While watching this first episode, I was so upset because of the portrayal of older people. Bad enough to be treated as silly, but their children and grandchildren think they know what is best for them. Why can't older adults whose brains work be left alone, even if it's to die on their own terms? JK and Sissy are amazing in their roles.
14 Reviews
Great with shades of Victor Meldrew
bobetjo20 May 2022
The first episode is quite engrossing. There is the obvious SciFi element covered in the trailers. But the acting really adds a lot. Anyone who remembers Up with Ed Asner or On Golden Pond will see an equally touching version with a couple keeping a secret we'd all love to have whilst coping with aging.
Not meant to detract at all, but the relationship between Franklin and his younger neighbour Byron was so much like One Foot in the Grave with Richard Wilson and Angus Deaton. Even down to Byron's reliable and sensible wife.
I look forward to seeing more.
Not meant to detract at all, but the relationship between Franklin and his younger neighbour Byron was so much like One Foot in the Grave with Richard Wilson and Angus Deaton. Even down to Byron's reliable and sensible wife.
I look forward to seeing more.
Interesting but bleedingly slow
grlym-4684920 May 2022
Did I say it was slow? Because yes...it is at a pace I think is meant for really old people. I say this because my grandparents always complain about how tv shows now are so fast and how the editing jumps around so fast (jump cuts/zooms/conversation angle jumps)
Beyond being extremely slow, it was interesting. I might try to watch more episodes. Or maybe just have it play when I'm doing other things. Because you could miss half Of the show and miss nothing about the plot.
Other reviews say it never picks up pace. So, idk. I guess I'll keep watching as long as it keeps being somewhat interesting. Especially since tv still seems to be suffering from the pandemic in availability in great shows. Or even shows that can manage to aire each week without month long breaks several times throughout the season.
Beyond being extremely slow, it was interesting. I might try to watch more episodes. Or maybe just have it play when I'm doing other things. Because you could miss half Of the show and miss nothing about the plot.
Other reviews say it never picks up pace. So, idk. I guess I'll keep watching as long as it keeps being somewhat interesting. Especially since tv still seems to be suffering from the pandemic in availability in great shows. Or even shows that can manage to aire each week without month long breaks several times throughout the season.
A bit contrived
bredwards-897463 June 2022
As a couple in our 60s with many friends in their 70s and 80s, my husband and I found this portrayal of older people a bit exaggerated. These two are much slower than any couple in their early 70s I have ever met. The way they act, walk and talk is more like folks in their 80s or 90s, as they are very slow and feeble. This is hard to watch, and a bit irritating.
Also, these days kids aren't having to talk to their parents about selling their house and moving into a home until their in at least their 80s. Doesn't the writer know this? I don't know that these roles are good for these particular actors either, but I guess they wanted to get some big names. I would rather have some unknown actors (preferably older), so I'm not constantly thinking "this is Sissy Spacek playing an old feeble person." My husband fell asleep early in the episode, but we will give it one more chance tonight on episode 2, as perhaps it will pick up and get more interesting... (I hope!)
Also, these days kids aren't having to talk to their parents about selling their house and moving into a home until their in at least their 80s. Doesn't the writer know this? I don't know that these roles are good for these particular actors either, but I guess they wanted to get some big names. I would rather have some unknown actors (preferably older), so I'm not constantly thinking "this is Sissy Spacek playing an old feeble person." My husband fell asleep early in the episode, but we will give it one more chance tonight on episode 2, as perhaps it will pick up and get more interesting... (I hope!)
"You ready to make history?"
bosporan20 May 2022
A fabulous establishing episode, sure at a superficial level it is slow, but it crams so much background, character and plot progression into a Tardis of an episode. Simmons and Spacek are brilliant as one might expect, they have chemistry together and portray a couple coming to terms with time without outwardly admitting to decline.
The ending was entirely predictable, until it wasn't - my expectations were totally subverted, but in an intriguing and interesting way.
The ending was entirely predictable, until it wasn't - my expectations were totally subverted, but in an intriguing and interesting way.
Slow Start but Shows Potential
pdx_vw_erik22 May 2022
When Franklin and Irene stepped into the "Other" room with the chairs, I hope that the production team, during filming, had Lee Tergesen step out and challenge Schillinger, letting him know that he'll never be free of Beecher.
But, it probably didn't happen. It was totally hilarious and awesome in my head.
But, it probably didn't happen. It was totally hilarious and awesome in my head.
Hauntingly beautiful
AlexxAmadeo20 May 2022
That's what I thought throughout the entire first episode. It evoked in me the same kind of feeling that I had when I first started reading A Princess of Mars (although these two could not be more different, other than being related to space). Also, the acting between Sissy Spacek and J. K. Simmons was superb. I simply didn't want this episode to end so I don't get the reviewers who said that it was too slow. But to each their own, I guess.
I don't know whether I will like the rest of the series just as much, but the beginning is very promising.
I don't know whether I will like the rest of the series just as much, but the beginning is very promising.
Emotional characters, little sci-fi stuff
JustHavingALook9 August 2023
Warning: Spoilers
Yes it's slow, yes it's melancholic.
Which is good: it gives us time to get to know the characters and understand what's the story about: facing death.
Great performances by the 2 of them btw, not so by the others.
Neat idea to revisit the good old Stargate wormhole situation as something that instead of being supercomplicated is fairly easy to "make it work" and maybe fairly common around the world.
Anyway, unfortunately the promotion material spoilers the cliffhanger: i.e. There's a dude coming from the outside.
The setting is intriguing enough even though location wise there's not much to be excited about: old house, old shed, old town, nursing home.
The main weakness is that there's not enough sci-fi stuff to keep me watching. I mean: if you wanna target that kind of audience I do need to see more meat ok the plate. Yes the galaxy is cool, and then?
One thing: to those who complain about the old couple being not realistic for being too fragile, lethargic, absent minded etc etc since they are in their 70s: 1. Unfortunately it does happen in real life and 2. Isn't it obvious their trips through the wormhole are causing health issues? 🙄
Which is good: it gives us time to get to know the characters and understand what's the story about: facing death.
Great performances by the 2 of them btw, not so by the others.
Neat idea to revisit the good old Stargate wormhole situation as something that instead of being supercomplicated is fairly easy to "make it work" and maybe fairly common around the world.
Anyway, unfortunately the promotion material spoilers the cliffhanger: i.e. There's a dude coming from the outside.
The setting is intriguing enough even though location wise there's not much to be excited about: old house, old shed, old town, nursing home.
The main weakness is that there's not enough sci-fi stuff to keep me watching. I mean: if you wanna target that kind of audience I do need to see more meat ok the plate. Yes the galaxy is cool, and then?
One thing: to those who complain about the old couple being not realistic for being too fragile, lethargic, absent minded etc etc since they are in their 70s: 1. Unfortunately it does happen in real life and 2. Isn't it obvious their trips through the wormhole are causing health issues? 🙄
What's out there?
rich-fouts21 May 2022
"856 times we've made this trip, and nothing's happened." Such is Franklin's reaction (who loves statistics, or maybe just counting) when his wife, Irene, insists they keep coming back to "see the stars." Of course, the stars she's referring to are viewed from a deserted planet (that they just happen to access, in about 60 seconds) through a portal in their basement.
In this first episode we don't learn how the couple came to find this magical gateway to another world, but something tells me we'll find out eventually. What we do know is that haven't told anyone (though Franklin suggests it).
Of course, you can't go wrong with veterans like Spacek and Simmons (both Oscar winners, coincidentally from films about music) who play a very believable couple that met during the 1960s at a pub, over a pool table.
In this first episode we don't learn how the couple came to find this magical gateway to another world, but something tells me we'll find out eventually. What we do know is that haven't told anyone (though Franklin suggests it).
Of course, you can't go wrong with veterans like Spacek and Simmons (both Oscar winners, coincidentally from films about music). The first episode, directed by another film veteran, Juan José Campanella, matches its title. Skies are dark as is most of the episode, mostly because scenes are mostly at night.
I like where this is headed. We know that this couple, who have likely been very much on the same page for the last 50 years, are starting to move in two different directions. Franklin is not terribly interested in looking for answers about Night Sky (the trip also makes him nauseous).
Irene, however, insists there's a reason it happened to fall into "their' basement. She believes it makes them special. What's interesting is we don't know just how long they've been making these trips, though with nearly 900 of them under their belt, it's likely been just a few years. Irene is also struggling with an illness. As a viewer, you can't help but wonder if the portal to another world will grant them some sort of special powers, but there's no hint of that in this first episode.
With so many questions, it's clear that when it comes to story development, the sky's the limit.
In this first episode we don't learn how the couple came to find this magical gateway to another world, but something tells me we'll find out eventually. What we do know is that haven't told anyone (though Franklin suggests it).
Of course, you can't go wrong with veterans like Spacek and Simmons (both Oscar winners, coincidentally from films about music) who play a very believable couple that met during the 1960s at a pub, over a pool table.
In this first episode we don't learn how the couple came to find this magical gateway to another world, but something tells me we'll find out eventually. What we do know is that haven't told anyone (though Franklin suggests it).
Of course, you can't go wrong with veterans like Spacek and Simmons (both Oscar winners, coincidentally from films about music). The first episode, directed by another film veteran, Juan José Campanella, matches its title. Skies are dark as is most of the episode, mostly because scenes are mostly at night.
I like where this is headed. We know that this couple, who have likely been very much on the same page for the last 50 years, are starting to move in two different directions. Franklin is not terribly interested in looking for answers about Night Sky (the trip also makes him nauseous).
Irene, however, insists there's a reason it happened to fall into "their' basement. She believes it makes them special. What's interesting is we don't know just how long they've been making these trips, though with nearly 900 of them under their belt, it's likely been just a few years. Irene is also struggling with an illness. As a viewer, you can't help but wonder if the portal to another world will grant them some sort of special powers, but there's no hint of that in this first episode.
With so many questions, it's clear that when it comes to story development, the sky's the limit.
Filler first episode?
spin_orbit20 May 2022
Way too much filler for a series kick off, I think JK Simmons fans may stick it through but they'll likely lose much of the audience before giving the series a chance. I felt like fast forwarding to see if my time watching the irrelevant interactions were justified. Surprised they didn't make a sci-fi premise a bit more compelling to keep people invested.
A couple in love at the end of their lives
wms-9274111 July 2022
J. K Simmons and Sissy Spacek are terrific as an old married couple with a secret in their shed. Episode one is a bit heavy showing the problems they're facing with age, but these problems are real for many people now, and will be real for the rest of us sooner or later. Pacing is a bit laconic, fitting for older folks, but the acting is strong enough to carry the show.
Great beginning..
yuseralhaj10 July 2022
Boring
GeezerNoir3 June 2022
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