S01.E01: Re-Entry

[meep.meep]

There was also Young Indiana Jones. He actually lectured the parents of America to make their children watch it so "they would learn history." It was fiction.

I'm intrigued enough to watch further. It might help that I don't watch any shows on CBS. This is kind of in the tradition of the one crappy summer show that you watch - they never turn out well. Like Harpers Island, Persons Unknown, The River, and Siberia; when it's hot out, you need some time wasters.

[DrLar]

I wonder if it was just the "ghost alien" running his finger down Molly's belly to get her pregnant, or he just continued on and undressed her and did it "normally" but she has forgotten it (since she was surprised she was pregnant)

Let's see if they continue to do some flashbacks on that space station.

[Kromm]

Big thumbs up in the Tara piece for the use of the phrase "CBS-y".

[hilaryvm]

I quite enjoyed the show, although I found her whole reaction to the alien on the ship completely unbelievable.  Wouldn't seeing your dead loved one make you even less likely to open the door than a total stranger (or alien for that matter)?  I couldn't believe she just opened the door without talking or screaming or anything.  Completely crazy.

[LoneHaranguer]

 

She claimed she thought she was backing it up and accidentally hit delete--which would be a great alibi/excuse if they weren't apparently covertly filming her at other times, including (possibly/likely) on the mission.

What kind of surveillance system even has a delete option? And shouldn't all of that video be getting simultaneously transmitted to a base somewhere for recording? That's how you'd get the backup you'd need if anything catastrophic happened; it's not like you could search space for a black-box. In the future, I'd expect some AI at the base to be monitoring the feed 24/7 and calling attention to anything unusual.

 

They really need to step up the writing for Halle; right now she isn't even half as believable as an astronaut as Bond girl Lois Chiles (playing someone named Holly Goodhead no less).

[missbonnie]

Watched this with decent expectations, and I wasn't impressed. The technology shown is very cool but not enough to make me try and squeeze into the list of shows I am already watching.

[PugLoaf]

The pastel or beige and grey color palette others pointed out was sort of bugging me. I kept wondering why so many future set shows stick with grey and beige. Is it especially future-y for some reason I'm not getting? Is there a colored dye shortage in the world of Extant?

[shapeshifter]

The pastel or beige and grey color palette others pointed out was sort of bugging me. I kept wondering why so many future set shows stick with grey and beige. Is it especially future-y for some reason I'm not getting? Is there a colored dye shortage in the world of Extant?

Even though I loved the bright palette of primaries (red, yellow, blue) on Smallville, I don't mind if a show doesn't do much color, as long as I can see what's going on--which pastels do allow, unlike so many shows these days that are shot in near total darkness, which seems to be a technique for skimping on special effects.

[missbonnie]

I was telling someone earlier today that while I was watching this, the plot line of the old Johnny Depp, Charlize Theron movie The Astronauts Wife kept popping up in my head.

[Sandman]

I guess I took the muted palette as a deliberately "futuristic" choice. Everything's very polished and smoothed out and serene. Even the garbage just ... disappears in a twist of light. The future is mellow. Or maybe it's meant to set up a contrast with what I'm sure will be a shocking reveal that humanity's survival depends on a gory, tooth-and-claw confrontation with Species 8472, or the Sleer, or the hippogryph-metamorphs of Wallach IX. Or, you know, something like that.

 

Hey, maybe "John Woods" can build a tidy little army of killer childbots who can tear the Bug People of Reticulum to tentacled slime with their bare pudgy hands. (Spoiler!)  

Edited July 11, 2014 by Sandman

[TexasChic]

 

What kind of surveillance system even has a delete option? And shouldn't all of that video be getting simultaneously transmitted to a base somewhere for recording? That's how you'd get the backup you'd need if anything catastrophic happened; it's not like you could search space for a black-box. In the future, I'd expect some AI at the base to be monitoring the feed 24/7 and calling attention to anything unusual.

This bugged me more than anything else. Just the idea of the importance of a space mission along with all the money spent, that they would make it not only possible to delete whatever they want, but easy enough to do by accident? They could have at least had her mess with the feed or fiddle with the hardware, maybe look like she was hacking it, just... something! 

 

I want to like this show because I love scifi, but I just don't know with this one. I hope it gets better.

[xaxat]

I share a lot of the reservations expressed here about this show. But the one thing really bothering me is how similar, at this point, Hiroyuki Sanada's character is to the one he played in Helix. They even wear similar fashionable, athletic fleece jackets!

[TexasChic]

Okay, here's another nitpick (I'm watching the replay of the episode), why wouldn't the magic trash thingy be conveniently located inside?

 

Also, I want a prescription for Margaritas to be real. 

Edited July 11, 2014 by TexasChic

[ottoDbusdriver]

Okay, here's another nitpick (I'm watching the replay of the episode), why wouldn't the magic trash thingy be conveniently located inside?

Other than plot convenience, no real reason was given.

[gatopretoNYC]

I'm looking forward to the AI more than the mysterious pregnancy. Unless she's giving birth to an AI. Much like the old movie "Demon Seed" where Julie Christie gets pregnant by a computer, with her consent. 

 

I loved that movie! However, shortly after I saw it, my Simon (electronic game) turned on by itself & the colored panels started lighting up & beeping, and it freaked me the hell out. I don't remember her consenting, though - I thought the computer forced her.

 

The problem for me was never forgetting I was watching Halle Berry.  Halle Berry is so pretty, Halle Berry is doing a great job of acting scared, Halle Berry should have asked the dead husband why she was seeing him after all this time… I can't forget for one second I'm watching Halle Berry pretend to be an astronaut.

 

I kind of had that feeling too.

[toolazy]

All I could think was "Rosemary's Space Baby."  She even has that super-short hair that Mia Farrow ended up with.

[molshoop]

I thought the pilot was really engrossing. I never care about the details unless I'm bored.  I gave up on Under the Dome after 5 episodes last summer.  I didn't care what did or didn't make sense on that show because it just wasn't interesting to me.

[TaraS1]

I've loved Goran since ER, so I checked it out for him, but yikes.  The writing was so terribly cheesy and Halle's acting was just not good.  And even worse than that?  Her hair.

[constantknot]

Anyone else find it weird that Goran's character, who is clearly speaking with a Croatian accent, is named the uber-American John Woods? Come on. Couldn't they have changed his name once they cast him? 

 

My husband and I re-watched the "Halle making out with invisible hallucination ghost on camera" about 5 times and laughed so hard. Also - I get that she would be a bit embarrassed about the weird make-out-with-nobody thing, and she was feeling kinda frantic and crazy when she saw that there was no one on the tape... but why delete it? It basically just made her look crazy and lonely but I feel like it's less suspicious and weird than deleting the footage. 

 

We also found the supposed-to-be-dead astronaut colleague kinda funny. He decides to stalk her when she takes out her garbage, but for some reason chickens out. "I'll just scare her this time." Next time: "I'll just show up VERY briefly while she takes out her garbage AGAIN, say a few cryptic things, and then slink away. I'm late for a dinner date."

[Crim]

All I could think was "Rosemary's Space Baby."  She even has that super-short hair that Mia Farrow ended up with.

All I could think during the first part was "I watched this when it was called Solaris." and, during the second part, "Damn, I fuckin' hated A.I. and I doubt this will be better." and then "Oh, so the show also rips off the Creepy Kid horrors." as seen in the bird scene and the previews for the next episode. And "trust no one" is such an awful line, especially delivered by a guy who is supposed to be dead.

 

This show had a bit of everything, except originality.

 

All in all, it was Solaris and A.I. conceiving two creepy kids. Which isn't actually an improvement.

[Rhetorica]

I loved that movie! However, shortly after I saw it, my Simon (electronic game) turned on by itself & the colored panels started lighting up & beeping, and it freaked me the hell out. I don't remember her consenting, though - I thought the computer forced her.

I kind of had that feeling too.

Yeah, she was forced to have a baby so his intelligence could enter the baby. She consented to be free. Really creepy & sensual sex scene. Better than Haley's and her dead lover.

[Happytobehere]

I hate to say it, but I've come to the conclusion that Halle Berry is either:

 

a) a terrible actress who got lucky Mira Sorvino-style with Monster's Ball and that TV movie she did

b) a good actress who cannot pick a good role to save her career

 

In either case, she's become a mark of anti-quality in pretty much everything she's done.

The answer is A.

That being said, this is so far a good throw-away series. Nothing too deeply involving but fun enough to keep you watching. So unless something horrendous appears on the screen, I'm in.

[Jordan27]

 

 

Oh and my finger will get you pregnant.    God if that was possible lesbians wouldn't need men at all.  

Nope, it has to be a male finger.  :)

[Rhetorica]

Nope, it has to be a male finger. :)

Wait, ET and Elliott "fingered"...

;)

[Jamoche]

Wait, ET and Elliott "fingered"...

;)

Oww, my brain. And Rule 34 says that probably exists...

[jhlipton]

I didn't care for it.

Hubby bad-mouthing Molly's first boyfriend? Sucked! Single person on a shuttle, much less a station? Sucked. Sexualized "space suit"? (REALLY??) Sucked. Robot kid is white, just because dad is?  Sucked.  Japanese executive has samurai armor?  (Well, don't they all?) Sucked.

It was just dumb followed by stupid followed by You Got To Be Kidding Me.

Edited July 13, 2014 by jhlipton

[Sandman]

Anyone else find it weird that Goran's character, who is clearly speaking with a Croatian accent, is named the uber-American John Woods? Come on. Couldn't they have changed his name once they cast him?

Totally! "John Woods" is such a robot name.

Edited July 13, 2014 by Sandman

[Jordan27]

Wait, ET and Elliott "fingered"...

;)

Elliott wasn't a girl.

[paramitch]

I liked it. I thought the production and design of the world were really beautiful -- very clean, sterile and elegant. The premise is interesting enough for me that I have that "I want to know what happens" feeling, and will stay with it, at least for a few more episodes.

 

I thought Halle did just fine actingwise. I think she's one of those actors who does best with more reactive situations, so I actually found her very strong here. I do think she doesn't always choose her projects well, but I'll always love her a little just for "Cloud Atlas." (Which I thought was extraordinary, despite most of the rest of the world.) I thought the encounter on the ship was genuinely creepy, and I forgave her for her non-protocol reactions because it seemed to me that there was something hypnotic or even druglike about the entity. She definitely appeared drugged when he was close to her. I also thought she hurried with the file deletion because normally it would have been simulcast back to Earth, which was why she was hurrying to delete it before communications came back on line.

 

THANK YOU for helping me to realize that the kid is the kid from "Looper!" He was amazing in that, and he did a great job here, even if he did have to have the obligatory creepy-child-AI scene. I also like Goran, and am intrigued by his super-humanistic approach to the AI. He's interestingly flawed -- almost blind -- so I'm interested to see where it goes. The mix of him, the robot child (that Halle rightly fears) and the astronaut wife are potentially fascinating.

 

(Note: I plan to watch "Helix" but haven't done so yet, so am doing my best not to be spoiled, so I just skimmed those comment sections. I like the actor though, who has enormous presence.)

 

So far, I liked it more than I expected to. I'm still in.

[shapeshifter]

I forgave her for her non-protocol reactions because it seemed to me that there was something hypnotic or even druglike about the entity.

In shockingly unaticipated situations, probably the majority of people react in ways they later regret. I hope to hear her later questioning her decision to delete it--maybe also wondering if she hadn't deleted it, would she now be wishing she had...or not.

[StatMom]

Wait, ET and Elliott "fingered"...

;)

 

Elliott wasn't a girl.

 

Not that there's anything wrong with that.

[izabella]

I quite enjoyed the show, although I found her whole reaction to the alien on the ship completely unbelievable.  Wouldn't seeing your dead loved one make you even less likely to open the door than a total stranger (or alien for that matter)?  I couldn't believe she just opened the door without talking or screaming or anything.  Completely crazy.

 

I would not be opening any ship doors to anybody.  Because: space!  How could a person have just appeared out of nowhere?  They can't.  Thus, they are not a person.  Not.  Especially if they looked like my dead grandma or dead anybody I know.  Because: dead!  Too hard to suspend disbelief, so I'm going to agree with the poster who said Dead Alien must have hypnotized her or done some kind of Mind Hijacking.  Neither of them was doing much blinking.

 

What kind of surveillance system even has a delete option? And shouldn't all of that video be getting simultaneously transmitted to a base somewhere for recording? That's how you'd get the backup you'd need if anything catastrophic happened; it's not like you could search space for a black-box. In the future, I'd expect some AI at the base to be monitoring the feed 24/7 and calling attention to anything unusual.

 

Sigh, this was another one that was so hard to swallow.  It's hard enough to fully delete things on a computer, much less a freaking space station.  So, um, Molly's boss, did you check the Trash bin to see if she emptied that, for starters?

 

Oh, and I hated the A.I. movie, so there's that, too.  Not sure if this show will be my cup of tea, but I'll check out another episode or two.  Pilots are usually rough.

[Sandman]

Yeah, I thought Molly looked sort mesmerized or hornswoggled or something. I don't think she was acting in the most rational fashion when Space Ghost started writing on the airlock window. She certainly didn't seem like "Oh, finally! Someone I know."

[Tippi Blevins]

Maybe she was still hypnotized when her doctor was telling her she was pregnant. Because she only seemed very mildly confused by the prospect. I would have been screaming and/or running through walls in a panic like the Kool-Aid man.

 

Also, wouldn't she have been whisked away to an exam the second she set foot back on earth?

 

The Japanese guy just smoothly transitioned from a seemingly similar role on Helix.

[Enero]

Maybe she was still hypnotized when her doctor was telling her she was pregnant. Because she only seemed very mildly confused by the prospect. I would have been screaming and/or running through walls in a panic like the Kool-Aid man.

 

 

 

I think Molly is in complete denial about her condition hence the subdued reaction.

[topanga]

 

I would not be opening any ship doors to anybody.  Because: space!  How could a person have just appeared out of nowhere?  They can't.  Thus, they are not a person.  Not.  Especially if they looked like my dead grandma or dead anybody I know.  Because: dead!

 

Word. I freak out a little if I see my husband chilling in front of the TV when I thought he'd already left for the grocery store. But I am kinda jumpy like that.

 

I agree with the posters who compared this show to the movies AI and Solaris, neither of which I liked. Not liking Solaris baffled me because: George Clooney! I get happy whenever that man is in my eye sight. So I love space movies when they're well written: e.g. Alien, Aliens, maybe Gravity (but only b/c of Sandra Bullock and George Clooney, not the writing), and Star Trek Generations.

 

I'm trying to give this show a chance because of Halle Berry and Dr. Kovac (I'm blanking on the actor's name, and I'm too lazy to look it up). So we'll see...

 

 

[RadiantAerynSun]

I just caught the pilot tonight on Amazon and I totally enjoyed it. I will admit to not "thinking very hard" about my entertainment, but it kept me interested. There does seem to be a lot going on, but as long as they go somewhere with it... I suspect some of it will tie together in the end.

[FabulousTater]

Just watched the pilot on Amazon and gotta say, not too bad for summer entertainment. As others have noted, there does seem to be too much going on all at once with the alien pregnancy, creepy, AI-robot kid, and govt./corporate conspiracy. Honestly, I didn't think I was gonna watch the next episode until the guy at the end showed up with his "trust no one!" warnings. It's cliche, but dammit, my curiosity is piqued. I kinda want to know what the deal is with the Seraphim projects, Senada's character (was he in suspended animation or something???), and the weird alien thing that Molly inexplicably let into the station.

 

What kind of surveillance system even has a delete option?

All of them. Even the most secure computer systems today has an account (an admin or root) that has the power to completely modify the system. That's how software systems work. It's not like once the software is installed no one has the power to alter it. Anyone who knows what they're doing knows that you can actually delete anything on a computer with one command typed in from a command line. Yes, you also need to have account privileges to delete system files, but if someone is expected to be flying a solo manned mission for more than a year, I'd also expect they would be given admin privileges on the system, which includes the ability to delete and modify files.

 

If you're putting someone on a solo manned mission to outer space for 13 months (which BTW that's far more ridiculous than anything) the person will need to have admin privileges to deal with any problems that might arise with the computer system. That includes being able to delete, create, copy, and modify files. I personally would not be getting on board a station where it's just me, myself, and I for 13 months and not expect to have admin control over the computer software. Imagine if you need to reset a system, or create a workaround for corrupt sectors or because of a general malfunction, and instead of being able to fix things you get this message: "Permission Denied." or  even better "You do not have permission to proceed. Please contact your system administrator". Ya, NO. That's not gonna fly. I would expect the person on a solo manned mission to have admin rights on the computer system.

[ali59]

This show totally reminds me of my years immersed in The Sims 2.  Hell, the whole storyline is totally one I love writing (yes, I wrote stories using sims 2, go ahead and giggle, it's silly I know).

 

Not giggling at all!  I love the Sims 2 and I'm devastated that I can't play it right now because it got all messed up on my pc.

 

The show . . . I'll watch a few more eps in the hopes that it will be interesting.  Something needs to be cause there isn't much to watch right now.

[Sandman]

If you're putting someone on a solo manned mission to outer space for 13 months (which BTW that's far more ridiculous than anything) the person will need to have admin privileges to deal with any problems that might arise with the computer system. That includes being able to delete, create, copy, and modify files. I personally would not be getting on board a station where it's just me, myself, and I for 13 months and not expect to have admin control over the computer software. Imagine if you need to reset a system, or create a workaround for corrupt sectors or because of a general malfunction, and instead of being able to fix things you get this message: "Permission Denied." or  even better "You do not have permission to proceed. Please contact your system administrator". Ya, NO. That's not gonna fly. I would expect the person on a solo manned mission to have admin rights on the computer system.

 

But given that Doctor Agent Ron Butterfield and Revenge Sensei don't actually trust Molly the Pretend Astronaut (at least not enough to tell her of the mission's true purpose), I can't help wondering why (or even if) Molly had privileges on the system sufficient to delete the creepy alien bow-chicka-wowwow footage. Maybe there's still a copy of Astronauts Gone Invisibly Wild in a hidden drive somewhere?)

Edited July 22, 2014 by Sandman

[xls]

I was telling someone earlier today that while I was watching this, the plot line of the old Johnny Depp, Charlize Theron movie The Astronauts Wife kept popping up in my head.

Yeah, TA. You know what else? Prometheus! 

 

Little robot son is creepy.

[seamusk]

I really enjoyed this.  I like the cast and apparently i'm better off for not knowing what Helix is.  :)

1. Astronauts not behaving like the high-caliber, psychologically uber-stable, super-scientists they are supposed to be.  You don't put second-tier humans into space.  You can't afford to when entrusting them with bazillion dollar projects.

As such, if weird alien contact scenarios unfold, they wouldn't freak out and do irrational things, such as failing to establish quarantine protocols, communication protocols, and every other relevant protocol which has been thought up by several years worth of expert think-tank hours and rehearsed by months of ground training, -little things like asking: "Who are you?" "How did you get on board?" "Pardon me while I check in with ground control before I give you admittance to the cabin.  Sorry.  We might have to wait a day or two."

And certainly, they don't engage in infantile attempts to keep secrets, tamper with official mission records and pretend everything is normal when clearly there is an interesting phenomenon at work.  If you suspect your psychological hygiene is compromised, you bloody-well report it ASAP.  People who are inclined to act like secretive, startled 8 year-olds rather than top-notch adult scientists don't make it past the pysch review board and get into space.  It just doesn't happen.

I just want to note that I completely disagree with this.  Everyone has something that can rattle them and throw them off their game.  And, under intense pressure, even the most qualified and capable are prone to make hackneyed decisions.  She didn't do anything too crazy here.  She opened a door because she saw her dead husband (more on that in a second) and then deleted the video files to cover up how weird it all looks.  She would be in for some serious scrutiny she probably doesn't want.  So she panicked and deleted the files.

 

I liked Extant  because normally when I watch TV I look at the clock all the time and wonder when the fuck the show will be over.  Last night I looked at the clock and couldn't believe it was 9:50, I thought, "SHIT it's almost over, I want more!" 

 

This for me.  That went much faster than expected.  I only looked at the clock because I had to be somewhere.

 

They still have SHOE LACES in the future?  They went out of their way to show us all the quasi-futuristic things (including that funky trash dealie) but they still tie their shoes?  WHAT?

I think that no matter what there are going to be ancient technologies that always stick with us.  And I could see things like shoe laces, buttons, pull strings never disappearing just because they are so practical.  What would be the point of new technology?  The current one does more than fine.

 

I quite enjoyed the show, although I found her whole reaction to the alien on the ship completely unbelievable.  Wouldn't seeing your dead loved one make you even less likely to open the door than a total stranger (or alien for that matter)?  I couldn't believe she just opened the door without talking or screaming or anything.  Completely crazy.

Everyone seems all kinds of bothered about this but i'm not at all.  I imagine if i'm on a spaceship and I see a dead ex through the door, i'm opening it.  I'm doing it primarily because I feel that opening the door and confronting what i'm seeing is exactly how i'm going to get rid of what must be a hallucination.  I suspect the idea that it was tied to an alien life form is the last thing on her mind. Instead she's thinking "This can't be real" but she opens the door and he looks so real and he just steps in and she's probably just trying to process what the hell is happening.  Funny though, this reminded me of the original Star Trek episode "The Man Trap".

 

Anyhow, I thought that if you are sure you are the only person on a space station and you saw what looked like a mirage of your ex-husband, you're going to investigate.  I'm obviously behind with this but I enjoyed the pilot and am looking forward to more.