It's weird that with the caliber of on screen talent they hired, it still has the production values of contemporary Doctor Who.
Choosing better actors over better FX can be a good choice, but only if you have a great script, and this doesn't. It's very boring and gives these actors very little to work with.
It's unrealistic to compare this to Star Wars with its feature film budget, but the FX are notably worse than Space: 1999, and even the original Star Trek.
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The first episode is definitely the best. The Martians are sentient and aware of the threat of humans arriving. They are able to trick the humans with telepathic delusions, and the scene where the astronaut learns his brother is not his brother, and that his dinner wasn't what he thought he was eating, is very nicely done. The brother/Martian actor does a great job as he's 'unmasked'. That was one of those scenes that stuck in my head for 35+ years.
The ruins of the Martian city are fantastic. Sure seems like they could have spent a lot more time there.
The series gets duller and duller.
The third chapter, with the dude wandering around the deserted human settlement- who cares?? The third chapter does feature the always excellent Barry Morse, but all I ever think is why wasn't he in an earlier chapter?
Probably, this entire production would have been far more successful if the total running time were trimmed by 1/3 to 1/2.
I almost wonder if 2001: A Space Odyssey had a negative impact on this era by too many filmmakers thinking if you make it really slow and vague, you're doing Kubrick. Space:1999 (season 1) seemed to have that impression. Unfortunately, it doesn't work that way.
Choosing better actors over better FX can be a good choice, but only if you have a great script, and this doesn't. It's very boring and gives these actors very little to work with.
It's unrealistic to compare this to Star Wars with its feature film budget, but the FX are notably worse than Space: 1999, and even the original Star Trek.
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The first episode is definitely the best. The Martians are sentient and aware of the threat of humans arriving. They are able to trick the humans with telepathic delusions, and the scene where the astronaut learns his brother is not his brother, and that his dinner wasn't what he thought he was eating, is very nicely done. The brother/Martian actor does a great job as he's 'unmasked'. That was one of those scenes that stuck in my head for 35+ years.
The ruins of the Martian city are fantastic. Sure seems like they could have spent a lot more time there.
The series gets duller and duller.
The third chapter, with the dude wandering around the deserted human settlement- who cares?? The third chapter does feature the always excellent Barry Morse, but all I ever think is why wasn't he in an earlier chapter?
Probably, this entire production would have been far more successful if the total running time were trimmed by 1/3 to 1/2.
I almost wonder if 2001: A Space Odyssey had a negative impact on this era by too many filmmakers thinking if you make it really slow and vague, you're doing Kubrick. Space:1999 (season 1) seemed to have that impression. Unfortunately, it doesn't work that way.