The Terror: Limited Series (AMC)

I knew about the Franklin Expedition, but I hadn't heard of this book or the show until Monday. Someone at work told me too check it out & I'm glad I did. The first two episodes are really good. Sweet Jesus you can feel the cold & helplessness. I'm going to have to read the book now.

 

I'm enjoying this so far. It's like "Master and Commander" in reverse.

 

800+ pages in store for ya matey! I'd be interested in your thoughts when you finish it.

 

I've only seen the first episode and have only skimmed the thread to avoid spoilers, but what a great show. A very Lovecraftian vibe. I'll get caught up tonight.

 

I wish I was doing this in reverse, reading the book, then seeing the series. however....

 

I like it so far.

 

The first two episodes were really good.

 

I think the first two episodes were well done, but I'm a bit surprised they didn't do more backstory in England about how the ships were built, equipped for dealing with ice, and the "state of the art" engines and propellers that were installed on them. There's been no mention of rations or the enormous amounts of the lemon juice that were taken aboard to prevent scurvy. Indeed, this was a expedition and had been very well thought out in terms of preparation (as well as things could be back in Victorian England). Perhaps the rations will be mentioned later ...

Another aspect that hasn't been touched upon was the stunningly huge rat population that was on both ships. Ships during this time had big time problems with rats due to their ability to multiple so quickly (hence why we see some deserted islands teeming with rats years and years after a shipwreck). Anyway, maybe we'll get to that, too.

A couple of minor things bugged me, too. The two ships, when they became ice bound, were not nearly as close as they are portrayed in the show. To my recollection, they were almost a mile apart and separated by huge blocks of ice/drift that made it impossible to see the other ship even on a clear day. Secondly, and most importantly, the beginning of The Terror makes it very clear just how freaking COLD it was up there. Crew had to be well clothed and bundled to be above board (especially at night). To even put an eyeglass to your eye or touch anything metal without proper protection would cause loss of skin and misery. Yet, here we see people putting eyeglass to their eye with no problems and, worst of all, nobody's breath is ever shown. It'd be so cold that that would definitely to be case, but there's been none of that in any of the outdoor or above deck scenes we've witnessed.

 

i thought the second episode did a decent job of demonstrating the distance between ships when they gave an overheard view.

i agree with your observations but i guess some artistic liberty had to be taken in order to make things more palatable as a show.

 

Admittedly, I’m nitpicking because I know the book so well. I’m sure some of things I’ve brought up will be addressed and I do realize there’s only so much time to cover an 800 + page book. Yet, small things also help to make a good show great and, hopefully, things will continue to develop. I will say though the distance of ships is established, it’s still not far enough as to how they were actually positioned.

 

I had to look up on Wikipedia why they kept talking about engines. I initially assumed they had sails only. I did get a bit of a spoiler learning that the engines needed fresh water only to run and what that entailed.

 

I'm sorry now that I didn't wait until the end & binge-watch this. It's hard to wait a week between episodes.

 

The engines needed fresh water to run? No, they were steam engines and their fuel supply was coal. Perhaps we’re not talking about the same thing?

 

Interesting the HMS Terror was first built as a bomb ship and participated in the bombardment of Fort McHenry in the War of 1812. The line in the Star Spangled Banner "the bombs bursting in air" was from bombs shot from ships like the Terror. Her strong build as a bomb ship made her suitable to withstand ice as a polar exploration vessel after special modifications.

 

That's because that would be dramatically insert to portray. Those discussions are certainly available( and might be also for special features for the show) in the nonfiction books that provided information on the lost expedition that was the basis for this fictionalized mini-series.

 

The book is very good. Dan Simmons does a fine job of taking a real fatal disaster and imbuing it with a real sense of dread. The title, of course, refers to both the ship AND what they encountered in the novel (and show). Glad to see that Simmons was involved beyond just having them purchase the book for adaption. It's skillfully made but the tension is damaged by the constant interruptions of commercials.

 

I’m sorry. What

 

That should have read dramatically inert.

Showing the development of the ships, their drive system wouldn't really have worked within the context of this story. It also wouldn't be of dramatic interest to those coming to the main tail. It would slow down the narrative and a subplot with that story, in addition, to the back story on the relationship of the commanders prior to their expedition would bring the main plot to a stand still much as happened with "Westworld" (although that was, ultimately, rewarding, it brought the story to a near stall).

While it would have been interesting, it would also have been akin to dramatizing the nonfiction look at the whaling industry in Moby Dick and, wisely, every film version has gotten rid of a literary device that worked as a book but wouldn't work in a drama on TV or film.

 

but then we wouldn't have been able to see the captain take a leisurely yet ominous stroll back to his ship in the middle of the night!

 

And water! Salt water clogged up steam engines with salt, so they needed fresh water.

 

Gotcha!

 

The water used for the steam has to be fresh water. Salt water would be too corrosive.

 

My impression is that they did seem quite prepared, the ships looked sturdy (not that I know much about ships), and operations seemed well-run and organized. When the young guy who died of TB said he drank lemon juice every night, I was surprised, but it indicated to me he must have brought quite a bit of it with him.

It’s definitely quite interesting.

 

Heh, apparently I need a lesson on how steam engines work(ed). I’m a bit embarrassed here. Hmm.

 

Heads up! Another episode tonight! I've watched the first two three times each in their entirety and pieces of both more than that.

The expedition WAS well prepared. It was the most well organized and thought out mission that the discovery services part of the British military had ever carried out. You're correct, David Young does mention that has been drinking the lemon juice every night, but it keeps getting mentioned that Franklin is worried about scurvy. That early on in the mission, scurvy shouldn't have been an issue as the lemon juice should have still been effective. It is true, though, that after a certain time citrus juices lose their vitamin qualities much like gasoline becomes useless after sitting for a long time as the chemicals separate. Of course, those that know the story can probably figure out the scurvy worries are not one of the main problems for the sailors. It's something else (but no spoilers).

My feeling from doing some reading is that while this story is, indeed, based upon Dan Simmons' The Terror some of the storyline will be changed significantly due to the fact that both ships were found after Simmons wrote his novel. Therefore, more information was known to the producers than the author at the time of writing and the story will be adjusted accordingly. As I said, maybe they'll do more backstory on the expedition or maybe they won't. Suffice to say, I'm really enjoying the series and have been anticipating it greatly. I've read a ton about it so I'm going through the shows with a fine tooth comb and taking in everything I can.