The Terror: Limited Series (AMC)

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

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  1. I just finished the most recent episode. The Tuunbaq is the least scary threat, and that’s saying something.
    There’s nothing worse than a decisive cancer personality in a stressful situation. Hickey is so easy to hate.

    This show prompted me to read ‘Frozen in Time’ about the real life Franklin expedition (including a loose history of British Arctic exploration). The men who died must have been some of the toughest imaginable. The conditions, the poisoning from food stores, disease... the book gets real. ‘End stage cannibalism’. That’s desperation.
    Also, scientists went back and exhumed three perfectly preserved bodies in the permafrost (with pictures!?!). It’s fascinating and adds real context for this fictional narrative.
    I’m sad it’s almost over.

    I said I am earlier post that the bad CGI didn’t bother me, but I’m going to backtrack on that. Not really showing the monster would have made this much better. A bloody claw, glowing eyes in the fog, a primal scream... that would have been much more terrifying.

    If anyone saw ‘The Ritual’, that was an expert way to drum up fear.

    At any rate, the acting is top shelf and I’m still enjoying this series.
     
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  2. GodShifter

    GodShifter Forum Member Thread Starter

    Location:
    Dallas, TX, USA

    I haven't read 'Frozen in Time' but a brief look at its subject matter indicates it's about a lost cargo plane in 1942 during WWII? Is that right? I assume that many expeditions are mentioned within the book; the Franklin one being one of the more famous and, probably, most disastrous.

    I think the thing that has struck me about these Arctic explorers is, indeed, how tough these men were and how they put their lives at risk every time they signed up for an expedition. As we learn from Mr. Blanky when talking to Fitzjames, he had been part of the failed expedition with Sir John Ross 1829-33 and wound up spending three years ice bound on a ship and another on the ice. Though there are no records of the 'Victory''s crew, it's likely Blanky might have been a part of the expedition and he's the perfect example of what I'm talking about. These men would put themselves through incredible hardships, deprivations, and long periods away from their families, to go into, essentially, the unknown where starvation and death were always a possibility. Even with Shackleton's Imperial Trans-Arctic Expedition in 1914, some 60+ years after the Franklin disaster, his ship, Endurance, met disaster and was ultimately crushed in the ice. The crew had to make an incredibly long and hard journey to to reach Elephant Island for a chance at rescue. Though no men were lost, their ordeal was terrible. Yet, when Shackleton decided on a final expedition in 1921, many of the same men who had been on the Imperial Trans-Arctic Expedition (and had no been fully paid for it), signed up to do it again.

    My point being, is to reiterate what you're saying. These men were incredibly tough and single minded. It's also a testament to the fact that these men didn't know how to do anything else. They were explorers, seamen, and adventurers. It's what they did. Most knew of the possible dangers and had experienced them firsthand, but did it anyway. The men of the British Admiralty were of tough stock.
     
    Last edited: May 10, 2018
  3. Martinn

    Martinn Forum Resident

    Location:
    Chicago
    That part was really rushed - the commercial break skipped over the apprehension, and I too wish we could see the court martial. I can imagine some really interesting conversations taking place. Seems like the action drove the story in this episode, maybe even to much action.
     
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  4. Spitfire

    Spitfire Senior Member

    Location:
    Pacific Northwest
    Really liked the interaction between Crozier and Fitzjames in the last episode.
     
  5. GentleSenator

    GentleSenator what if

    Location:
    Aloha, OR
    eh, i think it worked fine being the show needs to keep the momentum up. but i can see what you and others mean.
     
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  6. There may be another Franklin expedition, but I’m referencing the actual ‘Erebus’ and ‘Terror’ voyage. The thing is, that arctic winter was especially cold, so there were no summer thaws to give them a chance to get out. Also, a few navigational errors sealed their fate when they could just as easily have completed passage by going a different way around an island.

    I still don’t quite understand what motivates these men at times. Lack of other options? Security? Hubris? One thing is for sure, the public back in England cared about these men years after their fates were decided. I guess that for many of them it was a shot at heroism in peacetime.
     
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  7. GodShifter

    GodShifter Forum Member Thread Starter

    Location:
    Dallas, TX, USA
    To your first point, no just one Franklin Expedition 1845-47, but you’re absolutely correct that navigation decisions really screwed them as did the miscalculations about the weather.

    To respond to the second part, you have to remember that England was the most powerful country in the world at that time. In Victorian England, exploration was highly valued. I think the motivations of the captains of these expeditions was gain fame and rank. The idea of being the first to forge the Northwest Passage or find the mythical ‘Polar Sea’ or get to the South Pole first was just part of wanderlust of us as humans. The British Empire and its society bought into this part and parcel.

    PS Sorry to those who have endure my musings on the history of that this show is based on. I’ve always been a frustrated historian I think :laugh:
     
    Last edited: May 10, 2018
  8. Martinn

    Martinn Forum Resident

    Location:
    Chicago
    I agree, however, since this is a series, there should be a way to show a bit more. For me, the rebellion and Hickey are more of a 'monster' than the toombaq...
     
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  9. Martinn

    Martinn Forum Resident

    Location:
    Chicago
    Ha, the more I think about the last episode, and the action, and the pace, I think I actually liked the conversation the most. Sometimes I feel like the actions is forced to push the story forward, whereas the human character mostly comes out in those quiet moments.
     
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  10. GodShifter

    GodShifter Forum Member Thread Starter

    Location:
    Dallas, TX, USA
    I’d agree.

    Two the best scenes in the series (so far) are Fitzjames speaking with Mr. Blanky and Crozier with Fitzjames. Those were both Emmy winning performances as far as I’m concerned. Fitzjames’s death was heartbreaking. Crozier seemed so lost and isolated.
     
    Last edited: May 11, 2018
  11. Borgia

    Borgia Do not speak wisely of this night

    Location:
    Arkansas
    Did Fitzjames die in this last episode? If so, I sure missed it.
     
  12. GodShifter

    GodShifter Forum Member Thread Starter

    Location:
    Dallas, TX, USA
    Uhhh ..... I think he did? If not, I’ll fix it with spoiler tag. My apologies if I goofed up.
     
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  13. GodShifter

    GodShifter Forum Member Thread Starter

    Location:
    Dallas, TX, USA
    Okay, I think f-d up. I put the spoiler tags on the rest. Sorry if I ruined something for you. Seriously. I’ll delete this post if you’ll delete yours.

    I won’t post again in the thread. My bad.
     
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  14. Borgia

    Borgia Do not speak wisely of this night

    Location:
    Arkansas
    It ain't no big deal, man...
     
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  15. Chris from Chicago

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

    Stop it. I'd be disappointed if you stopped posting in this thread.

    I can learn as much about history reading what you have to say as I can watching any historical television show. Thank you. And keep it up.
     
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  16. jon9091

    jon9091 Master Of Reality

    Location:
    Midwest
    Yes, they completely skipped how they were able to apprehend Hinkey and disarm the rest of the marines as well. If I remember correctly, we just came back from commercial, and Hinkey was laying on a cot with someone guarding him.

    My wife and I are really enjoying the series though. But, we aren’t happy that we can’t complete our binge watch. :waiting:
     
    Last edited: May 12, 2018
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  17. GodShifter

    GodShifter Forum Member Thread Starter

    Location:
    Dallas, TX, USA
    Okay, sorry for the spoiler re Fitzjames, folks. I’ll try and be more careful in the future if I comment anymore.

    I found an interesting article on Thomas Blanky (played by Ian Hart) in the series. It confirms he was part of the Sir John Ross expedition of 1829. He was a grizzled veteran of many polar expeditions in fact. Ian Hart does a wonderful job of portraying the man.

    KABLOONAS: THOMAS BLANKY: A LIVE IN THE HELL
     
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  18. I just kind of glossed over your statements, so I'm not sure you spoiled anything for me. I mean, we all know they die anyway. All I read was that it's sad the way that Fitzjames dies, though I would imagine it's sad for all of them.

    Thanks for the bit about Thomas Blanky. He's definitely one of my favorite characters.
     
  19. Chris from Chicago

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

    At first i thought... did he die in the last episode? Did I miss it? Because I knew the end result, if not Fitzjames path to his demise...I laughed when I realized what you did. No problem here.
     
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  20. GodShifter

    GodShifter Forum Member Thread Starter

    Location:
    Dallas, TX, USA
    "gloss over" = don't read them? :laugh: You and everyone else.
     
  21. Ha! No, I looked at the page, saw that there was talk about spoilers, so I peeled off. What you and everybody wrote, I saw it at a glance and caught myself before it was too late. So, yeah, on this page, I haven't read much.
     
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  22. Martinn

    Martinn Forum Resident

    Location:
    Chicago
    Ha, I almost ran to re-watch it to see if I dozed off and somehow missed it, :)
     
  23. Chris from Chicago

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

    Random musings...

    If a guy, even a sick guy walks into a tent with Hickey in it, but has to be carried out dead on a stretcher... why would any of the others continue to trust Hickey?

    Hey look...Fitzjames died.

    This episode reminds me of the very first love song I ever wrote my wife. It was a ballad. A nice bluegrass thrash metal number. I called it... Bloody Stump.

    I shan't be eating a rare steak anytime soon.

    This show just oozes desperation and desolation. And in spite of it being in the wide open... it's even claustrophobic. With men looking around crazily like a deer in hunting season.

    Whodathunkit? A fork jacket.
     
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  24. GodShifter

    GodShifter Forum Member Thread Starter

    Location:
    Dallas, TX, USA
    :oops::cry::help:
     
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  25. Borgia

    Borgia Do not speak wisely of this night

    Location:
    Arkansas
    Et tu Dr. Goodsir?
     
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