The Andromeda Strain

:

Season 1
  • Network: A&E
  • Series Premiere Date: May 26, 2008
User Score
5.6

Mixed or average reviews- based on 40 Ratings

User score distribution:
  1. Positive: 18 out of 40
  2. Mixed: 7 out of 40
  3. Negative: 15 out of 40
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User Reviews

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  1. JudyT
    May 30, 2008
    4
    Mediocre, not as interesting as the original mostly because it was too convoluted with the old government conspiracy that went nowhere.
  2. KenH.
    May 27, 2008
    6
    For sci-fi fans there's some fun to be had watching this very improbable storyline if you turn your brain off. The movie stumbles several times with a boring "military conspiracy" plot that should not have been written into the story at all. Unlike some of the professional reviewers, I quite liked the science lab procedural scenes. Most of the technical jargon was at least trying to For sci-fi fans there's some fun to be had watching this very improbable storyline if you turn your brain off. The movie stumbles several times with a boring "military conspiracy" plot that should not have been written into the story at all. Unlike some of the professional reviewers, I quite liked the science lab procedural scenes. Most of the technical jargon was at least trying to be scientifically accurate. Unfortunately the plot goes off into total la-la land in the last 30 minutes and there's are some gigantic plot holes that would make almost any sci-fi fan frown. A missed opportunity for all those involved in making this film.… Expand
  3. BobW
    May 27, 2008
    4
    Despite capitalizing on 37 years of improved special effects, the mini series actually regresses in story telling.
  4. Nemol
    Jun 5, 2008
    6
    Not bad for TV fare. I highly recommend getting a commercial free version. Infinitely more watchable. Benjamin Bratt as one of the worlds best microbiologists makes me roll my eyes. The casting blows. Maybe I've just known to many scientists. And obviously the casting director hasn't known any. Thank God the book was so good.
  5. JRC.
    Jun 16, 2008
    4
    After awhile you just need to stop indulging all those writers "What if's". "Ooh! What if the where attacked by sharks next!?" "Sharks? Their in an under ground bunker in the desert." "How about ducks then?" Just get on with the end of the show already!
  6. HotelCentral
    Jul 30, 2019
    5
    Had I known that Ridley Scott was involved in any way with the 2008 remake of the 1971 film directed and produced by Robert Wise, I would never have wasted the 10 minutes it took me to walk to the local public library to borrow the DVD for free.

    Now, you may ask how this miniseries could be so awful when it was written by a guy who writes plays that win Pulizers and Tonys. I have no    Had I known that Ridley Scott was involved in any way with the 2008 remake of the 1971 film directed and produced by Robert Wise, I would never have wasted the 10 minutes it took me to walk to the local public library to borrow the DVD for free.

    Now, you may ask how this miniseries could be so awful when it was written by a guy who writes plays that win Pulizers and Tonys. I have no idea. But I am aware that the distance between a writer’s keyboard and a director’s cut can be long and arduous and full of acrimony. So, for the purposes of argument, I shall leave the writer out of the equation.

    Basically, this is a film produced by people who do not understand music theory. A symphony, the experts will tell you, is a carefully coordinated combination of sounds and silences. Ridley Scott & Company obviously decided to do away with the silences, so that every instrument in the orchestra pit is blasting away at full volume without ever a pause for breath.

    The LA Times said this version of Andromeda is “overwrought and dull.” Entertainment Weekly said this “cluttered remake mires itself in . . .. inane backstories.” But let me clarify. Virtually every scene in the first twenty minutes includes some heart-felt family drama that accomplishes nothing except to bloat the total runtime. Plus the scientists at the heart of the story have lots of reasons to dislike and mistrust each other. Plus there are conspiracies. Wheels within wheels. Conundrums within enigmas enfolded by mysteries. Because, you see, everyone has their own personal secret agenda. And they aren’t simply out for themselves. They’re all out to get us.

    And of course the government should never be trusted.

    The government wants us to eat fruit? Why? What are they putting into the fruit to brainwash us all while slowly poisoning us too?

    It’s not enough to take it for granted, even at the very beginning, that the government is mostly concerned about preventing a biological catastrophe. Which is why the roster of characters provides us with all these military types who are agitating for dropping a nuke on the “quarantine area.” Because, you know, when you're making a miniseries it’s not enough to merely threaten the entire human race with a virulent new pathogen. Who’s going to fast-forward through a commercial break just to see how that turns out? So we need threats on top of threats. We need threats and threatening happenings going on all the time while still more threats are busily winging their way in from the horizon.

    And, oh, did I mention there’s a reporter? Who’s in detox? Who busts out of detox and wastes no time hooking up with his drug dealer, only to discover that MIBs are following him around and who knows what they might be planning? Because the reporter discovers his secret informant got murdered by a cop? And then the chief scientist at the super secret bio-lab calls the reporter on the phone and tells him some stuff about the super secret pathogen–and of course the NSA is listening to all of this, because they listen to everything, especially when ordered to listen in on some reporter, who, you know, is trying to reveal all the super secrets the government has.

    And, I should mention, there’s also a guy with a chainsaw. No, I’m not joking.

    Also, the US military (as portrayed here) has no problem with making US citizens “disappear” even on US soil. Maybe it goes without saying that the mils also have no problem with killing other members of the service, including generals, but there you have it.

    No doubt some years from now Ridley Scott will produce a “final cut” of this “miniseries” with some remarkable unicorn scene which only goes to prove what a “genius” he is.

    My suggestion? Don’t waste your time. See the 1971 film by Robert Wise. It’s not a great film and the tech is dated but it’s better than this schlock by far.

    If you insist on seeing this version then get a crossword or jigsaw puzzle, or the latest version of Angry Birds, to keep yourself entertained while the film-makers indulge in extraneous malarkey. Just, whatever you do, once you turn Andromeda on, don’t turn it off.

    They’re watching you..    … Expand

Awards & Rankings

97
#97 Best TV Season of 2008
27
#27 Most Discussed TV Season of 2008
50
#50 Most Shared TV Season of 2008

Critic Reviews

All reviews »
Metascore
41

Mixed or average reviews - based on 18 Critic Reviews

Critic score distribution:
  1. Positive: 4 out of 18
  2. Mixed: 6 out of 18
  3. Negative: 8 out of 18
  1. The Hollywood Reporter
    Reviewed by: Barry Garron
    80
    Each part has edge-of-the-seat moments, thanks to some admirable performances as well as several intriguing new plot twists that inject surprise at key moments.
    Read full review
  2. New York Magazine (Vulture)
    Reviewed by: John Leonard
    70
    This mini-series actually improves on the original 1969 Michael Crichton sci-fi non-thriller, which spent too much time in a fab lab in the desert and not enough inside the icky green virus—or outside, where the government was covering up its biological-warfare experiments.
  3. Salon
    Reviewed by: Heather Havrilesky
    30
    A&E's The Andromeda Strain is just a very expensive, very cheesy retread.
    Read full review
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