The Astronauts

This reminds me a lot for some reason of the really good Nickelodeon shows of the 90's that told a story like The Secret World of Alex Mack and AYAOTD for example. Maybe that's just me. But it's really a good show and one of the best that Nickelodeon has had in a while IMO. My entire family sits down to watch it.

You obviously can't be expecting much going in, you already know the premise isn't going to be realistic. But for an ongoing Nickelodeon series, the production values are rather impressive. Heck, for a one-off Nickelodeon movie it'd be a pretty impressive production.

It's basically the movie Space Camp, re-made into a weekly series. If you liked that movie, you'll probably like this series, at least based on the first episode. The plot isn't novel, and the kid actors don't give mind-blowing performances. But it does what it's supposed to do, and does it quite well.

The Astronauts is novel and captivating for a Nickelodeon audience, say ages 6 to 12. Together with Mom and/or Dad it likely makes a bonding entertainment experience. But if watching solely as an adult, depending on your frame of mind it could be quite cheesy.

Nonetheless, I feel this show gives Nickelodeon prime credit for helping bring kids into a more responsible age.

Apart from a rare few of their comedies I am normally not very impressed with Nickelodeon productions. Too 'happy, colorful, perfect world stuff': children series lack some grit nowadays.

Whit that mindset The Astronauts really surprised me: the kids are not all perfect, their relationships with each other and their parents are strained. The people on the ground have no better idea what to do then they have. The AI genius is a loose cannon and as much a danger as a help. There is real danger, real bravery. And it is not some 2 day trip but a serious deep space mission. Some very good visuals as well: the launch sequence was awesome.

On the flip side: finding a scenario that gets kids launched into space will always a bit convoluted / tricky, but I think the script writers did as well as could be expected.

Sammy reminds me a lot of 'April' in the book series of Mackey Chandler.

All-in-all I thoroughly enjoyed it and will be watching it again. I hope it gets a second series as the story is far from finished.

The wife and I tuned in to the first couple episodes after finding it by accident while scanning the cable offerings. It is definitely a tweens/teens kid show but we became addicted to it as it is good fun - no sex, no swearing, no murder, no mayhem, but lots of fun 'OMG!' moments for the kids to deal with.

If you can offerings like The Goonies and Super 8 as a break from 'adult' movie fare, you'll enjoy this.