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Without Warning (1994)

M

M_Kresal

I am nerd, hear me bore.
Published by SLP
Location
North Alabama
On the night before Halloween 1994, three asteroid fragments hit the Earth, touching off a crisis that threatened to bring about the end of the world. Or, at least did for viewers of CBS watching it unfold as live news broadcasts...

Out now on Warped Factor, I look back at Without Warning 26 years after its broadcast.

I’m curious if others have seen this and how plausible the scenario seems all these years later.
 
M_Kresal said:
On the night before Halloween 1994, three asteroid fragments hit the Earth, touching off a crisis that threatened to bring about the end of the world. Or, at least did for viewers of CBS watching it unfold as live news broadcasts...

Out now on Warped Factor, I look back at Without Warning 26 years after its broadcast.

I’m curious if others have seen this and how plausible the scenario seems all these years later.
Click to expand...

Good review. I really like the 'breaking news' subgenre of mockumentary and although Without Warning isn't as cutting as Special Bulletin or Ghostwatch it is a good bit of fun for many of the reasons you described. The only thing that bugged me about it was the 'man is the real monster' moral that felt sort of tacked on. It was already a cliche in sci-fi/horror back then and although it can be done well even into the present day it has to be earned in a way that "Oh if only we hadn't shot down asteroids about to impact with our planet and had trusted that there was an intelligence behind it which wasn't (immediately) hostile" doesn't cover.

I feel like it would have been better served by maybe emphasising that first contact with extraterrestials might be at best confusing and at worst not to our benefit, which for all the praiseworthy optimism of SETI is something that maybe should be given some consideration. As you noted there was a bit of that there already (the creepy way the broken up message was pieced together at the end was a highlight) which could have been developed upon more naturally.
 
The Red said:
it has to be earned in a way that "Oh if only we hadn't shot down asteroids about to impact with our planet and had trusted that there was an intelligence behind it which wasn't (immediately) hostile" doesn't cover.
Click to expand...

That is the weakest part: the idea the humans were wrong and overly militaristic by intercepting big rocks thrown at us from space. Especially since
the aliens go on to kill the human race over it
so they surely are hostile.
 
Charles EP M. said:
That is the weakest part: the idea the humans were wrong and overly militaristic by intercepting big rocks thrown at us from space.
Click to expand...

"You see, our species communicates via throwing engraved gallstones at each other via a specialised sphincter-like orifice, and by rejecting our signals of friendship you've proved that you are the real mons--"
"Hang on, you're using sound to communicate with us right now!"
"Err, you're breaking up [static noises produced by something under the table] I'll call you back [more fake static]"
 
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