Strange Angel

TV review by Joyce Slaton, Common Sense Media
Strange Angel Poster Image

Common Sense says

age 17+

Cult rituals, weird sex in intriguing period biography.

CBS Drama 2018
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Parents say

age 18+

Based on 2 reviews

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A Lot or a Little?

The parents' guide to what's in this TV show.

What Parents Need to Know

Parents need to know that Strange Angel is a drama based on the real-life story of a rocket scientist who becomes involved in an occult group. This occult group is connected with "sex magick," so expect to see practitioners having group sex, sexual relationships with more than one person at a time, rituals with nude women (all private parts covered). The group's rituals also have violent aspects, with a woman who is said to be about to be "sacrificed" and an animal sacrifice that takes place out of our view (we do hear animal noises and see blood and a bloody knife). Several characters smoke cigarettes frequently, as was usual for the time. Scenes take place in bars, and in some scenes, characters drink to the point of sloppiness or danger, like when a drunk man crashes a motorcycle. Cursing and language includes "f--k," "f--king," "son of a bitch," "piss poor." Female characters are given relatively short shrift in this drama, and most of the action is male-driven.

Community Reviews

youngfamilypastor
youngfamilypastor Adult
August 1, 2019
age 18+

Soft-core Pornography with a back story

Commonsense Media again under-rates the level of sex and nudity. The Commonsense main review says "expect to see group sex (WITH NO NUDITY)" This is completely misleading. There is frequent frequent nudity. Check out the IMDB parental content advisory for far more detail on this then you want. There are ejactulations, orgasms, breasts, and visible oral sex acts performed in graphic detail. The review further says "(all private parts are covered)" -- again this is simply false, unless we are changing the definition of what "private parts" are in 2019. This is another soft to medium porn show with an intriguing story to sell it to the masses. All the scientific groups warning us of the effects of watching things like this (brain development, relationship-damage, intimacy and emotional connectedness-damage: fightthenewdrug.org, etc), and all the entertainment groups injecting more and more of it into shows even as studies come out. This is CBS's 2nd show showing now allowing full nudity and graphic sex scenes on their network. Even more troubling is the lack of sensitivity to the millions of families who might not care to see this kind of thing: they inject flashes of the group sex scenes into every advertisement for this show-- and spray those images into people's homes with no discrimination or attempts to match the rating level of the show people are watching. So in other words you could be watching TV-G on CBS (like Price Is Right) with your family and all of a sudden looking at flashes of naked people having group sex because an ad for this TV-MA show comes up. Also commonsense missed that the rating is MA. Let's go commonsensemedia! This is the stuff we lean on you guys to help us stay clear of!!

This title has:

Too much sex
Dio fry
Dio fry Adult
January 31, 2019
age 18+
See all 2 parent reviews

What's the Story?

STRANGE ANGEL relates the bizarre life story of Jack Parsons (Jack Reynor), a restless scientist whose rocketry experiments with friend Richard Onsted (Peter Mark Kendall) became the basis for America's space program -- and whose complicated personal life, including a long-term association with the occult philosophies of Aleister Crowley, ultimately spelled his doom.

Is It Any Good?

Reading as something like a cross between Mad Men and The Master, this drama about an eccentric rocketeer-turned-occultist is as strange as the man it depicts. Period piece fans won't be surprised by some things: suspenders, rattly old Ford trucks, radio shows, a billboard touting Pasadena as a fertile land of orange groves. But then there are the sex magick rites, animal sacrifices, chalices of blood, and virgins on altars. True story: The very same guy who spent his days figuring out the basics of jet propulsion spent his nights adhering to the philosophy of occultist Aleister Crowley (and later, welcoming Scientology founder L. Ron Hubbard into his magical circle).

It's all very weird -- and very entertaining. Viewers weary of the beats of a typical biography (struggle followed by incredible success; repeat as many times as necessary to fill up time) will be intrigued with the twists and turns of Parsons' life, and how his restless brilliance was accompanied by an equally strong self-destructive streak. Why? And how did he finally destroy himself? Wikipedia can give you the outline -- but Strange Angel scores by filling in the details enchantingly.

Talk to Your Kids About ...

  • Families can talk about the group that Jack joins. Is it a cult? What's the difference between a cult and a religion? How can you tell?

  • Is Jack a man to be admired? Is he presented as an admirable man? Is he sympathetic? How do shows communicate how to feel about characters? How does Strange Angel present Jack to us: as a hero or antihero? Or both?

  • Many shows are set in other time periods. How does this one communicate the time period of its setting? Consider dialogue, set dressing, music, and costumes in your answer.

TV Details

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