As the author of a best-selling book (Dark Mission: The Secret History of NASA) that deals with Jack Parsons, Crowley, Hubbard and their influence over JPL's occult patterns, I have to say the pilot was disappointingly slow. The show's writers chose to focus on a fairly non-descript period of Parsons life, but that's no excuse for how dull the episode was. The show pretty much glosses over what a complete lunatic Parsons actually was, and how poorly he treated many of those around him. There was never really a point in his life where he was in any way "normal" as is portrayed in the show. He had major emotional problems and his hatred for Western Civilization and its mores defined him from an early age. I know the shows creators were going for a slow set-up, but not much at all actually happened in the episode, nor is there really a hint of who Parsons really was or what he would become.
That said, the show has some potential and I'm sticking with it, hoping the writers, directors and producers pick up the pace and get to the juicy stuff. Honestly I could have written them a more interesting take on Parsons life and the extent to which NASA and JPL are still influenced by Parsons relationships with L. Ron Hubbard and Crowley. But, I won't get that chance so I hope they go deep into the story and bring out the honest truth about what Parsons really desired, which was no less than an apocalypse. How they treat the Babalon Working will be the key to it all. It will be interesting to see if they recognize that the Working was the basis for the film "Rosemary's Baby" as well. I'm all for ripping the lid off the occult freak show in Hollywood as well as NASA, and I hope they can pull it off.
That said, the show has some potential and I'm sticking with it, hoping the writers, directors and producers pick up the pace and get to the juicy stuff. Honestly I could have written them a more interesting take on Parsons life and the extent to which NASA and JPL are still influenced by Parsons relationships with L. Ron Hubbard and Crowley. But, I won't get that chance so I hope they go deep into the story and bring out the honest truth about what Parsons really desired, which was no less than an apocalypse. How they treat the Babalon Working will be the key to it all. It will be interesting to see if they recognize that the Working was the basis for the film "Rosemary's Baby" as well. I'm all for ripping the lid off the occult freak show in Hollywood as well as NASA, and I hope they can pull it off.