"Children of Men" Translating to TV

[j over]

It seems there have been quite a few films that are now getting the small screen treatment in either full-blown series or miniseries form... what's up with that? Remaking previous TV shows is not enough, apparently. :rolleyes:


All about the "Children" here (http://www.scifi.com/scifiwire/index.php?category=1&id=50711).

[doubler83]

I really don't see the point in this.

[prescribe22]

Sounds interesting.

[Nadum]

So long as it ends up on FX, Showtime, HBO or AMC, this is great. Television is much better suited to novels than film.

Rather than butchering a novel into three acts, an episode can act as a chapter.

[Naudikom]

When I first saw the headline I thought "That's a terrible idea."

But after reading the link, I gotta say I'm kinda intrigued.

[Cycstorm]

It sounds like an idea with great potential in all honesty.

[SI_NYC]

When I first saw the headline I thought "That's a terrible idea."

But after reading the link, I gotta say I'm kinda intrigued.
I have to agree with Naudikom on this one. Recycling a series that previously has had an extended run smacks of desperation and playing it as safe as possible (i.e. insert Bionic Woman & the Hoff's car wreck), while recycling a decent film that has lots of avenues of further exploration open, I don't think is a necessarily a bad thing. I am sure that some folks might cite Battlestar as a TV exception to the rule, but you probably can count TV shows that reached that level of quality the second time around on less than one hand.

[tabula rasa]

Sounds cool, if it's more like his BATTLESTAR than it is like his BIONIC. Definitely I liked the movie, but then he's gotta mention Lohan? Why he got to mention Lohan.

Cause if Lindsey Lohan is ever the human race's last hope ... I'll be shopping for a nice wine to give the trilobites when we all go to visit.

[Naudikom]

It's actually a very interesting dynamic to play with.

The film was amazing, but didn't get to explore too many of the themes because it was confined to film structure.

But a series that could do that would be great - to ask that question "How would humanity behave if we knew we had an expiration date, and it was coming?" Past the point of heroic stories about saving the world.

When it's just regular folks coping with that reality, one that sits with them over years. Not a meteor that's going to come and wipe everyone out immediately...but a slow death.

I'm excited for this.

[j over]

Television is much better suited to novels than film.


That's not always the case as there are (needless to say) quite a few solid or better movies have been made that are adaptations of novels. It really all depends on the book or material at hand that is being translated and how it is being translated.


Then again, I'm fairly certain you are all for TV and not-so-much for film so that isn't surprising.

[Nadum]

Then again, I'm fairly certain you are all for TV and not-so-much for film so that isn't surprising.That's absolutely true so I can't claim neutrality or even a solid understanding of the film aesthetic. But..

That's not always the case as there are (needless to say) quite a few solid or better movies have been made that are adaptations of novels. It really all depends on the book or material at hand that is being translated and how it is being translated.
In the hands of idiots anything gets ****ed up. But when having this conversation, I'm referencing the ceiling. The best a filmmaker could do versus the best an HBO/Showtime could do.

For example, imagining how film would have adapted Darkly Dreaming Dexter (and series) versus Showtime, I don't think there's an argument to be made that television wasn't the better choice.

[TravisBickle]

This is a horrible, horrible idea.

David Eick is producing it - did you people not see Bionic Woman!?!?!?! One of the worst TV shows in history. And don't come at me with "he also produced Battlestar Galactica," no, he co-produced it with the incredibly-talented Ron Moore. Bionic Woman showed what Eick is capable of on his own. PLEASE don't ruin one of the best movies of this decade by turning it into a horrible Eick TV show.

[TravisBickle]

Sounds cool, if it's more like his BATTLESTAR than it is like his BIONIC. Definitely I liked the movie, but then he's gotta mention Lohan? Why he got to mention Lohan.

It won't be. BSG is Ron Moore's baby. He's the talented one. Eick is the suit.

[Naudikom]

It won't be. BSG is Ron Moore's baby. He's the talented one. Eick is the suit.

You have a point.