Bad Netflix: Away

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PGage

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Nov 21, 2020, 1:24:58 PM11/21/20
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I’m not saying “Away”, the Netflix series about the first manned mission to Mars, is the worst thing on the platform. I am saying it is the worst thing on the platform I have ever watched all the way through. 

I am a sucker for stories about space travel in general, and Mars in particular. I also hate spoilers, so I studiously avoided any review or comment on Away until I had the time to binge it, which I did last night and this morning. It is aggressively, offensively, almost intentionally bad. It is the Donald Trump of Mars space program shows. I kept with at first not believing it would not get better, and then when it was clear it had no aspiration to being better, plowed through as punishment for all my past sins.

Most average to good television shows are spoiled by stereotypical, one dimensional melodramatic depictions of adolescents. Away does treat it’s adolescent character in this manner, but is spoiled by depicting its five international astronauts in the same way. 

What I am interested in is, how does a show like this get to be so bad? It has several big named actors, but feels like both story and dialogue were written by someone asking: “How would a poor man’s Shondra Rhimes write this?” I get that they were not really interested in the actual science or engineering involved in traveling to Mars, and wanted to focus on the human elements, but did they have to take such a stinky dump on the technical elements, while giving them the middle finger?

I did not like this program.

On the others hand, a month ago I stumbled upon a show called The Queen’s Gambit on Netflix before it started trending and without knowing anything about it. So good. So I will call it even with Netflix for now.
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Mark Jeffries

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Nov 22, 2020, 7:23:17 AM11/22/20
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And Netflix has already said there will not be a second season of "Away."

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PGage

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Nov 22, 2020, 12:28:50 PM11/22/20
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That strengthens my confidence in Netflix.

Kevin M.

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Nov 22, 2020, 12:42:46 PM11/22/20
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Was it worse than National Geographic’s Elon Musk ass kissing “dramamentary” Mars? 

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PGage

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Nov 22, 2020, 4:18:38 PM11/22/20
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Not worse, but I expected better.

Joe Hass

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Nov 22, 2020, 6:17:14 PM11/22/20
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On Sat, Nov 21, 2020 at 12:24 PM PGage <pga...@gmail.com> wrote:
... when it was clear it had no aspiration to being better, plowed through as punishment for all my past sins.

I understand the confidentiality of the streaming stick confessional, PG, but given this, I'd get an attorney on retainer just in case. 

David Risner

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Nov 22, 2020, 8:27:07 PM11/22/20
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Wow, I liked Away. I was  
sad to see it wasn't being picked up for a second season, but it really had completed it's story. Everything after would have been anti-climatic.

I admit that maybe I'm just so thirsty for non-cheesy, non-war only SF that I was willing to overlook Away's flaws. Sadly, not every SF show can be as good as The Expanse, but there are so much really badly made SF, that something with good production values gets me even if it is cliched.  

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PGage

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Nov 22, 2020, 10:03:26 PM11/22/20
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So, here is a review that is somewhat less negative than mine (he gives it a grade of “C”, which I think too high). 

What I learned is that one the producers was responsible for Friday Night Lights (which I loved). To David’s point, if they had hit the same level with this show as FNL I would have been happy. I am very into the human and psychological aspects of a Mars flight (and eventual colonization), and do not need sci fi wars, or even the hyper technicalities of The Martian (though, love that).

Here is the first paragraph:

“On paper, “Away” sounds exactly like the kind of show its producers have excelled at in the past. From showrunner Jessica Goldberg (“The Path”) to executive producer and writer Jason Katims (“Parenthood,” “Friday Night Lights”), the new Netflix drama takes a familiar genre (call it a space adventure) and tells its story from personal, character-driven perspectives to help make episodes distinct, moving, and universal. This duo employed a similar approach to their series about cults and football, but space seems to be a frontier too far. “Away” struggles in so many of the same areas where those series thrived — in the specifics, nuance, and character building — while simultaneously, and somewhat purposefully, not delivering an awe-inspiring thrill ride through the stars.”




JW

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Nov 23, 2020, 7:04:58 AM11/23/20
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Here's a review from someone you may remember:

PGage

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Nov 23, 2020, 10:41:07 PM11/23/20
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Back in the day I enjoyed disagreeing on occasion with the Chief; I wish he were here so I could let him have it on this one.

On Mon, 23 Nov 2020 at 4:04 AM JW <redb...@gmail.com> wrote:
Here's a review from someone you may remember:

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Doug Eastick

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Nov 24, 2020, 6:30:28 AM11/24/20
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There's always Twitter where you can bark directly at him in public.



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