Anyone else watching? 10 2-hour episodes seem like a lot of time investment. It better be good or Spielberg’s gonna hear it from me.
Dammit. Just as I was wondering how anyone could be dumb enough to forget to log in.
Gawd, I’m through the first hour so far, and I’m bored stiff. Slate had a great article last week calling Steven Spielberg a paranormal huckster, and I think they nailed most of it perfectly…
I’m just bored, because I’ve seen these scenes a gazillion times before, literally. Close Encounters of the Third Kind, about 40 X-Files episodes, a bunch of Roswell “documentaries,” etc, etc, etc. There’s nothing new here.
I thought the 2nd hour picked up a bit. It is definitely hard to mine the 40’s and 50’s UFO/Alien subject matter any further. This may turn out a bit different as it is going to follow these families through several years. I’m going to give it another shot tonight.
Was it just me, or did Michael Moriarty look and act as if he were embalmed?
A lot of people have noted that, lately, Michael Moriaty seems on the verge of death itself. When he went on stage to accept his Emmy award this year for his role in the James Dean movie, he seemed decrepit.
Though, I will note, he did seem a lot more livelier on Taken. But, who knows when that was originally shot.
I really like Moriarty, but you’re right, last night he seemed to be going through a stroke in each of his scenes complete with shooting pains, paralysis, and labored breathing. I guess it his “technique” for this role, but it seemed incredibly forced to the point of being painful last night.
I think Spielberg said everything worthwhile that he has to say about aliens in Close Encounters. He may think that he has more to say on the matter… but he doesn’t.
How much is there really to “say” about aliens anyway?
One nice touch last night: Just before the first Roswell “encounter,” the woman (I’ve forgotten the character’s name), drives by the same outdoor set used in Close Encounters, the one where Richard Dreyfuss almost hits the little kid with his truck.
Spoiler
I like the guy beating the girl in the head and killing her. Maliciously delicious. I would not have expected it either, but the damn clips they show for upcoming damn scenes for the damn episode that is showing at the moment gave it away. I know they want to keep you tuned through the 37 commercial breaks SciFi has, but it loses a little something when you see a beatin’ coming a full 15 mins. ahead of time.
Yeah, that guy’s creepy. Still trying to figure him out.
Michael Moriarty is cool, but he does look terrible these days. How old is he?
- He’s one of Hollywood’s tallest actors at 6’4", but has he shrunk some? Cause he didn’t seem too tall last night.
How 'bout tonight? I had baby duties and squeezed in ‘24’. I’ll track down a re-showing I guess.
They’re replaying it twice after the initial showing, and again at 7:00 AM tomarrow.
Is the friggin’ thing on for 10 nights/weeknights straight? I just can’t keep up. I was hoping it was going to be handled as a weekly deal a la Band of Brothers. Damn my non-Tivo having ass.
Get a Tivo. It’s $199 now (after $50 rebate) for the 40 hour 2.0 model:
https://www.metrononline.com/solutions/tivoshop/main.asp?AddToCart=15&userAction=4&programcode=tivo
Free shipping, too.
Download the 850MB MPEG files from IRC. Or ask me, and I’ll send you my 160MB reencoded DivX 5.02 AVIs of each 90 minute episode.
Gawd dammit. Didn’t I just log in a minute ago?
I liked it all much more the first time I saw it, when it was called the second season of The X-Files.