Away - General Discussion

[formerlyfreedom]

Coming to Netflix in 2019;

Quote

Away follows "Emma Green, an American astronaut who must leave her husband and teenage daughter behind in order to command an international space crew embarking upon a treacherous, year-long mission. It is a series about hope, humanity and how ultimately, we need one another if we are to achieve impossible things."

[paulvdb]

Two-Time Academy Award Winning Actress Hilary Swank to Star in Netflix Drama Series "Away"

[paulvdb]

‘Away’: Josh Charles To Co-Star In Netflix Space Drama Series

[paulvdb]

Premieres September 4. Teaser:

 

[paulvdb]

Trailer:

 

[ClareWalks]

On the third episode. Hillary Swank is fantastic. I find myself distracted a bit by the instant transmission times, though. There'd be a several-second delay on all these phone calls to Earth.

[zibnchy]

I've watched about half the episodes and one little detail just annoys me. This is the first manned space trip to Mars, arguably a global event of massive importance, and the Russians send Cosmonaut Grandpa along with his vodka still? Really?! (Yes, I know it's fiction but come on!)

Also, they packed Christmas decorations? On a space trip to Mars? When probably less than half the crew (of 5) is christian? Sure they did.

In general though the cast is pretty excellent. Could lose the husband and never notice.

[TV Anonymous]

Just finished the first episode, and these are my first impression.

1. I can not help comparing this show with For All Mankind, and so far this show is much drama, less science.
2. The crew consists of an Indian and a British and only an American. The United States are by far the most advanced nation in space exploration in both experience and budget. There is no way that the United States only put one person. As well, the United Kingdom and India are not that enthusiastic in their space programs. Japan, Germany, Canada, France and Italy are much more advanced and experienced than them.
3. Astronauts have direct access to their home life? There is a reason that communications to the astronauts are through mission control, and that is to avoid a situation exactly like this. Mission control should be able to control information the astronauts receive so that they will not jeopardy such a critical mission.
4. There is only one person manning the Moon Base Alpha?

[Haleth]

19 hours ago, ClareWalks said:

On the third episode. Hillary Swank is fantastic. I find myself distracted a bit by the instant transmission times, though. There'd be a several-second delay on all these phone calls to Earth.

Ha!  News and talk shows can't even broadcast these days without messing up because of the delay.  It would be frustrating to watch on a fictional show though.

I watched two episodes last night.  The Indian astronaut (Ram?) was correct (wrt her untethering stunt), Emma is reckless and will get them all killed.

[sadie]

On Ep 5, there are some obvious suspension of disbelief issues with the science but I’m enjoying it. Hilary Swank is very watchable and frankly, there’s not a lot else right now to watch. I hope by the end of this season we see them get home since who knows if this will get a second season. 

[TV Anonymous]

Three quarter way of the second episode, I am out. If I want to watch a show about space exploration with this much of suspension of disbelief, I would have watched Star Trek, and I will when ST:Discovery plays.

1. Why does the crew seems like they just get to know each other recently? With all the doubts and dissension and comparing experience? As a crew, they should have been training together for years. There should be no doubt on the chain of command, who does what, and how they do it.
2. Mission control explicitly said to cut the communications. But the crew are still able to make personal calls to Earth. Wow. AT&T now offers roaming plans to outer space too? 
3. "Plans don't matter. Mission control doesn't matter." What the *bleep*? 
4. Why is the EVA ('spacewalk') such a major issue? The crew should have practiced EVAs thousands of times already, particularly for a mission that would last 3 years, one year of which in transit in outer space.
5. Mission control does not have any plan? They should have had their scientists and engineers scramble to find the issue, to troubleshoot and to develop complete procedures by the first time problem is detected.
6. And my breaking point is when the husband from watching live feed on NASA TV is able to provide solution that Mission Control has no idea about.

[ClareWalks]

9 minutes ago, TV Anonymous said:

Three quarter way of the second episode, I am out. If I want to watch a show about space exploration with this much of suspension of disbelief, I would have watched Star Trek, and I will when ST:Discovery plays.

1. Why does the crew seems like they just get to know each other recently? With all the doubts and dissension and comparing experience? As a crew, they should have been training together for years. There should be no doubt on the chain of command, who does what, and how they do it.
2. Mission control explicitly said to cut the communications. But the crew are still able to make personal calls to Earth. Wow. AT&T now offers roaming plans to outer space too? 
3. "Plans don't matter. Mission control doesn't matter." What the *bleep*? 
4. Why is the EVA ('spacewalk') such a major issue? The crew should have practiced EVAs thousands of times already, particularly for a mission that would last 3 years, one year of which in transit in outer space.
5. Mission control does not have any plan? They should have had their scientists and engineers scramble to find the issue, to troubleshoot and to develop complete procedures by the first time problem is detected.
6. And my breaking point is when the husband from watching live feed on NASA TV is able to provide solution that Mission Control has no idea about.

I've been spoiled by Andy Weir's fiction. Agree about the interpersonal drama, I just kept thinking how bizarre and unprofessional it was. 

[Chit Chat]

Overall I liked the show, but I can do without all of the home/family drama.  I'm in it for the mission to Mars!  Also, I really like Hilary Swank, but damn, why did they write her character so weepy and weak?  A commander makes a decision and sticks with it.  Quit being so damn emotional about everything!  "I should've done this; I should've done that......." 

 I'm sitting here thinking about astronauts such as Sally Ride (RIP), Judy Resnik (RIP), Mae Jemison - just to name a few - and the stoic nature of each of them ( that's the way I see them.)  C'mon show!  Portray this show's Commander with a little more fortitude.  I'll cut her some slack for being dehydrated, but they really do need to cut down on the tear-inducing scenes.  

2 hours ago, TV Anonymous said:

Mission control explicitly said to cut the communications. But the crew are still able to make personal calls to Earth. Wow. AT&T now offers roaming plans to outer space too? 

Some of what the husband did was totally unethical.  I thought that NASA monitored ALL channels anyway.  They have protocols for such things, so for the husband to constantly give Em advice about the mission sans Mission Control's approval was wrong, and unbelievable.  

Also, now the Dad is okay with the fact that his 15 year old daughter is sleeping with her boyfriend?  He just found out that she snuck out and spent the night with him, and next thing we see is him inviting him to Mission Control (another thing that wouldn't happen that quickly) to view the touchdown?  WTF?   One other thing: her getting on a dirt bike for the first time and jumping those hills?  What a farce!  She's never even driven a stick-shift car.  You don't just hop on a motorcycle and start jumping hills and such.  You should start out on a straight path to get the hang of the throttle, brakes and shifting gears.  I learned at age 8 on a mini-bike.  That way when I inevitably fell off, it was in the grass going about 2 MPH.  Then I graduated to a small motorcycle.  All of the scenes with her and the dirt bike were just stupid - except for when she bit the dust.  Now that was realistic! 

I'm loving that Lu had the whole crew out there for the picture, and with their visors up!  I'm hoping that we'll lose some of the family drama and focus on the mission.  They need to pick up the pace with the show too.  It was a little slow-moving.  

[juno]

The show is good and the acting is very good. But I have a few reservations.

Every episode has major malfunction/crisis and of course there is a major solution and everything is resolved at the last second. Trope time. Some of the solutions I swear were made by House sitting in the background.

The amount of disrespect and insubordination that Swank receives could not launch a boat let alone the first manned mission to Mars. The amount of self doubt and wanting to go home by Swank could also not launch that boat.

Everytime a crewmember is angry at another crewmember somehow something happens to unite them.

The amount of crying is equal to the best of soap operas. The family drama is beyond boring and tedious. I actually fast forwarded through a lot.

The amount of times the words "I love you" are uttered are world record worthy.

[paulvdb]

I didn't mind the family drama on Earth. But I felt that some of the science and other aspects of the mission to Mars took too much suspension of disbelief. Every episode there was a new potentially life-threatening problem. And the commander was too emotional to be in command, the Russian guy was too old to be sent on that mission and the African-British guy was too inexperienced. If he was the best botanist for the job couldn't they have at least sent him on a mission to the ISS first so that he could get used to zero-G instead of having the mission to Mars being his first time in space? Ram and Lu seemed to be the only ones who were qualified and capable for the mission.

[Chit Chat]

2 hours ago, juno said:

Every episode has major malfunction/crisis and of course there is a major solution and everything is resolved at the last second. Trope time.

There should've been a triple and quadruple backup for the water system given the length of this trip, or pack a gazillion I.V. bags and hook them up to those until they can reach Mars & Pegasus.  If Pegasus had crashed and burned, well, then you're SOL.   

2 hours ago, juno said:

The amount of disrespect and insubordination that Swank receives could not launch a boat let alone the first manned mission to Mars. The amount of self doubt and wanting to go home by Swank could also not launch that boat.

Exactly!  As others have said, they would've all been training for this mission for years and should've been one cohesive unit at this point.  

I was a little confused about Ram's feelings for Em.  When did that happen?  He said that he thought he made her uncomfortable when he was delirious and was talking about his dead brother, but I didn't understand why that should've made her feel that way.  I thought that whole interaction between them in the last episode came out of left field.  And of course the lady who is helping  Em's family is in love with her husband.  Ugh.  I really don't look forward to all of that drama playing out.  

Did anybody else think about the movie 'The Martian' when they were discussing doing the slingshot maneuver to catch up with Pegasus?  That was straight out of their playbook!  

Why did Lu's girlfriend take the card she gave her to work?  That was dumb.  Lu gave it to her at her home.  I'm just nitpicking at this point.  I think the show has potential, but I will be out if it's family/home drama heavy.  I know that is part of the equation, but let's have 3/4's space stuff, and 1/4 family stuff at the most.  

Edited September 6, 2020 by ChitChat

[juno]

5 hours ago, ChitChat said:

Also, now the Dad is okay with the fact that his 15 year old daughter is sleeping with her boyfriend?  He just found out that she snuck out and spent the night with him, and next thing we see is him inviting him to Mission Control (another thing that wouldn't happen that quickly) to view the touchdown?  WTF?   One other thing: her getting on a dirt bike for the first time and jumping those hills?  What a farce!  She's never even driven a stick-shift car.  You don't just hop on a motorcycle and start jumping hills and such.  You should start out on a straight path to get the hang of the throttle, brakes and shifting gears. 

Dad of the year candidate. I guess without asking, he was sure they had protected sex and that everything was okay and that he was alright with all the lying as well as long as they are in love. "Oh, you may have had unprotected sex with my daughter who lied to me about it, but do you want to come to Mission Control and meet us because after all, you love my daughter?" Because the words "I love you" were not uttered in that minute yet.

After getting off the dirt bike, off screen she bowled a 300 for the first time and after that ran a mile in 3:30 in her first attempt!

Edited September 6, 2020 by juno

[Melina22]

Okay I just finished episode 5. I'm enjoying the show way more than I expected, but honestly, the scene where the bottom part of the astronaut's foot came off is the worst thing I've seen in years. And I just watched 7 seasons of Alone which is nonstop hunting and snaring and animal guts. It's been an hour and I'm still squirming and trying not to think about my feet. 😬😬😬

The daughter is such a good actress. 

I can't get a handle on the gravity situation. One minute they're just walking around, and the next they're floating or drinking bubbles of vodka out of a bag. How does this work? 

 

Edited September 7, 2020 by Melina22

[Chit Chat]

30 minutes ago, Melina22 said:

I can't get a handle on the gravity situation. One minute they're just walking around, and the next they're floating or drinking bubbles of vodka out of a bag. How does this work? 

They have artificial gravity in the crew quarters, but not in the entire ship.   Wikipedia explains it well:  "Artificial gravity is the creation of an inertial force that mimics the effects of a gravitational force, usually by rotation. Artificial gravity, or rotational gravity, is thus the appearance of a centrifugal force in a rotating frame of reference (the transmission of centripetal acceleration via normal force in the non-rotating frame of reference), as opposed to the force experienced in linear acceleration, which by the equivalence principle is indistinguishable from gravity."

 

Edited September 7, 2020 by ChitChat

[xls]

On 9/5/2020 at 12:14 PM, ClareWalks said:

On the third episode. Hillary Swank is fantastic. I find myself distracted a bit by the instant transmission times, though. There'd be a several-second delay on all these phone calls to Earth.

And the reception almost half way to Mars was phenomenal.  

[ClareWalks]

7 minutes ago, xls said:

And the reception almost half way to Mars was phenomenal.  

Sure was! And they had an instantaneous "oh, we won't be able to video chat anymore because the transmission time will be too long," then all of a sudden they're texting and it's taking several minutes to arrive!

[Melina22]

11 hours ago, ChitChat said:

why did they write her character so weepy and weak? 

I totally accept that this show is 75% soap opera and for some reason I'm okay with that, but to have a tough, disciplined commander wandering around crying and being dramatic because she's dehydrated? That's ridiculous. I've watched shows like Alone and Survivor where people get really dehydrated. They get dizzy and weak, but they don't lose their marbles and start sobbing while giving their water ration to plants. 

I do like how the show allows certain characters to be religious without also making them rigid psychos as is so often the case. 

10 hours ago, juno said:

The amount of disrespect and insubordination that Swank receives could not launch a boat let alone the first manned mission to Mars

 

It's funny because it's true. 

I really need to search space blindness to see if it's an actual thing. Meanwhile I do enjoy Misha's email dictation. "Wink emoji, wink emoji, wink emoji" 

Oh and I love that one of the astronauts brought half a Mars bar. To Mars. 

[paulvdb]

44 minutes ago, Melina22 said:

I really need to search space blindness to see if it's an actual thing. Meanwhile I do enjoy Misha's email dictation. "Wink emoji, wink emoji, wink emoji"

Wikipedia: Visual impairment due to intracranial pressure

[paulvdb]

I looked at another Wikipedia article to find out about what happened with Kwesi's foot and found this: "After two months, calluses on the bottoms of feet molt and fall off from lack of use, leaving soft new skin."

[Melina22]

1 hour ago, paulvdb said:

After two months, calluses on the bottoms of feet molt and fall off from lack of use, leaving soft new skin."

Space pedicure! 

In the show it looks like half his heel comes off. It's been half a day and I still have the willies. 

[Chit Chat]

7 hours ago, Melina22 said:

I do like how the show allows certain characters to be religious without also making them rigid psychos as is so often the case. 

Yes, that's a nice change of pace given the way Hollywood usually portrays religious people. 

7 hours ago, Melina22 said:

I really need to search space blindness to see if it's an actual thing.

Astronauts are a brave and tough group of people given the physical toll space travel takes on the body.  There was an interesting study done of twin astronauts Scott and Mark Kelly where they compared the changes Scott went through while aboard the ISS for a lengthy stay to his brother here on earth.    Twin study   

Of course this show had to exaggerate and make it look like half of Kwesi's heel came off, when in reality, it probably  was just a very thick layer of skin.  But still, Ick!!

[marieYOTZ]

It’s been awhile since I watched Another Life on Netflix, but Away feels very similar to it - with the whole “female astronaut commander goes to space, leaving her deeply involved husband back on earth with their daughter” thing. Also the deeply dysfunctional crew thing. I echo a sentiment from earlier in the thread that I would expect if they’ve been training together for years (as was stated in the first episode) that they’d have a better handle on their interpersonal drama. 
 

Oh well. I’m always here for space drama, so I’ll be watching as long as they’re airing. And if Another Life got renewed for a season 2 (which shocks me, based on its abysmal reviews - although i enjoyed it fine) I have to hope this will too. 

[WendyM]

16 hours ago, ChitChat said:

Exactly!  As others have said, they would've all been training for this mission for years and should've been one cohesive unit at this point.

I swear in that press conference someone said they'd been training together for two years. I actually said to myself: Good. This means they all know each other so there won't be any unnecessary drama. Ha, me.

I also wonder if a couple would decide to have children if they knew there was a possibility one of them would go away for a long time and oh yeah, there's a 50-50 chance of survival. But yes, drama. I'm just not interested in it.

And really, it's not cool that the husband has the answers and is even involved in this mission in the first place.

The Robinsons were more businesslike and less emotional than these people. Except maybe Penny. I think she cried sometimes. Oh and Dr. Smith was a blubbering fool, but technically, he wasn't a Robinson.

[Chit Chat]

8 hours ago, WendyM said:

The Robinsons were more businesslike and less emotional than these people.

Sigh, that was a different time and generation.  Generally they didn't wear their hearts on their sleeves or even talk about their feelings.  I wonder if Hilary Swank tried to fight for her character to make her a little bit stronger.  I'd like to see that in the next season.  She had moments of it in the first season, but overall, there was just too much crying going on for me.   Pull it together astronauts!!  You're on freakin' Mars!!  

[Melina22]

12 minutes ago, ChitChat said:

She had moments of it in the first season, but overall, there was just too much crying going on for me.   Pull it together astronauts!!  You're on freakin' Mars!!  

There's no crying in space! 

[marieYOTZ]

Just wrapped up episode 10 - credit where credit is due, the last 20 minutes were quite stirring, and gave me goosebumps. Watching everyone in mission command waiting at the end of the countdown was nerve-wracking even though I as a viewer already knew they’d made it. I look forward to seeing Kwesi’s Mars garden. 

[Chit Chat]

7 minutes ago, marieYOTZ said:

Just wrapped up episode 10 - credit where credit is due, the last 20 minutes were quite stirring, and gave me goosebumps.

I've already gone back and re-watched that part!  Lu was pretty awesome in having everybody pose for the picture instead of just her.  That was a pretty big F.U. to her country (or at least to the woman who made the decision for her to be photographed with her visor down.) 

[t7686]

I like it overall but Emma is way too weepy. For some reason she reminds me of season 5 Dr. Mike from Dr. Quinn when we need less domesticated season 5 her and bad ass season 1 Dr. Mike. WE GET IT you love your kid but Jesus be professional and shut up about it. It’s a shame too because Swank’s acting is fantastic. I don’t mind the family drama, I like that Matt is staying in the wheelchair at least for awhile, so many shows do stuff like that for shock value then move on the next episode. The secondary characters are a delight. I hate that it seems Matt will hook up with Melissa and Emma with Rom. I’m not here for a cheating storyline especially since I feel like since they all work for NASA they would be more professional and less like high school. Still overall good show and I say this as someone who hates space and space films etc usually. Looking forward to season 2.

[dubbel zout]

21 hours ago, Melina22 said:

I totally accept that this show is 75% soap opera

Exactly. It's not really science fiction, tbh. It's a soap set partly in space. Which is fine and what I expected, though I agree with the complaints that Emma Green is way too weepy to be the commander. Lu is my favorite character. 

16 hours ago, Melina22 said:

18 hours ago, paulvdb said:

After two months, calluses on the bottoms of feet molt and fall off from lack of use, leaving soft new skin."

Space pedicure! 

We all know he snuck in a few packets of Baby Foot peels and overdid things.

[Melina22]

I'm not sure how others feel but although I like most of the cast quite a lot, I'm not enjoying Melissa as a character. She and her daughter feel like plot devices rather than people. Maybe this is purely a personal reaction but I'm finding Melissa bland and yet sort of unlikeable and I can't figure out why. 

Also, I'm sorry but what kind of astronaut says "I'm freaking out right now" before a space walk? Were all the good astronauts busy when they put together the historical Mars mission? 

Nooooo! No kissing in space! 

Great ending tho. They really conveyed how stressful it was for the families waiting for news at NASA. Remembering what happened to the families at the Challenger disaster made me feel it even more intensely. 

The daughter is such a good actress. Her face conveys emotions so realistically. 

I loved Lu leaving her visor up. I mean what are they going to do about it? I also loved Misha's comment. "Borders don't exist." 

Edited September 8, 2020 by Melina22

[greekmom]

I finished binge watching this yesterday.  I did ff alot of the stuff with the daughter. She bores me.

Thoughts:

My initial thought is why would you send 2 women with children back on Earth. I am not saying that women should not go to Mars but this is a dangerous, life threatening mission and both women even though they want to go do have commitments with their kids. I get Ram, I get Kwesi, I get Misha (oh my god, my favourite character, especially his dictation "smiley face emoji, smiley face emoji") but logically, any women on board shouldn't have had children at home for such a mission.  That's just my opinion. 

I loved the background scenes on all the  characters, but I agree with poster above. Why would Mei take the card that says "I love you" to work? Especially if you are on the down low? 

The psychologist isn't that great. They would have anticipated that even though they have people waiting back home, the crew is now their own little group of people and we all need love and support. I don't doubt that Ram and Emma are confusing the fact that they are counting on eachother for survival as romantic love.  Would they have fallen in love on Earth? Probably not because they were working together for 2 years before the launch.  Do they love eachother? I think yes, as friends but they should have been warned by the psychologist that this may occur when they are alone. That they might confuse the need for eachother for survival as romantic love. 

The technology capabilities we have to suspend disbelief.

I am glad Lu didn't bow under pressure and take the photo as requested by her government as they didn't give her what she wanted. I do hope that they don't retaliate with the husband and her son.

I think that Matt might have figured out how Ram feels about Emma as they were holding hands. I hope he doesn't take it the wrong way but I think if anyone is to cheat it's Matt with Melissa.

Even though I am not a big Swank fan I still will watch season 2. 

Edited September 8, 2020 by greekmom

[jcin617]

I don't get the need for the convoluted static-electricity ice wrangling solution.    Just hold a water bag in front of the open water port outside the ship and let it fill with the ice crystals as they come out.   Once full:  close port, attach bag to your tether or push it towards Astronaut B, open a new bag and repeat.     Maybe the static electricity bit was to ensure the ice stayed near them and they didn't lose any to space or risk having it floating around near the ship, but... still seemed like a rather over-engineered solution.
 

Edited September 8, 2020 by jcin617

[zibnchy]

Just watching episode 9 and I actually laughed out loud when SuperMan Matt's junk drawer solution to the Water Problem just burst into flames.

So Ram thought *that* was an appropriate time to confess his feelings? (I swear that was foreshadowed in episode 1 when we first meet the crew and Ram gave Emma a schmoopy look after she said something.)

Each one of those bags of space snow is going to melt into, like, a cup of water.

Edited September 8, 2020 by zibnchy
I finished the episode

[ClareWalks]

1 hour ago, greekmom said:

My initial thought is why would you send 2 women with children back on Earth. I am not saying that women should not go to Mars but this is a dangerous, life threatening mission and both women even though they want to go do have commitments with their kids. I get Ram, I get Kwesi, I get Misha (oh my god, my favourite character, especially his dictation "smiley face emoji, smiley face emoji") but logically, any women on board shouldn't have had children at home for such a mission.  That's just my opinion. 

I'm sure you meant any *parent* of young children (still at home) but it sounds like you're saying that specifically MOMS should not be sent to space (as opposed to dads too).

[dubbel zout]

2 hours ago, jcin617 said:

Maybe the static electricity bit was to ensure the ice stayed near them and they didn't lose any to space or risk having it floating around near the ship

That's how I understood it, though even fourth-grade-level science (which this apparently is, LOL) can be too advanced for me. Though I also wouldn't be surprised if the show overdid it for the drama.

Upthread there was a comment that there are too many problems with the ship that get fixed at the last minute, and I have to agree. How did that thing pass inspection in the first place?

[greekmom]

1 hour ago, ClareWalks said:

I'm sure you meant any *parent* of young children (still at home) but it sounds like you're saying that specifically MOMS should not be sent to space (as opposed to dads too).

What I meant was the fact that the only women on board (in the show) were the ones with kids and they should have had female astronauts (in the show) who didn't have any kids at home to do this 3 year flight.  It has nothing to do with Moms not going to space.

None of the men on board had any children (or even spouses, significant others, etc - except for Misha who had his daughter and grandkids) was not lost on me.

Out of all of them, Misha and Lu are my favourites. 

[ClareWalks]

26 minutes ago, greekmom said:

What I meant was the fact that the only women on board (in the show) were the ones with kids and they should have had female astronauts (in the show) who didn't have any kids at home to do this 3 year flight.  It has nothing to do with Moms not going to space.

None of the men on board had any children (or even spouses, significant others, etc - except for Misha who had his daughter and grandkids) was not lost on me.

Out of all of them, Misha and Lu are my favourites. 

Okay, re-read your comment through that lens and I agree, especially when one of those women has a husband with a potentially incapacitating health condition and their only backup parent figure is a single mom of a special-needs child. They did NOT think this through!

[oompa]

3 hours ago, dubbel zout said:

Upthread there was a comment that there are too many problems with the ship that get fixed at the last minute, and I have to agree. How did that thing pass inspection in the first place?

After the first few episodes, I thought for sure that there was a saboteur on board. Nope, just some really bad engineering. After awhile, you just start laughing at the next thing that goes wrong.

The crew seemed like they were chosen to star on a reality TV show, because they always want lots of DRAMA.

[dubbel zout]

"Big Brother: Mars Exploration Edition"

[juno]

7 hours ago, greekmom said:

I think that Matt might have figured out how Ram feels about Emma as they were holding hands. I hope he doesn't take it the wrong way but I think if anyone is to cheat it's Matt with Melissa.

They are about to land on freakin' Mars and they hold hands and of course the camera pans to Matt's reaction. My jaw dropped. 2 people that are about to land on Mars hold hands and they have to show the husband's reaction? Yes Matt should be jealous because I am sure the first thing those crazy kids are going to do is bang on Mars.

I agree that Matt and Melissa are going to cheat and of course the daughter will get pregnant.

I also thought that a solution to the water problem would be to collect all the tears from the Astronauts. Mainly Emma.

[Melina22]

2 minutes ago, juno said:

They are about to land on freakin' Mars and they hold hands and of course the camera pans to Matt's reaction

I understand it's traditional for astronauts to hold hands when landing. Gazing lovingly at each other is optional 

 

[Chit Chat]

2 hours ago, juno said:

Yes Matt should be jealous because I am sure the first thing those crazy kids are going to do is bang on Mars.

Talk about taking the "mile high club" to new heights!  

2 hours ago, juno said:

I also thought that a solution to the water problem would be to collect all the tears from the Astronauts. Mainly Emma.

Or at least have watered the plants with all of those tears!  

Imagine if they took some kind of multiple choice test pre-Mars flight about how they'd handle certain situations.  I'd love to see this question on the test:  If your water supply is severely threatened and you are on rations to stay alive, would you......A) Do as told and take the required rations?   B)  Steal someone else's rations?   C)  Give up part of your rations to save a few plants, thereby weakening you and leaving you incapacitated and useless to your crew?  or D)  Abandon all hope and exit via the nearest air lock? 

[dubbel zout]

On 9/8/2020 at 12:16 AM, Melina22 said:

Great ending tho. They really conveyed how stressful it was for the families waiting for news at NASA. Remembering what happened to the families at the Challenger disaster made me feel it even more intensely. 

I agree. Even though I knew the craft would land safely (finally, something goes right; heh), I still held my breath as everyone at Mission Control waited to hear Emma's acknowledgment that things were fine.

Even though this is basically a soap set in space, I'm still disappointed with Ram and Emma holding hands and the camera going to Matt's expression. Oh, Show. And the Melissa/Matt stuff is an equal cliché, though I can also hand wave it that she's had a crush on him ever since her marriage fell apart and being in constant contact with him has brought those feelings to the surface again. 

This is an interesting article about what the genesis of the series and what a season 2 might look like.

From the article:

One was the way that Chris Jones, the journalist, goes into depth about how the International Space Station came to be. And this improbable idea of countries that normally don’t work together, working together to create the space station and how that could be an analog for the international mission to Mars.

This is something I hope they do a little more with. I don't want to see too much squabbling, but there are very different philosophies and cultures going on, and aside from Lu, we didn't get too much of that. Most of that sort of thing was intrinsic to the specific characters, rather than their nationalities.

[ClareWalks]

55 minutes ago, dubbel zout said:

I agree. Even though I knew the craft would land safely (finally, something goes right; heh), I still held my breath as everyone at Mission Control waited to hear Emma's acknowledgment that things were fine.

I was wondering if they'd lost communication with NASA like Pegasus had. Now THAT would be a nightmare.

[sadie]

Once I accepted this was a soap opera it was a fun ride. That rocket must have been built in shop class because I’ve  owned more dependable used cars. 

And I grew up here on the Space Coast. My Dad worked for NASA for 30 years and I watched the Challenger blow up live and in person as a teenager (I was about 15 miles away) and the scene where Mission Control was just silent waiting to hear if they made it, then got the “we landed” and the room exploded in cheers really broke me up. Very accurate as to how we all are to this day any time a manned rocket launches. Been watching them in person my whole life and I still hold my breath.
 

Edited September 9, 2020 by sadie