BillBoard
22nd November 2010, 05:35 PM
Anyone seen this show on the History Channel?
http://articles.mcall.com/2010-11-19/entertainment/mc-apocalypse-review-20101119_1_apocalypse-pa-show-tests-nazareth-man
"Apocalypse PA," the History Channel show that features a Nazareth man who desires a self-sufficient lifestyle, premiered Tuesday, and if the two episodes represent what the show would be, it looks far more like Discovery Channel's MythBusters than a militia in the making.
The two episodes detailing the life of Frank Belcastro — which are essentially a pilot; executive producer Steve Rotfeld of The WorkShop in Bryn Mawr said if the show tests well it could become a series – focused far more on contraptions Belcastro built.
That's fine — him converting a truck to run on burning wood or horse dung or building a still were pretty cool. I'd watch another episode.
But the whole "survivalist" theme of the show seemed overdone. From the show's title to its depiction of the Belcastros' as living in a secluded area to its frequent interjected explanations, it seemed to strain to add the apocalypse theme to the story of a guy who simply likes to tinker — and maybe yearns for simpler days.
"My dad is almost like a modern-day Ben Franklin," Belcastro's son, Adam, said in the first episode. "He's always working on something and kind of scheming to come up with these new ideas. Sometimes it works, sometimes it doesn't."
That seems a pretty true characterization of Belcastro, and to me would be a good enough premise for a show — him building and trying stuff out — without the "apocalypse" mumbo-jumbo. Like the bicycle-powered microwave it showed at the start of the show.
But in the voiceover introduction, Belcastro says, "My name is Frank and I'm not crazy. I know the world's not ending anytime soon. But just in case, I want to be ready.
"Back in the day, our grandparents and great grandparents — I mean, they knew how to take care of themselves. Nowadays, it seems everybody depends on somebody else. So my family is declaring a new independence day. We are going to learn to fend for ourselves — whether we like it or not."
Despite being set in rural Nazareth, the show gave little indication of its locale – introduced as "somewhere in Pennsylvania" and showing no areas of town or anything that would let watchers no where the Belcastros live (Are you listening, Gosselins?)
The only local reference was Dixon's Muzzleloading shop in Kempton, where Belcastro goes with Adam in the second episode to get a gun. It names the shop, but doesn't say it's in Kempton.
Hint for the masses?
http://articles.mcall.com/2010-11-19/entertainment/mc-apocalypse-review-20101119_1_apocalypse-pa-show-tests-nazareth-man
"Apocalypse PA," the History Channel show that features a Nazareth man who desires a self-sufficient lifestyle, premiered Tuesday, and if the two episodes represent what the show would be, it looks far more like Discovery Channel's MythBusters than a militia in the making.
The two episodes detailing the life of Frank Belcastro — which are essentially a pilot; executive producer Steve Rotfeld of The WorkShop in Bryn Mawr said if the show tests well it could become a series – focused far more on contraptions Belcastro built.
That's fine — him converting a truck to run on burning wood or horse dung or building a still were pretty cool. I'd watch another episode.
But the whole "survivalist" theme of the show seemed overdone. From the show's title to its depiction of the Belcastros' as living in a secluded area to its frequent interjected explanations, it seemed to strain to add the apocalypse theme to the story of a guy who simply likes to tinker — and maybe yearns for simpler days.
"My dad is almost like a modern-day Ben Franklin," Belcastro's son, Adam, said in the first episode. "He's always working on something and kind of scheming to come up with these new ideas. Sometimes it works, sometimes it doesn't."
That seems a pretty true characterization of Belcastro, and to me would be a good enough premise for a show — him building and trying stuff out — without the "apocalypse" mumbo-jumbo. Like the bicycle-powered microwave it showed at the start of the show.
But in the voiceover introduction, Belcastro says, "My name is Frank and I'm not crazy. I know the world's not ending anytime soon. But just in case, I want to be ready.
"Back in the day, our grandparents and great grandparents — I mean, they knew how to take care of themselves. Nowadays, it seems everybody depends on somebody else. So my family is declaring a new independence day. We are going to learn to fend for ourselves — whether we like it or not."
Despite being set in rural Nazareth, the show gave little indication of its locale – introduced as "somewhere in Pennsylvania" and showing no areas of town or anything that would let watchers no where the Belcastros live (Are you listening, Gosselins?)
The only local reference was Dixon's Muzzleloading shop in Kempton, where Belcastro goes with Adam in the second episode to get a gun. It names the shop, but doesn't say it's in Kempton.
Hint for the masses?