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Bravo! I have always wondered why people avoided the classic scifi novels. Often many of these where cerebral- more philosophy than action. But as far back as T
by peter303 9y ago
Bravo! I have always wondered why people avoided the classic scifi novels. Often many of these where cerebral- more philosophy than action. But as far back as Twilight Zone and Outer Limits showed you could sucessfully film philosophical scfi.
Instead we end up with endless comic book treatments. I dont not want to see the fourth origin story of Spiderman, Superman or Batman. However, I have to concede with a good script and director, these sometimes work.
I wish I could see more more Heinlein on film, e.g. Have Spacesuit, Will Travel and Stranger in a Strange Land. Partial treatments were in The Last Starfigher and Star Treks What of Charlie.
- mattmanser 9y agoWell, the early Foundation books are pretty 'of their time'. In either the first or second book I seem to remember one of the only female characters is depicted succeeding despite being a woman. Which is a very 50s view. Same with Heinlein, almost all the women in stranger in a strange land are cringe worthy. They literally play in the pool all day long and are basically sexual playthings for the men. I read (in the case of Asimov, re-read) both a couple of years ago, they've really aged poorly. While the concepts are cool, much of the stories would have to be rewritten or you'll have some real cognitive dissonance with the female parts. The later Asimov books and prequels are better as they were written in the 80s. But then they suffer from his retconning of bringing all his series together. I don't know what others think about it as I read most of them before the internet, but I felt it was very contrived.
- yoz-y 9y agoI have just recently started listening to the audiobook versions (currently at the third) and the absence of any female characters is extremely jarring. The first book only has one and it is "somebody's unhappy wife, who promptly stops complaining when presented with a shiny jewel". Second book at least has one active character. I agree that the adaptation will have to be adapted a lot in order to be shown today. I wouldn't even mind if they modified the society structure a bit (or a lot) in order to make the initial premise more believable.
- foobar1962 9y agoThe reboot of Battlestar Galactica had a female Starbuck and it worked. One of my fav series (I never saw the original).
- chrisweekly 9y ago+1, female Starbuck worked great
- chrisweekly 9y agoThat "which" (not "who") is kind of astonishingly misogynist -- effectively referring to the wife as "it" not "her"). Yikes.
- yoz-y 9y agoThank you for pointing it out, I've fixed it. English not being my native language and all.
- chrisweekly 9y agoOh! (I thought you were quoting from the Asimov text.)
- JetSpiegel 9y agoTo adapt Stranger in a Strange Land, the rating would need to be Adults Only. What a ridiculous segway that book does half way through. Who would play Jubal? Kevin Spacey would be perfect, for meta-reasons even.
- knolan 9y agoI adore the film adaptation of Starship Troopers. It was the right way, I think, to bring many of the themes of the book to cinema. Particularly it’s strong satire of modern militaristic hubris. I’d imagine a similar treatment might work for the Moon is a Harsh Mistress, unlike the Netflix’s the Expanse where it devolved from excellent work building into a single overearnest spaceship crew solving all the solar system’s problems.
- mratzloff 9y agoThe Expanse is a Syfy show.
- knolan 9y agoSeems to be a 'Netflix Original' in my part of the world. What that term means appears to be coming less and less clear. https://deadline.com/2016/10/space-drama-the-expanse-streaming-netflix-1201834745/ https://deadline.com/2016/10/space-drama-the-expanse-streami...
- ascagnel_ 9y agoThe term is plenty clear: a show for which Netflix has some degree of exclusive distribution rights. In this case, it's an "Original" because Netflix handles some of the international distribution.
- thorin 9y agoI've always thought of Man Who Fell To Earth as being a film of Stranger in a Strange Land. Brilliant "acting" by Bowie also. https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/The_Man_Who_Fell_to_Earth https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/The_Man_Who_Fell_to_Earth
- thom 9y agoI am not sure if Game of Thrones' incest storylines have prepared the ground for Heinlein's incredibly creepy relationships. But in a way, young adult fiction has just been remaking Tunnel in the Sky over and over again for the last 10-15 years, so there's that.