Manifest (new NBC paranormal series)

Cafe Society
1

The first episode debuted last night. I was willing to give it a chance, and was glad I did. It will be shown again on Friday evening.

In short, a plane that took off in the spring of 2013 from Kingston, Jamaica arrives at its NYC destination in November, 2018. How this happened, and why, and how those left behind dealt with it is just beginning to be explored.

Other people have said that they saw the trailer and weren’t impressed. To me, it promises to be a good show, and if it veers off the rails a la “Twin Peaks” or “Lost”, I’ll stop watching.

In short, do I recommend checking it out? Sure.

2

We saw it, and liked the voices and visions that the survivors have. My worry is that, as others have said, that it will be like Lost, going on for years with no explanation, ending with a weak, unplanned letdown. I’d like series like this better if I knew going in that it was going to be only ten episodes or so.

That said, I’ll give it another viewing next week.

3

hasn’t this premise been done before ? I think it was a European series …and then they tried adapting it and it didn’t last either ……

4

The problem with this type of series is that it’s easy to set up the mysteries and hook an audience.

But at some point you need a third act. Most of the people who make these shows don’t set up a good answer to the questions they’ve asked.

5

I was turned off by the ponderous narration at the beginning of the episode, and thought the scenes at the airport weren’t really necessary (get to the fireworks factory already), but the rest of the episode was interesting enough that I think I’ll watch the next few episodes and see how it goes.

The bit at the end reminded me of Close Encounters No mashed potatoes though

6

The “set them free” thing was kind of amusing. Anybody else see the twist coming there?

7

Maybe the Bro’s wife is the woman who sister’s ex fiancé has married? Would explain a few things.

8

I figured it out about 30 seconds before the characters did.

9

I enjoyed the pilot and will continue watching for awhile.

Depends on the direction the writers take.

It is an interesting premise. Everyone of those passengers has a potential story and connection to the central characters.

I get the impression the boy with leukemia is the main character that connects everyone. He may even be the reason the plane’s landing was delayed over 5 years. Just a WAG.

10

didn’t they already do that story? Remember The 4400? How soon does it devolve into the usual soap opera relationship drama?

11

“Most”? Has there been a network show in this genre that has been able to resolve things in a satisfying manner? It seems like there are just two outcomes:

  1. The season ends on a cliffhanger and the show gets canceled over the summer.
  2. The show meanders aimlessly season after season until ratings are so bad they cancel it, but ends on a weak finale that has a slapped together, contrived solution to the mystery.
12

My wife and I watched it last night, and we were kind of up in the air about it. Hopefully the plot manages to take off a little more, and like others mentioned, hope the writers have a final destination in mind so it doesn’t turn out like ‘Lost’.

13

I won’t watch the show, because I’ve been burned too many times. But I’ll follow the thread. If it sounds like they know what they are doing, I can always catch up on DVD eventually.

I do not suspect that will happen.

14

I liked it and will continue watching for now. I hope it doesn’t become like Lost; that got so old and I gave up on that one long before the end. The lead actress is a little bit cheesy, but hopefully her character will stretch. I figured the Set Them Free thing had to do with the kidnapping, but I thought it would be an immediate result, not the roundabout way it ended up, so I was pleasantly surprised.

15

I liked it, but NBC has tried this “mystery” type format a couple of times before and it failed. Not sure why they think it will work this time.

16

I watched it and actually hope it DOES become like Lost, but with a better ending.

It was okay, but I was kind of put off by people, who have just traveled through time!, being worried about getting their job back, or their boyfriend/girlfriend.

Plus the doctor who didn’t want to treat the boy because he blindly subtracted two dates to determine the kid wasn’t eligible. Seemingly forgetting that the kid traveled through time!!

17

Didn’t the show imply the doctor had an agenda which prompted him to give that BS answer?

Or am I misremembering?

18

Does anyone believe a kidnapper – with his victims imprisoned on the premises no less! – would call the police to report his dogs had been taken???

On a bigger level, I didn’t like the lead woman, and I loathe mysteries that are solved by ‘psychic’ means so… Will watch a second episode in case it goes a different route, but I’m not hopeful.

19

Did the wormhole happen to be over the Bermuda Triangle? I can’t remember the timeline between when they left, it happened, and they landed.

Right now the acting and writing seem a little weak for me to have much hope they have an intelligently designed story arc. However, there have been other shows which I felt the same way and eventually turned out great. “Babylon 5” is one. I remember my friends saying how good it was, but when I started watching I thought it was as dumb as a soap opera. But after a while I got into the story and didn’t notice the cheesiness. Maybe the same thing will happen here.

20

I’m not 100% sure. I do remember him saying something like “This kids has had leukemia for 7 years” or something like that.