A&E and the Andromeda Strain

Remember how good the movie was?

Yeah, well, the two parter of The Andromeda Strain that'll be shown on A&E starting memorial day is not that good.

OK, I can live with the error about Buckminster Fuller discovering "Buckyballs", rather than having them named after him.

But come on! Having the WILDFIRE site powered by a small nuclear reactor with an open pile, looking like a fuel rod storage pool, complete with the blue glow of Cherenkov radiation.



And then there's the wormhole from whence came the Andromeda Strain.

Don't forget the secondary and tertiary sub-plots concerning a substance abusing reporter AND a Government Conspiracy, a la The X-Files.

OY! Just... Oy.

The first part IS pretty good, and 3/4ths of the second part holds the attention, but, yeah, the whole reactor thing just ruined it for me.

Your milage may vary.

Rating: C+.

The things you find when you look up!

Yes, it's THAT 'Massachusetts 54th Volunteer Infantry'. You know, these guys!


It's about a 20 minute stroll from where I live.

Gone, but not forgotten

(found on the space.com website)

A monument to Laika, the first dog to go into space, standing on top of a rocket, is unveiled in Moscow, Friday, April 11, 2008. Russian officials on Friday unveiled the monument to Laika, a mongrel dog whose flight to space more than 50-years ago paved the way for human space missions. The small monument is located near a military research facility in Moscow that prepared Laika's flight to space on Nov. 3, 1957. Credit: AP Photo/RIA-Novosti, Alexei Nikolsky.