MovieChat Forums > The Tribe (1999) Discussion > new viewer disappointed after season 1 -...

new viewer disappointed after season 1 - spoilery rant inside

posted 12 years ago by crispy_comments
7 replies | jump to latest

I'm a Canadian who just discovered The Tribe and found season one pretty addictive. I won't get into everything I liked about it (though it's touched on, below) because this is a long enough post already. :P Now, I realize all long-running shows jump the shark at some point, but I didn't expect The Tribe to lose me by the second season! The first episode of season 2 disappointed me so much I went ahead and read spoilers for the rest of the show, hoping for reassurance. Instead, I'm even more disappointed and doubt I'll watch any more. Maybe you all have discussed this to death, but humour a newbie who needs to vent, eh?

Btw, I'm very curious about the behind-the-scenes stuff that might've led to some of these story decisions. I hate it when actors/producers conflicts derail the originally intended storyline. For instance I read that 2 other characters were killed off because the actors broke a rule about dating cast members. So, what happened? Did AmberActress want to leave the show, and then change her mind later/get lured back with a bigger paycheck? Did the writers want to free up Bray & Lex for future love interests or to make it easier for tween girls in the audience to crush on them as single guys, or what? :P

Zandra dying. Fine with me. She was pretty useless, and you can only do so much with that kind of vain, shallow character. Her story felt played out. But I would've preferred she die during childbirth, giving Lex a baby to lug around and learn to take care of. It would've been such fitting irony, after Lex's statement about not liking babies, and the way he was unwelcoming to pregnant Trudy in season one. He could turn to Trudy for help, as the baby-expert of the group. But she wouldn't just do all the work for him, and his sexist attitudes about traditional gender roles and "women's work" could be challenged.

Amber dying is not fine with me at all. She was my favorite female character by far, and I think it's important to have a "good" female leader represented, if you're gonna have a "bad" one like Ebony. (And Trudy, apparently, who gets brainwashed to be an evil cult leader? Yay.) Otherwise you risk sending the message that so many shows/movies do...that women can't handle power & leadership roles without being corrupt & evil.

Amber was the real heart of the show, and hero of The Tribe, in my opinion, and I have much less interest in watching the series without her. But I'd rather she die than have some contrived storyline where she faked her death because she believed Ebony's lie about having Bray's baby?! What the hell is that? I'm supposed to believe that Amber, who previously sacrificed her happiness to take care of the whole group, would just abandon them without a word? And no way do I buy that she'd let Dal, her "little brother", as she sees him, be hurt that way, thinking she's dead. She was willing to go into slavery to save Dal from the same fate, and he was probably her most trusted confidante, but now she's leaving him and deceiving him instead of telling him the truth? No. It's melodramatic nonsense that she'd behave this way. Not telling Dal her plans. Believing Ebony in the first place. Not asking Bray about it before making such a drastic decision. So Amber thinks Uncle Bray looks after Trudy & her unborn baby but abandoned his *own* child? Right. And wasn't Amber around when Ebony was threatening to take Trudy's baby because she didn't want to go to the trouble of having her own? Major continuity error and contrivance. I hate it when characters are made to behave STUPIDLY in order to move the plot a certain way.

Not to mention the contrived logistics of the thing. When did Ebony have time to lie about a baby and convince Amber to fake her own death? Inbetween the alarm going off and the generator exploding? Maybe they chatted about it amidst coughing, while everyone else ran outside to escape the smoke. Gimme a break. (And don't tell me the show squeezed in a flashback claiming that Amber "knew" about the Ebony/Bray baby and was already planning to "die" *before* her reconcilation with Bray outside, y'know, the scene where Lex played matchmaker for them. Ridiculous.)

Speaking of that exploding generator... another thing I hated about the first ep of season two. Did the show really need to rehash the idea of the gang trekking to a secret location for vital information, and then barely escaping as the facility explodes? The show already did that at Hope Island. Why repeat it so soon at Eagle Mountain, and send everyone back to the city... and back to the mall? No! The mall was wrecked and the Mall Rats had to move on. Move forward, not back. All the poignancy of leaving their first home, and the sense of adventure, going on this journey to the mountain... pointless. How lame that they just got there, and have to leave again right away. Why? Because the writers wanted to drag things out and not let them learn much/get the antidote yet?

Season one's finale set it up that Ryan & Salene & Patsy & Cloe would form a family and shuffle off somewhere. Great, 'cause they all irritated me anyway and I couldn't imagine what use they'd be or what further story potential they provided. Give them a happy ending, let them go play with their pig...and eat like pigs (but never *ever*, god forbid, eat pigs!) Instead I read they stick around, and 3 of the 4 get bleak endings when they're written off the show? (Not that I care too much...I was rooting for Cloe and her darn cow to get captured in the woods.) And my least favorite, Salene, sticks around for all five seasons? Ack. They should've just left The Tribe to settle somewhere offscreen. Maybe neighbors with Dal who finally gets his farm. Hey, they need *someone* to farm and actually provide, y'know, food.

Another big disappointment: The writers decide to make a comet responsible for the virus? Why? Why forgo the more dramatic story of humanity's hubris backfiring, and instead absolve people of responsiblity by making it all the fault of a random comet?! I really liked the idea of the population being wiped out by a man-made drug, especially something inspired by vanity, like an anti-aging formula, which backfires and kills off the adults (and then mutates and ironically causes rapid aging in the kids). There was some great potential for social commentary there! And a good explanation for why only older people were killed. I really thought that's where the show was going. So what about the themes I *thought* were being explored, like, the way society treats the elderly? As represented by some kids rejecting the adults' ways & hunting/attacking the "wrinklies", and other kids (like Jack & Patsy) desperate to be guided and taken care of... and still others, becoming more mature and learning to take care of themselves? Wasn't that the main point of the series?!

Last but not least: Virtual reality games that kill you in real life? What. The. Bleep? I have no problem with this concept in a more believable context, like a futuristic sci-fi show. But I'm supposed to believe this kind of high-tech, fantastical technology exists in *this* primitive world, where hardly anyone reads, most books have been destroyed, much knowledge has been lost, and the kids were just figuring out how to filter water and recharge batteries?! And I really enjoyed watching them learn these basic things, which felt like major victories. I can't suspend my disbelief so much. Did the writers think they had to introduce more fantasy, no matter how implausible, to keep viewers' attention? Not necessary, in my opinion. Sure, this is a fantasy show about a post-apocalyptic future. But virtual reality doesn't fit with what we learned in season one, and even a fantasy world has to follow it's own rules and seem realistic. Real reality...not virtual. :P

Alright, now I'm off to read other threads I was avoiding before when I didn't *want* to be spoiled for eps I haven't seen. Back when I still trusted the writers were telling a well-planned story. I hope I'm not the only who's disappointed by these things... and if anyone out there knows of fan fiction where some of my ideas play out (or an alternate season 2), please let me know! Surely I'm not the only who had these thoughts.

[–] crispy_comments 12 years ago

Don't mind me, I'll just talk to myself over here. ;) Guess I'm late to get into the show and this forum's pretty dead. I went looking elsewhere for clues as to why/how it all went wrong...

First I must retract one of my complaints: I'm glad to read that the whole comet-caused-the-virus storyline was probably a red herring. Part of a government cover-up to fool the public. So I choose to go on believing it was a man-made disaster, with the anti-aging formula backfiring. Much more interesting.

I also found it interesting that on another forum there were people who hadn't seen season 1 and discovered the show during the later seasons, so their experience was the reverse of mine. I wonder, if I hadn't seen the first season, would I be able to enjoy the rest of it as a cheesy guilty pleasure, as others seem to? I don't know. I'd *rather* watch a show that's a more realistic take on what would happen in this kind of post-apocalyptic scenario. The Stand meets Lord Of The Flies. Instead of one that seems to focus more on what wacky fashion & hairstyles the characters have, or soapy love triangles. I'm betting the producers changed the focus and dumbed the show down to appeal to superficial masses, in order to sell more products like soundtracks. The Tribe members from season 1 wouldn't have the time or inclination for all that singing and dancing, that's for sure. They were too busy with the daily grind of trying to *survive*!

So anyway, people who checked out season 1 later, were surprised by how "primitive" and "realistic" the setting was, and how much less likeable the characters were compared to later seasons. Because they were accurate portrayals of survivors dealing with trauma and acting out in various ways. It's true, I found certain characters in season 1 to be annoying and selfish and hard to like (that's why I consider Amber to be the real hero and backbone and hate her "death"/absence in season 2 - but they can't all be selfless and self-sacrificing like Amber - that wouldn't be realistic - and even she struggles with it) ...However, I felt the show itself acknowledged the characters' selfishness/bad behavior/mistakes, having other characters confront them, etc, so I never hated them the way I hate characters on shows where the writers are clearly besotted with them (or the actors who play them) and blind to their faults. As long as the character flaws are deliberate and acknowledged in the writing, I find myself engaged in the show. Especially if these people show signs of character growth... as they all pretty much did by the end of season 1 (Lex, Salene, even Tai-San seemed to be learning to deal with people).

It's too bad the more realistic Tribe became this fantastical/nonsensical show, with too much focus on soap opera romance and so on. I enjoyed watching the day-to-day survival aspect, and the believable personality conflicts. And I hoped the show would delve into the re-building of communities and provide interesting parallels to our real world. Not gloss over issues that weren't as "exciting" as the idea of virtual reality games or whatever.

Yeah, most long-running shows deviate from their original premise and morph into something unrecognizable, but I'm still disappointed. I'm still hoping someone can recommend an alternate season 2 fanfic, continuing in the same tone & exploring the themes of season 1? I suspect that all I'll be able to find will be "shipper fic", and I wouldn't be surprised if the showrunners changed The Tribe after season 1, to lure a greater number of viewers who are more interested in stories involving romance/who's sleeping with who. Sigh. That's probably why the sequel series, The New Tomorrow, featuring *only* children and no teen romance... didn't do as well/last as long. Damn shippers rule the world.

[–] 12 years ago

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[–] SCP_One_Seven_Three 11 years ago

Just to answer some questions regarding actors "Disappearing"

The actors who played Amber and Zandra took time off for school. According to someone on the other tribe members IMDb pages. Bray convinced Amber to come back

The actress who portrayed Patsy was written out after the show and her agent got into a disagreement about her character.

A lot of the actors who disappeared in the beginning of Season 4 left to do other projects. I think they were intending to come back before the whole show was scrapped for good.

1 season started off slow in my opinion. Considering the cast was young and inexperienced actors, this I had no issue with. I do agree about Amber being the heart of the show. It was kinda weird without her in season 2. Zandra I never liked, glad she was gone. Dani got a lot of heat and I didn't like how the producers made her whiney

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[–] the_elise_carty 11 years ago

Hey

So I know Season two was not my favorite season by a long shot. But it did give us a better look at some of the characters back story's, and why they are what they are.

It also sets up a major point, when the world around you seems to be broken or is broken a charismatic leader can make you believe in a future. And a leader that inspires fear into others, even greater.
The second season sets up the recurring theme of Zoot coming back from the dead, or being reborn. It also shows us the fear that the character inspired. Even though he was only alive for a while.

As for Amber, well at the start of season 1 she was a 14 year old girl. Bray is meant to be her first real love. She would do anything for him. Her principles and morals have little to do with how she reacts. She is a 14 to 15 year old girl, who has lost her family very recently, and though she is trying to move on with her life and build a new one it is hard. Hell that is hard for any one. Now realize that in the show every kid is going through the same thing. They do things that may not always be in character for them.

Just because Bray stuck by Trudy dose not mean he cloud have not abandoned Ebony. She was with the Locos and Zoot at the time. The world around them could have ended.

At the start of Season 2, the show hints that the Generator at eagle Mountain may have been rigged to explode.

Later in Season 2 Jack hears that the comet was just a story created by the government to cover up the truth. The truth is later relieved.

Season 2 filled in a lot of gaps in the characters story's and it helped move certain parts of the mythology along. This mythology would return for the final three seasons.
Don't give up on season 2 or the Tribe just yet.

P.S.Amber and Brays relation ship, is not as dead as you might think. Look out for Season 3 and Eagle.

[–] 11 years ago

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[–] An_Invisible_Dog 10 years ago

The daft thing about Amber's death is that no one saw the body, they just accepted it on Ebony's say so? And she managed to dig an empty grave right next to where someone was being laid to rest and pass it off that there's a body in there somehow?

The writing in The Tribe is bad, but that segment is actually laughable.

They should have stuck with Danni, she wasn't a bad character and by the end of series 2 you root for her as much as you did Amber. It was Danni who re-united the City with The Bill of a Rights, stood up to Ebony and the Militia and The Chosen. They just transfer her traits into Amber's warm, motherly character to create a superwoman and pretend Danni didn't exist.

Series 2 is a slow burner. Series 1 was a sequence of on-going subplots for the majority. Series 2 has a slow over-arching plot which takes to the end of the season to climax, by comparison the subplots just aren't as interesting so it makes the series drag a bit more.

Series 3 is good up until The Chosen are defeated, then turns into shît barring the last 5 minutes.

Series 4 is just as watchable as the first and the pacing is pretty spot on.

Series 5 is all over the place, it's just a mess and the plot is terrible.

[–] BuckyK 10 years ago

I pretty much agree with everything you said, except that my dislike of the Technos keeps me from enjoying season 4.

Season 3-5 Amber is basically a merging of Danni and S1 Amber. I wish we had both characters around for Season 3, and that Amber acted more like she did in season 1. It might have made the second half more watchable.