Don't bother. Really. It's shockingly awful.
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Outcasts
No it isn't.
Derivative of Battlestar, bit creaky on the acting front, slow and ponderous start to some extent... but worth watching, and far rather see the Beeb doing this than another fucking costume drama. -
Outcasts
Oh it is. It's appalling. With a single exception the acting is fist-gnawingly awful, it looks both expensive and very very cheap in a way that only the BBC seem to be able to manage with their sci-fi (see "Survivors") the script is horrible, managing to be both trite and pompous. And the characters are so cartoonish as to be unbelievable.
I mean, this shows idea of subplot is the main baddy looking at one of the space rozzers meaningfully and saying "don't forget I know about your past." or somesuch tosh. Followed by him doing the same thing to el presidente. and telegraphing what the main contentious issue will be before it happens, rather than letting it happen and the characters and audiences finding out the history as it goes on, is just a schoolboy error.
It's not helped by having the president, blessedcursed with a great movie trailer voice, speaking in utterly portentious tones the whole time.
Oh and, in this tiny community Hermione Norris manages toshag someone she doesn't know. Surely if there are so few of them, they all know everyone else?
It's bollocks, pure and simple.Comment
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Outcasts
I thought it was okay, but only compared to the rest of the BBC's science fiction telly output (a small playing field). Better than that James Nesbitt underwater effort last year, despite some proper hamming (Norris, Walters, I'm looking at you).Comment
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Outcasts
Oh god I'd forgotten about that (or blanked it from my mind.) I watched all of that stupid deep sea adventure thing. More in open-mouth disbelief at it's hilarious awfullness than anything else. It was shocking. What is it about BBC sci-fi that makes otherwise adequate actors turn into the supporting cast of Blake's Seven?
And why can the BBC who do most things very well and have a track record of good polished programmes (Spooks, Hustle etc) make such utterly unconvincing sci fi? it's always so shit and earnest. The scripts are always like 6th form drama student fare.
It's fine if Dr Who is a bit obvious and telegraphed - it's a children's programme. it's like the BBC can't get past that. In fact I can't think of a single science fiction programme aside from Who on the BBC that hasn't been eye-gougingly awful to the point of being insulting to the audience.
They seem to be desperate to be like American shows, but without any of the budget. Even the crappy cancelled shows from the US like Threshold are almost Shakespearean by comparison.Comment
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Outcasts
The original Survivors?In fact I can't think of a single science fiction programme aside from Who on the BBC that hasn't been eye-gougingly awful to the point of being insulting to the audience.
Blake's 7?
Hitch-hiker's Guide to the Galaxy...?Comment
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Outcasts
I rather meant modern era. Back then you needed a decent script as Sfx were prohibitively expensive and low quality. So you tended to overlook the crapness, because you were used to it and because nothing better existed. Now however, it's a different story.Comment
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Outcasts
Haven't seen a full Outcasts episode yet, but from the bits and bobs I have witnessed it's a shame that mankind's role in space exploration in future years will be to find habitable planets and be dull and miserable on them.Comment
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Outcasts
I thought last night's episode was pretty mediocre, but the misery is quite well handled, I think:
if humanity sets up a very limited, skills/expertise-based escape pod system, almost everyone will have a sense of loss, cos not all their friends etc will get on, even before you consider the enforced-leaving-home aspect.Comment
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Outcasts
I'm aware of the story framework of Outcasts and won't argue with you there, but from what's been said about it (in other critiques as well), being in an hour's company with hard-faced glumsters doesn't invite enthusiastic viewing.
By the way, I remember that underwater sci-fi gubbins from last year. I stayed with it up until the final episode or two where flirting with the mysterious and fantastic merely revealed a bunch of Russian bouncers in a larger sub being the cause of everything. Fucking hell, if you're going to make it look that everything's all James Camerony, you might as well throw everything in and have sinister extra-terrestrials instead of a bunch of burly sea-going scumbags.
Easily pleased, me.Comment
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Outcasts
hobbes wrote:
I'm going to count Being Human and mention that.In fact I can't think of a single science fiction programme aside from Who on the BBC that hasn't been eye-gougingly awful to the point of being insulting to the audience.
But yes, Outcasts was dross and with plenty of good TV out there I saw no point in watching any more after episode 1.
On the bright side, if the Americans remake this one they might actually avoid making it worse than the original for a change.Comment
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Outcasts
ian.64 wrote:
Especially if the only shows the poor buggers get to watch are like Outcasts.Haven't seen a full Outcasts episode yet, but from the bits and bobs I have witnessed it's a shame that mankind's role in space exploration in future years will be to find habitable planets and be dull and miserable on them.Comment
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Outcasts
Yeah, fair call. I enjoyed the one-off they did of that. The series, not so much. I preferred the actors from the pilot. If they were going to change any of them it should have been the werewolf character, who just grates.I'm going to count Being Human and mention that.
However, I did watch 2 or 3 of them before giving up (mainly because it was a bit "here's the wolf episode...here's the vampire episode...here's the etc.)
However, it looked and felt much more professional, the acting was better, the script wasn't trite.
The more I think about it the more I think it's because the BBC try to be big time by putting well known faces in these things and they just don't convince at all.
Whereas with Being Human, they were relative unknowns, so there's no baggage. I think this is something that affects sci fi more than drama.Comment
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