Masters of Science Fiction (TV Series) The Awakening (2007) User Reviews

Starts out good, then fades fast ...

[Vic_max · 4/10 · 12 August 2007]

The first half of this movie is pretty good, but when you finally see where the plot is going, it's disappointing.

Basically, the story centers on the government's investigation of a mysterious lifeform and two catatonic people found at a helicopter crash site in Iraq. The story follows the scientific and political developments that occur as time goes on and strange things start to happen...

I really liked that setup - plus the great acting. The actors and the direction are very good so kudos to the show on that level. Everything looked like this would probably be a pretty good sci-fi story - even if there was a mediocre follow through at the end.

However, eventually the plot changes to one of political preaching and its obvious what's going to happen. It was kind of embarrassing to watch at that point since it's an obvious political censorship of the US's involvement in Iraq. No subtle inferences - it's loud and clear.

The problem is that it's too loud and soon dominates the story. Although the movie is not all terribly bad, I can't imagine who would actually benefit from watching it.

Amateur Attempt at Science Fiction

[wulfrunner · 3/10 · 25 November 2007]

This was terrible.

With the amount of talent and experience the team has, I am amazed that they produced such a poor example of "Science Fiction". Besides lacking any true originality or mystery, the characters and events utterly failed to be believable. The plot is furthered by leaps and bounds of crooked logic and the musical score tries too hard to compensate for it. I felt that I was watching a cheap ripoff of an episode of Outer Limits (which itself is not a fantastic example of the genre). When I started watching, I hoped to be intrigued and forced to think. Unfortunately, the message was insultingly obvious.

Great stuff; well-produced, exciting and thought-provoking

[sarastro7 · 9/10 · 18 August 2007]

I really don't know what's wrong with people. This was a great, topical and totally engaging story about the fact that the nations of the world (and America in particular) are too paranoid and too warlike, which is a huge problem for all humanity in that we might destroy ourselves. To decry this as "anti-American" and support some misguided sense of militant patriotism instead is insane.

This story left open the question of who the "angelic aliens" were. They might have been the Celestial Host itself, or they might have been aliens who simply used that guise to catch our attention. I am an atheist so I prefer to believe the latter, but I have to say it makes sense that God, if he existed, would take this kind of action on the last day. The Judgment being to challenge us to either lay down the weapons or to use them to destroy the world. That's just about exactly what doomsday is all about, isn't it? So this is a good story that makes total sense, whether you're a progressive or a Christian. Apparently, however, if you're some fanatic patriot you would have been in favor of global self-destruction. I hope that prompts some people to have another think coming.

9 out of 10.

US Bashers use their Freedom to Praise Totalitarian Regime

[rixrex · 12 August 2007]

The first episode of this series was a ham-fisted political statement with little merit. Viewing of the second episode ultimately left the same impression as the first. While initially promising, and a much better use of actors and a wider, more involving setting, this episode succumbed to the same preachy, heavy-handed political dogma that marred the first one. In fact, this episode was less subtle, more absurd and more strident in it's denouncement of US policy, as well as naive and unrealistic about other nations' motives.

The setup is that an all-powerful force comes to Earth to stop warfare, promote understanding (via language translation), and ultimately create a peaceful world. Of course we are privy to this intent because we are told so by the plot, while characters in the story are given bits and pieces. This force eventually leads the world to the brink of destruction as it shuts down Earth's nuclear weapons in a sequential manner. The world's leaders must decide whether to attack the extraterrestrial forces or submit to being disarmed. A discussion about the motives of the ETs follows, are they benevolent or hiding ulterior motives? Who knows?

Unfortunately, the denouement of this intriguing setup involves the use of a heavy hammer to pound the tired message that US imperialism ruined the world while Soviet and Chinese socialistic benevolence could save it. This is being stated by those who hate the US political administration and policy, and have a unrealistically rosy view of other big nations. These are the same individuals who would NOT get to make such a statement about their government but would be imprisoned if they were living in these other nations, or would be slaughtered for such statements if living under an extremist Islamic government.

Are we to believe that both China and Russia would so graciously accept disarmament by a force seen as "God", an entity that both governments have denied for years? Is it realistic that a US President and his military staff would actually announce to these same nations what their plans of defense would be? Is it also realistic that an all-powerful extraterrestrial force would only be able to shut down nuclear arms in sequence rather than all at once? Isn't it sensible that the military staff would warn the President that the ET forces may have unkind motives? Did nobody here see the Twilight Zone episode, To Serve Man?

The scene of the US President, of course played by the Smoking Man from X-files, being lectured by the Chinese "President" (who in reality is actually NOT a president) about humanity was laughable. Yes, we all know that China is a staunch defender of human rights. The Chinese have so much more freedom from tyranny than we, especially their protesting students. The only realistic moment in this whole scenario was when the French agree to capitulate to the ETs, and then that was made into a joke by having the US react to that with surprise. Forget this tripe and rent or buy a copy of The Day the Earth Stood Still, a better version of this idea.

Note to the writers and producers of this series: We already know what happens when an extraterrestrial force arrives looking like a "God" and appears to be benevolent, and are welcomed. If you are curious about this, just research these terms = MAYAN CIVILIZATION and CONQUISTADORS

When exactly did Michael Moore become a "master of science fiction"?

[TBJCSKCNRRQTreviews · 1/10 · 12 August 2007]

Wow, that was awful! My fiancée(who has aided me in several other recent reviews of mine) and I watched this last night, and the quality was so low, we decided to write a review of it together... to warn off anyone lucky enough to not have watched it yet. No, the "documentary"-maker may not have had a direct hand in creating(nay, *spawning*) this episode, but it sure reeks of him. The story was preachy and condescending, not to mention poorly structured(essentially entirely built up around the political agenda that it forces upon us for a good deal of it). Another trait that fits with him having made it is the blatant anti-Americanism. No matter your stance in politics, no matter how you feel about the agenda pushed here, the presentation is undeniably extremely poor... which is really the very core of the problem with this. The message was heavy-handed, preachy(*at* you, not even to you) and insulting. This made After School Specials look subtle and Jerry Springers' Final Thought look intelligent. It's not so much Masters of Science Fiction as Masters, if even that, of Left Wing Propaganda. The acting was unimpressive, save for perhaps O'Quinn(whose presence in the episode, coupled with our attraction to the genre of science fiction were largely the reasons we watched the episode), but Rohm, for example, is just... bad. Why she keeps being cast is a mystery. Editing was OK, cinematography had moments that made me wish the director would pursue music videos, instead. The special effects seemed as if they wanted to save any money they could... save for one effect, which was good, and another, which seemed to have no purpose at all. The writing is quite lousy... clichés are plentiful, it was drenched in naivety, predictability abounds, the story never really captivates(in spite of its title, I could easily see people falling asleep during it), even though it manages to rip off far more established sci-fi titles(including Independence Day and The Day The Earth Stood Still... the latter being from when obvious messages in this genre were at least more accepted and usual, and actually a well-produced piece of celluloid; this was simplistic, offensive... modern propaganda). The writer/director seems to have also taken a note from X-Files(in addition to promoting The Cigarette Smoking Man to President), in leaving the ending open(to appease and appeal to both religious people and UFO enthusiasts... and here's hoping they'll all see right through it). The score was... strange. I'm not sure who thought those drums were a good idea. The production values aren't dreadful. The President and Americans, particularly military officials, all come off as war-mongers(the throwaway line about the fallout, oh *please*). The good guys are all the other countries, in this piece of pap. How was this even sci-fi? Heck, it could easily be argued that there is nothing that would bring about that classification to be found at all. Ignore the promos. Please. For your own good. And these are the "masters"? These episodes, the cream of the crop(since they were the ones ABC *chose* to air, there were two they didn't…what must they have been like)? Somehow, early parts aren't devoid of promise... the first scene with O'Quinn actually has some dialog and points that were interesting, and the first episode, "A Clean Escape," did at least show some quality to it. The only value this has is to be laughed at. We want our hour back. It should be noted that we only got to see these first two episodes, as our local ABC affiliate chose to air pre-season football instead of the two episodes following it... and ABC buried it in a spot in the summer, when they would be watched by hardly anyone. I recommend this only to those who agree with the message being shoved down the throats of viewers... so the preaching can go no further than the ears of the choir... and those who are fans of science fiction and/or Terry O'Quinn should especially stay away. Far, far away. And to the people behind this sorry excuse for entertainment and/or commentary: Guys... get on a soap-box and stay away from this fine medium(or, as my fiancée suggested, stick to message boards, so you can be put on Ignore). We don't need more sci-fi *this* badly. In case you were wondering if my fiancée and I hated this... yes. Yes, we did. We wish we could give this a zero, but... 1/10

"The Awakening" not Science Fiction?

[Nitebird48 · 8/10 · 15 August 2007]

To anyone who is questioning how "The Awakening" qualifies as science fiction, I also have a question: What could possibly be more scientifically fictitious than the belief that there IS a God in Heaven who rules the Universe; that He is the very same God in whom America claims to place it's trust; that there actually can come a day when there will be peace on earth; and that the President of the U.S., of all the world's leaders, would be the one chosen to lead us all to Peace through his understanding and delivery of the message Christ was sent, by God, to give to the people of the earth? As someone recently commented: "What a load of crap"! In keeping with the premise of science fiction, it seems to me that the far-fetched, unbelievably ridiculous subject matter of "The Awakening" more than qualifies it as Science Fiction.

This hasn't aged well

[dvg757 · 1/10 · 16 August 2022]

The message of this episode: evil America lectured by the wise and benevolent Russia and China that if only America laid down its weapons, the world would be peaceful! Events in Ukraine this year show what nonsense that is. The idea we can disarm the world and all hold hands and live happily is dangerous nonsense. America may not be perfect but it's a lot less imperfect than the alternatives.

It was decent

[kdhbi42 · 8/10 · 23 January 2015]

I'm not completely blind to the flaws in our country and our government, but this series so far seems to skew against Americans. I could see if it was told in a U.S.-centric universe and the message was that "we" needed to change, but it was a little corny when the communist countries immediately stood for what was right and our president practically had to be possessed to change his mind. I have watched a good bit of sci-fi so I am not incensed by the political (religious?) stance of this episode. The idea that Americans are wrong in all things is kind of getting old though. We didn't invent the negative aspects of humanity and I have a hard time believing that any country has eliminated them in their culture. Anyway, the premise was decent, I enjoyed the special effects, and it was nice to see the cop from Angel in something again. I guess I covered the negative aspects more than the positive, but it was reasonably good sci-fi. Overall I would have enjoyed it more if the aliens didn't have wings at the end. I hope the later episodes aren't huge downers like the first two.