"Wayward Pines" miniseries discussion (spoilers)

[jefferiestubes8]

I'm surprised no one has started a thread on this FOX TV series that is already on it's 4th episode.

Wayward Pines is an American television series based on the Wayward Pines novels by Blake Crouch. Developed for television by Chad Hodge, the pilot was directed by M. Night Shyamalan, with both as executive producers.

It is set in a small town in Idaho.
Genres: Thriller, Mystery, Drama, (with horror, sci-fi-ish and dystopian elements)
Filming took place East of Vancouver, Canada.

After three episodes, you’ve been reminded of The Prisoner, Under the Dome, and select episodes of Fringe, The X-Files, and The Twilight Zone, as well as Lost Highway, Vanilla Sky, The Truman Show,

It has a feel of Lost, Twin Peaks, and also uses Shymalan's own “The Village”.
It is a limited 10-episode miniseries. It is very serialized but that's what makes it more cinematic and has the ability to be binge-watched. This shorter episodic storytelling lends itself to a slower paced story like a long feature film and it's sequel. In total it runs 7 1/2 hours without commercials.

As shows become more cinematic, it makes more sense for them to achieve an arc during the course of a single digestible season. Two of the best things on TV last year—the first season of True Detective and HBO's four-parter Olive Kitteridge—were effectively miniseries.

SOURCE
Fox wanted to make it a limited-run "event series".

I really liked the stylized cinematography and the look of the show which is heavily graded and contrasty in the post production. I thought the acting was fine although Juliette Lewis is always a little odd. I also liked the pacing and the slower introduction of characters in 2 episodes rather than just in the pilot.
During the series Shyamalan brought on feature directors for some episodes Nimrod Antal and Zal Batmanglij so the quality will be pretty high.

I'm glad broadcast TV is doing miniseries and shorter series with higher quality rather than milk it out to 22 episodes of separate episode stories and an arc. In 10-episodes you can really have a full story arc and real character arcs along with just enough character development.

Who else is watching. What do you think so far?

 

[TheSeeker]

I've seen the first three episodes and so far I really like it. Not much more to add other than I feel the pacing is pretty good so far, but I hope they don't wait too long to reveal things.

 

[bigdaddy]

Someone tell me if it's decent once the whole thing airs.

 

[Lonemagpie]

Enjoying it so far, though I'd figured out what the place is by the end of the first episode. (M Night Charlatan will have to get up very early to surprise me with a twist.)

Did enjoy the way the Sheriff got his, after the previous episode's cold-blooded execution.

Spoiler: I'm predicting

Reservation for the last humans on Earth, right?

 

[Starbreaker]

It's not bad. It's completely unbelievable in a weird soft of way.

 

[Velocity]

reminded me of The Prisoner at first, but he's no Patrick McGoohan.

 

[Borgminister]

Some really bad directing during that rock climbing scene--cables visible on either side of the climber!

It's a fairly good show, but certainly no classic.

 

[Guy Gardener]

2 out of ten.

 

[Beagleman]

The minute I finish an episode I forget 90% of what just happend. It is a really forgetable show but I'm still in...

 

[Enterprise is Great]

I'm surprised that they're adapting the trilogy into just 10 episodes. I thought that they'd just be adapting the first one. Hopefully it won't feel rushed.

 

[.:: TSN ::.]

No idea about what happens in the novels, but atleast so far it hasnt felt rushed.

If I was Burke, first thing I would have done as a sheriff was find all the keys and try to find that place with all the cars where Pope was before..


Btw, should this thread be in the SF&F forum? This can obviously be classified as scifi.

 

[1001001]

We're enjoying this so far. I've always liked Matt Dillon.

The problem is shows like this hardly ever come through with a solid explanation/ending.

If this turns out to be Hell or some stupid crap like that, someone's getting a reckoning!

 

[SPCTRE]

2 out of ten.

Would not pine for?

 

[Guy Gardener]

Exactly.

Even if it's a good story eventually, it's taking way too long to get to the meat.

 

[Turd Ferguson]

I feel like I would enjoy this show more if M. Night Shyamalan's name wasn't plastered all over it. That automatically makes me want to hate it and think of all the possibilities are for the "TWIST" that's coming.

I like everybody in it, and as long as I block out that opening Shyamalan credit, I can enjoy the show. If they really wanted to go for a twist ending, they should have saved that credit for the final frame. "Executive Producer - M. Night Shyamalan"

 

[.:: TSN ::.]

That was an interesting episode. I dont know if I should believe the future angle or still expect some sort of an twist.

So was the doctor seen in the beginning talking to Burke's boss actually a "past" version? Has he been in hibernation also?

And why revive the first generation just now? Why not before?

 

[Guy Gardener]

"His family is looking for him"

Then they bring the family to Wayward Pines.

The people hibernating, are living their lives in artificial reality, like in The Matrix?

The concern and worry Mom and the Boy had for Matt Dillion, must have been destabilizing their hibernation, forcing them to bang their heads against the barriers of their cage.

I don't completely believe what's going on.

Doctor lady was using neurolinguistic programming to, well, "program" those kids, creating a cult mentality.

Which means that there was probably also compliance drugs in the food, because only a moron wouldn't notice what she was doing, even if most of what she was telling them was the truth, if it was the truth.

(I'm going to get dark here.)

Have you heard the Stolen Generation? Mixed race Aboriginals were taken by the Austalian government, and adopted to well meaning white people, who passed on enough racism, that after three or four generations of purely white coupling, it was expected that any signs of outward Aboriginalism would be superficially untraceable.

An early 20th century eugenics program.

If the first generation is not food, or not only food, maybe the Abbies are expected to breed with the first generation before they're eaten? Consider if a thousand teen agers are put out into the no mans land every year to be Abbie fodder, it's going to be no more than 2 centuries until the Abbies have normalized to the point that they can re-enter civilization.

If you outright kill the abbies, humanity is dead. There's not enough old humans left to repopulate, or fight the abbies while repopulating. Marginally converting the abbies with husbandry seems to be the only real choice available, since regular humans will not willingly want to carry abbie babies even if you could artificially inseminate abbie women with normal sperms.

 

[Starbreaker]

They answered so many questions, but none of it makes a lick of sense to me. How was the old sheriff able to interact with some of the characters outside of the camp while being 2000 years in the future? There was also that scene with Pilcher and the secret service supervisor.

 

[.:: TSN ::.]

They answered so many questions, but none of it makes a lick of sense to me. How was the old sheriff able to interact with some of the characters outside of the camp while being 2000 years in the future? There was also that scene with Pilcher and the secret service supervisor.

Sheriff and Burke's wife&kid on the road. No idea. Maybe implanted memories? Did we see sheriff interact with anyone else outside?

But Pilcher & supervisor. Was there more than one scene? In first episode supervisor tries to call "it" off, but Pilcher just says that "it's done, all taken care of". That could mean that Burke has already been put in hibernation.

 

[Starbreaker]

I just don't think I'm going to like the outcome of the series, whatever it is. And I still think some of the acting is just terrible. Toby Jones can still save the show, though!