Mercury Men Syfy web series

Discussion in 'Science Fiction & Fantasy' started by RAMA, Aug 25, 2011.

  1. RAMA

    RAMA Admiral Admiral

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    Has anyone seen this? Just caught my attention for the first time...

    Kind of a neat idea. I'd always wondered what a modern style remake of the serials would look like. At least something a bit truer to the originals than stuff like SW, Rocketeer Sky Captain.

    RAMA
     
    Last edited: Aug 25, 2011
  2. wildstar

    wildstar Commander Red Shirt

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    I'd love to see it, but as far as I know it's not available outside of the US yet.
    Anyone know if the status of that?
    I don't do the itunes thing, so it may be available that way. Have to try I guess.
     
  3. RJDiogenes

    RJDiogenes Idealistic Cynic and Canon Champion Premium Member

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    They also have it up on On Demand. I've seen the first couple of episodes and I like it so far; of course, I'm a big fan of old movie serials.
     
  4. A beaker full of death

    A beaker full of death Vice Admiral Admiral

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    It's really bad. Clearly these people have no idea what the 1970s looked like. So why try to set it then?
     
  5. CorporalCaptain

    CorporalCaptain Fleet Admiral Admiral

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    I was looking forward to this, for over a year now, and sat down and watched the whole thing. I was disappointed, but there are things I like about it. The look of the aliens, the men of Mercury, is probably the best thing. The sound effects were good, and I liked the black and white look.

    The handling of the moon was very unsatisfactory. As it got closer to Earth credibility was strained more and more.
    It could have been better, and it could still be developed into something really cool in an ongoing series.
     
  6. wildstar

    wildstar Commander Red Shirt

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    The 70's? By the looks of it, I assumed the 40's.
     
  7. CorporalCaptain

    CorporalCaptain Fleet Admiral Admiral

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    Cubicles were first marketed as office furniture in the mid-60's, so there's no way this looks like anything earlier.
     
  8. Morpheus 02

    Morpheus 02 Rear Admiral Rear Admiral

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    The show definitely looks like it's on a tight budget, but i think the filmmaker is maximizing his resources. The style is like a 40's serial, but the setting is the 70's, i think to explain away the setting (which i think might be North Point Community Church, which was thanked in the credits).

    i'm not totally drawn into it (the cheapness distracts me a bit, and the acting/writing has totally knocked my socks off the ignore the production quality), but have watched several episodes.

    i wonder if SyFy is looking at the success/failure of this as a way to see if they can trust the producer with making a bigger production in the future.
     
  9. Sindatur

    Sindatur The Gray Owl Wizard Admiral

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    I found 10 episodes on my On Demand this morning. I'll try to get time this weekend to check it out.
     
  10. Greg Cox

    Greg Cox Admiral Premium Member

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    I still want syfy to turn Riese into a prime-time tv series, especially since my book is coming out next summer! :)
     
  11. Professor Zoom

    Professor Zoom Admiral Admiral

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    That's sorta my thought. I only watched the first part and kept thinking... that doesn't look like an office in 1975. It looks like an office today.

    And why is that guy with the ray gun wearing something from the 1930s.... shouldn't he be wearing some styling thing from the 70s? Like a Shaft type coat?

    I get what they were trying to do, but... with the limited budget, I don't think they should've tried to do period. A modern riff would have been a more achievable goal.
     
  12. RJDiogenes

    RJDiogenes Idealistic Cynic and Canon Champion Premium Member

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    I watched some more today. It's got a brain in a jar. I love brains in jars. :rommie:

    I don't see anything that disqualifies it from being in the 70s-- but then, I don't remember anything saying that it is in the 70s (though it was a couple of weeks ago that I watched the beginning).

    As it progresses, I like the Edward character more. His fear and isolation make him appealing and sympathetic. I think he will ultimately become, in the future, the voice that spoke to him on the radio.
     
  13. Professor Zoom

    Professor Zoom Admiral Admiral

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    The first subtitle says 1975 in the first episode.

    The scenes in the office, while the guy is running away, looked like today. The elevator buttons. The ceiling tiles. Just looked modern. Though, they did feature a typewriter in one shot. A non electric one... which would be an odd feature in an office in 1975. I would think an electric one would be more appropriate.
     
  14. RAMA

    RAMA Admiral Admiral

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    It is odd...because its set in 1975 but has homages to the 30s-40s serials...maybe they were trying to remove it enough from the current day to make it idealized in some way...but I can ignore the setting a bit, clearly its not meant to be any more realistic than the 30s serials because the MOON IS IN EARTH'S ATMOPSHERE for Christ sake. :lol:

    RAMA
     
  15. The Lensman

    The Lensman Commodore Commodore

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    Thanks for the tip on this RAMA! I've enjoyed it so far...almost done. As for the time period stuff...I just ignored it and enjoyed the ride.
     
  16. RJDiogenes

    RJDiogenes Idealistic Cynic and Canon Champion Premium Member

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    Ah, well then.... :rommie:

    Hmm. I'm not sure about office stuff. I was just a kid and didn't pay attention. I suppose I'd have to compare it to office scenes on Starsky & Hutch or something. But I was still using a manual typewriter until about 1978.
     
  17. CorporalCaptain

    CorporalCaptain Fleet Admiral Admiral

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    I'd expect a government office in 1975 to have an electric typewriter, but that doesn't mean that all did have them.
     
  18. RJDiogenes

    RJDiogenes Idealistic Cynic and Canon Champion Premium Member

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    Yeah, it probably depended on the funding for that particular department. :shrug:
     
  19. Aeolusdallas

    Aeolusdallas Captain Captain

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    I just watched this whole series last week. It was a lot of fun.
     
  20. Sindatur

    Sindatur The Gray Owl Wizard Admiral

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    I watched the first 3 episodes, and it seemed pretty good for the first half hour of a Pilot.