The Hot Zone - General Discussion

[PrincessPurrsALot]

Quote

Based on the eponymous international best-seller by Richard Preston, The Hot Zone, starring Golden Globe and Emmy award winner Julianna Margulies, is inspired by a true story about the origins of Ebola, a highly infectious virus from the central African rainforest and its arrival on US soil in 1989.

Initial episode airs 2019.05.27.  Happy Memorial Day!  Let's see how we all could have died!

https://www.nationalgeographic.com/tv/watch/6d95dc51d262521f0414b6955fd76d56/

[WritinMan]

Pretty good so far. I'll be checking out the rest of it.

[BooksRule]

I like it so far.  It reminds me a little of the movie 'Contagion'.  I think my library has the book that it's based on.  I might have to check it out this week.

[sempervivum]

Well, aside from knowing that the catastrophe obviously never happened, this is really suspenseful. I'm kind of fearing what Carter and the other guy are going to see next in Africa, beyond what they've already had to face.

I couldn't figure out how far Dr. Jaxx and the lab worker had to travel with the dead monkies, but it was kind of implausible that they would thaw and leak through the heavy garbage bags and the trunk liner, to the extent that big blobs of goop would be coming out the bottom of the car.

[Mrs Shibbles]

3 hours ago, sempervivum said:

I couldn't figure out how far Dr. Jaxx and the lab worker had to travel with the dead monkies, but it was kind of implausible that they would thaw and leak through the heavy garbage bags and the trunk liner, to the extent that big blobs of goop would be coming out the bottom of the car.

DH mentioned that they should just get a cooler/ice from the convenience store they were parked in front of. 

We really enjoyed the show so far.  The casting and writing are good.  Looking forward to the rest of the series.

We got a kick out of Noah Emmerich being on the show, due to his role as a CDC doc on TWD.

[FoundTime]

3 hours ago, Mrs Shibbles said:

DH mentioned that they should just get a cooler/ice from the convenience store they were parked in front of. 

We really enjoyed the show so far.  The casting and writing are good.  Looking forward to the rest of the series.

We got a kick out of Noah Emmerich being on the show, due to his role as a CDC doc on TWD.

I'm with DH, Mrs. Shibbles! It seemed so obvious, they were parked right in front of a freaking mini-market of some kind.

I'm okay with the science part of this, I guess, but the domestic scenes between the Jaaxes are striking me as extremely poorly written, verging on soap opera-level dialogue.

At least the first two eps sent me to my bookshelves to find the book version I had abandoned lo these many years ago -- and I stayed up way too late reading up to page 70. I expect to keep going with both.

Here's the NY Times review, in case anyone's interested: Review: ‘The Hot Zone’ Stays Tepid

Edited May 28, 2019 by FoundTime
Add link to NYT review

[tljgator]

3 hours ago, Mrs Shibbles said:

DH mentioned that they should just get a cooler/ice from the convenience store they were parked in front of. 

I came here to see if anyone else thought this, lol. It seemed so simple!

6 minutes ago, FoundTime said:

I'm okay with the science part of this, I guess, but the domestic scenes between the Jaaxes are striking me as extremely poorly written, verging on soap opera-level dialogue.

Agreed -- this seemed very clunky and out of place, definitely off-putting.

*side-note: shout out to the prop people for the "Pantry Pride" grocery bag ... haven't seen one of those in several decades.

[Melina22]

I'm really enjoying this show so far, apart from dead monkeys in garbage bags and Topher wearing the World's Worst Wig. 

The first couple of scenes were so horrific I had to watch through my fingers, but I guess it was needed to show how nightmarish this virus is. The scenes in the burnt village were also horrifying. 

I'm not one of those "animals matter more than humans" kind of people, but I hate to think of monkeys kept isolated in cages. It seems so cruel. 

Anyway, I'll definitely keep watching. Meanwhile, I have an episode of Chernobyl to watch. Why do I do this to myself? 

[Melina22]

So now we're just over half way through the series, and it still hasn't been established that this particular version of the virus is transferrable to humans. I'm finding that the show is feeling less suspenseful and more annoying with endless scenes of "Oh no, what if...?" but nothing actually happening except in flashbacks. With 3 hours to go, I hope something actually happens, not that I'm wishing for a real person to get Ebola. 

ETA Oh great. Now they're starving the monkeys. 😢

Edited May 29, 2019 by Melina22

[nekilarose]

I remember reading the book, and really liking it. Although every time Juliana is on screen, I want to scream. At no point would an active military member have her hair down like that. Don't they have a person on set to catch that? 

But I'm looking forward to the last part.

[Sharpie66]

Between Chernobyl and this, my two big existential fears of the late 20th century are on tv now—nuclear fallout/fuckups in the ‘80s, and blood-borne pathogens in the ‘90s. In the mid-90s, I read both The Hot Zone and Laurie Garrett’s The Coming Plague, which covered all the incurable diseases that emerged after Western medicine declared victory over disease in the wake of penicillin and other pharmaceutical discoveries. 

I am just starting watching this now, but a few irritations are popping up already, including ones mentioned here (the home life stuff just annoyed me, and her hair being down when she was suiting up for the hot zone had me complaining out loud), and the music is just so standard Hollywood scary movie style. Compared to Chernobyl’s minimalist score, I am not impressed.

[Melina22]

32 minutes ago, Sharpie66 said:

and the music is just so standard Hollywood scary movie style. Compared to Chernobyl’s minimalist score, I am not impressed.

I totally agree. Chernobyl feels a thousand times more realistic. Part of it is the dialogue, but for sure part of it is that Chernobyl doesn't have the loud, melodramatic score. It's pretty cheesy. 

I also found myself getting impatient watching scenes about the colonel and her sick father, the colonel and her daughter's gymnastics meet (or whatever). I just couldn't connect with them at all... they felt like filler. I remember reading The Hot Zone years ago and being completely engrossed, but I fought myself feeling restless during the second 2 hours tonight. 

Another complaint : maybe I'm wrong but I would expect a briefing to a military team about to enter a hot zone to be calm, disciplined and scientific. I would expect the team to be pretty calm and disciplined as well, at least outwardly. Instead the whole thing was super dramatic and intense with the usual overwhelming music underscoring everything. Not realistic 

[Lily H]

I can't be bothered to watch the rest of this. It would be so much better if it was about a fictional mass Ebola outbreak. As it is, we already know nothing happens except the usual military and corporate incompetence and corruption.

[TV Anonymous]

11 hours ago, nekilarose said:

I remember reading the book, and really liking it. Although every time Juliana is on screen, I want to scream. At no point would an active military member have her hair down like that. Don't they have a person on set to catch that? 

But I'm looking forward to the last part.

Not to mention that she never wears her headgear, even when she is outdoor and off the base.

11 hours ago, Sharpie66 said:

Between Chernobyl and this, my two big existential fears of the late 20th century are on tv now—nuclear fallout/fuckups in the ‘80s, and blood-borne pathogens in the ‘90s. In the mid-90s, I read both The Hot Zone and Laurie Garrett’s The Coming Plague, which covered all the incurable diseases that emerged after Western medicine declared victory over disease in the wake of penicillin and other pharmaceutical discoveries. 

Monday was fun, watching this show led-in by Chernobyl. Two shows with gory deaths, what not to like?

[WritinMan]

I agree that the show seems to drag when we get the family aspect of the story. I don't think it's soap-opera level, but we don't really get enough of that to actually care what's going with that plot line.

[palmaire]

My guess is that the show does have advisors who know better but JM thinks wearing a hat and having her hair up make her look less attractive. That would never do.

[Raja]

15 hours ago, Lily H said:

I can't be bothered to watch the rest of this. It would be so much better if it was about a fictional mass Ebola outbreak. As it is, we already know nothing happens except the usual military and corporate incompetence and corruption.

Even though I know the spoiler alert The Hot Zone book is at the top of my scariest reads of my life. So it becomes a matter of the show runners execution,

After the first hour I am in for the rest. The first oddity that I saw was Col Jaax putting on her BDU jacket in the parking lot, as if in a sensitive job she drove from home to Fort Detrick sort of clandestine. Or was it supposed to be a big reveal to the viewer that she was a soldier?

Edited May 29, 2019 by Raja

[nekilarose]

4 hours ago, palmaire said:

My guess is that the show does have advisors who know better but JM thinks wearing a hat and having her hair up make her look less attractive. That would never do.

Which is at odds with every other female wearing their hair correctly!  I was Air Force, so we were already more lax than the other services, but no way was walking outside with no cover, or hands in her pocket (especially around your higher ups in your chain!) ever condoned. It kinda take me out of the story every time I spot something so blatant. 

Forgot to mention the Hazelton manager? sitting in his car listening to the monkeys as they grew more agitated. He seemed genuinely upset that he couldn't help them in some way.

Edited May 30, 2019 by nekilarose
Forgot a thought

[WritinMan]

Overall, that was a pretty good mini-series. I might have to check out the book. 

[Raja]

Colonel Jaax and her not buttoning up BDU jacket or her hair flowing loose was not the only uniform problem.  We only wore American flag patches on our uniforms on political deployments, like Beirut. But bigger than that when the husband Colonel Jaax and his team of veterinary techs went in they were all Lieutenants, well at least the one on the phone had a 1st LT's black bar when he was told time to go "private" 

[tinderbox]

I DVRd this and just finished the third hour.  I'm enjoying it and, obviously, found the subject matter utterly frightening.  Anxious to watch the final portion. 

That said, I found it to be a tad slow.  I'm not convinced the story needed 6 hours to tell properly in a television format.

Because I DVRd it, I only glanced at the opening text.  If I'm correct, it seems JMs character and her husband are real people.  Is that true?

[Melina22]

46 minutes ago, tinderbox said:

Because I DVRd it, I only glanced at the opening text.  If I'm correct, it seems JMs character and her husband are real people.  Is that true?

Yes, they're real. You'll get a bit more info on them at the very end. 

I agree with your assessment. It would have been better at 3 or 4 hours. 

[nekilarose]

20 hours ago, WritinMan said:

Overall, that was a pretty good mini-series. I might have to check out the book. 

You totally should! With the book, there's this mounting horror at what's happening and I feel it described the panic a bit better. And if I'm not mistaken it goes more into how they think the virus was created. I kept having to out it down and double check that it was a true story and not made up. 

fun fact: I was looking at jobs near there,and started reading about Ft. Detrick and USAMRIID. Decided, no thank you. If any of that crap got out, I need to have something of a head start!

[Raja]

I think the TV show spent to much time on the personal conflict between Drs Carter and Rhodes along with other pairs of people. Where as the word pictures that Richard Preston drew of exactly how Ebola attacks the body were more devastating than what was shown. With the message sitting there that if this strain became airborne and easier to catch had jumped to humans the  we wouldn't be worrying about Thanos in the Avengers.

8 hours ago, tinderbox said:

Because I DVRd it, I only glanced at the opening text.  If I'm correct, it seems JMs character and her husband are real people.  Is that true?

The retired Colonels were in after credits small interview segments

[Token]

I'm impressed that anyone made it through this.  I turned it off during episode 2.  What a bunch of morons.  Seriously, we're all doomed if/when a serious outbreak occurs, because people are just idiots.

[pasdetrois]

I have friends who work for a world health non-profit, and they do research and interventions on disease outbreaks. Along with local medical people, they go right in to these places and attempt to prevent and contain scary diseases. Some of them have Ebola projects in their resumes. I did not know until I met them how much of an R&D presence the US military maintains, due to the need to protect and treat troops who are deployed worldwide.

Anyway, I'm several episodes in and have mixed feelings. The story is compelling but the telling is clunky. I'm distracted by bad wigs and too much Botox. The horrible animal cages are distressing. The bureaucratic ineptitude is infuriating, but having lived in DC many years, I know it thrives.

[Melina22]

59 minutes ago, pasdetrois said:

I'm distracted by bad wigs and too much Botox

So true. Sadly this describes half the shows I watch lately. Is a convincing wig really that hard to find with a multimillion dollar budget? Is it that bad for women to have foreheads that move? 

[nekilarose]

6 hours ago, Melina22 said:

So true. Sadly this describes half the shows I watch lately. Is a convincing wig really that hard to find with a multimillion dollar budget? Is it that bad for women to have foreheads that move? 

Look, all they need to do is head to their nearest hood. You can't tell me that they can't find anyone that would be willing to clear a few weeks to properly put lace fronts on celebs? 

Side note: Julianna had this issue on The Good Wife as well (bad wig) did she have her natural hair out for E.R?

[LennieBriscoe]

This isn't a plot point,  but it is something I have never noticed before in a TV show of any kind,  to wit:

In Episode 4, when Col. Jaxx enters the train station building,  watch the red-haired man with eyeglasses in the tan trenchcoat holding a colorful umbrella. He enters right behind her. 

Except he enters the building at least 3 more times! And noticeably, fussing with his hair or his coat or looking around! 

Weird. 

As for the show: What can you do? Everybody knows Titanic sank, too. Knowing how a true event turned out does not have to diminish the drama. 

But is there a duller and less attractive pair of actors than JM and Noah Emmerich?

Don't even get me started on Topher Grace.

Disappointing, for the book is one of my all-time favorite non-fiction tomes. Its opening chapter of the dying airplane passenger is far more suspenseful and gruesome than the televised scene. Plus,  the movie omitted any search for the source of the Ebola Zaire virus in bat caves. 

On a positive note: I just ordered Richard Preston's non-fiction book on the smallpox virus that was supposed to have been destroyed, yet exists in the US and Siberia,  in labs: "The Demon in the Freezer."  

And pre-ordered his latest,  "Crisis in  the Red Zone: The Story of the Deadliest Ebola Outbreak in History,and of the Outbreaks to Come."

Edited June 2, 2019 by LennieBriscoe

[LennieBriscoe]

And on another tangent: Once upon a time my college roommate brought a monkey to live in our dorm room. I've got stories,  but let's just say that once you've observed their filthy little fingernails up close,  you will never think of monkeys as "cute" ever again. Not saying you did,  but just saying!

[Melina22]

4 minutes ago, LennieBriscoe said:

And on another tangent: Once upon a time my college roommate brought a monkey to live in our dorm room. I've got stories,  but let's just say that once you've observed their filthy little fingernails up close,  you will never think of monkeys as "cute" ever again. Not saying you did,  but just saying!

Oh oh. Don't let Ross Geller hear you say this! 

Actually, when I started watching this show, I told my husband that I hoped there would be monkeys. His comment: "Um, monkeys never fare well in this type of show."  Man, he sure was right about that! Fortunately they used ugly CGI ones, so I didn't feel too bad. 

Edited June 2, 2019 by Melina22

[TigerLynx]

On ‎5‎/‎28‎/‎2019 at 8:05 PM, Melina22 said:

I'm not one of those "animals matter more than humans" kind of people, but I hate to think of monkeys kept isolated in cages. It seems so cruel. 

I'm Team Animal.  Humans aren't going extinct.  Just the opposite.  We've over populated the planet to the point there is no room left for the animals or plant life.  The best thing that could happen to the planet is for about four billion people to not be here.  If we get wiped out by Ebola or another virus, it will be because of our own arrogance and stupidity.

I would have liked to see some of what happened after Ebola was discovered in 1976, and what Carter did after that and before 1989, which had so many people wary and distrustful of anything he might say or do.

[Dowel Jones]

6 hours ago, TigerLynx said:

I would have liked to see some of what happened after Ebola was discovered in 1976, and what Carter did after that and before 1989, which had so many people wary and distrustful of anything he might say or do.

I would imagine that Rhodes threw him under the bus to the bureaucracy in DC for the mercy killing of the chief.  He said something to that effect when he was leaving.  Carter is also shown as rather non deferential to anyone in authority, and he probably sounded the alarm once too often in the intervening years.

[nekilarose]

On 6/1/2019 at 8:47 PM, LennieBriscoe said:

But is there a duller and less attractive pair of actors than JM and Noah Emmerich?

Disappointing, for the book is one of my all-time favorite non-fiction tomes. Its opening chapter of the dying airplane passenger is far more suspenseful and gruesome than the televised scene. Plus,  the movie omitted any search for the source of the Ebola Zaire virus in bat caves.

I have an inexplicable crush that I can't explain on Noah Emmerich, (it lays dormant until I see him in something, then I remember he exists, and I get heart eyes) but yes, they had no chemistry together. 

Yes! I thought something was missing! I would have liked to see them at least try to track it down.  That was a pretty big/important section in the book. I guess we were supposed to think that when Carter went back, that's what he was doing?

[Duke2801]

On 6/1/2019 at 9:47 PM, LennieBriscoe said:

. 

But is there a duller and less attractive pair of actors than JM and Noah Emmerich?

Don't even get me started on Topher Grace.

Wow. Yes, I can think of many. I didn’t like her hair (wig?) in this show, but I think JM is beautiful. 

And, while he didn’t have much to do here, I think Noah Emmerich is a compelling actor. He was incredible in The Americans. 

[Dowel Jones]

I kept waiting for him to start looking at his wife and wondering 'Maybe she's a Russian spy sent here to cause pandemonium over a biological warfare weapon.'

[LucidDreamer]

deleted

Edited June 10, 2019 by LucidDreamer
my own

[LennieBriscoe]

Wow, Duke2801, I guess we differ in our opinions.

[lidarose9]

I am late to the party, but I couldn't bear to watch this so soon after Chernobyl cuz I just *knew* it would suck, and it does. omg I don't drink, but this would be perfect for a drinking game: every time the camera zooms in on someone's sticky fingers or people coughing or children breathing and the music swells.... I get it, all right? Move along to the next trope, please. The music is horrible. The dialogue is hilariously bad. The human interest twaddle is just awful. The sick father! The loving but scared husband! Honey, you wanna save the world and I just wanna protect the kids! And the sexism, haha isn't it quaint? How can something as sophisticated and artful as Chernobyl exist in the same continuum as this drek? Both set in the 1980s, yet what is never self conscious in one is heavy-handed in the other. AND THAT GUY'S HAIR. There just is no excuse for that, ever.

But it was nice to see that guy from Justified. Nick Searcy.

[Linderhill]

finally remembered this series existed and am watching the first ep. ondemand.  Once upon a time, years ago, there was a low budget series called Hot Zone starring Jeffrey Dean Morgan.  I think it lasted half a season on UPN or something.  It had promise but there was a lot that could have made it better.  On this show, I couldn't help but cringe at all of the "scientists" and "doctors" doing so much of their work without masks and gloves in lieu of the Covid pandemic.

[Raja]

The first two hours of The Hot Zone: Anthrax feels more like Manhunt series. The lone FBI Agent in this case against the  system.

I don't think the producers like Tom Brokaw. NBC might have been hit second but Harry Hamlin's portrayer makes him an ass.

[FrankOFoley]

Really enjoying the Hot Zone Anthrax. Daniel Dae Kim just nails his role. I was prepared to dismiss the series after the first ten minutes before I saw it because I’m always suspicious of shows that roll out episodes consecutively, but instead was hooked on it. I like the writing and acting. I am old enough to remember these events occurring shortly after 9/11 but the enormity of 9/11 and the aftermath (which in my opinion is still going on)  didn’t allow me to focus on the anthrax crimes. I recommend this show.

[Raja]

Episode 3 of Anthrax cut close to home. Being a letter carrier I saw the people afraid to touch their mail and us being issued dust mask and gloves. Like Agent Ryker said expendable. It was my shock almost 20 years later when COVID kicked off those old dust mask were pulled out of cold storage  and some folks would let their packages sit outside in quarantine, hoping a "foolhardy" porch pirate didn't abscond with their goods.