The Assets (ABC) -- 8-Part 1980's Cold War Mini-Series
#1
DVD Talk God
Thread Starter
The Assets (ABC) -- 8-Part 1980's Cold War Mini-Series
"The Assets" is an eight-part limited series based on the real life events of CIA counter-intelligence officer Sandy Grimes (Jodie Whittaker). The year 1985 serves as the backdrop to the final showdown of the Cold War when Sandy and her partner Jeanne Vertefeuille (Harriet Walter) vowed to find the mole who would turn out to be the most notorious traitor in US History, Aldrich Ames (Paul Rhys). Sandy is in a race against time to save the Soviet intelligence officers from being caught and killed. Living her own double life at home, this beautiful wife and mother vowed to stop at nothing until she uncovered the truth. "The Assets" will look inside the true, personal stories of the conclusion of the Cold War as told by the keepers of the nation's secrets: the CIA. "The Assets" stars Paul Rhys ("Borgia") as Aldrich Ames, Jodie Whittaker ("Venus") as Sandy Grimes, Harriet Walter ("Babel") as Jeanne Vertefeuile, Stuart Milligan ("Jonathan Creek") as Paul Redmond, Julian Ovenden ("Downton Abbey") as Gary Grimes, Christina Cole ("Casino Royale") as Louisa, and Ralph Brown ("Withnail and I") as Lawrence Winston. "The Assets" is based on the book "Circle of Treason: A CIA Account of Traitor Aldrich Ames and the Men He Betrayed" by Sandy Grimes and Jeanne Vertefeuile. Morgan Hertzan, Rudy Bednar and Andrew Chapman executive produce the series. "The Assets" is produced by Lincoln Square Productions.
I'm sure most of you have heard absolutely zilch about this. Got very little promotion. It's filling in for Scandal for the next 8 weeks.
This is based on a true story. Here's the Nightline story that has some background on the case.
<iframe width="560" height="315" src="//www.youtube.com/embed/YwK_CjswdRY" frameborder="0" allowfullscreen></iframe>
#2
Moderator
Re: The Assets (ABC) -- 8-Part 1980's Cold War Mini-Series
This is one show I've actually been looking forward to seeing.
#3
DVD Talk God
Thread Starter
Re: The Assets (ABC) -- 8-Part 1980's Cold War Mini-Series
Promo:
<iframe width="704" height="396" src="http://abc.go.com/embed/VDKA0_1k8ea9wf" frameborder="0"></iframe>
<iframe width="704" height="396" src="http://abc.go.com/embed/VDKA0_1k8ea9wf" frameborder="0"></iframe>
#5
Moderator
Re: The Assets (ABC) -- 8-Part 1980's Cold War Mini-Series
So for those who did watch, how was it? I hadn't even heard about this until I turned on the TV last night and saw it was almost over.
#6
Moderator
Re: The Assets (ABC) -- 8-Part 1980's Cold War Mini-Series
I couldn't stay awake.
That's not a comment on the quality of the show, just on how tired I was last night. I'll finish watching over the weekend.
That's not a comment on the quality of the show, just on how tired I was last night. I'll finish watching over the weekend.
#7
Re: The Assets (ABC) -- 8-Part 1980's Cold War Mini-Series
Seems interesting... but judging from the ratings... I wonder if they'll just pull it and replace it with reruns of Scandal.
#8
DVD Talk God
Thread Starter
Re: The Assets (ABC) -- 8-Part 1980's Cold War Mini-Series
I recorded this. I think they will suck it up and air it the next 7 weeks. I heard it's relatively low budget. It was shot in Lithuania. They just finished filming this last month.
#11
DVD Talk God
#12
DVD Talk Limited Edition
Re: The Assets (ABC) -- 8-Part 1980's Cold War Mini-Series
I'm giving this a shot because I like Homeland, Covert Affairs and The Americans.
#13
#14
DVD Talk Ultimate Edition
Re: The Assets (ABC) -- 8-Part 1980's Cold War Mini-Series
I saw several promos for this but didn't realize it started last night. What were they thinking premiering a new show against the Sugar Bowl?
#16
DVD Talk Limited Edition
Re: The Assets (ABC) -- 8-Part 1980's Cold War Mini-Series
lowest ever in season debut ratings for a show on the major four networks. It probably won't last on Thursday. It was quite boring I thought.
#17
DVD Talk Legend
Re: The Assets (ABC) -- 8-Part 1980's Cold War Mini-Series
http://www.intelligence.senate.gov/pdfs103rd/10390.pdf
#18
DVD Talk God
Re: The Assets (ABC) -- 8-Part 1980's Cold War Mini-Series
I don't see how it can be a knockoff when it's a true story:
http://www.intelligence.senate.gov/pdfs103rd/10390.pdf
http://www.intelligence.senate.gov/pdfs103rd/10390.pdf
#19
DVD Talk Hall of Fame
Re: The Assets (ABC) -- 8-Part 1980's Cold War Mini-Series
You can't help but compare it to The Americans, since it's covering the same subject matter in nearly the same time period.
The Americans is far superior, as this show just feels like a low budget rehash. And that sounds funny considering The Americans is on FX and this is on ABC. It also doesn't hurt that The Americans is fictional, so they can better craft an interesting story, while this show is more based in reality.
It also has a cast of virtual unknowns in the U.S.. Not saying they're bad, but when you don't even have one cast member you can promote to audiences, it's tough. Wonderland had that issue too, but it at least it has the Once Upon A Time label along with Sayid from Lost and Lithgow. At least The Assets doesn't look like every scene was filmed in front of a green screen.
The Americans is far superior, as this show just feels like a low budget rehash. And that sounds funny considering The Americans is on FX and this is on ABC. It also doesn't hurt that The Americans is fictional, so they can better craft an interesting story, while this show is more based in reality.
It also has a cast of virtual unknowns in the U.S.. Not saying they're bad, but when you don't even have one cast member you can promote to audiences, it's tough. Wonderland had that issue too, but it at least it has the Once Upon A Time label along with Sayid from Lost and Lithgow. At least The Assets doesn't look like every scene was filmed in front of a green screen.
#20
DVD Talk Legend
Re: The Assets (ABC) -- 8-Part 1980's Cold War Mini-Series
I honestly had no idea what was going on the first 30 minutes or so of the show. By the ending I felt like the storytelling had picked up enough. I'll check it out next week, mainly because I love Jodie Whittaker, but so far the pacing really sucks.
#21
DVD Talk Ultimate Edition
Re: The Assets (ABC) -- 8-Part 1980's Cold War Mini-Series
I don't get the casting at all. A show set in the US with CIA hunting an american traitor and there's not a single american actor? Just a lot of bad american accents. It was kinda weird to watch.
#22
DVD Talk Ultimate Edition
Re: The Assets (ABC) -- 8-Part 1980's Cold War Mini-Series
The acting directing and writing in this was horrid, especially the leads. Hated Whitaker in Broadchurch and this.
#23
DVD Talk Hall of Fame
Re: The Assets (ABC) -- 8-Part 1980's Cold War Mini-Series
And it's been pulled from the schedule. Repeats of Shark Tank will fill the slot for the next 3 weeks.
http://www.thefutoncritic.com/news/2...-378211/10690/
No shock, it's basically the worst rated show ever on the big 4 networks. My guess is that the last 6 episodes will show up online, as I don't think they'd even want to burn this off on saturdays in the summer.
http://www.thefutoncritic.com/news/2...-378211/10690/
No shock, it's basically the worst rated show ever on the big 4 networks. My guess is that the last 6 episodes will show up online, as I don't think they'd even want to burn this off on saturdays in the summer.
#24
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Re: The Assets (ABC) -- 8-Part 1980's Cold War Mini-Series
Wow? Really? I didn't think it was so bad, particularly for a network drama. No wonder I don't trust the networks. Such a quick trigger.
#25
DVD Talk Legend
Re: The Assets (ABC) -- 8-Part 1980's Cold War Mini-Series
I only made it through 15 minutes of episode 2 and decided to yank it off my DVR. I had no idea what was going on and figured it wasn't worth my time to figure it out.