MUST-SEE TV
Krypton044 | W W W. S C I FI N OW.CO.U K
the only sound is the echo of our footsteps.
They ring around a cold, cavernous space
fl anked by tall, oval windows. Blocks of
ice lie on the ground. Our boots crunch on
the grit underfoot. This barren chamber is
dominated by two large statues that hold a
globe between their outstretched arms – a
familiar Fortress feature to those who know
DC comics lore – and they loom large over
a raised, central dais. Here stands a control
panel that will be lit with CGI once cameras,
cast and crew bring the set to life.
This iconic edifi ce has taken many forms
in the DC universe, its most famous on-
screen iterations coming courtesy of Clark
Kent’s crystal-lobbing escapade in Superman:
The Movie, or the similar-looking construct
that eventually reared up in Smallville, or
even the Kryptonian scout ship that featured
in Man Of Steel and its affi liates.
This, its most recent incarnation, stands
on a sound stage in Belfast, which is the
home of Krypton, the live-action television
series that dives deep into the past-life
of this famous fi ctional planet. In this
story, the Fortress Of Solitude lies in the
wastelands beyond the city of Kandor and it
belongs to Val-El, grandfather of Seg-El, the
latter standing as the primary hero in the
Krypton series and, in wider DC lore, as the
grandfather of the superhero known on Earth
as Superman.
The series is the brainchild of David S.
Goyer, who wrote the screenplays for the
Blade trilogy, Man Of Steel, Batman Vs
Superman and Batman Begins, and whose
television work includes Constantine and Da
Vinci’s Demons. He has employed actor-
turned-executive producer Cameron Welsh
to help bring his vision to life, and the
Australian is guiding us around the sets.
“Every Superman story has its own version
of the Fortress Of Solitude,” begins Welsh,
“and each of these windows that you see round
the side will tell a different story. This Fortress
is effectively a lab. The Els are scientists and
this is a secret place that Seg discovers. It
holds a lot of secrets and he’ll unlock many of
them over the course of the season.”
Seg (played by Cameron Cuffe) begins
unlocking those secrets in the very fi rst
episode, travelling here with his mother,
Charys-El, on the prompting of Adam
Strange (Shaun Sipos), another interesting
member of the DC canon, who dates back to
- In Krypton, Strange is an Earth-born
human who’s travelled back across time and
space to warn Seg of the impending arrival
of Brainiac (Blake Ritson), the collector of
worlds. This infamous green-hued menace- another who fi rst appeared back in 1958 –
has his black eyes set on adding Krypton to
his collection of miniaturised worlds. And, if
he’s successful, this will prevent the birth of
Seg’s son, Jor-El, and the latter’s subsequent
offspring, Kal-El, or Superman.
Indeed, Brainiac’s impending arrival is
revealed right at the start of the very fi rst
episode, which opens with a tense scene
depicting Seg’s grandfather, Val-El (Ian
McElhinney), on trial for treason. Val was
determined to prove that Krypton was not
alone in the universe and during his research
discovered that Brainiac would one day come
for Krypton. He tries to warn the council but
his cautionary tale falls on deaf ears. “Val-El
believes there is life beyond Krypton, yet
that is considered heresy,” explains Welsh.
“Anyone who talks about aliens or life
outside of Krypton is condemned as a heretic.
And heretics will be executed.”
Welsh moves us to the next sound stage
and bids us stand on a black circle amid a
large auditorium, which features banks of
seating stretched high into the studio space
above. “If you’re standing on that black circle
you’re about to be judged,” says Welsh. The
chief magistrate Daron-Vex (Elliot Cowan) is
the prosecutor; there’s no defence, and the
high priest of Kandor, the chief disciple of
the sun god Rao, sits in judgement.
“This is where Val-El is sentenced, where
he faces charges of sedition for speaking
out against the Voice of Rao,” Welsh adds.
“At the start of the show we come in where
Daron-Vex and the Voice of Rao have taken
charge; they’ve ousted the former council
that governed Kandor. They force the old
council members to pledge allegiance. Val-El
refuses and tries to warn people about an
alien threat but he is executed for it. That
kicks off the story and we then cut to 14
years later and follow Seg.”
Val-El’s sedition has brought shame upon
the house of El, and Seg, along with his
father and mother, have been ejected from
their lofty position in the Science Guild and
cast down among the rankless members of
society. “The city of Kandor is dominated by
a series of Guilds – Science Guild, Religious
Guild, Technicians Guild, Lawmakers Guild,
Artisans Guild, and the Military Guild,”
Welsh says. “These people live in towers in
the rarefi ed atmosphere and air above the
clouds in the city. If you are a part of the
rankless you are cast down and live at the
bottom of society.”
This is a literal as well as a metaphorical
reality. Welsh takes us on a tour through the
sets where the rankless abide, building their
homes on the ground, among the foundations
of the lofty citadels where the Guilded
enjoy their gilded existence. It’s like a sci-fi
Skid Row and it is here that Seg now lives,
hustling an existence by conning the Guilded
out of their cash whenever he can.
According to actor Cameron Cuffe, Seg
is something of a rogue, a scoundrel even.
“He’s not your typical hero,” the actor begins
when he joins us on set. “He is much more
of an Indiana Jones-type, rough and tumble
hero than the typical, square-jawed, all-
American clean-cut superhero that you might
expect. This story of Krypton, and his arcIt is quiet in the
Fortress Of Solitude
Val-El (Ian McElhinney)
stands trial for treason.