Entertainment
The Worst Spaceship Of All Time Is On A New Sci-Fi Show
Spaceships are one of the best things about science fiction. When they’re done right, they become cultural icons, like the USS Enterprise.
It’s not about whether or not your ship is ugly. Sometimes ugly is exactly what you want. Ships like Serenity and the Millennium Falcon are awkward and ungainly looking, on purpose. Giving them that aesthetic makes them the lovable underdog you want to root for.
Sometimes, ugly and stupid is just ugly and stupid. When a fictional starship is designed badly, it’s usually because the ship in question is part of a sci-fi project that’s as bad as it is. And yet the worst sci-fi starship ever created is, somehow, not part of the worst piece of science fiction ever made. It’s on a kind of good, new science fiction series called The Ark.
The Ark has aired a second season and it’s not clear yet if the show will get a third. Produced by SyFy and streaming on the Peacock app, The Ark has been a modest success. With the end of shows like The Expanse, Star Trek: Picard, Star Trek: Discovery, and Star Trek: Lower Decks, it’s one of the only outer space sci-fi shows still being produced.
Before we take a look at the hideous exterior of this flying nightmare that is the show’s main setting, we need to explain why it exists.
The Premise Of The Ark
The Ark is set in a future where the Earth is rapidly becoming uninhabitable. The whys and hows of this aren’t all that important and aren’t fully explored by the show. What matters is that humans need a new home and so The Ark program was conceived to build ships that would take us somewhere else.
The series begins aboard Ark One, flying through space mid-mission. The crew is in stasis for the long voyage, there’s a disaster, and most of the command crew is killed. The survivors wake up, and the only people left are junior officers and civilians.
The show follows their journey to make it to their destination, with the odds stacked against them. It’s basically a redo of the now all but forgotten 1970’s sci-fi series The Starlost.
Ark One’s Terrible Design
If you see Ark One’s interiors, you may not think the ship is so bad. The interior design is generic, white, future-stuff.
Sure, the bridge looks like office computers sitting on foldable card tables, but it’s easy to overlook. Shot from the right angles, these problems aren’t so noticeable.
It’s on the exterior, that Ark One turns into a total disaster.
The aesthetic failures of this design could be dismissed as being due to an attempt at realism. That excuse won’t work, because that’s not what’s going on.
For instance, those spinning rings may look like they are there to create gravity with centrifugal force. They aren’t. This is where the stasis pods were kept. Once everyone wakes up, they never go in that section of the ship again. Instead the crew spends all its time in the parts of the ship without any gravity creating spin, and yet there seems to be plenty of gravity in them.
So why the spinning rings then? No idea, they’re just there and no one on the ship ever mentions them.
That’s the case with most of Ark One. Nothing about it serves any purpose. The Ark’s hero ship is a bunch of non-specific pieces jammed together for no reason. The people inside the ship don’t seem to know most of it, outside of the command area at the front and the very strange biodome on top exists.
The biodome, by the way, also makes no sense. When running out of food, the crew decides to grow crops in there, because it’s a big open space. Why was a big, empty, exposed, dome-shaped area on top of the ship? It’s never addressed.
The dome wasn’t originally designed for plant growing, since it’s not transparent to allow light through. Whoever designed the ship decided it needed a big, empty dome stuck on it, in a way that it was fully exposed and easily damaged.
It’s also unclear why the ship has stasis pods or why the entire crew was sleeping in them. Once the accident wakes them up, they seem to be able to activate the ship’s hyperspace drive and get almost anywhere in a few days or hours. In fact, along their journey, they encounter other identically ugly and stupid Arks, all of which have fully active and awake crews.
If there’s anything good about Ark One’s design, I guess it’s that it is, indeed, unforgettable. Usually, bad starship designs are bad because they’re boring or generic. Maybe the design team didn’t put much thought into it, but Ark One isn’t boring.
Ark One’s Failed Aesthetic Spreads Like A Virus
They also encounter another type of ship, which is ugly in a totally different way. It looks like a flying brick with weapons pods attached to it. At least it doesn’t have pointless, spinning rings.
This brick ship was created for season 2 of The Ark. By then the show’s producers should have known the ships they were designing were horrible and ugly. That knowledge aught to have prompted a drastic change in direction. Instead, they kept Ark One’s existing aesthetic and painted it on a space-faring cinder-block.
The Ark Shows Off Its Ship With Bad Music
So Ark One is stupid, ugly, and makes no sense. Normally, with a ship this bad, any standard science-fiction show would try to hide it. After all, maybe they had a budget problem and couldn’t help it. They did build the bridge out of folding tables, after all.
Nope.
The team on The Ark thinks this is a good ship. We know that because they created an opening credits sequence solely devoted to showing off the show’s horrible ship. And then, somehow, they managed to find music that sounds as terrible as Ark One looks.
Why Bad Design Is A Big Problem
Ark One’s design is a huge problem for the show and one that, at this point, is impossible to solve since nearly every moment of every story takes place aboard Ark One. That’s a shame because, as I said at the outset, aside from how stupid the ship is, The Ark is not that bad.
Give it a couple more seasons to dial things in and I could even see the show becoming great. But it’s nearly impossible to convince anyone to watch it if the first thing they see when they turn it on, looks this bad.
At least the shuttles aren’t terrible.
The Ark Does Other Things Right
I want to stop complaining here and give the team working on The Ark some praise. While I do think this is the worst ship design in the history of science fiction, bad music aside, the way the show’s team is using it, is fantastic.
Ark One is always well-lit, so it’s easy to see. No cheat shadows to hide bad CGI. Space shots are plentiful and well-framed.
The Ark does a great job of showing the audience what’s going on both inside and outside the ship. The show is particularly good at using exterior establishing shots to focus the audience on where the action is happening inside the ship. Much of the show’s direction, from episode to episode, is top-notch.
You shouldn’t fault their special effects team for Ark One’s problems. They’re doing the best work they could possibly do, in a situation where they’re saddled with such a terrible design. It’s Ark One’s design that’s the problem, not the show’s execution.
It makes this problem more frustrating. If the ship had been good, the way they were using it could have resulted in some of the best sci-fi space scenes ever shown on television.
What Went Wrong? The Ship’s Designer Speaks
Wishes won’t fix it though, and the ship isn’t good. It wasn’t good from the moment someone first drew it out on a piece of paper. So, what really went wrong here?
The ship was designed by Randal Groves, who gave some interviews, seemingly unaware he’d created an embarrassment. Groves claims the design was the result of an attempt at scientific accuracy, apparently unaware that nothing about this ship is accurate.
Reading between the lines, it sounds like the original plan for the show was to have parts of the ship where the crew is weightless. However, when it came time to shoot, they didn’t have the budget to actually do that, so The Ark nixed it and went with artificial gravity all over the ship.
Unfortunately, they also didn’t have the budget to update the ship to fit their new, more budget-friendly scripts. That could explain why Ark One makes no sense, but it doesn’t explain why it’s ugly.
Groves says he went deep, looking at films like Star Wars, Silent Running and The Black Hole for a vibe check on what this future world might look like. I don’t see any Star Wars in it, but Silent Running makes sense as a reference. That movie’s ship is also a contender for the ugliest sci-fi monstrosity.
Groves says they also aimed to mix the “clean aesthetic” of Space X’s ships and gear, along with marine design cues. So it’s Elon Musk’s fault?
Give The Ark A Chance
How The Ark made it all the way to television with a hero ship this dumb and ugly, will likely always be something of a mystery. Do your best to ignore it and watch the show anyway. Because, really, The Ark is sort of good.
In an era with extremely limited new space sci-fi options on television, it’s worth supporting, even if the ship is dumb and ugly.
Entertainment
Hurdle hints and answers for July 22, 2026
If you like playing daily word games like Wordle, then Hurdle is a great game to add to your routine.
There are five rounds to the game. The first round sees you trying to guess the word, with correct, misplaced, and incorrect letters shown in each guess. If you guess the correct answer, it’ll take you to the next hurdle, providing the answer to the last hurdle as your first guess. This can give you several clues or none, depending on the words. For the final hurdle, every correct answer from previous hurdles is shown, with correct and misplaced letters clearly shown.
An important note is that the number of times a letter is highlighted from previous guesses does necessarily indicate the number of times that letter appears in the final hurdle.
Mashable 101 Fan Fave: Nominate your favorite creators today
If you find yourself stuck at any step of today’s Hurdle, don’t worry! We have you covered.
Hurdle Word 1 hint
Possessive.
Hurdle Word 1 answer
WHOSE
Mashable Top Stories
Hurdle Word 2 hint
A small, round fruit.
Hurdle Word 2 Answer
GRAPE
Mashable 101 Fan Fave: Nominate your favorite creators today
Hurdle Word 3 hint
To intrigue.
Hurdle Word 3 answer
PIQUE
Hurdle Word 4 hint
To follow.
Hurdle Word 4 answer
ABIDE
Final Hurdle hint
To yearn for.
Hurdle Word 5 answer
COVET
If you’re looking for more puzzles, Mashable’s got games now! Check out our games hub for Mahjong, Sudoku, free crossword, and more.
Entertainment
Netflix Horror Thriller Series Brings Fan-Favorite 90s Books To Life
By Charlene Badasie
| Published
The 2022 horror mystery-thriller The Midnight Club is one of Netflix’s most overlooked originals. Created by Mike Flanagan and Leah Fong, the 10-episode series adapts Christopher Pike’s 1994 novel of the same name while weaving elements from 27 of the prolific YA author’s other books into a single haunting story. Set at Brightcliffe Hospice Care for Teenagers, it follows a group of terminally ill young adults who gather each night to share terrifying stories and unravel the institution’s darkest secrets.
The Patients Of Brightcliffe
Set in the mid-1990s, the series begins when Ilonka (Iman Benson), a bright and ambitious young woman battling terminal thyroid cancer, chooses to live at Brightcliffe Hospice Care. She befriends Kevin (Igby Rigney), a leukemia patient, and clashes with her roommate Anya (Ruth Codd). One night, Ilonka stumbles upon a secret gathering of the Midnight Club.
The secret society, comprised of the patients of Brightcliffe, tries to communicate with the dead and shares eerie stories that intertwine with the hospice’s ominous history. As Ilonka delves deeper into the story of a former patient named Julia Jayne (Larsen Thompson), the supposed healer from the past, she uncovers a sinister cult, symbolized by the number “292.13,” and drawings that hint at a dark past.
21 Jump Scares
Julia, the founder of the original Midnight Club in 1969, had connections to Paragon, a cult that practiced unsettling rituals. The plot thickens as Ilonka, with Kevin’s help, discovers a hidden floor beneath the hospice. Records of the original club and evidence of a cult terrify the group. The final episodes bring closure for some characters, while others meet tragic ends.
The Midnight Club quickly captured the attention of Netflix audiences, recording an impressive 90.31 million hours viewed between October 2 and October 23, 2022, securing its position in the platform’s top 10. The series’ debut episode also made history by breaking the Guinness World Record for the most scripted jump-scares in a single episode, with 21 hair-raising moments.
The series was initially supposed to run for multiple seasons but was unexpectedly canceled in December 2022. Despite its premature ending, The Midnight Club earned critical acclaim and currently holds an 85 percent approval rating on review aggregator Rotten Tomatoes. Critics praised Flanagan’s heartfelt approach to horror and the unique blend of individual stories with the overarching plot.
Other Horror Titles On Netflix From Mike Flanagan
Mike Flanagan has made a name for himself with his Netflix shows, including The Haunting of Hill House, The Haunting of Bly Manor, Midnight Mass, and The Fall of the House of Usher. These series are known for their focus on the human condition rather than jump scares and loud noises. Flanagan’s nonlinear approach to horror works very well, and he often tells parallel stories in the past and present.
The Haunting of Hill House became a huge surprise hit and remains a fan favorite. The Fall of the House of Usher, Flanagan’s most recent Netflix project, is an adaptation of Edgar Allan Poe’s vast bibliography and is up there with his best efforts. While The Midnight Club may have been axed prematurely, its chilling tales, stellar cast, and impressive viewership numbers are cemented into the annals of Netflix’s haunting offerings.
Entertainment
Netflix Sci-Fi Time Loop Thriller Overlooked For Years Shatters All Expectations
By TeeJay Small
| Published
Time loop movies are all the rage, with incredible high-concept ideas taking the premise plotted out by 1993’s Groundhog Day and expanding upon it in a new and creative fashion. One such film is 2016’s ARQ, a film that takes the time loop concept and pairs it with action thriller set-pieces.
ARQ‘s a wild ride from start to finish. Though the film failed to make a massive splash when it was first released on Netflix nearly a decade ago, it stands as an excellent outing, shocking many fans who find their way to the film today.
Reliving A Violent Kidnapping
ARQ‘s plot centers on a couple named Renton and Hannah, who wake up one morning as three violent men break into their bedroom. Despite their attempts to fight back and escape, the situation restarts each time they achieve any level of success. After the armed men successfully capture the couple and tie them to chairs, the leader, known only as ‘Father,’ explains that they are part of a rebel group called the Bloc.
Father commands Renton to give him money allegedly stolen from the massive Torus Corporation, where Renton is employed. Once the Bloc men are distracted, Renton cuts himself and Hannah loose and explains that he built and stole a perpetual motion machine, which he calls the ARQ, while working for the company.
ARQ Saved By Netflix
ARQ is written and directed by Orphan Black writer Tony Elliott. The idea for the film dates all the way back to 2008 when a Canadian film studio approached Elliott to option the script. The project fell into nearly a decade of development hell afterward.
Luckily, Netflix eventually bought the rights to produce and distribute the project in 2016 for a total budget of less than $2 million, resulting in the streamer being the exclusive home for the film worldwide.
ARQ stars Rachael Taylor, Shaun Benson, Gray Powell, Jacob Neayem, and Adam Butcher, with Stephen Amell’s brother, Robbie Amell, in the leading role. The film received a world premiere at the 2016 Toronto International Film Festival, where audiences were wowed by the high-concept application of a time loop film with so many moving parts.
What Sets ARQ Apart From Other Time Loop Movies
Unlike other time loop films, ARQ contains multiple time loops within other time loops, creating a veritable Fibonacci sequence of infinite loops that would drive the average person to madness. The film’s writing is spectacular, revealing intense sci-fi concepts, which explains why it may have been so difficult to make the film in the first place. Regardless, the film has finally found its home, even if it failed to leave a massive mark on the cinema landscape upon its release.
ARQ is now available to view on Netflix. Just be sure to catch it on a day when you’re not experiencing any deja vu.
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