Saturday, November 06, 2010

Be Careful What You Wish For

Writers have many dreams. We dream of finding an agent, of selling our manuscript to a publisher, of holding our book in our hands, of seeing our books in a bookstore, of someone asking us to autograph a copy of our book, of a director buying the rights to our book, and on and on. Maybe that last one, having our book made into a movie or television show, should be put into the nightmare list.

Zip over and see the list of “Worst Television Versions of Science Fiction and Fantasy Books” – and the video clips to prove why each was included in the list. Here’s the winners … or losers in this case:
A Wrinkle in Time
The Martian Chronicles
Earthsea
Riverworld
Legend of the Seeker
Day of Triffids
Eastwick
FlashForward
Trucks!
The Andromeda Strain

Watch the videos and then tell us what you think about the list. Do you agree? Is there one that should have been on the list, but wasn’t?

43 comments:

  1. I'm really in two minds about Legend of the Seeker. I've only watched a few episodes from season 1 (damn UK TV schedules) but it differs so wildly from the books I have a hard time thinking of it as an adaptation at all. Maybe that's me forcing myself to want to enjoy it. I've read some pretty awful stuff in the synopsis of season 2 though, so it probably deserves to be on the list.

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  2. Guess I'll have to come back to this.

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  3. And don't forget "The Puppet Masters." Made into a movie at a time when they just didn't have the technology and special effects to do the book version justice.

    Then there is "Total Recall." The special effects were great, but after having read the book, I wondered how anyone watching the movie understood what was going on because so much seemed to have gotten left out.

    Great Post. I'm constantly getting yelled at while watching television of movies with my wife. I guess I tend to be hyper-critical of the lack of realism. Like when a helicopter lands on the ground and one hears the props (rotors) spinning down. They just don't do that unless they have to wait for a long time, or they have a rotor brake.

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  4. Rarely have I read a book and then watched it either in a series or a movie and thought they were the same. They is usually too much changed when it's made into a show or movie.

    Mason
    Thoughts in Progress

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  5. I've seen The Martian Chronicles - yes, it was awful!!

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  6. Apparently, the trick is to not read the book and you'll enjoy the movie. Or vice-versa. When we love a book, we expect so much of the movie. It's difficult for a movie to be as good as what we envision in our heads.

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  7. Top of my list would be the film version of The Tine Traveller's Wife.

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  8. I liked the book, Carole, and planned to see the movie, but I heard so many people pan it that I didn't go. I'm glad I didn't.

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  9. I agree with you Helen, it's best to watch the movie or read the book - not both. I'm constantly disappointed with the movie version. I saw an interview with Clive Cussler some time ago and he complained bitterly about the film version of Sahara. The screenwriter said he thought they were only buying the title from him which gave him freedom to put whatever he wanted in the movie.
    Ann

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  10. I couldn't stand to watch the show, Legend of the Seeker, after having loved the books.
    Another series of movies that deviate vastly from the complex intricacies of the books are the 'Bourne' movies which don't follow the books at all.

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  11. In general, books have a richer context. I agree with you, only do one or the other.
    I didn't watch the "Flash Forward" series, but I'm not sure how it could be worse than the book. I loved the book until its Deus Ex Machina ending. I would have thrown it across the room except that it was on my Kindle.

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  12. I think it would be horrid to have spent all the time on crafting the story and getting it published and have movie/TV writers massacre it or give it a message it was never intended to have.

    La Quin wasn't the only writer to be indignant.

    I liked the Martian Chronicles when I read but agree, ewww, on the screen adaptation. I was REALLY pissed when I tried to watch The Andromeda Strain, blech.

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  13. Susan, I've never read the Bourne books or the Legend of the Seeker, so I like the Bourne movies and the Legend of the Seeker TV show.

    Well, if this has taught me one thing, it's not to watch/read the same story!

    Ann, that screenwriter sounds like an idiot or he was lying.

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  14. I tend to agree with you and some of your commenters that usually you either like the book OR the movie version... but sometimes the book enhances your viewing.

    For example, the True Blood HBO series vs. the Sookie Stackhouse series of books. I know the show differs in many places from Charlaine Harris's books, but I enjoy both, and think I like the series better because I have that other insight into the characters from reading the series of books.

    Or the Lord of the Rings trilogy. Great series of books, great series of movies.

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  15. There are some real stinkers here. Definite fodder for Mystery Theatre 3000.

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  16. There are some real stinkers here. Definite fodder for Mystery Theatre 3000.

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  17. My husband read Eastwick and was amazed at the difference between the book and The Witches of Eastwick, a good portion of which was filmed in our town. I haven't read it yet, but he indicated that the book was way better...

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  18. J. K Rowling had the best chance since she kept control of her book adaptation of Harry Potter. Still, and I do love the movies, it is impossible for a T.V. series, or a feature length movie to capture all the intricacies of a well written story.
    Nancy
    N. R. Williams, fantasy author

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  19. Katie, I can't get cable at my house, but I sure wish I could see what they did with Harris' books! I wonder if they're out in video yet?

    I wonder if there has been a movie that was better than the book?

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  20. Writers have dreams. Do we dream more than most, I wonder? For some of us, maybe just having a movie made from our work would be enough. Then, I guess, the worry with lack of accuracy would come.

    Monti
    MaryMontagueSikes

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  21. I tend to avoid the movies they make of my favourite books. It's never quite what I want. I prefer what's in my head!

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  22. I have this nightmare where the SyFy channel buys rights to CassaStar...

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  23. I just wrote a poem for you, Helen.

    Sometimes I went far
    Sometimes I did not
    One thing that I forgot
    To wish upon a star >:)

    Cold As Heaven

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  24. I'm not too much for sci-fi but enjoyed reading The Martian Chronicles. Didn't see the movie.

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  25. For most writers, having a movie made of your book means giving up any control or say-so about it.

    Alex, perhaps that nightmare will end on your way to the bank.

    Cold As Heaven, you made my Sunday. A poem!

    Hi Bob.

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  26. I have heard that that is the problem. Good books get 'read' and then the movie is a hugh disappointment, but only to those who 'read' the book it seems. The same goes for miltary books and movies too. My ex-marine/ex-husband read every thing on the subject and seldom like a movie made from a book. He always says 'He should have stuck with the book'! :-)
    Great post.. I'm off to see the clips! Have a Great week, Helen!
    Hugs,
    Coreen

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  27. Velvet Over Steel - you have a great week, too!

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  28. I don't mind Legend of the Seeker but it doesn't exactly match the books closely. And I liked Trucks. It's a shame about FlashForward & Martian Chronicles and Eregon.

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  29. I don't know the books that well so I can't comment. But when I watched Pride and Prejudice the movie, I was thinking: Crap! Why did the movie screen writer has to make so much changes from the original book? Did he/she got pleasures from amending the plots?

    My Darcy Mutates

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  30. I think it is very difficult to properly put a beloved book onto the big (or small) screen. Everyone has their own ideas of how the characters look, how the events happen, and you just can't fit a whole book into two hours. Movies or tv shows based on books should be enjoyed as a seperate entity, not compared to the original work. The film version will never stand up.

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  31. Oh Day of the Triffids. Beware the rustling plant pot! I actually haven't seen many of those. Perhaps this is why!

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  32. The only one on that list that I've both read and seen is Legend of the Seeker, and I would agree with Jamie--they change too much to really think they are the same. It's a shame, too, as i think had they stuck to the books, it might have been quite good. The think that irked me most was doing things out of order so they lost all potential to do stories later in a cohesive way--totally lost its punch. The books, in my opinion, as in need of editing, but the underlying story is fabulous--it should have made a great series.

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  33. Even though both genres deal with stories, each has its own conventions which shape the stories. I like to see what approach directors and actors give to the books I like. Sometimes the movie falls short, but other times, as in Mystic River, the movie highlights aspects of the story or nuances of character I didn't see in the book.

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  34. Eastwick. I loved "The Witches of Eastwick" movie. And I think I may be the only person on the planet who also loved "Eastwick" the short-lived TV series. Maybe I'm a witch.

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  35. Science fiction and fantasy are not my favorite genres for books or movies so I have to admit I’ve never seen these television adaptations, but it seems like the old saying, “Be careful what you wish for,” certainly applies here.

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  36. Oh my good lord yes. "HogFather" by Terry Pratchett. It's such a good book and they really did it a diservice when they made it into a tv movie.
    *sigh*

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  37. Hey Helen, I know this is an off day for you from blogging, but when you get the chance bop over to Free Spirit and accept a PRIZE! (wink)

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  38. I got hooked on FlashForward and then Pfft! the show became flash in the pan. I think the biggest problem with TV scifi that becomes serialized is that too much extraneous crap gets thrown in and stretching the story out causes loss of continuity. A movie has a greater chance of giving a tight story with impact, but even that usually is a disappointment with scifi.

    Lee
    Tossing It Out

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  39. "Event Horizon" and "Starship Troopers". The first was simply a terrible movie, while the second actually annihilated what Heinlein's point in the novel was. But, uh, those are film versions... Gotta concur with "Legend of the Seeker" though. Funny as it is sometimes it's painful to watch.

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  40. Enid, I didn't see the Pride and Prejudice movie. On a different but slightly related note...I love the Candleford to Larkrise series on PBS.

    Say that, Carol, and you can never run for President.

    Wouldn't that be awful, Jane, to be so happy about the movie rights to your book being bought, then be totally bummed about the actual movie?

    Considering how bad some movies based on books are, I sometimes wonder if it's not the story that is bought, but the title and the possibility of the fans it could bring in.

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  41. I've interviewed a number of authors who had books converted to film and not one said they liked the movie versions. Randi Platt said, "Oh, well, at least it paid for my kitchen remodel."

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  42. I wouldn't mind a kitchen remodel! (Although cold cash would be good, too.)

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  43. I sat with John Lescoart at a luncheon once. He told me, when his books were optioned for movies, his philosophy was always, "Take the money and don't look back."

    The closest book-to-TV translation I ever saw was Dean Koontz's INTENSITY. It was SO very close to the book, it was actually boring. I knew exactly what was going to happen and when.

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