edward@ukecc.UUCP (Edward C. Bennett) (09/30/85)
A friend and I just finished watching NBC's much-advertised AMAZING STORIES and I can sum up the first episode in one word... GAG!!! First of all, the story was hardly amazing (I can't summarize it, you had to see it), we had the whole thing figured out in a few minutes. There was no suspense. The instant the old man said that the tracks went through the house you KNEW a train-through-the-living-room scene was coming. And sedating the old man? Come on!! You knew he would get on the train! But our biggest gripe was the whole episode absolutly oozed with the Spielburgish touch that we know so well. Like when the train was stopped in the living room/station and the old man was biding his family goodbye. The parents were standing there with this look of 'Gee, it's OK with us if you drive a train through our new house.' on thier faces and the kid was loving the whole thing. And throughout the show the parents were portrayed as mindless idiots and the kid was the constantly upstaging them. And the grandfather had that magical touch that old people always get cast with. Don't get me wrong, the show had its moments. Like the train crew poking around in the kitchen. And that BEAUTIFUL ol' number 407 that they used. But, I mean, if I wanted to watch Steven Spielburg's idea of reality, I'd watch E.T.! NBC has put sooo much behind this series it'd be a shame to have it fail. But unless the stories get a bit more amazing and a lot less Spielburgish I certainly won't hold my breath until Sunday night. -- Edward C. Bennett UUCP: ihnp4!cbosgd!ukma!ukecc!edward /* A charter member of the Scooter bunch */ "Goodnight M.A."
chuqui@nsc.UUCP (Chuq Von Rospach) (09/30/85)
(spoiler warning -- don't read if you don't like plot discussions)
The much heralded "Amazing Stories", conceived and brought to you by NBC
and executive producer Steven (Jaws, ET, Close Encounters of the Third
Kind) Spielberg made its debut tonight with great fanfare and very
disappointing results.
If the first espisode is typical of the tone of the series, it will
probably turn into an unmitigated disaster. "Ghost Train," which was
directed by Spielberg, stars (in relative order of appearance) the
mystical/senile grandfather, the loving but terribly practical father, the
starry-eyed, open minded boy, the obligatory disgruntled but dedicated and
loving piece of cardboard (uh, wife) who gets appropriately hysterical upon
command, and a cast of stereotypes upon demand (vote more most unrealistic
stereotype goes to the Black Psychiatrist called out -- the Black
Psychiatrist successfully holding down a practice in farmland Iowa...) No
names are given to any character because none of them rise enough above
their stereotypes to make names useful.
===== Begin plot summary =====
The story opens with the father bringing Ompah home. Father has bought the
land that Ompah grew up on and built a house there, and they are now going
to take care of him as any good Family would. When they get there, Ompah
declares that they'bve built the house in a very bad place. A story is told
(to Starry-Eyed Boy, with Father listening in) about engine 407, that
derailed on that very spot 75 years ago (killing everyone) because a boy
fell asleep on the track waiting for that train to take him to friends over
the horizon. Dialog:
SEB: Ompah, were you that little boy?
Ompah: *heartfelt sob* I still am, son.
He tells the SEB that he survived because the brakeman couldn't bear to run
him over and locked up the wheels, causing everything to run off the track
and the locomotive stopped 15 yards from him (he, of course, didn't wake up
despite the noise and the vibration of sleeping on the track, and the
brakeman had good enough vision to see a boy sized bundle on a track, at
night, from far enough away to be able to stop in front of it...). He also
says that the train is going to come and pick him up, since he should have
been on it 75 years ago.
Ompah (their word, not mine...) marks off the location of the old tracks
(cute shot of him spray painting his way across the yard and over the
satelite dish) to see what parts of the house are going to be destroyed.
Ompah is trying to take the valuables out of that part of the house ("Make
the insurance claim easier") when the Black Psychiatrist fills him full of
Demerol. Night, night, Ompah. SEB goes into hysterics, female cardboard
says "You know we wouldn't do anything to hurt your Ompah, don't you?"
SEB goes to sleep, ear firmly pressed to the rails of his model train.
Lights in the window, a far off whistle. SEB wakes up, looks out window,
special effect right out of Close encounters, SEB starts yelling things
like "It's coming!" and other intelligent comments. Father and Mother spend
a couple of minutes bitching about nightmares and discussing who will go
sooth their child. SEB dashes downstairs to wake Ompah (demerol and all).
Parents come down just in time for a reaction shot, a couple of quick
Ohmygods and to watch the train come in through the kitchen wall. Mother
attempts to go into hysterics, but looks like a spastic chicken. Father
stares. Out comes the Conductor, the Engineer, and the Brakeman. Engineer
peers into refrigerator, pulls out a six pack, which he shakes and says
"don't know what it is, but it sounds wet. We'll check it out on the road"
(that is a cheap shot...). Brakeman finds the Mr. Coffee machine and
refills his thermos with a "thanks, Mr. Coffee!" (that's another cheap
shot). Conductor does an "all aboard!" and Ompah says "My ticket might not
be good anymore, I bought it 75 years ago." The conductor assures him that
it is, and that they've been waiting for him to join them for a long time.
SEB wants to go with him ("Who'll tell me stories from now on?") but the
Wise Grandfather tells him "Remember all the stories I told you? As long as
you remember them, I'll still be telling them to you."
Wise Grandfather tells them that he'll see them in a hundred years,
apologizes to Father and Mother for not staying longer, gets on train,
and train pulls out of the kitchen. Mother, no longer hysterical or
spastic, says "Who's our insurance man?" Obligatory cheap shot of
sparking refrigerator. Final shot of train pulling off into the
heavens. End story. Fortunately.
===== end plot summary =====
While watching this, all I could think of was "ET meets twilight zone" and
I find that both lose. Spielberg said that they were going to emphasize
fantasy because the cost of special effects in a SF anthology was
exorbitant. I can't disagree with that, but they took a story with a lot of
possibilities (a variant of "The Hell Bound Train" and gutted it.
There was no attempt at character development, after five minutes
you knew what the ending was going to be. They could have played it for
laughs or tried to do a serious traditional "Twilight Zone" style episode.
Instead they took a semi serious track and then tossed in a bunch of cheap
reaction shots. The end result is a mess with no impact, no real direction,
and a number of attempted one liners that fail because they seem out of
place. I think the script was a little weak, but I don't think this is the
fault of the writer (I didn't catch their name, unfortunately). As
director, Spielberg could have taken this script in either direction and
done it successfully. By his unwillingness to add a direction to the story
and trying to do both, he fails.
I know see why copies of the show weren't made available in advance. There
is a lot riding on Amazing and the return of the anthology, and if this is
the episode they used to start off the seriese, I don't hold out a lot of
hope for future episodes. Perhaps Spielberg just couldn't handle the 30
minute format, or perhaps they haven't really figured out what they want to
do with it.
I hope it gets better. I don't think it can get much worse. Fortunately, a
local PBS station has started playing "Outer Limits" at 11PM on Sundays, so
the evening isn't a complete waste. I just wish Spielberg had done a better
job of recreating the classic anthology format. All he did in the opening
episode of "Amazing Stories" was mock it.
--
:From under the bar at Callahan's: Chuq Von Rospach
nsc!chuqui@decwrl.ARPA {decwrl,hplabs,ihnp4,pyramid}!nsc!chuqui
If you can't talk below a bellow, you can't talk...pauer@puff.UUCP (10/04/85)
> While watching this, all I could think of was "ET meets twilight zone" and > I find that both lose. Spielberg said that they were going to emphasize > fantasy because the cost of special effects in a SF anthology was > exorbitant. I can't disagree with that, but they took a story with a lot of > possibilities (a variant of "The Hell Bound Train" and gutted it. > There was no attempt at character development, after five minutes > you knew what the ending was going to be. They could have played it for > laughs or tried to do a serious traditional "Twilight Zone" style episode. > Instead they took a semi serious track and then tossed in a bunch of cheap > reaction shots. The end result is a mess with no impact, no real direction, > and a number of attempted one liners that fail because they seem out of > place. I think the script was a little weak, but I don't think this is the > fault of the writer (I didn't catch their name, unfortunately). As > director, Spielberg could have taken this script in either direction and > done it successfully. By his unwillingness to add a direction to the story > and trying to do both, he fails. > > I know see why copies of the show weren't made available in advance. There > is a lot riding on Amazing and the return of the anthology, and if this is > the episode they used to start off the seriese, I don't hold out a lot of > hope for future episodes. Perhaps Spielberg just couldn't handle the 30 > minute format, or perhaps they haven't really figured out what they want to > do with it. > > I hope it gets better. I don't think it can get much worse. Fortunately, a > local PBS station has started playing "Outer Limits" at 11PM on Sundays, so > the evening isn't a complete waste. I just wish Spielberg had done a better > job of recreating the classic anthology format. All he did in the opening > episode of "Amazing Stories" was mock it. > -- > :From under the bar at Callahan's: Chuq Von Rospach > nsc!chuqui@decwrl.ARPA {decwrl,hplabs,ihnp4,pyramid}!nsc!chuqui > > If you can't talk below a bellow, you can't talk... It seems Spielberg's own rep ruined the effect of this episode. His action-minded audience can take this as a mystical time-travel story. It was effective to me, though, because I interpreted the story as a view of death through a child's eyes. If you see it again, watch it with this view. Also, I believe they were saying Opah, (or something that sounds that way) which, according to my girlfriend, is German for grandfather.
showard@udenva.UUCP (showard) (10/05/85)
> Ompah (their word, not mine...)
Actually, I think their word was "Opa" which is a German term of affection
for a grandfather. I spent several minutes trying to figure out whether
Opa was Amish or German, but he seemed neither, so I gave up.
--Mr. Blore, the DJ who would not die
-- ..udenva!showard
"You never know, some things disguise themselves as food."dave@cylixd.UUCP (Dave Kirby) (11/19/85)
>>...The story was ruined for me at the first >>when he has fiddling around with the TV and started picking up >>broadcasts from China. Since other countries use different broadcast >>frequencies and different picture scan parameters, the reception he >>got would be impossible. [DAVE KIRBY] >**GIVE ME A BREAK!!!!** If I hear one more complaint about details >like this I'm going to scream. In fact, AAAAAAAAAAAGGGGGGHHHHHH!!! >[DOUBLEDAY] If I hear one more complaint about complaints about details, I'M going to scream. In fact, AAAAAAAAAAUUUUUUUUGGGGGGGHHHHhhh, yourself! >They ought to put out a special edition of this show for you people. >It would be called AMAZING STORIES FOR NIT-PICKING LITERAL-MINDED >NERDS. It would be absolutely accurate in every scientific detail; all >viewers would be required to build their own televisions before viewing >each episode. [DOUBLEDAY] I have this disconcerting feeling that I have been insulted. Well, that's OK, in my last posting I was insultING. Touche, Dennis. (Of course I was being picky, as I implied later in the section you cut out of my quote, you rogue. That is why I specified that the TV reception was what ruined the episode FOR ME.) > ...OF COURSE the whole idea was silly. It was a FARCE. SAT-TIRE, >knowwhutImean, Vern? I would agree it was a farce, but I don't think it was done quite well enough to qualify as a satire, Ernest. > ...I get the feeling that because Steven Spielberg is the producer of >this series that many of you out there are comparing it to feature films >rather other television series. It's just not going to be as good as >that standard. Each episode is budgeted at around $1 million (that's >very high for tv) and they have to make one every 1-2 weeks. Compare >that to the average movie budget and schedule. Your point is well-made, Mr. Doubleday. But the old Alfred Hitchcock Hour was produced by Hitchcock, and although it was different from his films, it still was of high quality. HITCHCOCK wouldn't have tuned in China! :-) I expected Spielberg to do better, but it could be that his style is heavily dependent on a having a large budget to work with, whereas Hitchcock's wasn't. Thus, Spielberg on TV is going to be disappointing. > I don't think AMAZING STORIES is the best show on television, but >I think most people would agree that it is good television. Perhaps you are right. If they do, then they disagree with me. I think it would be an excellent cartoon series, but it doesn't work as a prime-time anthology, in my opinion. >...I know I'll see high production values (the highest on >television), a good cast, an interesting director,... >and probably a good story... I agree that the production values are high (though I dispute the superlative "highest"), and the casting is generally good. And, of course, one thing you have to say about Spielberg, regardless of your other opinions, is that he is interesting. I don't like the stories, so I contest your stated probability of seeing a good one; but the story quality is the most subjective thing about any series. >... It would be a shame if it >didn't succeed and was replaced by another TV sitcom clone. We are completely agreed on this point, Dennis. I would still rather watch Amazing Stories than Dukes of Hazzard. > I think the very fact that people on the net bother to argue about >it indicates that it is an important show... Good point. This is probably the most controversial series to come out in a long time. People either really enjoy it or they hate it; nobody ignores it or is ambivalent about it. My original posting was vitriolic; I really HATE the series. Your response was very complimentary of the series; you really ENJOY the series. I think perhaps which side one takes depends on his ability to enter pure fantasy - to suspend reality and step immediately into a make-believe world with fairies, goblins, and TV reception from China. I can't make that mental transition, so I see the show as stupid, and don't enjoy it. If it were on Saturday morning instead of Sunday night, I think I might be able to make the transition better. While the tone of this posting has become somewhat conciliatory, I wish to state here that I personally hold to my original opinion that the show makes a better cartoon than it does an anthology. I have accomodated Mr. Doubleday's views and analyzed our viewpoints simply for the purpose of showing that I am tolerant of wrong opinions. :-) ----------------------------------------------------------------- Dave Kirby ( ...!ihnp4!akgub!cylixd!dave) (The views expressed herein are the exclusive property of Dave Kirby. Any person, living or dead, found with the same or similar opinions will be prosecuted to the fullest extent of law.)