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The Terror (TV Series)

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MattUK2021

Fresh Blood
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Jan 27, 2021
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2
Hi everyone,

This is my first post in these forums, wasn't sure where to put this but is anyone else watching The Terror on BBC Iplayer. It was made three years ago for American TV and only just came to the BBC. Its based on the vanishing of the Eerebus and Terror ships in the mid 19th Century. I think its fascinating, obviously theres a lot of artistic license involved but the actual disappearance in the Arctic is true. I'm sure this would have been covered/discussed in Fortean Times and even on these forums but don't know where.

Has anyone else seen it and what are your thoughts on it?
 
MattUK2021 said:
Hi everyone,

This is my first post in these forums, wasn't sure where to put this but is anyone else watching The Terror on BBC Iplayer. It was made three years ago for American TV and only just came to the BBC. Its based on the vanishing of the Eerebus and Terror ships in the mid 19th Century. I think its fascinating, obviously theres a lot of artistic license involved but the actual disappearance in the Arctic is true. I'm sure this would have been covered/discussed in Fortean Times and even on these forums but don't know where.

Has anyone else seen it and what are your thoughts on it?
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Welcome to the insanity!

There’s a thread dedicated to the Franklin Expedition.

maximus otter
 
I really liked the first series, thought it was maybe an episode or two too many. Watched the first episode of the second and was nonplussed.
 
Ogdred Weary said:
I really liked the first series, thought it was maybe an episode or two too many. Watched the first episode of the second and was nonplussed.
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Is it on Iplayer? Must look.
 
Welcome to the forums Matt.
I've not seen the Terror yet, but I noticed it the other night , it's on my radar now.
 
escargot said:
Is it on Iplayer? Must look.
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Yes. All series 1 episodes are now on BBC iPlayer.
May not bother with series 2 though.

Sounds a bit like what they did with Penny Dreadful. The first series was brilliant; - a gloriously OTT slab of gothic Victoriana, but jumping forward to Los Angeles just prior to WW2 for series 2 was an uninspired move and I gave up after 2 episodes.
 
I'm enjoying The Terror - up to 10th episode so far. Cast is excellent & the frozen settings & ships are really well done. Quite slow but I don't mind that.

If there's a series 2, the first must end on an open note.. I think I'd rather it was done & dusted in one series.
 
hunck said:
I'm enjoying The Terror - up to 10th episode so far. Cast is excellent & the frozen settings & ships are really well done. Quite slow but I don't mind that.

If there's a series 2, the first must end on an open note.. I think I'd rather it was done & dusted in one series.
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series 2 has nothing to do with series 1

here is an overview

Set during World War II, "The Terror: Infamy" centers on a series of bizarre deaths that haunt a Japanese American community, and a young man's journey to understand and combat the malevolent entity that is responsible. Chester Nakayama and his friends and family from Terminal Island, Calif., face persecution from the American government, and they battle the evil spirit that threatens their future. A look at the often overlooked time of Japanese American internment camps and what it truly means to be an American. From 1942 to 1945, more than 145,000 Japanese Americans and Japanese Canadians were forced from their homes and into internment camps by their respective governments, simply because of where they or their ancestors were born. Their story is one of perseverance in the face of injustice.

there is a series 3 too.
 
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A couple of questions for people who have read the book and watched the entire series -

When Crozier went back to the camp (in the last episode) he found Lt. Little with extensive facial piercings decorated with what looked like watch chains. What was that all about?

At the very end we see Crozier kneeling in the snow with a native child lying nearby. He seems poised to use the spear he's holding but doesn't move at all. Is he supposed to be dead, frozen solid?
 
Souleater said:
series 2 has nothing to do with series 1

here is an overview

Set during World War II, "The Terror: Infamy" centers on a series of bizarre deaths that haunt a Japanese American community, and a young man's journey to understand and combat the malevolent entity that is responsible. Chester Nakayama and his friends and family from Terminal Island, Calif., face persecution from the American government, and they battle the evil spirit that threatens their future. A look at the often overlooked time of Japanese American internment camps and what it truly means to be an American. From 1942 to 1945, more than 145,000 Japanese Americans and Japanese Canadians were forced from their homes and into internment camps by their respective governments, simply because of where they or their ancestors were born. Their story is one of perseverance in the face of injustice.

there is a series 3 too.
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So:

Series 1: An actual adventure based on the actual book.

Series 2: Agitprop.

I shan't be bothering with Series 2, and I can just imagine what Series 3 will be like...

maximus otter
 
David Plankton said:
A couple of questions for people who have read the book and watched the entire series -
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Question 1
When Crozier went back to the camp (in the last episode) he found Lt. Little with extensive facial piercings decorated with what looked like watch chains. What was that all about?



Question 2
At the very end we see Crozier kneeling in the snow with a native child lying nearby. He seems poised to use the spear he's holding but doesn't move at all. Is he supposed to be dead, frozen solid?


Answer 1
I think that's real life. https://visionsnorth.blogspot.com/2018/05/the-main-with-chains-attached-to-his.html

Answer 2
I think it is to show how well he has adapted and assimilated. In the book the main bit of ice hunting he finds hard is keeping still in those temperatures
 
David Plankton said:
The answer to question 1 is troubling and mysterious.
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Indeed.

I take the Inuit witnesses to be truthful. Possibly mistaken or not understanding but, as a cultural thing, if they say a thing it is what they believe to be true. If they aren't sure they say nothing rather than lie. I think the stethoscope idea is fascinating.
 
There doesn't seem to be any definite info on series 3, other than it will again be historical horror, much as everyone's expecting. It is/was scheduled for this autumn but I don't know if covid has delayed it.
 
Ogdred Weary said:
There doesn't seem to be any definite info on series 3, other than it will again be historical horror, much as everyone's expecting. It is/was scheduled for this autumn but I don't know if covid has delayed it.
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Here isthe latest on series 3:

"The Terror season 3 renewal hasn't officially been ordered yet by AMC, but that doesn't mean it won't happen. Last year, The Terror season 2 was announced only a few short weeks after season 1 ended, which could very well happen again with season 3. However, it's worth noting that The Terror: Infamy's ratings are down sharply compared to season 1's, which is what AMC will base their decision on in the end."

https://screenrant.com/terror-season-3-release-date-story-cast/
 
Souleater said:
Here isthe latest on series 3:

"The Terror season 3 renewal hasn't officially been ordered yet by AMC, but that doesn't mean it won't happen. Last year, The Terror season 2 was announced only a few short weeks after season 1 ended, which could very well happen again with season 3. However, it's worth noting that The Terror: Infamy's ratings are down sharply compared to season 1's, which is what AMC will base their decision on in the end."

https://screenrant.com/terror-season-3-release-date-story-cast/
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I'm not surprised the ratings plummeted, as series 2 doesn't appear to have anything to do with HMS Terror, which was the whole premise of the original series.
It's exactly what they did with Penny Dreadful - using the name alone in an attempt to cash in on the success of the original, with a totally unrelated and far weaker story.
 
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Souleater said:
Here isthe latest on series 3:

"The Terror season 3 renewal hasn't officially been ordered yet by AMC, but that doesn't mean it won't happen. Last year, The Terror season 2 was announced only a few short weeks after season 1 ended, which could very well happen again with season 3. However, it's worth noting that The Terror: Infamy's ratings are down sharply compared to season 1's, which is what AMC will base their decision on in the end."

https://screenrant.com/terror-season-3-release-date-story-cast/
Click to expand...

That's always an issue with an anthology series, what you liked about the first series may not be present in the second. I think that the setting is the first series is more compelling -19thC, isolated ships in the remote arctic and a huge monster is maybe more exciting than spirits. I think a more grounded 20thC setting is less unusual or exciting and a series about humanity's general inhumanity is less escapist and maybe something people don't won't right now, I know I didn't.
 
Ogdred Weary said:
That's always an issue with an anthology series, what you liked about the first series may not be present in the second. I think that the setting is the first series is more compelling -19thC, isolated ships in the remote arctic and a huge monster is maybe more exciting than spirits. I think a more grounded 20thC setting is less unusual or exciting and a series about humanity's general inhumanity is less escapist and maybe something people don't won't right now, I know I didn't.
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And the fact the first series is based on a great book.
 
Souleater said:
And the fact the first series is based on a great book.
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Not read the book, it's absolutely up my alley (ooh maron!) but I have read Drood by Simmons and found that a real chore, it could have lost as much as 50% of its word count and been substantially improved. This phenomenon was somewhat noticeable with the first series, which was a little overlong for me, much as I enjoyed it. I may have "got what I needed" from series one and will likely ignore the book, Abominable does sound very much like my sort of thing but it's another monster tome (pun intended) and I'm once bitten with him.
 
Ogdred Weary said:
Not read the book, it's absolutely up my alley (ooh maron!) but I have read Drood by Simmons and found that a real chore, it could have lost as much as 50% of its word count and been substantially improved. This phenomenon was somewhat noticeable with the first series, which was a little overlong for me, much as I enjoyed it. I may have "got what I needed" from series one and will likely ignore the book, Abominable does sound very much like my sort of thing but it's another monster tome (pun intended) and I'm once bitten with him.
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I haven't read Drood or The Terror but I've enjoyed other books by Simmons such as Black Hills, Carrion Comfort, Children of the Night, Song of Kali, Hyperion.
 
Carrion Comfort would make a great TV series if done right. A pity Simmons is a bit of a nutter now, though.
 
GNC said:
A pity Simmons is a bit of a nutter now, though.
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Really? in what direction? I like his work and that would take the shine off for me.
 
Frideswide said:
Really? in what direction? I like his work and that would take the shine off for me.
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I'm not someone to use the term Islamophobic lightly but his novel Flashback is tainted by it, it detracts from what is otherwise an interesting SF Thriller.
 
Frideswide said:
Really? in what direction? I like his work and that would take the shine off for me.
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Sorry, shouldn't have mentioned it because it's very political, but think along QAnon lines (before they were a thing).
 
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