The Terror: Limited Series (AMC)

The funny thing with the Tuunbaq in the series is it’s seen as a protector of the Inuit people (after all, it kills for the first time when its “shaman” is accidentally shot). That’s not the precipitating factor in the book.

The crew of the Erebus and Terror are invaders of the territory. It’s not a matter of them committing some terrible act as much as their presence.

As I mentioned before, the Tuunbaq is a variant of the goddess Sedna which author, Dan Simmons, came up with himself. He looked at Eskimeaux lore and developed the monster from the legends and passed down beliefs. Sedna killed thousands of Inuit people before the ‘shamans’ figured a way to communicate with it/her and, effectively, corral it/her.

An interesting idea from Simmons on a misunderstood and mysterious piece of history in the 19th century. It’s a good story, but falls apart at the end. Despite the confusing factors at the end of the series, it did a better job of wrapping up things than the book did (with the exception of the Tuunbaq’s death and interference in parts of the story). Honestly, the Tuunbaq plays a less significant role in the book than the series. Whatever, it’s TV :: shrug ::

 

My wife and I enjoyed the series. I thought it ended as well as it could. Hicky was an incredible villain, and I thoroughly enjoyed seeing his final scene.
I did have problems with not seeing their breaths in the cold..and steam coming off them after hauling....stuff like that would have really helped the overall believability. Towards the end I really didn’t even know what that much about the climate they were in by the way it was shot. Obviously they were in the Arctic...but it just looked like they were walking around on rocky terrain. Couldn’t tell what the temp was at all.

 

see the earlier post(s) regarding the climate and time of year up there. some days would become incredibly warm and clear. i thought it was pretty clear in the show.

 

I tried, really tried not to let it spoil it for me, but I never got the feeling that they have traveled so far South as not to feel the cold. Almost causal clothing at times was annoying, but I kept on trying not to think about it...

 

it's not about being south. it's about how much direct sun there is and how much is beating down on super reflective surfaces. in summer time it could and can get quite warm in during the day in the arctic wastelands:

Climate of the Arctic - Wikipedia

that being said, during the winter scenes/episodes, the lack of "breath" coupled with some seemingly scantily clad men was mildly offputting, but as another forum member mentioned: it would have been difficult to follow the show if all we saw were guys covered in inches of winterwear from head to toe with faces covered as well. i just accepted it as a necessary artistic decision.

 

Agree about the lack of visible exhaling. Noticed it. But it never really bothered me. And good point regarding them being so realistically protected by warm layers that we wouldn't know who was who.

But... about the temp...

I don't know how far they walked from the ships original ice locked location. But if it got that warm, wouldn't the ice have begun to melt and free the ship?

 

it eventually did. that's why they were found at the bottom of the ocean 150+ years later

 

True. The Terror was found only a few years back and was much further from where experts had thought it was. I believe it was some sixty miles away from the wreckage of the Erebus. The thinking is, like in the series, Crozier left a skeleton crew onboard to sail the ship down the coastline if there was a thaw (that or some of the crew went back to ship after it was abandoned). Apparently, there was a brief enough one for the ship to move a bit.

As far as the clothing and terrain the men are in, it’s not how I pictured it in my mind from the book, but whatever. I always imagined it much colder, windier, and more ice being prevelant than the windswept, desolate, flat terrain they’re dealing with.

 

I never made the connection that goodsir was rubbing poison on his skin. That makes much more sense now.

Hickey had an epic death, but I was secretly hoping for some retribution by the men..

I really enjoyed the series and especially the acting.

 

Some of the Inuit accounts have stated men got back on the ship and started heading out. I believe, these same accounts stated that one of the two ships was crushed by ice and we now know that not to be true, so take it as you will.

 

Wasn’t the Erebus, indeed, crushed by ice?

 

Both ships were found to have been pristine.

 

Mysterious lost ships, HMS Terror and Erebus, reveal new layer of clues in Arctic

 

That is not my understanding, but whatever.

 

it wasn't mine either, but here's a couple helpful bits:

Ship found in Arctic 168 years after doomed Northwest Passage attempt

British ship from 1845 Franklin expedition found by Canada

 

There's no chance that somebody living from that time could tell is what exactly happened to the Franklin Expedition?

I just think maybe we're listening to the wrong people.

 

Other than a few, random, Inuit folks, who in the world would you ask? And it's not like they were jotting down notes in a daily journal. We're probably lucky to have found any clues at all. My hope is, that somewhere in a tin on one of the two ships is a tin with some useful info.

 

My thoughts as well.

The sketchy stories we do have are of Inuit witnesses and the information written on the piece of paper in the cairn. There have been bodies exhumed and some remnants of the expedition undercovered on land, but the best hope for info is probably on one of those ships.

 

that's what makes the book(s) and the show so much fun, right? mysteries are always exciting.

 

Heh. This reads like I was suggesting that someone was alive today from 1858.

I'm glad y'all could see past that absurdity.

 

Great ending to a fabulous series. Kept thinking of two of my favorite films; Jeremiah Johnson and Dersu Uzala.

 

I’ve never heard of Dersu Uzala before, but a quick summary tells me all I need to know. Kurosawa! It sounds awesome. Thank you.

 

I just bought the The Terror novel as well as Drood by the same author. (Drood is a historical fiction about the later days of Dickens who works on his last story, leading him into the dregs of Victorian society. Right up my alley). Looking forward to both and I’m anxious to make comparisons between the novel and AMC series.

 

It was a Japanese Russian co production. I’ve seen in 5 or 6 tines and own the DVD.

 

Just ordered a copy myself. Thanks!!