Project Blue Book TV-Show Review 2019 Cast Crew
Creator: David O’Leary
Stars: Aidan Gillen, Michael Malarkey, Laura Mennell
When this was announced, I was very excited, especially about the fact that Robert Zemeckis was involved, and that it would be a real series based on real events that seemed to have great potential with their production quality. After seeing the fantastic first episode of ENGROSSING, I can confirm that, in fact, this is already the best program we have received for the UFO / Alien theme since the early seasons of The X files. Although it is very influenced by the archives The X in its structure, tone and general delivery, is quite well maintained to maintain its own identity.
The performance is tremendous so far, especially from Aidan Gillen and Michael Malarkey, and you really fall in love with the fascinating character of Dr. Hynek. In general, they did an excellent job of portraying the real story on which it was based, with an extremely captivating first episode, full of great twists, turns and a solid mystery that makes you want another episode immediately. The production quality is excellent, with an extraordinary camera work, a wide configuration and a precise environment and environment that fit the time frame of the late 40s and 50s. A series that is definitely worthy of its time more than most the television series.
The most surprising thing about the "Blue Book Project" is that, in the first place, it took so long to become a television program. As you will tell yourself at the top of each episode, History's new drama storytelling is "based on real events," or at least recorded cases of possible UFO sightings and subsequent Air Force investigations during the 50s and 60s. Each week, a new case triggers a new intrigue, both about the potential of extraterrestrial life and about the government's conspiracy to cover it up. Meanwhile, the Cold War looms ominously, inculcating in everyone a deep restlessness and paranoia that can not shake, no matter how hard they try to avoid it.
In this way, the "Blue Book Project" becomes a part of the "X Files" era, a reliable formula that would be difficult to explore completely. That inspiration extends more obviously to the unlikely pair that anchors the series. Captain Michael Quinn (Michael Malarkey) recruits astrophysicist Dr. Josef Allen Hynek (Aidan Gillen of "Game of Thrones") to join him in investigating reports of UFO activities across the country, but the concert comes with a huge and omnipresent asterisk.
The superiors of Quinn's government, Generals Harding and Valentine (played respectively by the efficient players Neal McDonough and Michael Harney), do not want them to prove the existence of extraterrestrial life. However, they insist that Quinn and Hynek use their deductive reasoning skills to cover up any hint of extraterrestrial mysticism, at any cost. This is fine for Quinn, who wants to prove his worth as a reliable infantryman to advance his own career. But Hynek, an "eccentric" who professes himself, can not resist the charm of finally discovering the unknown and, therefore, is opposed to Quinn's instinct to ignore his most fantastic encounters with everything he has.
His dynamic "nerd meet macho" does not match, it's a classic, until Quinn smiles with an arrogant smile and calls Hynek "doc" in his most precious moments. But at least in the first episodes, the chemistry of Malarkey and Gillen is not powerful enough to be as memorable as David Duchovny and Gillian Anderson, who immediately released "The X Files." Even so, the UFO cases of Quinn and Hynek in the week The solid marriage of procedural drama structure, the intrigue of science fiction and even some class commentary when their travels inevitably take them to the working class rural setting where Most sightings seem to occur.
But it is not long before the "Blue Book Project" gets caught up in its own narrative weeds. Generals Valentine and Harding seem sporadically to smile and remind us that things are not what they seem, guarding the secret room of the "Raiders of the Lost Ark" to prove their sinister bail. Meanwhile, Hynek's wife, Mimi (Laura Mennell), falls more and more into her own worry and paranoia when the bomb shelters begin to emerge in her suburban neighborhood, and she still does not realize that her new and glamorous friend Susie (a charming but wasted Ksenia Solo, has more in mind than friendship.) These plot lines work hard to organize a show outside of Quinn and Hynek's research, none is convincing enough to achieve that goal.