Project Blue Book - General Discussion

[formerlyfreedom]

Your Project Blue Book Topic!

[formerlyfreedom]

The first trailer and more information about the show - @Tara Ariano and @Sarah D. Bunting, this sounds like a possible "Will Dave Hate This?" submission for EHG!

 

Quote

 

“The whole forest smelled like death. And then, we saw that thing. As God is my witness, it was not of this world.” History has released the first trailer for Project Blue Book, its UFO drama series from A+E Studios and Compari Entertainment, a division of Robert Zemeckis’ ImageMovers.

Created and written by David O’Leary, Project Blue Book chronicles the top-secret true U.S. Air Force-sponsored investigations into UFO-related phenomena in the 1950s and ’60s, known as Project Blue Book. Game of Thrones alum Aidan Gillen stars as Dr. J. Allen Hynek, a brilliant college professor recruited by the Air Force to spearhead this clandestine operation that researched thousands of cases, many of which never were solved. Each episode draws from the actual files, blending UFO theories with authentic historical events from one of the most mysterious eras in United States history.

Michael Malarkey, Laura Mennell, Ksenia Solo, Michael Harney and Neal McDonough also star.

 

[formerlyfreedom]

 

Premiering Tuesday, January 8!

[iRarelyWatchTV36]

I'm both impressed with History Channel - and disgusted with the major prime time networks - that the HC is producing more want-to-watch[able] content than most of the other networks recently.

Looking forward to this event series.   The bar doesn't seem to be set too ridiculously high (currently) in its attempts to equal or surpass similar content's subject matter out there on other mainstream channels or streaming services.

[12catcrazy]

Ok, so it looks like I'm first on commenting after watching the show.  #1 - I watched in real time - way, way, too many commercials, so this will be DVRed from here on out.  #2 - had a weird cheesiness to it and they are trying too hard to recreate the 50s.  The House! The Decor! The Clothing!  But it's all Too Much.   I'm not quite old enough to remember the 50s, but I do remember the 60s and most people's homes did not look as if they were something out of an interior decorating magazine of the month.  So yeah, maybe you'd have some paintings or wall decor that were very 1952, or a new dining room table but it would be pretty unlikely that the entire home would look like that (as well as the home itself).  Maybe I'm nitpicking here but it was just jarring to me.    And hmmm on the ladies' outfits and hair.   Hynek's wife seemed a bit late fashion-wise and the lady-in-red seemed too early.   Again, nit-picking on my part but if this was a well-done British series, they would have gotten it right.    The acting doesn't exactly impress me either.  Can't put my finger on it - it's like not totally baaaadddd but something just seems, I dunno, off.   Maybe they are going for a noir effect ?  Anyway, so far, not impressed but will keep watching, at least another few episodes.   

[Lugal]

It's funny, I've seen both UFO believers and skeptics dislike the show because they "changed too much."  I don't know as much about the original blue book cases so as long as the show is entertaining.  On that front, the show was alright.  Neal McDonough was restrained (I'm used to seeing him as Damien Darhk). It's just the pilot so I'll wait and see how it shakes out.  But I came for Ksenia Solo, and she looks good here.

[WritinMan]

5 hours ago, Lugal said:

It's funny, I've seen both UFO believers and skeptics dislike the show because they "changed too much."  I don't know as much about the original blue book cases so as long as the show is entertaining.  On that front, the show was alright.  Neal McDonough was restrained (I'm used to seeing him as Damien Darhk). It's just the pilot so I'll wait and see how it shakes out.  But I came for Ksenia Solo, and she looks good here.

Pretty much why I watched as well.

[AnnA]

So far I've only seen the first episode.   I didn't get to watch last night's yet but I have it recorded. Either I'm not as critical or more nostalgic than @12catcrazy because I loved the 50s/60s vibe they set on the show and hope I'm going to love the series.   Does anyone know how many episodes they made? 

Edited January 16, 2019 by AnnA

[One4Sorrow2TooBad]

I think they are doing a great job on the early 50's vibe, last night's episode revolved around a Sept. 1952 case. 

[Arynm]

I can't figure this out, are we supposed to believe aliens are the cause of all this or not? I keep thinking, yes aliens, but then they "disprove" what happened. Maybe this is one of those, you believe what you want based on what we show, it can go either way type shows.

ETA: I finished the second episode and it seems to me that they are going with yes aliens. YAY!  With a side of Russians and maybe a little of Men in Black.

Edited January 17, 2019 by Arynm
more info

[AnimeMania]

I am having trouble figuring out where the real stories end and the creative license begins. There appears to be a description of what actually happen in each case on the History Channel website. I should actually read these so I might be better able to draw that line.

[Duke2801]

On 1/16/2019 at 6:45 PM, AnnA said:

So far I've only seen the first episode.   I didn't get to watch last night's yet but I have it recorded. Either I'm not as critical or more nostalgic than @12catcrazy because I loved the 50s/60s vibe they set on the show and hope I'm going to love the series.   Does anyone know how many episodes they made? 

I am drooling over the Hynek’s gorgeous MCM house! 

[Rt66vintage]

Some new eye candy! I love the MCM look, the cars are big & beautiful, and the people are fashionably & authentically dressed. The science stories aren't too confusing, and I like the noir vibe. I hope this show does well. 

[Grammaeryn]

Is the sound mixing really bad on this show or am I going deaf? It seems like the music is louder than the dialogue. Or are the actors mumbling to get to passable American accents? For episode #2, raise your hand if you thought “it puts the lotion in the basket...”

Edited January 21, 2019 by Grammaeryn

[Magnumfangirl]

On 1/20/2019 at 11:52 PM, Grammaeryn said:

Is the sound mixing really bad on this show or am I going deaf?

The sound is awful.  Dialogue is barely audible.  

[LennieBriscoe]

I will watch Aidan Gillen in anything, but resembling the awesome Gary Oldman AND in a show about true UFO reports?

Yes,  please!

I get that Blondie is a government spy, but is she also going for a seduction of Hynek's wife?

Edited January 25, 2019 by LennieBriscoe

[Arynm]

On 1/17/2019 at 8:04 PM, Duke2801 said:

I am drooling over the Hynek’s gorgeous MCM house! 

My grandfather had a gorgeous Mcm house that I am only recently starting to understand and appreciate. I have some fantastic bedside tables from him, but my aunt has an amazing dining set that should be in a museum. I love every bit of Hyneks house.

[12catcrazy]

Liking this show more.  Are the actors not Americans?  I'm not familiar with any of them.

[childeroland]

The lead actor in the glasses is Irish, I think. The wife's friend is Canadian. The blond army guy and the one who played Bart Bass on Gossip Girl (the guy who warned him) are American. Don't know the rest.

[AnimeMania]

This show is hilarious, if events are happening the way they are depicting by next week they should be abducted and the week after they will be having dinner with aliens. All the time having to write reports saying that aliens don't exist. There wasn't much color back in the olden times. Surprised nobody has said a word about Television.

[One4Sorrow2TooBad]

I was thinking the previous week's case about the alien and crash in W. Virginia happened in Sept. 1952. The episode last night about the Lubbock Lights  supposedly happened in 1951???   Why would they not go in chronological order?  I'm enjoying the series, but I could do without wife's story line with the other woman( unless that really happened in real life .  

[Duke2801]

Um sure it’s not weird at all that some lady I’ve only recently met is trying to open up my front door without knocking first.  And instead of asking her what the hell she was doing, I’ll invite her in for tea and some pleasant chit chat. 

Guess the 50s really was a simpler time! /s

[SoSueMe]

I am watching somewhat late, two eps down one to go, (on demand). It's not really what I expected but I will stay with it for a while. I can't understand why they are making the pilot sidekick with Hynek into such a stereotypical jerk. I would have hoped for some reluctant rapport between them. Think Scully/Mulder. Eh, maybe it will come. 

[LennieBriscoe]

A few more personal encounters and Fly-Boy will be a Believer-in-Arms with Hynek.

As for the show's not following a true chronology: Poetic license. 

Aidan Gillen was Littlefinger in "GoT," for those unfamiliar with him. (Yes,  he is Irish.)

Edited January 25, 2019 by LennieBriscoe

[alvajon]

I like this show--mainly because it is based on true events, History Channel does an excellent job portraying the actual events, and it is entertaining and way better than anything else on television right now except, of course, for Vikings.  But what I want to know is why doesn’t Captain Quinn wear the Air Force uniform instead of skulking around in a suit and long coat?   How do civilians know he’s a captain? Looks funny seeing him salute in his civilian get-up.

[patty1h]

Four episodes in and this show is not grabbing me so far - every episode is Hynek seeing a UFO and military man saying 'no you didn't'.   On top of that, military dude seeing weird things with his own eyes and still trying to explain it away.  The subplot with the wife and the blonde spy is a little compelling, just waiting for the shoe to drop.  Those men in black popping up everywhere are a little spooky, but I want more about them.

[SoSueMe]

Four in and it strikes me that the best, most natural actor is the boy who plays Joel. Pretty much most of the adults are not top shelf. Could be the way it's being written.

[One4Sorrow2TooBad]

I'm enjoying each episode, reminds me a bit of early X-Files. 

[12catcrazy]

Can somebody tell me who was the poor schmuck who got loaded into the flying saucer at the end of this last episode?  Was it somebody we had seen before or just someone Prof Von Braun tapped for the job?  

This show obviously has very little to do with the real Hynek (or probably Von Braun, or anybody else portrayed here).  The writers took real people's names and concocted this weirdness around that.   And something strange: my father was a chemical engineer, working mostly in New Jersey and New York in the 1960s.  He swore to me (and still wondering because my father could tell some pretty tall tales with a straight face) that he saw a flying saucer or proto-type of one at Grumman Aircraft in the mid-60s.    Long Island had many, many, UFO sightings in the 60s & 70s.  My father always thought they were U.S. Govt special projects from what he said he saw at Grumman.  Dunno...   

[AnimeMania]

30 minutes ago, 12catcrazy said:

Can somebody tell me who was the poor schmuck who got loaded into the flying saucer at the end of this last episode?  Was it somebody we had seen before or just someone Prof Von Braun tapped for the job?  

The guy on the base said that a lot of people seemed to just disappear. That aircraft might be one explanation. 

[Tachi Rocinante]

It's keeping my interest, except for the wife subplot. These are all based on real Blue Book cases - I'm waiting for Betty and Barney Hill to show up.

From what I can remember, the real Hynek grew more and more frustrated with some of the Air Force brass, because as long as they had at least a semi-plausible explanation, that became the official opinion.

I get the comparisons to the X-Files *cough* hello, Steven Williams *cough*.

Last episode was good except for the crop circle bullshit.  Ever since I saw a documentary on how easily and quickly people can make even the most intricate designs, I am convinced they are all fake.

[One4Sorrow2TooBad]

I don't even remember hearing about crop circles til around the 70's? 

[AnimeMania]

This is a conspiracy theorist's wet dream.

[12catcrazy]

Speaking of "wet dreams" looks like our handsome Captain is going to get "honeypotted" by the blonde Russian spy.  

Poor Fuller (was that his name?) - oh well, if he hadn't set himself on fire the Air Force would have killed him anyway.  

[One4Sorrow2TooBad]

Had a time finding this show in the new format. Enjoyed last episode , toss me your hat line,lol. 

[One4Sorrow2TooBad]

Another fun episode of PBB.  Heard on George Noory's Coast To Coast show this morning at 3 AM had a guest talking about the PBB show and actual case files. 

[SoSueMe]

"The coffee sucks." Was that in common usage in the fifties? 

[12catcrazy]

On 2/19/2019 at 9:15 PM, SoSueMe said:

"The coffee sucks." Was that in common usage in the fifties? 

I never really heard about anything "sucking" until the 70s and it didn't seem to be in wide use even then.  It was actually considered a really rude and vulgar thing to say.  

 

So anybody still watching this show?  Just watched the episode about the green lights buzzing the missile test area.   Hynek's wife is annoying the crap out of me.  Her husband does top secret work for the Air Force and she's snooping around with her best friend who she really knows nothing about.    And what was the deal with the nosy neighbor who the male spy murdered?  Bet she wasn't just a nosy neighbor!   Anybody even care at this point? 

[SoSueMe]

2 hours ago, 12catcrazy said:

So anybody still watching this show?  Just watched the episode about the green lights buzzing the missile test area.   Hynek's wife is annoying the crap out of me.  Her husband does top secret work for the Air Force and she's snooping around with her best friend who she really knows nothing about.    And what was the deal with the nosy neighbor who the male spy murdered?  Bet she wasn't just a nosy neighbor!   Anybody even care at this point? 

I really wanted to like this show but I am losing patience. I think I posted in another program forum that the child actor who plays Hynek's son is the most talented of the bunch. He's more believable than any of the others. Of course he's only on 1% of the show.

[AnimeMania]

I read somewhere that Project Blue Book was renewed for another season.

[SoSueMe]

On 3/2/2019 at 3:33 PM, AnimeMania said:

I read somewhere that Project Blue Book was renewed for another season.

Thanks for the info. That kind of surprises me, it was seeming kind of weak.

[Moose135]

On 3/2/2019 at 3:33 PM, AnimeMania said:

I read somewhere that Project Blue Book was renewed for another season.

Yes, it was.

The renewal comes amid strong ratings for the series, which is averaging 3.4 million viewers in L+3, making it the No. 1 new series on cable among total viewers this season. It has also helped propel History to the No. 1 entertainment network in cable on Tuesday nights in prime among total viewers.

[12catcrazy]

22 hours ago, Moose135 said:

The renewal comes amid strong ratings for the series, which is averaging 3.4 million viewers in L+3, making it the No. 1 new series on cable among total viewers this season. It has also helped propel History to the No. 1 entertainment network in cable on Tuesday nights in prime among total viewers.

This blows my mind.  I guess the lead in from that on-going epic Curse of Oak Island helps.    And I guess that not many of the viewers belong to our forum here because the posts are few and far between.  

22 hours ago, Moose135 said:

[AnimeMania]

I don't post a lot because the episodes are getting crazier and crazier. Pretty soon the aliens will be sitting down for diner with the Hynek family. They seem to be pulling every conspiracy theory they can think of into the show. Just a matter of time before they spot a Bigfoot.

[12catcrazy]

Caught up on an episode last night - this one was about the Boy Scout troop leader who disappeared for 2 days.  

So, I'm beginning to think that our "hero" Dr Hynek isn't really such a good guy at all.   It looks like he was pretty quick to ruin the reputation of the Boy Scout leader and the cop - threatening to go after them for stealing Native American relics and pulling off a hoax.  Granted, the real Dr. Hynek was pretty much  employed by the real Air Force to do just that, but usually tv shows present the main lead as somebody to root for - our guy here is showing himself to be an amoral liar in my opinion.   And I'm getting totally confused about what is going on with the Captain.   Is the General playing him and trying to get back at him for what happened in a prior episode (something with the Secretary of Defense)?   

And it seems that the actor who plays Hynek keeps reverting back to an Irish accent.  He sounds more Irish than American in most of this episode.   I'm still shaking my head that this show got renewed.  Must be the magic of Robert Zemeckis.

[One4Sorrow2TooBad]

Great episode last night, looking forward to next season, eventually Dr. Hynek accepts the fact that there's more to UFO's than atmospheric anomalies. 

[AnimeMania]

On 3/8/2019 at 3:32 PM, 12catcrazy said:

Caught up on an episode last night - this one was about the Boy Scout troop leader who disappeared for 2 days.  

So, I'm beginning to think that our "hero" Dr Hynek isn't really such a good guy at all.   It looks like he was pretty quick to ruin the reputation of the Boy Scout leader and the cop - threatening to go after them for stealing Native American relics and pulling off a hoax.  Granted, the real Dr. Hynek was pretty much  employed by the real Air Force to do just that, but usually tv shows present the main lead as somebody to root for - our guy here is showing himself to be an amoral liar in my opinion.   And I'm getting totally confused about what is going on with the Captain.   Is the General playing him and trying to get back at him for what happened in a prior episode (something with the Secretary of Defense)?   

And it seems that the actor who plays Hynek keeps reverting back to an Irish accent.  He sounds more Irish than American in most of this episode.   I'm still shaking my head that this show got renewed.  Must be the magic of Robert Zemeckis.

I think it was just Hynek being mad that somebody using aliens us a backdrop to commit a simple theft. Everybody in the country seems to be very concerned about aliens and Russian nuclear attacks. Fear and rumors are running rampant and this guy pulls off a hoax about aliens that made national headlines for several days. Since Hynek's name was closely associated with the investigation, the Boy Scout leader was doubling down on the alien involvement and the fact that this was clearly hoax, made Hynek feel he needed to shut this down with extreme prejudice. In this TV world, Hynek is finding more evidence that aliens are real than he can find reasonable explanations for what has occurred.

[12catcrazy]

@ AnimeMania - I get that the Sheriff & Boy Scout leader may have been stealing artifacts (and to be honest, I'm still not sure how Hynek figured that out), but the Boy Scout leader seemed to have had a real experience of some kind.  Hynek is just going along with what the AF Generals want him to say, correct?   Or did he really think the Boy Scout leader was a hoaxer? 

[AnimeMania]

4 minutes ago, 12catcrazy said:

Or did he really think the Boy Scout leader was a hoaxer? 

Boy scout leader was total hoax.  I think the Boy Scout leader had already wrote to someone to buy the artifacts before the claimed alien abduction even happened.

[raven]

The wife's plotline with the Russian spies bored me so much.  The effects were bad in a fun way (the shots outside the Washington Monument especially). 

I was mostly entertained.  I liked that the scientist was the hothead and the pilot was more reserved.  It was Hynek who started the (funny) fistfight with Quinn.  It seemed like Hynek was all "I Want to Believe" but there were so many red herrings thrown in their path he was getting irritated.  Trust your partner, though!  You grew on him, like a barnacle, hee.

It took me a couple of weeks to watch all of them but I was curious how they were going to finish so I'll probably be back next season.