Hip, hip... (say Hooray)
hip, hip...(say Hooray)
Good job, Teague.

*runs to listen*'

Edit: Quick question, Teague- what software do you use to record and compile the episodes?

Oh yes yes thank you yes. I'll take this as your Christmas present to me. Been waiting for this episode!

Just finished the commentary. Most fun. With the number of commentators, it was almost a case of too many cooks wishing to spoil the schlock.

The production design was universally praised as a sole positive, but I would separate out the VFX from the design.

On the positive side, the entire atmosphere entry and landing sequence is gorgeous. Maybe the most jaw-dropping landing sequence ever. The crash in the finale is also most impressive.

On the negative side, the interior of the Prometheus is fairly bog-standard. The space-suits are meh. The dirt strip between the landing site and the first Engineer croissant is like a quarry (and this was the setting for most of action & movement) and the Giger interiors we've seen before and got repetitive. The med-pod had salad tongs. And the creature design throughout was uninspired. And, as stated, the make up job on Weyland was amateurish.
In other words, take out the scenes where the ships are air-borne, and it's a very ordinary looking movie.

And just to kick this movie while it's down, the plot takes place THIS CENTURY despite us not having returned to the Moon for over 40 years. And suddenly we've developed faster-than-light travel (but can't fix infertility) where missions to other stars are routine (note the casual behaviour of the old 'sea dog' captain).

May I just say bravo Teague, you did a really impressive job of moderating what was a very large and intense panel and keeping discussion flowing smoothly.

I'd repressed how furious this thing made me. Listening to Mike's opening statement brought it all back.

It's not even all the egregious stupidity the movie exhibits; it's the horrifying waste of what could have been a generational experience.

You guys never brought up the reason I was excited about this movie before it came out, which I guess was my own misinterpretation of the pre-production rumor mill, a medium I've since learned to ignore (mostly).

From stories I read at the time, Ridley Scott announced to the Hollywood money people, "I want to make a prequel to Alien. It isn't even going to have humans in it. Still, the name alone will mean box office gold. Give me all of the money." I was disappointed, because the fact that stuff like the space jockey are never explained is one of the things that makes the first film so fascinating. Then Ridley started actually making the movie and announced to the press, "Psych! It's not a prequel at all. It just explores some of the same ideas and also happens in space." I thought he actually had an original idea and got the thing green lit by playing off his past success, using the studio sequel obsession against itself and tricking them into funding original IP. The director of Alien and Blade Runner was about to show us a new vision of the future.

When the movie came out and reviews started to surface, I realized I had to ignore the whole thing. I might have enjoyed it more if I had seen it on a larger screen than my TV, but I think Avengers was out at the time, and I stand by my choice to see that one more times in the theater.

When I finally saw this movie, my expectations were lowered enough that I hoped to at least find something to like. At some point after the first act, I shrugged and asked the screen, "So?" But I never did figure out what the characters cared about or why I should care about any of them.

Good commentary though.