rachel on 17/9/2020 at 21:49
I just binged Challenger: The Final Flight on Netflix. I wanted to start one and see the rest in the course of a few days, but I just couldn't stop. Even when you know the story, it's just harrowing to see there were so many opportunities to prevent this tragedy, and the ones who tried were powerless to do it...
As one review said, an actual miniseries (i.e. with actors rather than a doco) would make for an excellent counterpoint to HBO's Chernobyl. A combination of cutting edge technology and hubris, and smart investigators who smell through the BS to nail the real culprits behind the disaster...
I liked that it really explored the general political context at the time, not just NASA's internal management, and that it went in depth into who each of the crew was, instead of focusing on McAuliffe. I found it to be pretty good, and very emotional at times.
Gryzemuis on 20/9/2020 at 18:50
Tonight, halfway watching "The Boys" S02E05, I realized I don't care about the show anymore. I don't care what happens to The Boys, I don't care what happens to the Soups. I'm done with show. I don't know yet why. It just bores me. I'll probably watch the remaining episodes some time this month. But S02 is clearly a lot worse than S01.
rachel on 22/9/2020 at 15:38
I finished watching Away yesterday, after starting it over the weekend. It's a Netflix original show, starring Hillary Swank, about the first manned mission to Mars.
It's not bad, but it's not great. I really had difficulty with suspending disbelief as the high-rate sci-fi is bogged down by ridiculous melodrama. It's ostensibly the goal of the series to show how such a trip and the isolation it entails might affect both the crews out there and the families, friends and coworkers on Earth, but it was really hard to swallow. And it was particularly egregious in the very first episode, which almost made me quit. I simply cannot believe that a crew that trained together for two years or more would behave like this, let alone 24 hours into the mission. And some of their subsequent behavior was also incredibly unprofessional.
I also don't believe that NASA would kickoff the manned mission without making sure that the Pegasus resupply ship had landed safely.
Other than, that it was... okay. I do like that the characters had a fully fleshed out background, each with their unique perspective, and the cast is great. Also as mentioned, the production value is stellar (no pun intended). The zero-G is extremely well done and only a few details (like tears) betray the artifice. It's just a shame that the script is lacking.
I'll be on the lookout if there's a Season 2, but I'm not on the edge of my seat. Like Amelia (also with Hillary Swank), it feels a bit like a missed opportunity.
[video=youtube_share;3f_REapPwio]https://youtu.be/3f_REapPwio[/video]
SubJeff on 22/9/2020 at 21:30
The Boys is in that "difficult" phase. We've seen it all and now they have to make it interesting.
Thanks for the heads up raph. I'll avoid that one then.
zombe on 22/9/2020 at 22:08
Away.
I wondered about that show, but suspected it would go towards drama-nonsense and decided to stay away (ba-dum-tss). "Mars" was another series i tried to watch, but abandoned it. It just is not believable that a crew of unstable idiots who cannot work together and have gigantic baggage would ever get through the screening process to be selected in the first place. I mean. Isolation concerns are the very first f'n line in the book of concerns. The mission would not happen without being fairly sure thous concerns are sufficiently mitigated - yet, the lazy writers like to pretend all of that got completely ignored, so they can throw together some trashy 5 cent weekly soap opera in SPAAAAACE! Understandable tho. There probably are plenty of people who are sick/out-of-age-group of classic soap operas - yet, would be retained with the same shit in SPAAAAACE with TEECHNOLOOGY!
... sounds like Away does the same.
rachel on 22/9/2020 at 23:01
I've just watched the first seven minutes of Mars and I already want to turn it off. I hate stupid voiceovers that tell instead of show. It's tv, not a Brothers in Arms cutscene...It's just lazy, man.
Based on your review I won't be missing much. This kind of lazy writing irks me to no end.
SubJeff on 23/9/2020 at 10:50
Watching Mrs America. I think it's great. What women had to go through not so long ago! It's unreal, and just reminds one of the fact there are STILL some asshats out there who want to outright ban termination of pregnancy.
That's all I'm watching atm:
The Boys
Mrs America
There seems to be a lack of things to watch :(
zombe on 23/9/2020 at 11:51
Quote Posted by raph
I hate stupid voiceovers that tell instead of show.
There are also lots of real world interviews etc interjected with various levels of experts - for example with Elon Musk - the guy with Mars dreams to sell. Just to try to give the show some credibility in realism - which makes the idiocy and incompetence of the depicted crew especially jarring.
There is another space exploration'y show that falls a bit to drama - but to a much lesser and saner extent imo: "For All Mankind". Exploring what could have been if the space race continued. There still is drama stuff - but it is more believable. It takes place late 1960s in space race conditions. AND - the moon is like right nearby which gives more room, when push comes to shove, to just wing it. A bit of drama there is understandable - especially as the society was a tad bit more fucked up back then. Might be worth checking it out if you have not yet done so.
Gryzemuis on 23/9/2020 at 12:08
Quote Posted by SubJeff
There seems to be a lack of things to watch :(
Got the same problem.
Shows that were great, or good, seem to only get worse follow-up seasons.
My hope is with the 6th and last season of Better Call Saul. Scheduled for 2021.
My suggestion, if you have access to HBO series: Sharp Objects.
8 Episodes. Released in July 2018. The story is finished at the end. It has Amy Adams in it. Good acting. Decent story, decent plot. Setting/scenery is awesome (small village outside St. Louis, in the summer). I enjoyed it.
If you decide to watch it, don't read any wikipedia or imdb. Just watch the 8 episodes. You can read stuff after you're finished.
Because the story happens during a hot summer in the Mid-west, you might wanna watch it now. Before it gets cold in Western Europe. Might at to the experience. (I watched it last year July).
SubJeff on 23/9/2020 at 12:24
Nope, I'd need to buy Sharp Objects. Do deal, no dice.
