theseekerhp
Joined Aug 2006
Badges6
To learn how to earn badges, go to the badges help page.
Reviews21
theseekerhp's rating
This was probably my favorite TV series when I was in first grade; but because I was so young, I don't trust my judgment of what good TV was. But having recently finished the TV movies that preceded the series, and season 1, I find it to be pretty good TV. The stories/writing may not up to Star Trek standards, but for 1970s TV sci-fi, it's entertaining fun.
But now that I'm about a quarter of the way through season 2, I'm beginning to wonder if maybe there were budget cuts after season 1. Or maybe, realizing that their fan base was mostly elementary school-aged boys, the producers decided to ignore logic and just make sure that each episode had at least one major sequence that would make a first-grade boy say, "Oh, cool!"
The scripts in season 2 seem to ignore major aspects of scenes. In Straight on 'til Morning, Oscar inexplicably has the authority to make major decisions about American space expeditions. He allows Steve to put someone on a rocket making a trip around the moon. And when Steve does this, they're apparently indoors, and they climb a small scaffolding of the type that might be used to paint the trim around the windows of the second story of a building. He puts the person into the rocket, but since he's only about 2 stories high, he must be putting this person in the first stage of the rocket, which would separate from the rest of the rocket before it leaves earth's atmosphere. Also, there is no one around questioning why these guys are messing with a major space vehicle, let alone the cameras that NASA uses to make launch observations to improve future launch procedures. It seems to me that it wouldn't take much "movie magic" to make it appear as if they were accessing the command module at the top of the rocket, instead of just a panel of the first stage of the rocket, 10 feet off the ground. But maybe the budgets were so thin that they couldn't afford to build a set that would simulate that.
Regardless, there were definitely enough moments in the episode that made the adult me say, "Oh, cool!" that I can give it 5 stars. But I couldn't say that this episode, or anything else from the first 6 episodes of season 2, measures up to anything from season1.
But now that I'm about a quarter of the way through season 2, I'm beginning to wonder if maybe there were budget cuts after season 1. Or maybe, realizing that their fan base was mostly elementary school-aged boys, the producers decided to ignore logic and just make sure that each episode had at least one major sequence that would make a first-grade boy say, "Oh, cool!"
The scripts in season 2 seem to ignore major aspects of scenes. In Straight on 'til Morning, Oscar inexplicably has the authority to make major decisions about American space expeditions. He allows Steve to put someone on a rocket making a trip around the moon. And when Steve does this, they're apparently indoors, and they climb a small scaffolding of the type that might be used to paint the trim around the windows of the second story of a building. He puts the person into the rocket, but since he's only about 2 stories high, he must be putting this person in the first stage of the rocket, which would separate from the rest of the rocket before it leaves earth's atmosphere. Also, there is no one around questioning why these guys are messing with a major space vehicle, let alone the cameras that NASA uses to make launch observations to improve future launch procedures. It seems to me that it wouldn't take much "movie magic" to make it appear as if they were accessing the command module at the top of the rocket, instead of just a panel of the first stage of the rocket, 10 feet off the ground. But maybe the budgets were so thin that they couldn't afford to build a set that would simulate that.
Regardless, there were definitely enough moments in the episode that made the adult me say, "Oh, cool!" that I can give it 5 stars. But I couldn't say that this episode, or anything else from the first 6 episodes of season 2, measures up to anything from season1.
This was probably my favorite TV series when I was in first grade; because I was so young, I don't trust my judgment of what good TV was. But having recently finished the TV movies that preceded the series, and season 1, I find it to be pretty good TV. The stories/writing may not up to Star Trek standards, but for 1970s TV sci-fi, it's entertaining fun.
However, this particular episode is pretty dumb. To simplify the synopsis (and avoid any spoilers), when an astronaut comes back to earth after a failed experiment, he is ill. He has periods of uncontrolled rampaging (coupled with super-strength), but he's out in the woods where he can't hurt anybody (Oscar Goldman has a troupe of federal agents keeping people out of the area). But inexplicably, instead of staying clear of him when he's rampaging and then getting treatment for him during his calm periods, Steve Austin decides to start attacking him during one of his rampages. As a first-grader it was probably great fun, but as an adult it's not just silly, it's really dumb. If you like the series but don't love it, you probably shouldn't waste your time: Skip this episode.
However, this particular episode is pretty dumb. To simplify the synopsis (and avoid any spoilers), when an astronaut comes back to earth after a failed experiment, he is ill. He has periods of uncontrolled rampaging (coupled with super-strength), but he's out in the woods where he can't hurt anybody (Oscar Goldman has a troupe of federal agents keeping people out of the area). But inexplicably, instead of staying clear of him when he's rampaging and then getting treatment for him during his calm periods, Steve Austin decides to start attacking him during one of his rampages. As a first-grader it was probably great fun, but as an adult it's not just silly, it's really dumb. If you like the series but don't love it, you probably shouldn't waste your time: Skip this episode.
If the battle sequences weren't so well-done, this first Oscar-winner wouldn't deserve 8 stars nor the Oscar, but the flying sequences are dazzling; even more so when you consider the state of the art at the time. But the rest of the story is mostly melodramatic nonsense that was old-hat in 1927. And there are plenty of continuity errors. By 1927 Hollywood pretty much had continuity and cinematography figured out and was making very artful films, so it's surprising that a big-budget epic like this had these issues. Although the cinematography is pretty great in the action scenes, especially considering that a lot of the action was filmed by pilots busy flying planes, there are some odd photographic choices made when our boys aren't in battle.
That said, the horror of war is depicted as not pure glory. When someone dies onscreen, the actors are allowed to portray their dying characters' agony rather than just clutch their chests and keel over. This is true whether it's the death of an Allied/American character, or the death of a Central/German character. You don't want to stand up and cheer when the enemy is killed; you are allowed to recognize that a human being has been mutilated, and think about how that feels, regardless of the character's allegiance.
Paramount released a fully restored DVD of Wings in 2012, 12 years and a few months before I watched the version that Tubi had in 2024. Tubi's soundtrack was basically the same jaunty piano tune throughout the movie, regardless of whether it was an exciting scene, a merry scene, a tense scene, or a sad scene. Paramount's restored version from 12 years ago included a newly recorded version of the original score. Although this is basically a silent picture, in 1927 it was released *partially* silent... it included an orchestral score, even though no dialogue was recorded (The Jazz Singer, considered to be the first "talkie" and released the same year, had a musical score that included Jolson's singing, but was only part-talkie... only some of the dialogue was recorded). Only the picture has survived the century since Wings was originally released, so we can't hear the original recording of the film score, but if you can find a version with a true score, whether the original score or not, but not just the same couple of songs repeated ad nauseum, you might add another half-star to my rating.
That said, the horror of war is depicted as not pure glory. When someone dies onscreen, the actors are allowed to portray their dying characters' agony rather than just clutch their chests and keel over. This is true whether it's the death of an Allied/American character, or the death of a Central/German character. You don't want to stand up and cheer when the enemy is killed; you are allowed to recognize that a human being has been mutilated, and think about how that feels, regardless of the character's allegiance.
Paramount released a fully restored DVD of Wings in 2012, 12 years and a few months before I watched the version that Tubi had in 2024. Tubi's soundtrack was basically the same jaunty piano tune throughout the movie, regardless of whether it was an exciting scene, a merry scene, a tense scene, or a sad scene. Paramount's restored version from 12 years ago included a newly recorded version of the original score. Although this is basically a silent picture, in 1927 it was released *partially* silent... it included an orchestral score, even though no dialogue was recorded (The Jazz Singer, considered to be the first "talkie" and released the same year, had a musical score that included Jolson's singing, but was only part-talkie... only some of the dialogue was recorded). Only the picture has survived the century since Wings was originally released, so we can't hear the original recording of the film score, but if you can find a version with a true score, whether the original score or not, but not just the same couple of songs repeated ad nauseum, you might add another half-star to my rating.