sonodocsch

So far, I am enjoying it. Most of us who are space program enthusiasts know about Werner Von Braun's history with the Nazis. That he was brought to the US with his colleagues to work on ballistic missiles (initially with the US Army Ballistic Missile Agency) but during his confrontation with the Congressional Panel, this was not brought up. The US knew about his background, but did not disclose this initially.

Also, there's a woman character - Margo Madison - who at one point says, "I know the code!" This has made me wonder if her character is a shout out to Margaret Hamilton, the woman engineer who led the Apollo guidance computer software development team at the MIT Instrumentation Lab (now the Draper Lab). You can find photos online of her standing next the pile of computer printout of the Apollo computer code.

We agree with the positive reviews of this show. Others have noted similarities to Northern Exposure and I think there are other "person out of their 'normal' environment" shows (and movies) that are more similar to Northern Exposure (which we also enjoyed). However, there was a US show that ran from 2002 - 2006 titled "Everwood". Consider this underlying premise of the plot: A widower surgeon (played by the late Treat Williams) moves his children (a teenage boy Ephraim played by Gregory Smith) and a younger daughter (Delia, played by Vivien Cardone) without them fully understanding their father's reason for the move. It has a lot of the teenage angst as in 800 Words, a variety characters (there is another physician in this small town), but the tone is generally more "serious" than 800 Words. Not that 800 Words does not have considerable drama, but the quirkiness of the characters and the small town atmosphere provide a different feel. Some characters are a pleasant surprise. While Woody is initially played as a bit goofy, in the dialogue he has with George on many occasions, he is (to us, anyway) quite the philosopher and in some ways has a better perspective on human behavior than George. I think the way the characters have evolved (at least through season 2; we are just starting to watch season 3) has been interesting and some diversions of that evolution provide some of the interest.

I believe Everwood is available on streaming services - might be worth a watch if you like 800 Words.

An earlier US show has some of the elements of the "person out of place" shows - a show called "Ed". It's about a NYC lawyer who is divorced and fired over a very short time. He gives up NYC residence and moves back to his hometown in Ohio. He sets up an office in a bowling alley. Quite a cast: Tom Cavanaugh (the lawyer), Julie Bowen (the romantic interest), Josh Randall (a high school classmate), Michael Ian Black, Justin Long, Mike Starr - and quite a few others. This series has much more of the quirky humor and is played much more for that than the dramatic content. Oh, and Westfield, NJ substituted for the Ohio community that Ed moves back to.