ABC has apparently decided to celebrate the 40th anniversary of the Moon landing with a miniseries about the Moon hurtling down from its orbit to smack itself into Earth, killing us all. The results are somewhat less than impressive.
Impact stars David James Elliot (JAG) and Natasha Henstridge (Species, Eli Stone) as a pair of astrophysicists on the theory that all astrophysicists who save the world have to be as pretty as TV actors. Both are competent enough actors given good enough material, but alas the first part of Impact that aired on ABC is not very good.
The premise of Impact somewhat defies belief. According to the New York Times:
"How — you must be wondering — does the Moon end up catapulting its way toward Earth, threatening to destroy humanity and all that it has produced? Well, as the entire world is observing a phenomenally cool meteor shower, a "brown dwarf" (you'll hear that one a lot, so go ahead and have a swig), or failed star, crashes into the Moon, causing bits of it to hit Earth and igniting anomalies that become weirder and more frequent, until the Moon's orbit goes haywire."
This makes Armageddon, the Bruce Willis asteroid coming to smack the Earth epic, where the laws of physics changed to accommodate the plot, seem almost plausible.
Mind, junk science can be overlooked if the story, direction, and dialogue are good. Alas not the case in ABC's Impact. Aintitcool has a theory about this:
"One of the wackier things about "Impact" is it's a German production, shot partially in Berlin with German co-stars like Florentine Lahme and Benjamin Sadler player German characters. A language barrier between filmmakers and German TV executives could explain a lot about the miniseries' terrible dialogue, and it makes one wonder if there's a whole different, better German-language version, using the same special effects, in which David James Elliott barely speaks."
Another reviewer can't wait for the Mystery Science Theater 3000 version to come out.
Impact stars David James Elliot (JAG) and Natasha Henstridge (Species, Eli Stone) as a pair of astrophysicists on the theory that all astrophysicists who save the world have to be as pretty as TV actors. Both are competent enough actors given good enough material, but alas the first part of Impact that aired on ABC is not very good.
The premise of Impact somewhat defies belief. According to the New York Times:
"How — you must be wondering — does the Moon end up catapulting its way toward Earth, threatening to destroy humanity and all that it has produced? Well, as the entire world is observing a phenomenally cool meteor shower, a "brown dwarf" (you'll hear that one a lot, so go ahead and have a swig), or failed star, crashes into the Moon, causing bits of it to hit Earth and igniting anomalies that become weirder and more frequent, until the Moon's orbit goes haywire."
This makes Armageddon, the Bruce Willis asteroid coming to smack the Earth epic, where the laws of physics changed to accommodate the plot, seem almost plausible.
Mind, junk science can be overlooked if the story, direction, and dialogue are good. Alas not the case in ABC's Impact. Aintitcool has a theory about this:
"One of the wackier things about "Impact" is it's a German production, shot partially in Berlin with German co-stars like Florentine Lahme and Benjamin Sadler player German characters. A language barrier between filmmakers and German TV executives could explain a lot about the miniseries' terrible dialogue, and it makes one wonder if there's a whole different, better German-language version, using the same special effects, in which David James Elliott barely speaks."
Another reviewer can't wait for the Mystery Science Theater 3000 version to come out.
Comments
Hammer
(Guest)
(Guest)
11/06/2009
I am a remote viewer of past, present and future and had a vision of the moon colliding with the earth - I looked up saw the moon slowly getting closers and closers to the earth as I watched from my back yard. A year later was shocked to see this happening in a commercial for the ABC mini series. In reality there is no way out of this ending, my only hope is that I was remote viewing an alternative dimensions fate - this dimensions earth surface was seen to be consumed by a roving miniature black hole generated by the large hadron collider. But maybe that was an alternative dimension as well, remote viewing is not a precise science when it comes to multiple dimensions.
Jenny
(Guest)
(Guest)
07/19/2009
It was pretty bad, but I would still like to see the 2nd episode (I only saw the first one). Does anyone know where I can find/see it?
jamesokedi@gmail.com
(Guest)
(Guest)
07/01/2009
The writers of this movie were obviously not scientists.A compact object twice the mass of the earth hitting the moon and lodging itself in it would dislodge the earth and moon from their regular orbits around the sun, and cause a shift in the earth-moon center of gravity. Not to mention tremendous tidal forces (Over 150 times the present)that would rip the earth apart. This film was a rip off from the scientific view point
Don
(Guest)
(Guest)
06/28/2009
All time worst Made-for-TV movie ever!!! Even the SciFi channel would take a pass on this one. In the first episode, we learn that the moon has been impacted by a brown drawf (nice twist), but then the head scientists go out for a fancy dinner and the guy orders a bottle of Merlot (REALLY!???). Later she downs a shot of wiskey at the local bar with another troubled scientist. And it's downhill from there.
Halcyonsting
(Guest)
(Guest)
06/28/2009
HORRIBLE HORRIBLE HORRIBLE. You would think with a company like Disney in charge of this network, they'd have some standards! This program was horribly written, giving marginal actors nothing to work with. You can almost sense their embarrassment.
:)
Michael
(Guest)
(Guest)
06/22/2009
ABC's "Impact" is a ripoff of Terry Cunningham's "Earthstorm".
Wayne
(Guest)
(Guest)
06/22/2009
When is part two??
Don N
(Guest)
(Guest)
06/22/2009
Critics not withstanding I enjoyed the first episode of ABC's IMPACT mini series. Yes it is really a stretch of astrophysics but it is just a entertainment piece.
What are really dumb are the cheap production reality shows on prime-time TV.
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