theseekerhp
Joined Aug 2006
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theseekerhp's rating
While this was probably my favorite TV series when I was in first grade, I find that a lot of season 2 isn't great. The TV movies and season 1 were pretty good, but in a lot of episodes of season 2, the producers seem to realize that their fan-base is a bunch of first-grade boys who won't realize when they ignore logic, such as when they have characters do inexplicable things just so they can justify a scene full of unnecessary bionic action.
But there is none of that in this episode. I mean, as with all science fiction (well, as with all fiction period, really) we do have to suspend our disbelief at least a little bit. But at least this episode wasn't insulting to the viewer's intelligence. This isn't the most action-packed episode, but they were able to use the real HL-10 (a variant of the aircraft that is crashed in the first TV movie and in the opening credits) for scenes showing the actors working in and around the aircraft; and for scenes showing Steve Austin in the actual HL-10. This adds a lot to the believability; I wondered if they actually flew the HL-10 so that they could create new footage just for this episode, but a little research told me that it hadn't flown for a few years, so scenes of it flying were stock footage provided by NASA, of test flights of its various heavyweight "lifting body" (wingless) aircraft.
So again, although this isn't the most action-packed episode, I appreciated seeing a bit of the science behind the science fiction, a lot of which was science fact regarding lifting-body aircraft.
Other reviewers have given a little of the plotline, so I won't repeat any of that. But this episode is good enough to give me hope that as I watch the rest of the series, there will be plenty of decent scifi to be seen, and plenty of moments to make me think, "Oh Cool!" when he uses his bionics to save the day.
But there is none of that in this episode. I mean, as with all science fiction (well, as with all fiction period, really) we do have to suspend our disbelief at least a little bit. But at least this episode wasn't insulting to the viewer's intelligence. This isn't the most action-packed episode, but they were able to use the real HL-10 (a variant of the aircraft that is crashed in the first TV movie and in the opening credits) for scenes showing the actors working in and around the aircraft; and for scenes showing Steve Austin in the actual HL-10. This adds a lot to the believability; I wondered if they actually flew the HL-10 so that they could create new footage just for this episode, but a little research told me that it hadn't flown for a few years, so scenes of it flying were stock footage provided by NASA, of test flights of its various heavyweight "lifting body" (wingless) aircraft.
So again, although this isn't the most action-packed episode, I appreciated seeing a bit of the science behind the science fiction, a lot of which was science fact regarding lifting-body aircraft.
Other reviewers have given a little of the plotline, so I won't repeat any of that. But this episode is good enough to give me hope that as I watch the rest of the series, there will be plenty of decent scifi to be seen, and plenty of moments to make me think, "Oh Cool!" when he uses his bionics to save the day.
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.