I just heard about this miniseries and actually am pretty intrigued. It seems very battlestar galactica - ish, in the regards its a mystery/drama.

Anyone else have any thoughts?

If they do one season and done, it will be good.

If they pull an "under the dome" and say "**** people are watching this! Quick put this ***** on life support so we can milk it for 3 or 4 seasons" it will suck.

Low expectations honestly. When Defiance was coming out, I was like "Hey, this could be a decent science fiction show actually done by SyFy." Yeah, that show has had its moments, but as a whole it has been pretty disappointing IMO.

I just hope there is at least one game of penny can

I saw a feature on it at a movie theater before the movie. Looks pretty interesting. But it could go the way of Caprica just as likely as BSG.

Good reviews out there so far

Forbes
Huff Post
IGN

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Part of what makes Ascension excellent is its genuine commitment to surprise and pace. At no point in the first episode of the three-night event do things feel dull or wheel spinning. At no point does it feel like chess pieces are being moved for the sake of moving chess pieces. For the first time in a long time, Syfy's managed to deliver a series that puts its characters ahead of its premise, and it's something that will set the show off in a direction that will lead to great success with audiences throughout the run of the season.

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Looking forward to this. Hopefully it won't dissapoint.

That was a pretty crazy ending. I'm not sure what to think yet, but I'm intrigued to see more.

Not horrible. Good twist at the end. The guy on earth whose father started the project is not a very good actor.

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That was a pretty crazy ending. I'm not sure what to think yet, but I'm intrigued to see more.

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Yeah I thought it was OK until the ending, now I am looking forward to tomorrow.

I guessed the twist 15 minutes in but will still be watching the rest of it.

A few pretty bad actors but enjoyed it.

Seeing Tricia Helfer made me really miss BSG

What in the ****

Huge gamble to have that kind of twist in the first episode. But I'm interested enough to keep watching.

dat ending tho

Just brilliant, just brilliant with that kind of twist. I suspected after reading a couple of reviews about there being a twist and what we saw in the episode, but DAMN!

Good second night, though it's veered more into conspiracy/murder/intrigue territory than scifi. The scene with the necklace was a bit creepy.
will be interesting to see how they wrap it up.

Just watched the final night's episode.

Other than HORRIBLE acting by the kid and several others...good/weird story.

Not the ending I was expecting.

Well seems pretty clear it was set up for a series. Good ending regardless.

Not a bad plot line.

How many times did the right-hand man say, "We've got a problem!"

The acting was staggeringly bad. I've never seen anything quite like it.

I'm generally a forgiving moviegoer/TV-watcher, but this miniseries was awful. And It hurts to write that, because I WANTED it to be good. But it was a massive letdown. They keep you guessing right to end, but then never deliver, never pay off, never answer. If they were aiming to make a series then I understand not tying everything up in nice little bow, but SOME things have to be resolved in a satisfying way. (Not that it will ever become a series anyway.) Instead it just kind of ... ended. Like the writers got tired and said "ok let's end it here."
I thought the acting was fine and did not get in the way of the story - or would not have, had there BEEN a story. Mostly it was a series of unconnected events and people stabbing each other in the back. My two biggest criticisms were (1) lack of plot/dramatic development, and (2) a complete lack of likable characters. Even the "good" guys were sleazebuckets. Who was I supposed to root for? Why exactly should I care what happens to ANY of these folks? The one character I found myself somewhat liking got unceremoniously offed at the end.
Not sure what to write now. Just disappointed.

only watched 2 of 3 episodes.

1st one was enjoyable but way too predictable. You get so many hints throughout that I guess it all by the end. I'm usually not the type to actually "think" and rather just enjoy but the twist was so obvious.

2nd one was ok. I almost fell asleep. Seems like lots of story threads all over the place. Will watch the ending tonight and hopefully they tie up all the ends well.

I think some of you remember the first few episodes of Battlestar Galactica a little too fondly.

This was a solid B- all the way around, and of course it didn't tie things up -- it's meant to have the viewers wanting more and to be extended into a series.

A lot of cliche aspects, but with 3-4 different settings to play off of each week (inside the ship, pulling the strings on the ship, attempts to have the project revealed, and now whatever plot-lines come along with whatever planet Galt is on) there is tons of material to write on.

Based on the other crap that gets picked up on cable TV, I'd be shocked if this didn't get at least a season.

I finally watched the last episode. I think this was entertaining and found the life on the ship to be entertaining. The plot twist was pretty easy to guess. If this got a series, I think I would pass though.

Maybe somebody can help me with this.


***SPOILER***






During the radiation storm, when the XO stuck his head out of the airlock, wouldn't he have been able to see that huge gap between both sides of the saucers that envelope the top part of the ship?

The other thing I was wondering...How many bottles of champagne do they have onboard? I mean, they had tons of the stuff flowing for the launch day celebration and the baby-making celebration and they are in the 50th year of their voyage.

Finally, how did the doctors husband know how to contact the outside world? If he were alive when the ship "left" Earth, he would have been a child. Seems like he would have had a similar type of meltdown like the one dude did if he had found out he was still on Earth the whole time.

I understand it is a TV show and there will be plot holes, it just seems like there are some massive gaps in the show (like having things that look like tablets, having servers, but still recording everything on tape).




***END SPOILER***

quote:

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Part of what makes Ascension excellent is its genuine commitment to surprise and pace. At no point in the first episode of the three-night event do things feel dull or wheel spinning. At no point does it feel like chess pieces are being moved for the sake of moving chess pieces. For the first time in a long time, Syfy's managed to deliver a series that puts its characters ahead of its premise, and it's something that will set the show off in a direction that will lead to great success with audiences throughout the run of the season.

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I guess I watched a different show then because I felt like the entire 2nd ep was incredibly dull.

I was out of the country when it was on but recorded it and finally watched today. I avoided this thread so there were no spoilers for me.

Okay, the end of Episode 1 shocker that they aren't really in space did surprise me. But honestly, it was kind of disappointing after that knowing they really aren't in space. When everything is fake nothing's really at stake. It turned into a "The Truman Show In Space." If we were told in advance that was the pitch, would we watch it? Well, that will be the pitch for the TV series.

And I don't think this concept has the legs for a TV series for that reason.

Agreed^

Also, some things that happen early on make zero sense given the later relevations. Like when the "star child" girl points out the view port and says they're headig the wrong way, they need to aim for a different Galaxy or only death will await. What's it matter which way they're pointing if they aren't going anywhere?

It's like BSG?

Is it going to rerun?

The tv is currently occupied by someone watching Julie Newmar in Batman telling me how beautiful she is, so I can't check directtv's guide.

Tanya, the whole "Peyton Place in Space" everybody sleeping with everybody soap operish relationships thing is rather similar to BSG.

By the end of the third episode it was getting pretty absurd.

I caught it on Netflix and I liked it overall. I miss not having a sci fi show to watch.

Funny, I love science fiction, even alot of the 1950s and 1960s crappy sci fi. But I never liked any of the Star Trek series.

But here are my complaints about Ascension:

1. It is the Truman Show in Space. Kind of disappointing. I would rather it be a real ship.
2. They are very, very inconsistent about the crew being from 1963. A black is second in charge? I guess that reminds me of all the black Apollo astronauts in the 1960s. I know they are the 2nd generation from the original crew, but still.
3. The amount of sex is cartoonish, although kudos on the casting couch.
4. The acting is so cheesy. I kept thinking I was going to hear the Days of our Lives chimes.

Still, I hope they continue the series and it looks like they are.

My complaint was the whole accelerated evolution thing. That was just stupid and unneeded.

They could have just kept it as a Truman show rip off about a nasa/cia/illuminati/etc experiment to study the long term effects of isolation during space travel.

The gifted kid thing was just retarded.

I didn't get the whole upstairs/downstairs vibe on the ship. That seemed more 1890s than 1963.

It would have been more interesting to take a late 1950s world and sent them on a different trajectory on women's rights, civil rights, sexual revolution.

But I don't think the swinging 60s had near as much sex as did the members of the spaceship.

It didn't get picked back up.

It was an interesting premise. Would've liked to see it continue, although I don't know where they were going with the telepathic evolution thing or whatever that was. Agree with Duncan that it was pretty silly, but I guess that was there way of making it actual Sci Fi.