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From: chuqui@nsc.UUCP (Chuq Von Rospach)
Newsgroups: net.tv,net.sf-lovers
Subject: Amazing Stories (NBC, Sunday, 8PM Pacific)
Message-ID: <3192@nsc.UUCP>
Date: Mon, 30-Sep-85 00:49:36 EDT
Article-I.D.: nsc.3192
Posted: Mon Sep 30 00:49:36 1985
Date-Received: Tue, 1-Oct-85 03:26:43 EDT
Organization: Ninja Ewok Training Grounds
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Keywords: tv, disappointing
Xref: watmath net.tv:3280 net.sf-lovers:10357

(spoiler warning -- don't read if you don't like plot discussions)

The much heralded "Amazing Stories", conceived and brought to you by NBC
and executive producer Steven (Jaws, ET, Close Encounters of the Third
Kind) Spielberg made its debut tonight with great fanfare and very
disappointing results.

If the first espisode is typical of the tone of the series, it will
probably turn into an unmitigated disaster. "Ghost Train," which was
directed by Spielberg, stars (in relative order of appearance) the 
mystical/senile grandfather, the loving but terribly practical father, the
starry-eyed, open minded boy, the obligatory disgruntled but dedicated and
loving piece of cardboard (uh, wife) who gets appropriately hysterical upon
command, and a cast of stereotypes upon demand (vote more most unrealistic
stereotype goes to the Black Psychiatrist called out -- the Black
Psychiatrist successfully holding down a practice in farmland Iowa...) No
names are given to any character because none of them rise enough above
their stereotypes to make names useful.

===== Begin plot summary =====
The story opens with the father bringing Ompah home. Father has bought the
land that Ompah grew up on and built a house there, and they are now going
to take care of him as any good Family would. When they get there, Ompah
declares that they'bve built the house in a very bad place. A story is told
(to Starry-Eyed Boy, with Father listening in) about engine 407, that
derailed on that very spot 75 years ago (killing everyone) because a boy
fell asleep on the track waiting for that train to take him to friends over
the horizon. Dialog:

    SEB: Ompah, were you that little boy?
    Ompah: *heartfelt sob* I still am, son.

He tells the SEB that he survived because the brakeman couldn't bear to run
him over and locked up the wheels, causing everything to run off the track
and the locomotive stopped 15 yards from him (he, of course, didn't wake up
despite the noise and the vibration of sleeping on the track, and the
brakeman had good enough vision to see a boy sized bundle on a track, at
night, from far enough away to be able to stop in front of it...). He also
says that the train is going to come and pick him up, since he should have
been on it 75 years ago.

Ompah (their word, not mine...) marks off the location of the old tracks
(cute shot of him spray painting his way across the yard and over the
satelite dish) to see what parts of the house are going to be destroyed.
Ompah is trying to take the valuables out of that part of the house ("Make
the insurance claim easier") when the Black Psychiatrist fills him full of
Demerol. Night, night, Ompah. SEB goes into hysterics, female cardboard
says "You know we wouldn't do anything to hurt your Ompah, don't you?"

SEB goes to sleep, ear firmly pressed to the rails of his model train.
Lights in the window, a far off whistle. SEB wakes up, looks out window,
special effect right out of Close encounters, SEB starts yelling things
like "It's coming!" and other intelligent comments. Father and Mother spend
a couple of minutes bitching about nightmares and discussing who will go
sooth their child. SEB dashes downstairs to wake Ompah (demerol and all).
Parents come down just in time for a reaction shot, a couple of quick
Ohmygods and to watch the train come in through the kitchen wall. Mother
attempts to go into hysterics, but looks like a spastic chicken. Father
stares. Out comes the Conductor, the Engineer, and the Brakeman. Engineer
peers into refrigerator, pulls out a six pack, which he shakes and says
"don't know what it is, but it sounds wet. We'll check it out on the road"
(that is a cheap shot...). Brakeman finds the Mr. Coffee machine and
refills his thermos with a "thanks, Mr. Coffee!" (that's another cheap
shot). Conductor does an "all aboard!" and Ompah says "My ticket might not
be good anymore, I bought it 75 years ago." The conductor assures him that
it is, and that they've been waiting for him to join them for a long time.

SEB wants to go with him ("Who'll tell me stories from now on?") but the
Wise Grandfather tells him "Remember all the stories I told you? As long as
you remember them, I'll still be telling them to you." 

Wise Grandfather tells them that he'll see them in a hundred years,
apologizes to Father and Mother for not staying longer, gets on train,
and train pulls out of the kitchen. Mother, no longer hysterical or
spastic, says "Who's our insurance man?" Obligatory cheap shot of
sparking refrigerator.  Final shot of train pulling off into the
heavens. End story.  Fortunately.

===== end plot summary =====

While watching this, all I could think of was "ET meets twilight zone" and
I find that both lose. Spielberg said that they were going to emphasize
fantasy because the cost of special effects in a SF anthology was
exorbitant. I can't disagree with that, but they took a story with a lot of
possibilities (a variant of "The Hell Bound Train" and gutted it.
There was no attempt at character development, after five minutes
you knew what the ending was going to be. They could have played it for
laughs or tried to do a serious traditional "Twilight Zone" style episode.
Instead they took a semi serious track and then tossed in a bunch of cheap
reaction shots. The end result is a mess with no impact, no real direction,
and a number of attempted one liners that fail because they seem out of
place. I think the script was a little weak, but I don't think this is the
fault of the writer (I didn't catch their name, unfortunately). As
director, Spielberg could have taken this script in either direction and
done it successfully. By his unwillingness to add a direction to the story
and trying to do both, he fails.

I know see why copies of the show weren't made available in advance. There
is a lot riding on Amazing and the return of the anthology, and if this is
the episode they used to start off the seriese, I don't hold out a lot of
hope for future episodes. Perhaps Spielberg just couldn't handle the 30
minute format, or perhaps they haven't really figured out what they want to
do with it. 

I hope it gets better. I don't think it can get much worse. Fortunately, a
local PBS station has started playing "Outer Limits" at 11PM on Sundays, so
the evening isn't a complete waste. I just wish Spielberg had done a better
job of recreating the classic anthology format. All he did in the opening
episode of "Amazing Stories" was mock it.
-- 
:From under the bar at Callahan's:   Chuq Von Rospach 
nsc!chuqui@decwrl.ARPA               {decwrl,hplabs,ihnp4,pyramid}!nsc!chuqui

If you can't talk below a bellow, you can't talk...


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