Alan Rasmussen

James Cameron portrays an extraterrestrial family on a distant planet as The Brady Bunch. Mom, Dad and four children all acting in stereotypical roles manufactured for television decades ago. The whimsical daughter, rebellious teen boys, the outcast foreigner taken in by ‘dad & mom’ make up the cast. Throw in a vindictive bad guy to create conflict and you’ve got a threadbare story that’s been told thousands of times. A quirky housekeeper and a space age station wagon are all that’s needed to round out a fatigued story line. I expected a lot better.

Great beginning that went downhill fast starting with episode three. The dogs stole the show early on but they ended up at a doggy hotel in about episode four never to be seen again. I stuck with it through episode seven hoping to get some clarifications, closure and perhaps some of the excitement portrayed in the early episodes. No such luck. Episode seven was mostly dialogue between the two maIn characters driving across a desert. Poor attempt to pull it all together at the end. Not worth the effort.

This is pure fiction. Poorly done fiction. And racist. The Underground Railroad was never a train, and modern use of electricity didn’t exist pre Civil War. Neither did elevators and skyscrapers. All are portrayed in this film. Black people were used as subjects of medical experiments, as shown in this series, and may very well reinforce vaccination hesitation in the present day. I can’t imagine a young person, of any race, watching this as their introduction to the history of slavery in the US. Roots, Twelve Years A Slave, and Harriet are far more accurate portrayals of this dark chapter of our country.