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Post by I AM the Way on Sept 9, 2006 12:30:25 GMT -6
this was a British tv show involving weird mind powers like ESP, clairvoyance, telekinesis, as well as the occult, magic, and ghosts.
the series only lasted one season in 1979. it has just been released on DVD here in the US and i ordered / received it from amazon a few days ago.
i'm three episodes into the show (out of ten total), and think it's pretty great so far. kind of like the earth-based Dr. Who episodes or the Quatermass programs.
while it was on the air, conservative viewing boards denounced the show and gave the producers and the BBC a hard time. apparently, The Omega Factor was also plagued by strange occurances and accidents.
i'll give you guys an update after watching more, but so far it's very entertaining while containing some fascinating, unconventional ideas.
VS
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Post by I AM the Way on Sept 12, 2006 12:34:06 GMT -6
i finished watching all ten episodes last night. a pretty good show but with some flaws. probably the biggest problem is the lack of resolution and closure. just when the story seems to be coming to a head or a big finish, it flops in some anti-climactic way and the episode ends. rather than the story being picked up again next week, the characters are onto something new.
some really great ideas about government agencies using mental powers and the occult are, in the end, squandered by awkward pacing, build-up, and execution. if not for the tone of anti-climax in almost every episode, the series would probably have continued beyond the first season.
perhaps i'm spoiled by modern, american shows which usually manage to squeeze every last drop of dramatic juice from a scene. some modern tv uses tension as an art form, always upping the ante until the stakes are so high that you think the entire episode might explode. well, not so for this 1979 paranormal offering.
although for raw ideas and bringing intriguing concepts to the discussion table, the Omega Factor really shines. after watching the series i took something valuable away... the notion of a conspiritorial organization that experimented with consciousness towards a particular goal: world domination. in this way, the Omega Factor group was not unlike the Cult of Cthulhu.
Venger Satanis Cult of Cthulhu High Priestwww.CultofCthulhu.net
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Post by I AM the Way on Feb 6, 2008 18:38:45 GMT -6
haha, funny seeing this thread again. i started re-watching The Omega Factor today since i'm snowed in. good stuff!
would love to hear other views if anyone else has seen it...
VS
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Post by Drizzle Drazzle on Mar 7, 2008 12:18:52 GMT -6
Alright, so your review had me all piqued so I went out and got the Omega Factor.
Now was this not refreshing!
Totally digging this and need to re-watch it when time will allow. I would not be suprised if this series was an inspiration for the X-Files, which in my opinion was certainly inferior. Also this reminded me of the whole buddy-cop sequence from the invisibles, where there was this group of detectives from the 1970's that were called back into active duty to investigate mr Quimper and all that, remember? Well, occult investigation in England with 70's hairdoos....man-perms act as good conduit for psychic powers. My theory anyway.
I liked the lack of over-slick hollywood values, awkwardness, anticlimax and all. It just came off as being about ten times more feasable and life-like than the aforementioned x-files.
A second season and less dangling/unfinished plotlines would help matters a bit, however.
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Post by I AM the Way on Mar 7, 2008 14:28:31 GMT -6
awesome. glad i'm not the only one. yeah, a second season would have been great.
VS
"the man that Crowley wouldn't meet... just in case".
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