1.01/02: The Pilot episode (may contain spoilers).

[triffid]

The Pilot episode (contains some spoilers).

Ok, just finished watching the pilot episode and have to say I liked it. The characters were all bearable and show great promise with lot's of room for development, the foreshadowing was very subtle and the show in general left me wanting more. I think I'm going to have to watch the pilot again as I feel there were one or two things I missed, but then I've no objection to giving this a second viewing, that's how much I liked it.

By the way, for any Mums and Dads that are thinking of letting their kids watch Odyssey 5 let me just warn you that there is some swearing and one very brief "blink and you'll miss it" nudity scene. Now while I don't think it's going to mentally scar any children (both the swearing and nudity do fit in and are not used gratuitously) I thought I'd just say so anyway. This is definatley and adult show.

Right, enough with the general view, let's get down to the spoiler stuff.......

Spoiler

The first thing that I noticed (and approve of) is that the writers have acknowledged that no matter how careful our five heroes maybe, they are going to change elements of the five years leading up to earth's demise. I know that the whole point of their mission is to change history, but they just seem to have put some thought into the reasons for those changes.

Take for instance the Football game that Kurt Mendel uses all his savings to bet on, as word spreads from the bookies that such a large bet has been made others also place the same bet. News reaches the football team who are now so under pressure because of it that the kicker fowls up a goal that in the he would have scored in the normal timeline. Very nice.

Of course as Kurt Later points out, the fact that they have now changed history means that they can no longer be certain of how long they have got left til the great catastrophy occurrs, it could be five years from now but then it could be tomorrow.

I think that one major history change is going to be that Chuck Taggart and his wife will get divorced. She didn't believe him when he told her about him and their son being from the future, but then come to think of it would you?

-----------------------------

I liked the way they all appeared in the past, especially the predicament Angela Perry found herself in with the spacewalk. The bits about her being unconcious during the destruction of the Earth and her hysteria when she suddenly finds herself awake and floating a good few miles above the planet, were I thought nicely handled. It may not be much but sometimes it can be the little things that count.

So do we have any ideas about what was contained in the water tank in the wharehouse? And what connection does this have to the mysterious "Leviathan" or Project Big Sky?

I have a theory. Think back to the scene containing destruction of the planet. It seemed as if the earth was being covered by a great big dirty cloud, what if the cloud was actually made up of billions of the small creatures seen on the computer display at the end of the show? Of course the woman did say that this is only a simulation, could this be what they were growing in the tank?

It's going to be real interesting to see how this all develops, I myself will avoid spoilers for up and coming episodes like the plague. I don't mind discussing theories about what certain events already seen may mean, but that's as far as I'm going to take it .

 

[Dave]

Re: The Pilot episode

I'm not going to post spoiler brackets, because it is already in the thread title.

DON'T read further unless you've seen the pilot episode.

I agree about the 'Timeline isn't fixed' premise. That made me change my whole view of the show -- sorry, already said that in another thread.

Originally posted by triffid
So do we have any ideas about what was contained in the water tank in the wharehouse? And what connection does this have to the mysterious "Leviathan" or Project Big Sky?

I remember one of them saying that the tank was man-size, so my assumption was that they were growing a biological organism, possibly a cloned human with altered genes. But maybe I've just been watching way too much 'X-Files'.

The computer progam running with the nanobots building things and connecting together was called "Leviathan version 4". I'm not sure, but I think the uploaded communication that Chuck read in the Shuttle said "LEVIATHAN V5".

I didn't video it, so if you watch it again check for me.

Do you notice the re-occurrence of the number 5 here?

Odyssey 5 is the shuttle's name. There are 5 in the crew. They are sent back 5 years. Leviathan V5.

The atmospheric reaction began as soon as the satellite was deployed and it recieved the upload, so what ever was on the satellite must have been the cause.

"Project Big Sky" suggests that it is something to do with the atmosphere, but how that ties in with the nanobots or the thing in the vat I've no idea.

The virus in the computers, the genetically programmed patients, and the death of Chuck's associate, all lead to a very large conspiracy at the heart of government.

Too much 'X-Files' again.

Actually, it is more like 'Dark Skies.' I'm waiting for next week anyhow.

Another thing. The characters seemed to put some emphasis on the words of the 'Seeker' when he told them that he could not go back in time himself, because only biological organisms could -- meaning he was himself some kind of Android.

What relevance is that?

He said that he visited lots of worlds as a 'Seeker' but each time he got there they had suffered a fate similar to that of the Earth.

So, is something doing this same thing to many different inhabited planets? Are we to believe that the enemy is an AI because of the nanobot/ Leviathan references?

Only he said that his own planet was destroyed, so was his planet a planet of robots like him, or was it a biological race who created him to go 'Seeking'?

I have lots of questions, and no answers, which is why I will be watching this.

 

[Krystal]

Re: The Pilot episode (contains some spoilers).

I totally love the thing about they returning back and the cause and effect reaction to the things they do in the past. And how this will affect the outcome of everything. Like Kurt's bet, and the director's death since he was alive in the future.

I also agree with Angela's dilemma when she returns. Was a great scene. Also love the reaction of the people in Nasa to Chuck talking her out of it. After all they don't know that Chuck and Angela were in a mission together in the future.




Krystal

 

[Tabitha]

Hey, no fair, I missed the nudity
Only kidding of course!

This show rocks! I think I mentioned somewhere else that I had read this show being described as "a natural succesor to the X Files", well scratch that, I think Odyssey 5 is a lot more sophisticated.

NICE opening sequence with the upside down view of the earth, followed by a big jolt.
Nice use of Coldplay also.
Special Effects are very good too - come a long way since B5's graphics. Anyone seen Space Station 3D IMAX? Very reminiscent of that
The Canadarm in action!

The characters are wonderful, the effects are amazing, the premise is fantastic but compelling. As regards the characterisation, I am glad there is conflict, and reluctance to believe or join the effort to stop these events. I wonder if at some point they might have a story which deals with the cause seeming hopeless.

The pilot and Weller's son seem a bit too young to be on a space shuttle. Aren't astronauts usually pretty mature? Not old, just experienced But, that is just about my only complaint.

I agree with Triffid about the interesting way the 5's actions are effecting the timeline - seeing Kurt's team lose was quite a surprise, and I wondered for a while how they were going to explain it. The explanation he used was wonderful, believable, and adds a large degree of uncertainty to the future of these people.

Originally posted by Dave
The computer progam running with the nanobots building things and connecting together was called "Leviathan version 4". I'm not sure, but I think the uploaded communication that Chuck read in the Shuttle said "LEVIATHAN V5".

Odyssey 5 is the shuttle's name. There are 5 in the crew. They are sent back 5 years. Leviathan V5

I think the readout on the shuttle did say Leviathan V5 - because it made me think that perhaps this was the "5" referred to in the title. But, as you say, there are many occurrences of this number.

Originally posted by Dave
Another thing. The characters seemed to put some emphasis on the words of the 'Seeker' when he told them that he could not go back in time himself, because only biological organisms could -- meaning he was himself some kind of Android.

I assumed he was simply a being that was not biological - ie an alien who was silicon-based or some other such cliche. Never occurred to me that he might be an android. Does he specify whether he is a member of the race that sent him out? He could perhaps be a construct. But you have already covered this. My, you were thorough in your impressions of this show, were you taking notes Dave?

Too many questions, no answers yet. I wonder how long they will string us out before giving us any more sustantive clues?

/edit

Oh I forgot to add this - there were one or two great quotes, like this one (slightly paraphrased):

"It's probably some kind of artificial construct, so we don't freak out"
"How would you know that?"
"Over 300 Hours of Star Trek"

LMAO!

Some other thoughts that came back to me.
When is this set? Is the idea that it starts 5 years in our future, and they come back to the present? There aren't many references to pop culture or other things in our 'reality' to check against.

Have they REALLY travelled back? I think I need to find a transcript, but during the show I think I was under the impression that they were going back into their own memories, or something. How are they able to transmit their findings back to the Seeker?

Is there a chance that the Seeker is not in fact a "good guy"? Am I just paranoid? Actually the reason I think this is that the Seeker mentions that he has found only dust when looking for other planets. This makes me think that perhaps whatever the "bad thing" is, it is following the Seeker.

This story seems very familiar - have we seen it before somewhere?

 

[Dave]

Originally posted by Tabitha
Does he specify whether he is a member of the race that sent him out? He could perhaps be a construct. But you have already covered this. My, you were thorough in your impressions of this show, were you taking notes Dave?

Only taking mental notes, I wish I had been, or had videoed this episode, because that computer code upload is a vital clue, and it was only on screen for a few seconds.

Originally posted by Tabitha
When is this set? Is the idea that it starts 5 years in our future, and they come back to the present? There aren't many references to pop culture or other things in our 'reality' to check against.

I did an online search for Odyssey 5 and found surprising little. But this was the big question. The producers of the show say that it is set in the present, 2002. So, the Earth was destroyed in 2007. In the second episode (hope this is not a spoiler) but at his Birthday party, Sarah gives her son an XBox (this is a Sony TV production ) which would only be possible after the end of 2001.

Originally posted by Tabitha
Is there a chance that the Seeker is not in fact a "good guy"

It's possible.

 

[Annette]

I have still got this on video (being borrowed by a friend tho)

Found it a bit strange at first but put that down to being very tired. Seems as tho its going to be a good series. The hubby likes it so it must be good. I will continue to watch it.

As for the 'thing' in the tank reminded me a bit of The Great Mutato (from x-files). A monster of huge ugliness.


annette