I visited the Big Bend area in late October 2017. Frequent stops at the only gas station in Terlingua were a feature of this visit, as well as a breakfast or two at its built-in cafe. I knew nothing of the crime or this Nat Geo series at the time. I found it after coming back from the trip.One other reviewer described this as the 'gloomiest, most depressing thing I've ever watched'. I cannot agree more. The sad truth is that the reality of Terlingua is every bit as depressing as this show. Two things about this series:1. Since clips of an interview with Glen Phelps were included in the series, one can only assume this started out as a series on Terlingua itself, and before the video work completed (or even begun) the entire focus of the series shifted to the murder and the trial. It might have actually been a better, more focused product had the crime not got in the way.2. The continual re-use of certain scenes, along with the lengthy and depressing intro, leaves the impression that the producers had barely enough material to fill out the eight episodes, and had to 'pad' the episodes with this stuff to get through each hour.Terlingua is the last place anyone but a misfit would seek out and gravitate to as a place to live. It is one of those few places in the United States that is one step removed from being a Third World environment. God help anyone with an injury or a medical condition requiring immediate attention.
... View MoreAs previously mentioned, lots of the same stuff is repeated over and over and over again, some of the 'characters' are quite annoying and very anecdotal. The first episode is the characters droning on about how hard life is living there, who cares!!!! They chose to live there. This needs to be condensed into fewer episodes. What was also a little confusing is there's footage of the victim being interviewed along with all the other characters but it isn't made clear initially that he is the victim. On a positive note, the scenery is spectacular and the story is quite interesting.
... View MoreI'm not sure if this was first intended to be about the few living in a "ghost town" but they were able to capture an interview with Glenn (victim) then proceeded to tell about his murder and how it affected the community. I agree that it's a slow watch; however, I enjoyed learning more about the people and their struggles, their loyalty to one another, etc. If you're looking for a strictly gory true-crime murder, this isn't the documentary for you. This is a well made insight into a tiny community of interesting people living in an area in Texas that most wouldn't want to stay there for a week. I'm glad I found this on Hulu and learned about this tragedy as well as more about our country.
... View MoreThis was about the gloomiest, most depressing thing I've ever watched. I grew up in the 70's and remember having this image of Terlingua as being this hip place, synonymous with Willie and Waylon and chili cook offs. I realize the focus was on the murder, but most of the show is the same few characters over and over saying the same thing over and over. Or the guy with the patch on his eye talking about "justice". I think the first 4 episodes could have easily been condensed into one. There were no side notes about the beauty of the place, or old clips perhaps of Terlingua in the 70's. I guess also, no place is ever completely free of crime, as long as people are there, there will be bad apples or horrific things occurring. You have to wonder too, the background of some of the people who want to live so remotely. Kind of like Alaska, many people escape there to avoid consequences of whatever it is they're running away from or at the very least, make it extremely difficult to find them.
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