Ascension (TV Show)

[Apollyon]

Has anyone seen it? If so, what did you think?

I particularly like the way they do gravity! Things would get messy though with all that water if the engines ever failed....

PS: If you haven't seen it, DON'T READ THIS THREAD. Rather, go watch it on SyFy.com! Just keep in mind it does contains some "racy" scenes (think: Battlestar Galactica)

[Airlock]

The end of the first night was a complete letdown and disappointment. Didn't bother watching after that.

[Motokid600]

It was okay. Until the ending. Then it sucked. Nothing like a little bit of space magic to ham things up...

[Helix935]

i personally liked the show especially the twist at the end of the first night which made more realistic if you asked although there are some problems but they can be overlooked such as some minor anachronisms and inconsistencies that should be easily noticed like how would they have developed highly advanced holographics in '63 or in the simulation room, how did they develop full color highly detailed monitors when they all have black and white tvs and monitors and suspiciously tablets that have black and white screens. again those can be overlooked as they explained that they actually still have technological advancements

@Motokid600 its not space magic, its the result of having an increased rate of mutation in a small gene pool which resulted, as they predicted, a highly evolved child who suddenly screws everything up.

[Kryten]

That's not how evolution works. At all.

[Bill Phil]

The premise is kind of dumb. First off, how? Second off, why? Do they even know about the planets there? Chances are they're not human habitable at all. So it kind of is worthless. And what happens if we do get FTL in this alternate reality universe and show up there before them? Then it's even worse.

[Apollyon]

The premise is kind of dumb. First off, how? Second off, why? Do they even know about the planets there? Chances are they're not human habitable at all. So it kind of is worthless. And what happens if we do get FTL in this alternate reality universe and show up there before them? Then it's even worse.

According to the show (and some other videos from the Ascension website):

How: Welded steel modules manufactured on Earth, assembled in orbit to a size larger than the Empire State Building. Nuclear powered reactor supplying constant thrust throughout the journey, thereby generating gravity onboard the ship. Water, Algae, livestock and an entire earth-like eco-system brought on board. Far fetched for the 1960's or even today? Yes, the envy of any Kerbal, and that's where the twist comes in.

Why: NATO (founded 1949) realized that it could not withstand a Soviet land invasion into Europe, and has always had as one of it's first defensive strategies the use of nuclear weapons to ward off ground advances. They calculated the risk of war with Russia, and along with it the decimation of American civilization to be rather high. I think it stands to reason that if the US thought they could build such a ship at that time, they would've. I mean, they built command posts in mountains, shelters in cities, eventually put nukes on subs, featured "duck and cover" drills and commercials featuring the end of the world nearly every week.

Do they even know about the planets there?: Not back then, but the ship was designed to support life onboard 30 years after arrival, and the base building systems where designed to establish the ship's eco-system in structures underground. The ship was also equipped with terraforming labs for multiple types of planets. They didn't need life there, they would bring the life and perpetuate it. Also, don't forget the twist.

And what happens if we do get FTL in this alternate reality universe and show up there before them? Then it's even worse.: Worse? no way... then they would have unexpected backup!

[Apollyon]

That's not how evolution works. At all.

Do you really think there aren't ANY more twists planned for the show?! ;-)

[Apollyon]

i personally liked the show especially the twist at the end of the first night which made more realistic if you asked although there are some problems but they can be overlooked such as some minor anachronisms and inconsistencies that should be easily noticed like how would they have developed highly advanced holographics in '63 or in the simulation room, how did they develop full color highly detailed monitors when they all have black and white tvs and monitors and suspiciously tablets that have black and white screens. again those can be overlooked as they explained that they actually still have technological advancements

@Motokid600 its not space magic, its the result of having an increased rate of mutation in a small gene pool which resulted, as they predicted, a highly evolved child who suddenly screws everything up.

Helix, I remember a color projector... I don't remember a simulation room, where was that?

But remember the first color films came out in the early 1930's and wizard of oz came out in 1939. By the late 1950's color projectors were fairly common in theaters I would think, and we all know the military has stuff before the public (especially at that time). And you are right that they strongly emphasized R&D onboard during the journey (there were scientists that "left Earth" to join the crew afterall, probably some of the smarter ones lol).

The part I thought was a bit far fetched were the commodore-like computer systems onboard. Didn't those come out in the 80's?