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SyFy's 'Ascension' Takes 1960s Nuclear Spaceship Idea to the Stars
Space.com ^ | December 15, 2014 | Tariq Malik

Posted on 12/15/2014 5:01:23 PM PST by cripplecreek

A spaceship powered by nuclear bombs secretly launched in the 1960s. A colony ship on 100-year journey to spread humanity to the stars. These central themes of the SyFy Channel's epic "Ascension" miniseries this week sound like pure science fiction, U.S. scientists actually worked to build such a spaceship in the 1960s.

In "Ascension," a three-part SyFy miniseries that launches tonight (Dec. 15), 600 people live aboard an Orion-class nuclear spacecraft on a mission to Proxima Centauri. The mission launched in 1963, when the Space Race was in full swing and the Cold War made the threat of global nuclear war an uncomfortable possibility. This leads to Project Ascension, led by a Werner von Braun-esque Abraham Enzmann, who dreamed up a spaceship taller than the Empire State Building that is propelled by nuclear bombs.

(Excerpt) Read more at space.com ...


TOPICS: Chit/Chat; Miscellaneous; Music/Entertainment; TV/Movies
KEYWORDS: ascension; sciencefiction; scifi; space; tv
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To: cripplecreek
"Series website"

Well, I've already screwed up the taping. I didn't know it was two episodes each night; I only taped the first one last night. Directv has no information on the listed episodes, so I can't tell one from another. Going to have to hunt down the repeats...

81 posted on 12/16/2014 8:16:41 PM PST by CatherineofAragon ((Support Christian white males---the architects of the jewel known as Western Civilization.))
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To: CatherineofAragon

Its running again now but they’ll probably run all 3 episodes tomorrow.


82 posted on 12/16/2014 8:28:40 PM PST by cripplecreek (You can't half ass conservatism.)
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To: cripplecreek

Thanks. I’ll snag them then.


83 posted on 12/16/2014 8:57:20 PM PST by CatherineofAragon ((Support Christian white males---the architects of the jewel known as Western Civilization.))
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To: CatherineofAragon

I’ll track down the time tomorrow and make sure to let you know ahead of time.


84 posted on 12/16/2014 8:58:58 PM PST by cripplecreek (You can't half ass conservatism.)
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To: cripplecreek

Thank you, CC! I really appreciate it.


85 posted on 12/16/2014 8:59:56 PM PST by CatherineofAragon ((Support Christian white males---the architects of the jewel known as Western Civilization.))
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To: CatherineofAragon

All 3 episodes air tonight.

Episode 1 starts at 5:30 and runs till 7.

Episode 2 starts at 7 and runs till 9.

Episode 3 starts at 9 and runs till 11.


86 posted on 12/17/2014 5:50:35 AM PST by cripplecreek (You can't half ass conservatism.)
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To: cripplecreek

I just programmed the DVR to get all of them. Thank you so much for that. We might save them for Sunday nights now that The Walking Dead is on hiatus.


87 posted on 12/17/2014 7:25:16 AM PST by CatherineofAragon ((Support Christian white males---the architects of the jewel known as Western Civilization.))
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To: CatherineofAragon

Just saw them all..... I won’t spoil anything, but it was interesting


88 posted on 12/17/2014 9:31:07 PM PST by GraceG (Protect the Border from Illegal Aliens, Don't Protect Illegal Alien Boarders...)
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To: cripplecreek
Watched all three nights and I wanna know:

Can screenwriters be sued for malpractice?

89 posted on 12/18/2014 11:08:07 AM PST by BenLurkin (This is not a statement of fact. It is either opinion or satire; or both.)
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To: BenLurkin

It was enjoyable enough to watch but it was like mishmash of mismatched plots and full of plot holes. Its like they took The Truman show, Firestarter, and Lost in Space and made a halfhearted attempt to match them together.

It was an ambitious mess.

I did think it was kind of funny that they didn’t include homosexuals in the project because it would be pointless. Apparently there weren’t any muslims on the ship either.

The science lover in me had a LOT of problems. 600 people is way too few for a generation ship. Raising large farm animals on a ship is pretty non realistic. I couldn’t understand why they would be out of contact with earth when the trip was to be only 4.5 light years.

“Pandorum” was a mixed screenplay movie that came together quite nicely while keeping some similar plot twists minus the telekinesis crap.


90 posted on 12/18/2014 12:18:25 PM PST by cripplecreek (You can't half ass conservatism.)
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To: GraceG

Thanks, Grace. We’ll watch this weekend, most likely.


91 posted on 12/18/2014 5:05:48 PM PST by CatherineofAragon ((Support Christian white males---the architects of the jewel known as Western Civilization.))
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To: cripplecreek

I was disappointed.

Way too many sub-plots. Far too much reliance on characters keeping secrets from each other (and the audience). All the loose ends make me think they were trying for a series rather than telling a story in three episodes.


92 posted on 12/21/2014 4:40:06 AM PST by VietVet (I am old enough to know who I am and what I believe, and I 'm not inclined to apologize for any of)
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To: VietVet

“Ascension” or “Battle of the Four Bitchs”.


93 posted on 12/24/2014 5:30:47 PM PST by PIF (They came for me and mine ... now it is your turn ...)
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