu untuk mati got completely new lyrics in the unusual combination of Hallish and Kakuri, with actress Sakamoto Miho (playing Tsumugi in the series) standing for this vocal part.