User Reviews

The Book of Strange New Things is one of the best things I've read in a while. Naturally, I was interested in a series adaptation, although my expectations for this weren't too high. And yeah, this is very decent, but nothing more than that.

I can't say that the added plot lines benefit the story as a whole. It's as if they just had to put a B-plot in there, something which the story just doesn't call for. Why the mysterious deaths? What purpose are the David Morgan character and his disappearance there to serve? Why does the colony now have a somewhat authoritarian Indian leading figure? The portrayal of the USIC base is nothing like it is in the book; the disconnected nostalgia of the interior in The Book of Strange New Things was quite key to the story, at least to me.

Also, to someone who hasn't read the book, this just has to be confusing. It's as if they wrote the entire thing based on a description of the book, instead of the book itself, and tried to figure out what would happen next on their own. There's no mention of the Jump or the scientific advancements, something that was only briefly touched on in the book, but at least it was mentioned; the launch just happens, and that's it. Why is a priest being sent to Oasis? Is this going to be full of Christian propaganda? What is this planet anyway?

I would watch more episodes of this, if only just because I'm very curious as to where they're going to take this thing. As of right now, though, I'm not sure if I'm on board. (Also, the shot at 00:58 makes me cringe whenever I see it. It looks as if it was taken straight out of a fragrance commercial.)

The premise of the show, though nothing original, is inherently in a category that demands justice from lovers of sci-fi "drama." The pilot however is a severe disappointment.

The most terrible transgression is that it seems either the original novel "The Book Of Strange New Things" or this adaptation is written by someone with not even a modicum of scientific knowledge. When you start a pilot with a planet "across the galaxy," I demand to know at-least a snippet of the back story.

How was this planet discovered? What technology have we developed to reach this planet? All we saw was a rocket... a freaking rocket... how did this rocket take our protagonist to the other side of the galaxy? How did we discover a planet on the other side of the galaxy and apparently nowhere else that is capable of supporting human life? This planet magically or by happenstance has 1g, 1 atm, a magnetic field of equivalent strength to earth, it seems to have no indigenous vegetation however there is breathable oxygen. How can there be oxygen without vegetation, how is there no microbial life at all on this planet with oxygen and liquid water? How are the new inhabitants on this planet using GPS tags, without satellites orbiting this planet to provide GPS coverage? How is communication with earth possible, when this planet is on the other side of the galaxy? If it only cost $100 million to send someone to this planet why are there not more qualified people on this planet already? Why is there no supra-governmental organization or a corporation in- charge of this colonization? Why has humanity left its future in the hand of one or two clearly unqualified and uninspired leaders? In what realistic scenario does humanity on this brink of collapse and having discovered a life line, would put any individual in charge with no accountability and an abysmal support or administrative system on the other side of the galaxy.

It was almost frustrating to watch the pilot. While I was rooting for the old king of the North, this is as terrible and as badly explained of a "sci-fi" show as one could imagine - not in 2017. Maybe 30 years ago when the general public's scientific/cosmological awareness was far more minimalist than at the present, maybe "Oasis" can get a pass on these topics. It is however simply unacceptable in 2017, and it is not acceptable to simply wait with abated breath and move the unanswered questions into the mystery column, because quite simply if humanity is colonizing a planet on the other end of the galaxy for the very first time - it is absolutely critical that you explain or give at least the slightest of hint as to how this planet was discovered, how it can be reached, how does it have Earths gravity, atmospheric pressure, magnetic field, how does it have breathable oxygen and water?

Unless it explained in subsequent episode that a wormhole was discovered x number of years ago and for some reason that was edited out of the first episode, or some sort of mysterious time traveling has taken place and Oasis is in-fact Earth or something a little bit more crazy than that. I see no possible angle by which the errors and omissions would not lead to a laughable and humiliating cancellation.

You have a problem with a colony on a distant planet? Don't summon a scientist. Why would you get help from a chemist, a physicist, a biologist or a psychologist when you can just hire a priest!

This has to be one of the silliest shows I've seen in a long time. I won't bother going into the plot as it has been detailed by countless other reviews. However should you choose to watch this, be warned to brace yourself for an amazing amount of religious mumbo jumbo. The sets have a distinct low budget feel. The writing is clichéd. Worst of all the priest in space story is just the silliest idea ever. I know it has been done before. It was silly those other times as well!

This was a very realistic and plausible scenario of how humans might attempt to survive on another planet.

However, there is a deep mystery here as to how this planet effects human beings emotions and senses and Amazon leaves us hanging in the end.

They need to bring this back and at least give us closure even if it's only one episode.

I think most fans would appreciate the gesture from Amazon Originals.