More News On Dune Miniseries

Yodel_Spoogenshortz write:s "Here is an update on the Dune Miniseries being produced by New Amsterdam Entertainment to be shown in December of this year on the Sci-Fi Channel. The site has more photos and press releases. Earlier Slashdot articles on the upcoming series can be found here and here. For information on the Dune book series look at the Official Dune Web Site." Dune is an absolute classic, and probably my favorite book of all time. I'm hoping they don't screw it up.

On screwing up Dune...

Dune is an absolute classic, and probably my favorite book of all time. I'm hoping they don't screw it up.

The obvious comment is: "you mean like they screwed up the film?". However, I'm in a very small minority here, because I actually like the film. Sure, it's not a particularly accuracte representation of the book, but that doesn't make bad, just different. As for it being a favourite book of all time? Well, no, but it's in my top 5, certainly. And I still think the film's good. I dread to think how the LotR film is going to differ from the book (now that is my favourite book of all time), but it may still be OK in its own right. I've got a horrible feeling that it's not going to be, though.

On Dune...

There are certain books that never need to be produced into movies or tv shows. The "mind numbing" detail as one slashdotter puts the film technically out of the money reach for most tv productions. The incredible length and breadth of the book puts it out of the reach of a simple 2 hour Hollywood production.

I am one of the people who like the book. The political play was fun. The plot was deep and intriguing IMHO. The attention to detail and the fact that many of the political implications are drawn from an interesting perspective of someone writing at the end of the era of colonialism and into the cold war period makes it actually more interesting.

Would I have read a series of books just like this? No. Did I think the original book still deserved to be called a classic? Yes. Should it ever be tried on the little screen as a mini-series? Only if you got the bucks and talent to do it right!

Defending Dune

I'll admit, I really liked Dune. When I first read the trilogy, in 8th grade, I lovd teh first book, and thought the second and third dragged. I've since reread the second and third, and appreciate them more, now that I've experienced life a bit.

Anyhow, things that I loved about Dune.

1) The Machavellian Politics. It's refreshing to see corrupt, machavellian political machinations, with various factions plotting against each other, hiding their true motives. Too much science fiction is full of well meaning, pure at heart politicoes, it's nice to see some evil, greedy folks for a change (cf. Larry Niven, is there anyone in his books who isn't motivated by good intentions?)

2) The level of detail. I really dig the level of detail and backstory in the books, though I can understand the MEGO affect for other readers. The glossaries, the appendices, I love them. This does backfire though, as the latest books in the Dune series (I'm thinking of House Atriedes here) are just a verbatim retelling of the backstory, lame, lame, lame.

3) The flaws the main characters have. It's nie to see main characters with personality defects, it makes Dune fit right intothe Greek Tragedy genre.

4) Dune, the planet. Dune just sticks with me, Herbert described it so well I could write a hundred stories there.

Okay, the flaws, there are a few.

1) The warfare. Okay, Herbert was trying to make a realistic explanation for the lack of guns due to sheilds. But then you can't use shields on Dune. In my mind, a platoon of Marines with M-16's should have been able to take out the planet then, wasting Fremen at 500 yards who were only armed with those pesky zip guns.

And no one has come up with a technology to take out shield armed opponents at a distance besides the lasgun? Here's one, a cannon that shoots nets. You do it today to capture birds, why not Sardaurkar. Once their safely entangled in your nets, smash their heads with a sledgehammer.

2) The later books. They lose the magic. Book 4 is okay, then they go downhill. As fasr as the new one, they should dig up Herbert's body, wrap him in copper wire and make a generator out of it, his body should be spinning sop fast.

George

Taking Liberties

From the stills I've seen, it doesn't look like they're being too faithful to the novel in terms of details and production design. The stillsuits don't look like they process the body's entire moisture (and let's face it, one of the best things about Lynch's version was the production design and its faithfulness combined with weird stylizationg - take the fetish-looking stillsuits for example). Fremen with no water discipline? Come on...

It's possible that this miniseries will be more of an interpretation (It looks like it's way more D&D than Sci-Fi. Everybody looks like an extra from _Jabberwocky_). This could be the project's saving grace - Lynch fell flat because he tried to capture the entire scope of the novel and ALMOST caught it. I'm not gonna hold my breath, though. None of the Sci-Fi network's productions have really impressed me.

-carl

Lots lost on cutting room floor

IIRC David Lynch's original cut of the Movie was some 5 hours long. In order to get it down to the final length they removed entire subplots. I don't know anything of this "Director's Cut" but suspect it restores some of this material.

In particular they removed the subplot involving Paul having to kill a Fremen (Jamis?), when they meet some Fremen while escaping, in order to gain acceptance. He then takes responsibility for his widow and children (who become in effect his bodyguards). This explains the two young boys seen in amongst the groups of Fremen around Paul later in the movie.