Erin and Franklin York resemble other elderly couples. They kept each other’s doctor’s orders, joked about the intricacies of taking pills every day, and when they were in a good mood, they would put on Sam Cooke and dance in the living room like the good old days. In short, they are cute. But there is one key difference between the Yorks and most retired couples: Hidden behind a wooden sign in their shed that reads “To the Stars,” is a gateway to another world.
This is the basic setup night sky on Amazon Prime Video. The show’s first episode premiered this week and follows the lives of Erin (Sissy Spacek) and Franklin (JK Simmons) early on, which happens to include occasional visits to outer space for the view. Erin is using a wheelchair as she recovers from a recent fall, and Franklin is struggling with her memory. Faced with all these challenges, Erin made their space mystery a top priority. She couldn’t stop thinking about it, and dismissed Franklin’s efforts to tell others about it. “It’s for us,” she said. “It’s the puzzle we’re going to solve.”
Episode 1 night sky It’s refreshing, mainly because of Spacek and Simmons.In the next three decades cocoon, senior citizen-centric sci-fi stories are still rare. There are not many ways to act. Aside from battling the mysteries of the universe — which, it should be noted, became a bit boring for Franklin; after more than 800 visits, he’d rather watch the ball game — the couple is pretty normal. The day after Star Trek, Franklin was mad at his neighbor for mowing the lawn over his property.Erin uses friend’s Alzheimer’s as excuse to finally tell someone about what happened.
The show is warm, sweet, and at times heartbreaking — but unfortunately, as the story gets more complicated, much of it gets overshadowed.
Starting with an important suspense at the end of the first episode, night sky Steadily became another mystery box of the show.This is a recent yellow jacket, Severance payand Amazon’s own outer scope. After a quiet, contemplative opening, night sky Get busy and complicated. A strange man lives in the York family; a nosy neighbor determined to find out what’s going on in the shed; cults and secret societies associated with the Gateway; an Argentine mother and daughter guarding an ancient temple; and various sources of unknown origin of seemingly alien technology.
Of course, there is nothing wrong with a good, complex puzzle.I spent a lot of time thinking about Severance pay and outer scopethe big pit.the problem is night sky Aren’t none of these side stories as interesting as Erin and Franklin and their space shed. Instead, they are mostly unsatisfactory detours. Sometimes these detours provide some interesting new context—especially their temporary roommate Jude (Chai Hansen), who is closely intertwined with the Yorks—but just as often, they focus on immature characters and plots The line really doesn’t go anywhere.
It’s especially frustrating because when the show does center on Franklin and Erin, it’s pretty awesome. Simmons and Spicer brought a natural warmth to their relationship that was a joy to watch even when things took a dark turn later in the season. Their charisma can even help mask some of the show’s problems. night sky is a story where characters make decisions and keep secrets for reasons that seem to be just to move the plot forward, not something a real human would do. (seriously, everyone lie everything, even if they have no reason to do so. ) It’s frustrating, but easier to ignore when you’re in the cozy arms of a York family.
finally, night sky is for those who think Ross and Bernard are the best part lost. (Also known as The Man with the Right Opinion.) The presence of Spacek and Simmons, along with the central core mystery, was largely enough to propel the show through eight episodes. Thankfully, the season’s finale does conjure up memories of the great first episode — but there’s a lot of filler between the two bookends.
night sky Streaming on Amazon Prime Video starting May 20.
