Strange Angel

I've watched the first 6 episodes so far. I think the story line is good and the casting is fab. I think the show explores a lot of social restrictions and thinking from this era in an accurate way. The story of Jack Parsons is an interesting one, and it works well as a TV series.

It's not heavy on shock value (lazy writing) which could have been a problem with the topics of occult and sex parties. I think the pace is a little slower than I would like but it's acceptable. Surprised by the low rating as this show is definitely higher quality than most of the stuff that is out there. Most comments are favorable.

Forget the ridiculously low reviews, this is a well done, interesting and imaginative show, most of the complaints are about the slow pace, which for most grown-ups who do not suffer from some form of ADD, is just fine. The three main characters are well played, the plot based on a true story has great potential, and the fantasy sequences are superb. And we haven't even started with the cult business yet which, based on Crowley's sexually charged form of occultism, will surely give us some compelling cinematography.

It's a shame the only few bad reviews left here are unrealistically low to the point that they obviously have a problem giving credit where it's due. Everyone is entitled to an opinion but a 1 or 2 rating for a show that clearly is deserving of more only exposes the fact that these people lack the attention span to read a novel or even a comic book all the way to the end. They are likely best suited to read the funnies section in a newspaper and that's about it.

Strange Angel is only 2 episodes in and it's a slow build so far but an intriguing one. If you have any interest in scientific history or the occult, there is more than enough here to keep you interested.

Parsons is a rebel and free thinker at heart forced by societal and financial conditions to maintain a pretense of normalcy for the time being. You really get the sense however that it's all eating at him and he only needs to be presented with the right opportunity to become reacquainted with his true self.

Enter the quirky unpredictable neighbor "Ernest" who lives by his own rules. He's not your typical rebel without a cause however, quite clearly he is driven by a deeper philosophy. On the surface Jack feigns rejection and they clash a little in the first couple of episodes though there's something about him that Jack finds undeniably compelling.

I'm looking forward to seeing where this story leads as Jack is inevitably introduced to Aleister Crowley the infamous British Occultist & Philosopher. This will be where things get interesting and the story will truly take off.

It's a vanishingly rare occurrence for the occult to crop up in popular entertainment outside of the horror genre, but "Strange Angel" is that rare breed.

If you dial back a few decades from the birth of the 1960's counter-culture in California and look for the precursors of psychedelia, LSD & Hippies, you could trace some of its parentage to the bohemian experimentalists in "Strange Angel".

It's 1939 and as William Gibson would say, the future just isn't very evenly distributed yet. Jack Parsons can see the future is in space. That still sounds futuristic when Elon Musk talks about it in 2018 and like Musk, Parsons wants to do something to make it happen. What happens next is the true story of the man who helped spark that future and his unlikely tutelage under the teachings of Aleister Crowley.

One episode in and this is already looking good. I'm especially enjoying Rupert Friend's turn as a wild eyed mercurial next door neigbour, who initiates/baptises Jack into the Crowleian mysteries via a swimming pool.

I'll be curious to see how this show does. The real Parsons died at age 37 under mysterious circumstances, but certainly packed enough drama into his short life to fill out several seasons if it all works out for "Strange Angel".

This was the most intriguing show I've seen in years. To bad the powers that be have no confidence in those that watch. The acting was very good and the production excellent. The pace was a little slow and the storyline super complex. Kudos to the writers for their handling of the start of space travel, occultism, WWII, complex personalities and out and out madness so well.

The main character, Jack Parsons, was one of the most intelligent and odd people who were most influential to the future of America during the late 30s and early 40s. I think the series did a great job with extremely difficult subject matter. I had no problem following the story.

Compared with most TV series today points out some huge obstacles for this series. Watching this requires a longer attention span than Spongebob and more intelligence than the family dog. The writers had a LOT of very different subjects to educate themselves about - Then they had to educate the audience. Everyone involved obviously worked very hard to produce a series worth the time to watch. I wish that Hollywood thought better of their audience or maybe realized that curious Intelligent people are consumers too.

Maybe if we are lucky someone else will pick this series up and finish out the originally planned five seasons. I'm not holding my breath.