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Chairman Capone posted:When the Wind Blows. Especially depressing because I loved The Snowman as a kid, so seeing two old people die of radiation poisoning in the same art style as a beloved childhood Christmas classic hit even harder. Yea where the wind blows hits me so much more than Threads Even though threads is in Sheffield which is pretty close to me, there's something about the kindly old people dying in a way they don't understand that's really horrible
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Feb 22, 2022 02:26
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Hyrax Attack! posted:Special Bulletin is another solid one from 1983 with nuclear themes. Although not about a global nuclear war it is a darn good watch with the narrative coming from a TV news broadcast. It was on YouTube last I checked, definitely a recommend. Watched this tonight on youtube, definitely gets a thumbs up from me. Thanks for the recommendation!
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Feb 22, 2022 04:10
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While I love the cold war bits of this show, and the solar flare episode has about the best explanation of cold war logic I've ever seen on a teevee show that takes less than a minute, I also like that this show is more hopeful about technology and human effort than the real world ever was. The end of season two doesn't necessarily make a whole lot of sense, since it'd basically just Ed deciding that no we won't be having a massive war, in space, but it somehow seems better that so much of that cold war energy went into building a moon colony and stuff like that, instead of the stupid piles of missiles we actually have in the real world.
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Feb 22, 2022 06:45
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Hyrax Attack! posted:They do seem to be setting the stage for the USSR to persist into the 90s and beyond, like mentioning no draining Afghan war and no hint of a Star Wars program. The soviets are putting a lot into space exploration but with the accompanying tech advances and successful mining operations seems like it would be costly but have returns, unlike a conventional military buildup, and would likely have less domestic stress as draftees aren't being sent anywhere. One thing that jumped out at me was that while John Lennon survived his shooter, Pope John Paul II did not. That too may reduce pressure on the USSR, since he was a key figure in the Solitarity movement in Poland.
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Feb 22, 2022 09:56
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esperantinc posted:Watched this tonight on youtube, definitely gets a thumbs up from me. Thanks for the recommendation! Oh yeah glad you like it, it's well paced and for an 80s nuclear peril movie it was interesting to see the threat coming from disillusioned white academics and I liked how they are a mix of motivations and zealotry. Especially how McKeeson was revealed to have likely contracted cancer from building the bomb so he would have the fewest qualms about acting on their threat. That scene of the NEST team botching the defusing was incredible. Also fun to see a ten second appearance of pre-reservoir dogs Michael Madsen during the interview montage. Rappaport posted:While I love the cold war bits of this show, and the solar flare episode has about the best explanation of cold war logic I've ever seen on a teevee show that takes less than a minute, I also like that this show is more hopeful about technology and human effort than the real world ever was. The end of season two doesn't necessarily make a whole lot of sense, since it'd basically just Ed deciding that no we won't be having a massive war, in space, but it somehow seems better that so much of that cold war energy went into building a moon colony and stuff like that, instead of the stupid piles of missiles we actually have in the real world. Yeah that's a fun hopeful bit on the show, like how electric cars are practical much earlier and computers seem to be at least a decade ahead. I wonder if early advances in electric vehicles and batteries could mean less motivation for the US to meddle in the middle east. Wheeljack posted:One thing that jumped out at me was that while John Lennon survived his shooter, Pope John Paul II did not. That too may reduce pressure on the USSR, since he was a key figure in the Solitarity movement in Poland. Oh good point I hadn't thought about that.
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Feb 22, 2022 18:40
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My brother recommended this show to me at Christmas and I just got round to watching it, and man am I happy there's a thread on here about it. This is excellent television. Yes, some of the plot is farfetched but the characterisation and storytelling more than makes up for it. I really had no idea what I was expecting (the impression I got from my brother was more sci-fi) so a character drama partially set in space took me some time to get used to, but I've completely fallen in love with it. I'm amazed at how funny it is at times as well, without really "trying" to be a comedy - the scene of Ed and Gordo getting told off had me cracking up. The thing I'm enjoying the most about it is how we mainly see the US perspective so the USSR are the big oppressive "other" and therefore should be the bad guys, but the reality is that most of the events happen because of the US being provocative. The Soviets land on the Moon, so the US rushes a base up there to capture the resources. The Soviets set up their own base (and, well, yes... steal the US mining base - but without weapons) so the US put guns on the Moon and shoot the cosmonauts. The Soviets launch a shuttle, so the US launches their own missile-capable shuttle. It perfectly encapsulates the cold war mentality of believing the absolute worst of your opponent, without really showing any evidence of it. We could easily see the Russian perspective of the US repeatedly attacking them for no reason. Anyway - one thing that's bothered me since very early on. Gordo sees those red lights out there on the moon when he's all alone. My first thought was that this would reveal some secret Soviet base they had already put up there but... as far as I can tell there's been no payoff. The VCR lights blinking were a callback to it but I wasn't sure if this was supposed to mean that Gordo was already crazy when he "saw" the lights, or that the VCR was him hallucinating what he saw. Did I miss something?
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Feb 22, 2022 22:27
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I will rate the show 0/10 unless the good guys win the cold war in this reality
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Feb 22, 2022 22:37
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PittTheElder posted:I see you haven't watched Come and See Au contraire! In fact I watched it recently.
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Feb 22, 2022 22:38
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EvilHawk posted:The VCR lights blinking were a callback to it but I wasn't sure if this was supposed to mean that Gordo was already crazy when he "saw" the lights, or that the VCR was him hallucinating what he saw. Did I miss something? I think this was meant to be Gordo playing it off, even if the lights he saw on the Moon may or may not have been real. Also, welcome to the thread friend, we all love this show!
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Feb 22, 2022 23:30
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Here is a link for Threads if anyone is interested in giving it a watch. https://youtu.be/5Srqyd8B9gE This is god drat depressing lol MarcusSA fucked around with this message at 02:30 on Feb 23, 2022 |
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Feb 23, 2022 00:44
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EvilHawk posted:Anyway - one thing that's bothered me since very early on. Gordo sees those red lights out there on the moon when he's all alone. My first thought was that this would reveal some secret Soviet base they had already put up there but... as far as I can tell there's been no payoff. The VCR lights blinking were a callback to it but I wasn't sure if this was supposed to mean that Gordo was already crazy when he "saw" the lights, or that the VCR was him hallucinating what he saw. Did I miss something? Yeah I half expected it to turn out to be some Soviet activity, but I think it really is just that he was going moon crazy.
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Feb 23, 2022 03:36
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Yes, it's like a lava lamp.
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PittTheElder posted:Yeah I half expected it to turn out to be some Soviet activity, but I think it really is just that he was going moon crazy. I thought that was established to be the remote cameras they had pointed at Jamestown. Did I hallucinate that?
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Feb 24, 2022 17:35
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Madurai posted:I thought that was established to be the remote cameras they had pointed at Jamestown. Did I hallucinate that? I know that they had a camera in their dig site within the crater. I don't remember if there was a camera pointed at Jamestown.
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Feb 24, 2022 17:43
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PittTheElder posted:Yeah I half expected it to turn out to be some Soviet activity, but I think it really is just that he was going moon crazy. Yeah I think it was 99% him going moon crazy. Perhaps initially it was the USSR moving some equipment but after that it seemed to be entirely in his head. I thought the sequence of the Jamestown astronauts being up there way too long was well handled as while they have the right stuff there is a limit to anyone's breaking point with the nonstop two week delays. I also liked the Russians hiding a listening device inside the Jamestown lights and it staying there for years. It was believable as who would have had a reason to search, especially as no way Ed told anyone he had allowed a guy inside. Also someone in another thread was posting about a new miniature game called Lunar where during the cold war American and Soviet personnel fight each other on the moon's surface with rock hammers and maybe a gun with a tiny amount of bullets. I haven't played it so I'm not sure of the details, but it does have a good score on board game geek and has strong For All Mankind vibes. https://blacksitestudio.com/lunar/
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Feb 25, 2022 16:14
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Hyrax Attack! posted:I also liked the Russians hiding a listening device inside the Jamestown lights and it staying there for years. It was believable as who would have had a reason to search, especially as no way Ed told anyone he had allowed a guy inside. Do we still need to spoiler tag stuff for the earlier seasons, it's been ages since they aired? Either way, that situation was messed up in many ways since Ed clearly wanted to murder the cosmonaut initially, the cosmonaut sort of talked him down from it, and then that son of a gun plants the microphone. Of course, Ed's rage issues are a running theme with the show.
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Feb 25, 2022 20:08
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Hyrax Attack! posted:I also liked the Russians hiding a listening device inside the Jamestown lights and it staying there for years. It was believable as who would have had a reason to search, especially as no way Ed told anyone he had allowed a guy inside. Did Ed tell them about that though? I swear it was mentioned when he got back he gave the whole story.
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Feb 25, 2022 20:12
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I think the TVIV rules are that you don't have to spoiler once something airs, but I tend to go with spoilering things if someone in the thread has indicated they are watching the show for the first time.
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Feb 25, 2022 20:37
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EvilHawk posted:Did Ed tell them about that though? I swear it was mentioned when he got back he gave the whole story. I may be wrong but I thought he hadn't. I know the show isn't 100% hard science procedural but I'd assume if Gordo cracking up would be enough to get him permanently grounded that Ed torturing a prisoner from a nuclear armed foreign power out of irritation over spying then leaving Jamestown unattended for the Russians to explore would prompt a courts martial and at the very least mean he's never making any important decisions again. NASA on the show tolerates disobeying orders when the result is finding ice or rescuing someone, not when his actions would be a propaganda windfall for the Soviets and risk the whole moonbase project (if NASA thinks a team of cosmonauts could have done extensive sabotage.) I'd assume that if he had told NASA what happened they would have swept the base with a fine tooth comb to make sure nothing was missing or bugs planted. And if the bug was valuable enough the Soviets would likely not publicize what happened and reap the intelligence.
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Feb 25, 2022 23:47
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Got around to watching the two available seasons these past couple of weeks. Wow. Absolutely brilliant show. The second season finale blew me away. Also....considering that Gordo dies in the finale.....I wonder if this could open Michael Dorman up for continuing with 'Patriot'. It seems like that show has built up a pretty strong following (for good reason) and maybe Amazon would be willing to green light a new season. Anyways....here's hoping. RestingB1tchFace fucked around with this message at 06:29 on Mar 1, 2022 |
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Mar 1, 2022 05:23
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Had a second watch through of this and it's still great TV. Had the obvious Battlestar Galactica vibes from Moore, but also a lot of Halt and Catch Fire too. The latter had all these events taking place, but they were background for great characters. Regarding the last episode, how realistic was the death of Gordo and Tracy? From what I've read, asphyxiation would be the most likely way to die in that situation. But I was under the impression that "your blood vessels" bursting and blood pouring out was just a myth. We even have evidence of an astronaut in real life being put in that situation of a vacuum. He passed out but was ultimately fine as they re-pressurized quickly. I still absolutely hate the Karen storyline. And I have a theory. Danny and Karen's relationship was supposed to develop into a strong Mother/Son one over the Summer. Karen trying to replace that emptiness from Shane and Danny needing someone to be there as Tracy had become distant. That Sam was the intended person she was supposed to have a relationship with. Their scenes seemed shoehorned in and made no real sense (especially at his office) in context. It would have made far more sense that it be someone like Sam, who was complimentary of her business instincts and offered her the control in her life that Ed didn't. And that maybe there just wasn't enough time to tell that story so they made it Danny. Was there any significance to Margo being at the Kennedy eternal flame at the end? Hyrax Attack! posted:That will be interesting for the 90s, I would guess still Clinton? Although I’m assuming the USSR survives longer, especially with no eight year bear trap in Afghanistan. Wonder what’s going on in the Gulf with no camp David accords and Sadat surviving. I have a weird feeling we might see Ellen running for President by that time. The Lee Atwater stuff seemed like some big time foreshadowing.
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Mar 7, 2022 04:54
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Niwrad posted:I still absolutely hate the Karen storyline. And I have a theory. Danny and Karen's relationship was supposed to develop into a strong Mother/Son one over the Summer. Karen trying to replace that emptiness from Shane and Danny needing someone to be there as Tracy had become distant. That Sam was the intended person she was supposed to have a relationship with. Their scenes seemed shoehorned in and made no real sense (especially at his office) in context. It would have made far more sense that it be someone like Sam, who was complimentary of her business instincts and offered her the control in her life that Ed didn't. And that maybe there just wasn't enough time to tell that story so they made it Danny. I think they told that story because they wanted to tell it, and not because of any outside conspiratorial reason forcing them to.
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Mar 7, 2022 05:38
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Wheeljack posted:One thing that jumped out at me was that while John Lennon survived his shooter, Pope John Paul II did not. That too may reduce pressure on the USSR, since he was a key figure in the Solitarity movement in Poland. there's an explicit newspaper thing in the S2 finale that more or less says Solidarity was nipped in the bud
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Mar 7, 2022 05:55
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Hyrax Attack! posted:I may be wrong but I thought he hadn't. I know the show isn't 100% hard science procedural but I'd assume if Gordo cracking up would be enough to get him permanently grounded that Ed torturing a prisoner from a nuclear armed foreign power out of irritation over spying then leaving Jamestown unattended for the Russians to explore would prompt a courts martial and at the very least mean he's never making any important decisions again. Real NASA grounded Rusty Schweickart for being the first to admit he got nauseas in space, but Gene Cernan still got to walk on the moon even after crashing his helicopter while showing off to some bikini babes. It pays to be friends with Deke Slayton.
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Mar 7, 2022 08:13
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After my last binge-watch of the show I thought, as icky as it is, that the Karen storyline does have an internal logic to it. We are beat over the head over and over again, as viewers, that Karen has spent the past two or three decades wound incredibly tight, having nightmares about big felines eating Ed alive, waiting for days next to the phone, dreading every launch in a toxic environment of other ladies equally tightly wound and firmly in denial, etc. Then Molly's husband gets her to unwind just a little bit, but Karen is still an absolute trainwreck. I guess her affair could have been the random business-man too, but her returning the affections of a kid and then having an incredible "oh poo poo what did I DO?" moment fits better with her constant anxiety about not being able to control her life. If they did write it like that just to be sensational, it seems to have back-fired spectacularly, since it really is weird and creepy and I don't think anyone liked that "twist".
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Mar 7, 2022 08:55
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I've said this before, but IMO it's a) 100% because he reminds her of her dead son, and we're meant to see the affair as a reaction to her mourning the loss of her child, and b) because it'll cause a hideous amount of drama now that the kid's an orphan.
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Mar 7, 2022 09:49
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Rappaport posted:After my last binge-watch of the show I thought, as icky as it is, that the Karen storyline does have an internal logic to it. We are beat over the head over and over again, as viewers, that Karen has spent the past two or three decades wound incredibly tight, having nightmares about big felines eating Ed alive, waiting for days next to the phone, dreading every launch in a toxic environment of other ladies equally tightly wound and firmly in denial, etc. Then Molly's husband gets her to unwind just a little bit, but Karen is still an absolute trainwreck. I guess her affair could have been the random business-man too, but her returning the affections of a kid and then having an incredible "oh poo poo what did I DO?" moment fits better with her constant anxiety about not being able to control her life. Yeah the Karen stuff is the least interesting part of the show but not a total derail for me. Just feels much less compelling especially next to far more interesting things happening elsewhere, like the Marie shoplifting arcs on Breaking Bad that seem to have had no purpose other than help some episodes hit 44 minutes. Especially as the Molly/Wayne marriage is much more likable and grounded. I'm so glad they made Wayne a functional empathic person who loves his wife and has his own career, instead of going the lazy route and having him try to cash in on her fame or be a passive partner. Niwrad posted:I have a weird feeling we might see Ellen running for President by that time. The Lee Atwater stuff seemed like some big time foreshadowing. Oh for sure yeah I think you're right. Niwrad posted:Regarding the last episode, how realistic was the death of Gordo and Tracy? From what I've read, asphyxiation would be the most likely way to die in that situation. But I was under the impression that "your blood vessels" bursting and blood pouring out was just a myth. We even have evidence of an astronaut in real life being put in that situation of a vacuum. He passed out but was ultimately fine as they re-pressurized quickly. I don't know anything about human biology on the moon but even though I liked the characters was glad they committed to the sacrifice and didn't have them make a miraculous recovery.
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Mar 7, 2022 20:36
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Niwrad posted:I have a weird feeling we might see Ellen running for President by that time. The Lee Atwater stuff seemed like some big time foreshadowing. I want to see Atwater's infamous Southern Strategy quote worked in, especially if this version somehow involves Ellen's little secret...
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Mar 14, 2022 17:08
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Dr_Strangelove posted:I want to see Atwater's infamous Southern Strategy quote worked in, especially if this version somehow involves Ellen's little secret... This one? https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=X_8E3ENrKrQ
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Mar 14, 2022 18:12
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Yes indeedy. That man was tumor; so very fitting that cancer took him out.
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Mar 14, 2022 18:38
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I totally forgot, did the Chernobyl accident happen in this alternative timeline?
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Mar 18, 2022 07:33
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Solkanar512 posted:I totally forgot, did the Chernobyl accident happen in this alternative timeline? Chernobyl happened IRL in 1986, three years after season 2 ends.
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Mar 18, 2022 07:35
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john lennon sorted it out, dont worry
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Mar 18, 2022 10:23
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Assuming they skip into the nineties (the season ended with someone landing on mars with Nirvana playing), I'm interested to see if the Berlin wall will have fallen, with all the repercussions associated with that.
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Mar 18, 2022 15:01
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Edward Mass posted:Chernobyl happened IRL in 1986, three years after season 2 ends. Well, I guess we'll see then! Thanks!
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Mar 18, 2022 16:30
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kanonvandekempen posted:Assuming they skip into the nineties (the season ended with someone landing on mars with Nirvana playing), I'm interested to see if the Berlin wall will have fallen, with all the repercussions associated with that. The season ended with this shot, so either US has space supremacy since our 1995 Russia wasn't exactly an economic super-power up to conquering the Solar System, or Gorby's reforms didn't end with the collapse of the USSR in this time-line. 
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Mar 18, 2022 22:03
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I think Star Trek: Generations doesn’t get made in this 1995.
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Mar 18, 2022 22:18
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kanonvandekempen posted:Assuming they skip into the nineties (the season ended with someone landing on mars with Nirvana playing), I'm interested to see if the Berlin wall will have fallen, with all the repercussions associated with that. My guess is that the USSR will still be a going concern. They seem to be hinting at that as some of the factors that sped the decline of the Soviets such as Afghanistan invasion, Solidarity in Poland, and overspending on defense to counter Star Wars aren’t happening so they would believably have better stability. They clearly are still spending a ton on the space race but that would have useful returns like the US is getting with electric cars and better computers. I’d guess they could introduce China as a 3rd party rival to both nations but that hasn’t been built up yet, although they may set the seeds for that in S3.
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Mar 19, 2022 18:33
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I had the same thought about China, and it would be an interesting thing if it turns out those boots on Mars are actually a Chinese astronaut's. Like the Soviets have their own "ah poo poo" moment
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Mar 19, 2022 20:54
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Riptor posted:I had the same thought about China, and it would be an interesting thing if it turns out those boots on Mars are actually a Chinese astronaut's. Like the Soviets have their own "ah poo poo" moment In 1995? No, we had that discussion already Season 4 maybe
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Mar 20, 2022 23:21
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Taear posted:In 1995? Well to be fair China could end up being a powerhouse in the 90s because of the technology advancements we see already (electric cars). If you speed that up it’s not impossible that Chinas rise would also be sped up.
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Mar 20, 2022 23:57
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