The Terror: Limited Series (AMC)

Discussion in 'Visual Arts' started by GodShifter, Dec 15, 2017.

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  1. Wow, I feel so stupid, which leads to something I feel I must confess. I don't know why (perhaps I'm trying to juggle too many things), but I didn't put 2+2 together and connect this with The Lost Franklin Expedition. That's akin to reading the label on the box and then asking what's inside. :shake:

    Gah! I even recall reading a National Geographic, during the mid-80s, and being totally fascinated with the mummies they had found. I distinctly recall thinking, "Well, that dispels that all Englishmen had bad teeth," as they were commoners who had perfect rows of pearlys, with the exception of one, and even his was not too bad.

    What makes it even dumber is that the ship is the HMS Terror, which the show is named after, for ****'s sake! What's more, they kept saying Sir John!

    I am lost.

    Why do I feel the need to confess? Because I am a weak soul, who must now gird up his loins for the mental fortitude required of me to trek further upon the ice and mayhem of this arctic passage. Should the Lord call me to his bosom, yay, should I perish upon the reddened ice, I will be prepared to make a good accounting of myself unto His holy bough, that I served my country with great fervor, and never did shirk my duties under her majesty's merciful hand.

    Upon Mondays my constitution will be whole. :D
     
  2. GodShifter

    GodShifter Forum Member Thread Starter

    Location:
    Dallas, TX, USA
    Yeah, he doesn’t last too long in much does he. :(
     
  3. GodShifter

    GodShifter Forum Member Thread Starter

    Location:
    Dallas, TX, USA
    HMSTerror is my last.fm name. I created the account in 2009. The book, obviously, made a big impression on me.
     
  4. Brenald79

    Brenald79 Forum Resident

    Location:
    Canada
    Jason, does the book talk about the temperature and wind chill? Just from I’ve heard from friends who’ve worked in the Artic it doesn’t look like they’re dressed warm enough in the show.
     
  5. GodShifter

    GodShifter Forum Member Thread Starter

    Location:
    Dallas, TX, USA
    That was one of my main gripes in an earlier thread.

    The book does describe how incredibly cold it is and what the men had to do (and wear) to stay warm. I would agree that, so far, the men aren’t wearing sufficient protection against the cold. We’ll see if that changes...
     
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  6. Borgia

    Borgia Do not speak wisely of this night

    Location:
    Arkansas
    It may be that if they actually dressed Arctic appropriate you wouldn't be able to tell one character from another in the outdoors scenes.
     
  7. GodShifter

    GodShifter Forum Member Thread Starter

    Location:
    Dallas, TX, USA
    Honestly, outside of the captains, the surgeon, the ice masters (or whatever they’re called) and few others, the crew is interchangeable. I can’t place a lot of characters (what ship they’re from, what they do). The marines are pretty easy to spot, but, outside of that, not so much.
     
  8. Brenald79

    Brenald79 Forum Resident

    Location:
    Canada
    The bookshelf and amount of books one of the captains has brought along is surprising. Excess space and weight on a ship I’m thinking. Near the end ep2 you can see this.

    I am liking this show a lot. Watching it I’m remembering lots of relatives stories about things like being a lumberjack in Northern BC, grizzly bears and journeys across Canada/US/Atlantic Ocean in the early 1900s. People weren’t affraid back then!
     
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  9. GodShifter

    GodShifter Forum Member Thread Starter

    Location:
    Dallas, TX, USA
    That’s funny you mention the excesses of the ships in terms of creature comforts and unnecessary accoutrements, because that is also mentioned by the expeditions that ultimately discovered the fates of the members of the Franklin expedition. Even when they were hauling boats across the ice in appalling conditions and near starvation, the amount of books and other non essential survival items the crew were carrying was stunning. Neither Crozier or Fitzjames were very competent when it came right down to it; certainly Franklin wasn’t either.
     
    Last edited: Apr 4, 2018
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  10. Brenald79

    Brenald79 Forum Resident

    Location:
    Canada
    Wow that's a lot of extra weight the crew was hauling across the ice. I wonder how common it was for people to actually hurt their back doing that heavy lifting and work. Something else that stood out was Dr. Goodsor's facial hair that would take effort to maintain with the cleanly shaved lip and chin. Will the cast all grow beards as the series goes on or clean shaven?
     
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  11. GodShifter

    GodShifter Forum Member Thread Starter

    Location:
    Dallas, TX, USA
    Without giving away the show (because it goes in a different direction than the actual events - sort of), I'd say that the hauling of whale boats which is, essentially, dragging them across the ice on impromptu ski's (I believe it was called "sledging" or a "sledge-haul") was incredibly exhausting work. You'd have to figure even with several men harnessed to the boats, they're heavy in themselves plus whatever provisions are stored in them. An explorer like Ernest Shackleton used dogs (until he had to eat them), but the crews of The Terror and Erebus did not have those aids. Also, keep in mind, these men were sailors not blue collar, factory workers. They were not used to this kind of work. It would have been enormously brutal in terms of the conditions, food availability, and the terrain. If they want to get this accurate at all (and so far they have), I'd imagine every one is going to be looking pretty haggard, unshaven, and frostbitten before all is said and done.
     
  12. Chris from Chicago

    Chris from Chicago Experience is simply the name we give our mistakes

    Something occurred to me... not only does (did) this series feature GOT Mance Rayder... but Edmund Tully too.
     
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  13. GodShifter

    GodShifter Forum Member Thread Starter

    Location:
    Dallas, TX, USA
    Brendyn "The Blackfish" Tully, too!

    Also, remember the HBO show "Rome"? Cíaran Hinds played Julius Caesar while Tobias Menzies played "Brutus". Several members of the cast of "Rome" showed up on GoT.

    And it's "Edmure" not Edmund :)
     
  14. Brenald79

    Brenald79 Forum Resident

    Location:
    Canada
  15. Chris from Chicago

    Chris from Chicago Experience is simply the name we give our mistakes

    A couple of reveals this week. The food packed in the tin cans is starting to rot. This detail very well may have lead to...a mass dire situation.

    And rotting teeth. Not sure if it's related to the metal can problem. But certainly something that'll be addressed.

    Did the soldiers rape the eskimo girl? Or was the punishment only for unauthorized leaving the ship?

    Lashed. Like a boy? Pssht. How bad can that be. It's bad. With a capital SUCK.

    The new captain seems to be looked down upon because he's Irish. And not noble. I suspect that's a contributing factor in his love not marrying him.

    Having not read the book, I'm enjoying the slow reveals that the book readers already know. But I don't know what I really know just yet.

    You know... or not.
     
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  16. GodShifter

    GodShifter Forum Member Thread Starter

    Location:
    Dallas, TX, USA
    Not rotting teeth, but effects of lead poisoning which is discussed with The Terror's doctor and Erebus surgeon Harry Goodsir. They're unsure, but the graying on the gum line of the one sailor seems to indicate it. The canned rations are, indeed, spoiling due to the seals not being intact.

    Lady Silence is not raped by the sailors, but she is taken from her igloo and brought aboard The Terror without Crozier giving the order. Taking initiative like that is not something that was looked upon kindly in 1840's England maritime law. So yeah, leaving the ship without orders and bringing back Lady Silence to the ship (essentially kidnapping her) are what the crew are punished for.

    Glad you're enjoying the show!
     
    Last edited: Apr 10, 2018
  17. Borgia

    Borgia Do not speak wisely of this night

    Location:
    Arkansas
    For me, each episode of this show is better than the last. One thing about last night, near the end when Hickey gets to his bunk/hammock after being whipped, he pulls a folded cloth out from under the cover. When he opens it, it contains what looks like a small bundle of weed. You guys notice that? I'm not sure what the substance was, maybe even hair or fur. it'a so dark on the boat I have a hard time making stuff out. It just occurred to me today that this may be something he took from Lady Silence's igloo. Interesting.
     
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  18. GodShifter

    GodShifter Forum Member Thread Starter

    Location:
    Dallas, TX, USA
    I didn’t catch that at all. Then again, I didn’t catch Hickey taking a dump in Gibson’s quarters. I’m not the most observant. I have to watch things several times to catch all the subtle nuances.
     
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  19. Chris from Chicago

    Chris from Chicago Experience is simply the name we give our mistakes

    It was...mossy. It could've been hair. I had zero explanation as to what it was or could be. Being taken from Lady Silence is a better explanation than I put forth.
     
  20. Oliver

    Oliver Bourbon Infused

    I picked this book up in hardcover form years ago as I'm a pretty big fan of Simmons but just never got around to reading it as it looked kind of daunting and if my memory serves me right my son was born around that time. Well you know how that goes for having kids and having time for reading :)
     
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  21. I'm a day late on it, fully prepared to use spoiler tags, but it looks like we're not. :) I just finished watching Ep. 4, "Punished, Like a Boy."

    Not having read the book (and I'm not sure if the book addresses this), but there seemed to be a bit of a camaraderie between Captain Crozier & Hickey, as being Irishmen, inasmuch as a Captain can have a friendship with an enlisted man.

    Hickey seemed to intimate to his ex-lover that he was getting cozy with Crozier, on perhaps an intimate level, though this was assuredly Hickey just talking smack. I wonder, though, if Crozier sussed out that Hickey was a homosexual. I sort of doubt it; nonetheless, it's food for thought. The result is that Crozier's punishment upon Hickey, to be "punished, like a boy," was to seriously screw with the aesthetics of Hickey's posterior sexual "organ," in that it would mar his buttocks for life. I am hesitant to think Crozier would be that cruel, yet it is not lost to me that perhaps Hickey received his just rewards of sorts, having used that very ass to defecate on his mate's bed. Regardless, Hickey was prescribed 30 lashes, but I counted. He didn't get a full 30, displaying Crozier's fairness in front of the men (and perhaps to Hickey). Everyone saw that enough was enough.

    Otherwise, I have to applaud Lady Jane's speech to to counsel. It was moving and very spirited, something newly afforded women during the Victorian period. It's sad to think that she didn't have a clue that her husband was already dead, and then to hear them say that they would give expedition until 1850 must have a been quiet the downer.

    There's layers to this show. It's near filmic presentation is also easy on the eyes.

    It has been mentioned before, but I did notice the lack of breath, in the cold, which could have easily been added post-production, digitally. This is even more contrasted that we could easily see Lady Jane's breath in the hallway as she was about to leave the building, which is no doubt less frigid than upper Canada.

    Eh, it's a minor nitpick. This show is riveting!
     
  22. GodShifter

    GodShifter Forum Member Thread Starter

    Location:
    Dallas, TX, USA
    What has been revealed so far that would constitute a 'spoiler' tag? I'm curious.

    Crozier doesn't know that Hickey is homosexual. The only person that knows of Hickey's proclivities are the officer that found him and Gibson below (I can't remember his name right now). Crozier chose to have Hickey 'punished as a boy' because Hickey kept mouthing off to him after he gave the initial sentence of 10 lashes or whatever it was. Hickey overestimated his rapport with Crozier.

    As far as not getting the full 30 lashes, I think that was more due to time's sake and it was just assumed that he did. At no point does Crozier tell the guy doing the whipping to stop does he? He just does.
     
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  23. Hmmm...yes, Hickey overestimated his rapport with Crozier. When Hickey was first telling the, story Crozier looked bemused, then Hickey overstepped, and he kept doing it, to the point where Crozier flew off the handle...and for good reason.

    As to the lashes, he doesn't tell the guy doing the whipping to stop, yet there are times that the guy meting out the punishment stops on his own, and Crozier tells him to resume. The guy with the whip seemed to have stopped at at regular intervals, indicative of a stopping point for a regular lashing. Now, either the guy giving the lashing was being insubordinate, too, or together with Crozier they were telegraphing how much was going to be enough, lest they render Hickey unserviceable for duty. I other words, I don't think the punishment was stopped for time constraints, otherwise they would have never made the punishment stop at intervals; they could have whipped faster. No, I think Crozier halted the punishment, because he realized his anger needed checking, or he concluded the punishment might maim Hickey and/or he showed mercy on Hickey, for the men's sake, and for Hickey's.

    Of course I could be wrong. The scene was very powerful. Most of the dramatic scene are powerful in this show. It doesn't miss many beats, and it certainly doesn't pad an episode with fluff.
     
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  24. GodShifter

    GodShifter Forum Member Thread Starter

    Location:
    Dallas, TX, USA
    Enjoy talking with you about the series. Hopefully I have not given too much away. I’ve seen the next two episodes and read the book twice, but I’m doing my best to stay on the current episode and discussing that.
     
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  25. I'm just trying to make up for my epic brain fart at the beginning of this series! :doh: Heh.

    It's a really well made show so far. I can't believe I'm looking forward to a Monday, of all days. :laugh:
     
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