Part 1 of A&E's new two-part adaptation of The Andromeda Strain premiered last night, with Part 2 tonight. I don't know what I was expecting, but it sure felt like a pretty traditional TV movie, with the obligatory early scenes with little kids and stuff...ick...why do they they always pad out movies with wasted and trite material like that? Because we'll think the President is a boring monster unless he hugs his little flouncy-skirted daughter? That was my first warning sign. And then Benjamin Bratt's mildly insolent son, another cliched moment.Oh well. I hope my colleagues here liked it better than I did, though I'm hoping Part 2 will liven things up. I also was distinctly underwhelmed by the often clunky dialogue...man, I'm getting crabby in my old age. And don't even mention the commercials -- unbearable! Might want to wait for the DVD or watch it On Demand (if available) because it won't have commercials there, right? I must say I was saddened that (spoiler alert) the brave female fighter pilot who was supposed to drop the nuke on the infected town got all disintegrated, though. And I did like the whispered instructions that Viola Davis gave to her husband, that if she called and asked about his mother, to get the hell out of the continental United States. That was good and scary.
Was it just me, or was this not as great as the buzz would have indicated? Sorry for the negative remarks; we're usually pretty positive here but it just didn't send me, alas. Please tell me I'm wrong about this....
