"Siberia" (1 Viewer)

[todd s]

So has anyone been watching this? Bit slow moving...but, I will stick with it. I have to know what is behind everything. Any thoughts?

 

[Mark_B]

I watched the pilot and about a 1/3 of the second episode. I didn't care for it. Basically, I didn't like the charactors. Plot was interesting, but not believable. Do you really think that with folks getting killed they would keep filming the show?

 

[Adam Lenhardt]

The idea of a scripted series about a reality series that goes horribly awry is a good one, I just think the execution here is really lackluster. The only thing more mind-numbing than watching real-life morons reenact reality show cliches is to watch actors pretending to be real-life morons reenacting reality show cliches.

I will say that my interest has grown as the mythology elements have come more to the foreground. Some of the stuff is very creepy, like the cave drawings and the little girl wearing clothes from the period when the settlement was active who appears and disappears. The only thing so far that really gave me the heebie-jeebies, though, was when the retired Israeli soldier found the woman's rotting corpse with a weather-worn locket that's otherwise exactly like hers. When she opened it up and it had the same picture of her loved one inside, I was really creeped out. There's something about the suggestion that, here is your fate laid out before you, this is how you're going to end up, and there's nothing you can do to change it, that really unnerves me.

 

[Stan]

Had there been a little advertising I might be watching this.

Started watching the new Bear Grylls show, but that was the only time I saw any promotion of Siberia.

To late for me and obviously many others based on the lack of comments here.

 

[todd s]

Thought they could have taken more supplies from the producers camp. Looks like they left a lot there. Still trying to figure everything out. So many ways it could go.Any ideas what Milian was doing when he covered the camera?

 

[Adam Lenhardt]

The weirder this show gets, the more invested I become. The label on the show vault translating to "Behavior Reward Simulator - Test Group C" intrigued me. Sounds like they're all guinea pigs in some behavioral study. If that's the case, that everything we've seen so far still might be staged.

But then they went over the hill and saw the massive blast radius. In 2007, Russia tested the "Father of All Bombs", a thermobaric weapon with a blast radius similar to the lower ranger tactical nuclear weapons but without the radioactive fallout. Given the location and the blast radius, one of those could have been what did that.

I figured that Miljan was going to rape Irene, but afterwards there didn't seem to be any signs of abuse. He's definitely the creepiest people on the show.

One nice touch is that all of the actors and actresses playing the "contestants" are using their real names on the show.

It looks like next week it starts snowing; they thought they had it bad before, wait until they experience Siberian winters.

EDIT: Check out the Wikipedia article on the Tunguska Event. In 1908, a massive explosion in the Siberian wilderness sent out shockwaves equivilant to an earthquake that would be a 5.0 on the richter scale. Much like what they saw, a massive radius around the epicenter was just wiped straight away.

 

[todd s]

Scariest thing about the Tunguska Event...Is that thankfully it happened in one of the most desolate places in the world. Can you imagine if that explosion would have hit over or near any city or populated area???

 

[todd s]

Alright, what is up with Milian's character? Also, what did he threaten the Australian chick with if she didn't let him go?? I missed it.

 

[Adam Lenhardt]

Alright, what is up with Milian's character? Also, what did he threaten the Australian chick with if she didn't let him go?? I missed it.

Apparently she took something out of the revealer the first time the alarm went off, something she doesn't want the rest of the group to know about. Somehow Miljan knows what it is, and he was going to spill the beans if Esther didn't untie him.

 

[todd s]

Show reminds me of Lost. Watch an hour for a few minutes of relevant info,

 

[Adam Lenhardt]

I've actually found each episode more intense than the last. I really liked that the last couple episodes have primarily been them versus the elements. I used to hike mountains quite a bit, and there's nothing scarier than finding yourself lost with no idea which direction will get you back to civilization. At least in the hiking regions, you know that if you just pick a direction you'll hit civilization eventually -- even if it's twenty or thirty miles. In Siberia, you could walk hundreds upon hundreds of miles without seeing any sign of another human presence.

That science station they hit at the end looked like it was involved in genetic manipulation. It's possible that whatever gutted Natalie (probably the same creature as the cave drawings) is a science experiment gone wrong.

This show was fully financed before it was shopped to networks, so we're guaranteed the complete thirteen episode first season. The ratings have been terrible, so any slim chance at a renewal will have to come from heavier interest from international markets. "Hannibal" got renewed for that very reason.

 

[todd s]

Adam, I agree. Like watching Lost. I kept watching the clock knowing the episode was ending and something important (finding the research station, etc) and we would have to wait another week. The one thing that takes me out of it. Is that they are still being filmed by the camera crew like nothing is wrong. Yes, occasionally they interact with the cast. But, you see them find the base and they all run for warmth or drink. Yet, the cameraman just films it like normal.I am curious how this show will play out.

 

[Adam Lenhardt]

The one thing that takes me out of it. Is that they are still being filmed by the camera crew like nothing is wrong. Yes, occasionally they interact with the cast. But, you see them find the base and they all run for warmth or drink. Yet, the cameraman just films it like normal.

I agree completely. That stuck out to me like a sore thumb; the show explained that the cameramen are still filming as a form of evidence collection so that they all -- cameramen and cast -- can sue the producers when/if they finally make it back to civilization.But when Johnny can't manage to carry Joyce anymore, you think the cameraman would have long since become too exhausted to carry heavy camera equipment. And you'd think he'd be celebrating right along with them once they found shelter.

 

[todd s]

After tonight's episode their are two episodes left. I really hope they resolve the mystery.

 

[Adam Lenhardt]

We got a big answer with the reveal of what created the footprints. I have no idea where this is headed next.

 

[todd s]

So it looks like they will be rescued....Or maybe not. Still wondering if the soldiers plan on killing everyone and these were some kind of "found" footage? I did like that the Russian cameraman grabbed the radio mic when he heard a reply. Shows they are human and also stuck in this situation. Any thoughts who the "bad" tribe is?

 

[todd s]

Are you f-ing kidding me?!?!? What the heck kind of ending was that? How do you just end it? Did they really think the show would be renewed? I hope the producers explain what was/is going on.

 

[Adam Lenhardt]

Somehow, I knew they'd kill the lesbian. Horror movies/shows always seem to kill anybody who doesn't match puritanical conceptions of purity. The final beat did leave the impression that, whatever else was going on, this was never REALLY a game show.

 

[Elizabeth S]

I've watched every episode, and that is the most WTF ending I can remember. Very unsatisfying to the viewer. It's like "we know we're not coming back and we don't give a ****". I also read that 2 episodes had to be cut together to make the last show due to a preemption during the season. (Not that it would have helped the ending.) The actors are tweeting hoping for support for a second season.
This show reminded me a bit of "Persons Unknown" from several years ago. However, I felt that show had the perfect ending -- equally satisfying as a series conclusion or a possible lead-in to another season. My co-worker strongly disagreed with me and hated that ending.