S01.E01: Across the Universe

[paulvdb]

Quote

After saying goodbye to her family on Earth, Niko wakes in space to find the Salvare off course and divided loyalties among her young crew.

Premiere date: July 25, 2019

[zibnchy]

I've only watched the first episode but this is possibly terrible. So far we have Sackhoff's Niko in space with a bunch of *children* and a man with (probably) a dick as small as his ego is large. The only saving grace was Sackhoff and the last 2 minutes of the episode, where she deals with half her problem.

Seriously, if this is the best humanity can put together for a mission to save all humankind (or some blah blah blah) then we are so fucked.

I like Sackhoff a lot but she has terrible taste in projects and I doubt she will be enough to make it worth putting up with the children.

[CloudySky]

I binged this show in two days and quite enjoyed the ride. I'm a sucker for these types of shows though so I'm easily pleased.

It was a bit hard at first to get a grasp on the crew and who's who but that get's better and they get more likeable.

I was surprised by the terrible imdb rating. Hope there's a season 2.

[MissLucas]

I try to be tolerant with pilot episodes but this was really bad - no wonder there was almost no buzz surrounding this show. Humanity puts its fate into the hands of a couple of almost indistinguishable jerks under 27? Well, I take that back the one styled like one of Charlie's Angels stood really out as prime candidate for some airlocking. And one looked a bit like Hurley. But the question why this bunch of unlikable folks was chosen remains. Apparently they are a 'crew' with some experience - just no uniforms (and no discipline and no respect for hierarchy). So at that age how can they be hard-bitten crew with unwavering loyalty to their previous commander who displays massive symptoms of testosterone poisoning? Also one of them lost a brother under Niko's command yet nobody thought that problematic. Well she did not lead the mutiny, so I guess it really didn't matter. But I've rarely seen a mutiny plot with so little emotional stakes or conflict - it was more doodling than painting by the numbers (which would have been a huge improvement).

Back on earth things were not much different. If an alien artifact plopped down on earth you'd expect tons of scientist working within a perimeter that has massive military security. Instead we have hipster dad and a boombox with Mozart. And a lady wearing a pant suit so she's obviously someone with authority. Where are the trigger-happy generals? Where are the squabbling politicians and the apocalyptic cults. Sure those are all tropes but at least it would feel halfway realistic. I'm all for avoiding or subverting tropes but this was neither it was just bumbling along a half-cooked plot.

Everything was just so meh, Sackhoff and some of the other actors did their best but the writing really let them down.

[zibnchy]

44 minutes ago, MissLucas said:

Back on earth things were not much different. If an alien artifact plopped down on earth you'd expect tons of scientist working within a perimeter that has massive military security. Instead we have hipster dad and a boombox with Mozart. And a lady wearing a pant suit so she's obviously someone with authority. Where are the trigger-happy generals? Where are the squabbling politicians and the apocalyptic cults. Sure those are all tropes but at least it would feel halfway realistic. I'm all for avoiding or subverting tropes but this was neither it was just bumbling along a half-cooked plot.

I know! It's an alien artifact. There should have been tents and decontamination stations and soldiers with Guns and Generals yelling "Dammit! I'll decide who lives and dies!". Instead we got a place less well guarded than my local dump.

I spent too much time trying to imagine this world where the Only Scientist Who Can Save Us and the Only Starship Captain Who Can Save Us are actually married. To each other! How very bad scifi channel movie of them. The kids is cute, though. She'll probably be endangered in a future episode or two.

I'm bored right now so will probably try out Episode 2.

[Quilt Fairy]

I watched half an hour of the pilot before I bailed.  I thought, I'll jump to the last episode and see if it gets any better, if understanding more of the plot would improve it for me.  It's no spoiler to tell you that it doesn't.  It's just as stupid.  I have no desire to watch what's in-between.

I will give them points for actually justifying why the entire crew is in their 20's.

[MissLucas]

Quote

I will give them points for actually justifying why the entire crew is in their 20's.

I gave up after episode 2 - so was there another reason mentioned in the last episode than the nonsense provided in this episode? 

Edited July 31, 2019 by MissLucas

[zibnchy]

I tried to watch episode 2 but then I forwarded thru probably 75% of it. I see no point in trying any more. Too bad. I'm bored and would have liked a new show to watch.

[Quilt Fairy]

If you need some laughs, read the user reviews on IMDB.  

[Athena]

My other half wanted to watch this, but I had a feeling from the get-go that it would be terrible. First the dialogue and exposition, but mainly the stilted way most of the actors delivered their lines. The direction is lacking. Niko and her husband (who only seems to wear the same flannel shirt everyday) have no chemistry. The crew are terrible. I was irked by the casting because not only are most of them above average good looking, it seemed casting was required to fill some diversity and trope requirement right off the bat. It felt inorganic and awful to think this is the best human crew Earth came up with.

As usual, my favourite character is the AI but more so in this one episode when everyone is so unsympathetic. Danny Pink reminded me of Zachary Levi in this role. 

I left the room when episode 2 started because it was becoming such a waste of time. The pacing is way off.

[Happywatcher]

If this is the best humanity has left, a bunch of 20 year olds with the emotional control of 3 year olds who just drank jolt cola, who lack all professional judgement or logic, then the aliens are correct to cover the earth in crystals and wipe us out. 

[PotterOtherP]

I'd just like to point out the idiocy of a scientist asking for a sound to be played at "one hertz per second" and the uh, computer hologram character receiving an order, hesitating and asking for it to be repeated.

[DoctorAtomic]

On 8/1/2019 at 8:55 AM, Athena said:

Danny Pink reminded me of Zachary Levi in this role. 

Oh thank you. I knew I knew him from somewhere. 

This is B movie sci fi with Starbuck. I'm fine with it. I did like the slingshot idea and how they came to with the shielding. And Starbuck back in the pilot chair. 

I'm interested enough in what the aliens want so I'm going to watch the rest. 

I liked her booting the mutiny guy into the electricity. I mean he did come at her with a knife. 

The mouthy one needs to dial it back though. The would get tired fast. 

Does the ship not have a brig? 

Edited August 3, 2019 by DoctorAtomic

[DoctorAtomic]

I'm hoping that because the crew is so young that they're going to die in hilarious ways. 

[DoctorAtomic]

On 7/30/2019 at 7:54 PM, zibnchy said:

It's an alien artifact. There should have been tents and decontamination stations and soldiers with Guns and Generals yelling "Dammit! I'll decide who lives and dies!". Instead we got a place less well guarded than my local dump.

One thing they mentioned in side conversations was that global climate change had caused what seemed to me like significant sea level rise. Maybe there was a lot of loss of life and there's not enough personnel for all that. 

[Enero]

On 8/1/2019 at 10:55 AM, Athena said:

My other half wanted to watch this, but I had a feeling from the get-go that it would be terrible.

Agreed. Am I understanding the premise right ie that an alien artifact lands on Earth and when Earthlings can’t figure out what it is and how to make it talk they send a crew to the planet from which the artifact came to ask the aliens why they landed the artifact on Earth? If so, that is a terrible premise from the start. Wouldn’t it make more sense to get the best minds on Earth together to try and figure out what the artifact is and what’s it doing? Rather than going to it’s planet of origin and walking into what could very we be a trap?

I tried to watch the first episode. Didn’t even make it 30 minutes in. The acting was terrible. None of the characters were believable and the storyline e made no sense. 

[Quilt Fairy]

1 hour ago, Enero said:

I tried to watch the first episode. Didn’t even make it 30 minutes in.

I think we need to form a club.  All the people who couldn't finish the first episode.

[PotterOtherP]

Here's a much more entertaining video featuring Sirius and Canis Majoris. 

[shrewd.buddha]

We gave this a shot .. for lack of other options during the summer (but 'The Boys' was great).
You could tell from the preview that it was not going to be great - sort of B-movie, CW network type show with an emphasis on pretty people with problems. 

The crew of the Salvare is especially off-putting. They may be the reason I ultimately bail. Everyone looks as if they just stepped out of the extreme makeover salon - how will they maintain their highlights and fresh cuts after months in space? (But they will, of course.) And they are all mostly jerks. At least they hinted that there are others to wake from sleep mode, so maybe some of the jerks won't stick around forever.

They tried to talk around the absence of uniforms on the ship - but that still doesn't explain why they went for the lingerie look for most of the women. 

It is odd that the crew is gender and racially diverse - but they happen to be a bunch of ageists. 

The mutinous second-in-command was over the top. His actions in the last five minutes just felt forced and unnatural. Not a bad actor, tho. The bickering and backstabbing looks to be the type of drama we are in for.. 

The husband's situation on Earth isn't written any better. He has a jerk, naysayer boss and is apparently one of very few scientists studying the artifact. 
The unseen government officials who are picking these teams must be really incompetent. 

Edited August 7, 2019 by shrewd.buddha

[Clanstarling]

On 7/30/2019 at 5:58 PM, MissLucas said:

I try to be tolerant with pilot episodes but this was really bad - no wonder there was almost no buzz surrounding this show. Humanity puts its fate into the hands of a couple of almost indistinguishable jerks under 27? Well, I take that back the one styled like one of Charlie's Angels stood really out as prime candidate for some airlocking. And one looked a bit like Hurley. But the question why this bunch of unlikable folks was chosen remains. Apparently they are a 'crew' with some experience - just no uniforms (and no discipline and no respect for hierarchy). So at that age how can they be hard-bitten crew with unwavering loyalty to their previous commander who displays massive symptoms of testosterone poisoning? Also one of them lost a brother under Niko's command yet nobody thought that problematic. Well she did not lead the mutiny, so I guess it really didn't matter. But I've rarely seen a mutiny plot with so little emotional stakes or conflict - it was more doodling than painting by the numbers (which would have been a huge improvement).

While I'm a bit tired of the model perfect casts playing professionals, to be fair, Katie Sackoff is nearly 40 - the right age for a command, and Tyler Hoechlin is also in his 30s.  The personalities are a bit (saying it mildly) poisonous, and the baggage they have with each other is fairly absurd. On the other hand, they were supposed to spend almost all the mission in soma.

On 8/7/2019 at 4:10 AM, shrewd.buddha said:

It is odd that the crew is gender and racially diverse - but they happen to be a bunch of ageists.

It doesn't seem odd to me at all - that's actually one thing that seems to reflect life as I've experienced it.

Edited August 12, 2019 by Clanstarling

[Quilt Fairy]

On 8/10/2019 at 4:29 PM, Clanstarling said:

On the other hand, they were supposed to spend almost all the mission in soma.

Well, they succeeded in putting me in soma. 

[Casually Observant]

So many good comments from you guys!  You've covered much of what I was going to say.  Now, I've gone ahead and watched a few more episodes, but I won't spoil anything.

A few more observations from me - Niko is extremely fit and so low in body fat that she has lost all feminizing fat from her face, leaving her all sinew, square jaw and bulging eyes.  Her extreme fitness and yoga attire allows many gratuitous ab shots and sports bra moments.  Niko's husband is a smart, kind, but almost femininely featured man for whom she struggles to pretend some attraction to.  In fact, she seems to fight against the urge to ignore him completely as she bestows almost obsessive attention on her little daughter.  Was this pairing a poor casting decision or a plot point that will be revealed?  I don't know.

The constant up close shots of Katee Sackhoff's face makes me wonder why she didn't have those two protruding moles removed from her lovely face before now.  I also wonder why they make her have such a greasy, jagged hair cut.  Is this supposed to be a fashion statement or confirmation of her no-nonsense command?

I don't understand the casting of the very young trans actor who is reprising John Leguizamo's role of Chi Chi Rodriguez, (but is less convincing) in the role as ship doctor.

Another puzzling decision: The 'Latina Charlie's Angel wannabe' character with the ridiculously high maintenance hair who wears plenty of tight, revealing clothing, and high heeled boots (did she sleep in those while in soma?)  I'm yet to see how her character makes sense in any kind of way.  Add in her constant antagonizing and refusal to obey commands.  Does this best demonstrate an example of nepotism of the highest order or why she was picked to join this team to save earth?  Will we learn she is the illegitimate daughter of General Dubois or something??

I do like 'William the Hologram'.  He seems kind, handsome and loyal to Niko. I thought it was interesting in that he said he was designed to appear in a manner that would suit her based on her past 'preferences'.  So, she prefers tall, kind, black men?  Why the milktoast husband then?

The casting of another 'Hurley' seems fun, but unoriginal.  But, I don't get why anyone green-lit the choice to have most of the members on the ship be so young, inexperienced, demanding and unprofessional.  Unless of course, the Creator and writers hired to make the show are Millennials, which would explain a lot.  Are they?

Edited August 12, 2019 by Casually Observant
typo

[Ottis]

On 8/7/2019 at 5:10 AM, shrewd.buddha said:

The crew of the Salvare is especially off-putting. They may be the reason I ultimately bail. Everyone looks as if they just stepped out of the extreme makeover salon - how will they maintain their highlights and fresh cuts after months in space? (But they will, of course.)

This. And it made Katie's very raw look that much better. If only the rest of the crew did the same.

I actually liked the pilot enough to keep going. Katie was very good and the effects and story were interesting enough to ourank the crew and some silliness. But I have given up for now after watching the second ep, which I won't comment on here. 

On 8/12/2019 at 3:36 PM, Casually Observant said:

But, I don't get why anyone green-lit the choice to have most of the members on the ship be so young, inexperienced, demanding and unprofessional.  Unless of course, the Creator and writers hired to make the show are Millennials, which would explain a lot.  Are they?

This is exactly the comment I made to a cowatcher after the first episode - this is sci fi for millennials. Not only the look of the rest of the crew, but their shallow concerns and inability to recognize they are not as special as they each think they are.

On 8/12/2019 at 3:36 PM, Casually Observant said:

I do like 'William the Hologram'.  He seems kind, handsome and loyal to Niko. I thought it was interesting in that he said he was designed to appear in a manner that would suit her based on her past 'preferences'.  So, she prefers tall, kind, black men?  Why the milktoast husband then?

I like him, too, and he provides easy exposition and actually showed some growth - more than the rest of the crew can say.

[whiporee]

If they have FTL capability, why would they need a gravity assist from a star? Any speed you'd pick up from the gravity assisted acceleration would be negligible compared to anything close to light speed or the speeds required to make the trip they made in two or three months. 

[Clanstarling]

7 minutes ago, whiporee said:

If they have FTL capability, why would they need a gravity assist from a star? Any speed you'd pick up from the gravity assisted acceleration would be negligible compared to anything close to light speed or the speeds required to make the trip they made in two or three months. 

It's been a while since I watched the episode, but I thought the FTL malfunctioned?

[DoctorAtomic]

I think they needed to whip around the star to get the speed up to engage FTL. They were in a decaying orbit so maybe the gravity was messing with it.

[Anela]

I like Katee Sackhoff, but it took me a couple of weeks to watch the second episode. I'm not feeling compelled to watch the rest, but I might burn it off all at once, as I'm doing something else. 

[DontTrackMeBitch]

I know I've seen Niko somewhere, but that Ian Yerxa fella looks familar, too - where would I know him from?

 

[AnyTimeFromNow]

On 8/12/2019 at 4:36 PM, Casually Observant said:

The constant up close shots of Katee Sackhoff's face makes me wonder why she didn't have those two protruding moles removed from her lovely face before now.

I love those two moles, and hope she keeps them forever! I find her face mesmerizing, and hope she never capitulates to those who suggest otherwise.