Hopeful1 (imported) wrote: Mon Oct 12, 2015 9:05 pm
Definitely going to watch that. I did read Childhoods End when I was a teen but I only remember reading it once. I was much more into Asimov, Andre Norton and especially Heinlein. I've probably read "Stranger" twenty times including the unedited edition issued by Virginia after Robert died.
Isaac Asimov has a grander sweep of the implications of his subject matter.
True, I am in the process of re-reading the foundation series, this time in order not the order written. There were seven of them, the first three written in the late 40s and early 50's and the later ones in the 80's. As for Heinlein, there are a few of them that don't age well as you say, others I enjoy reading again and again, like the Moon is a Harsh Mistress or the Rolling Stones.
How about a little L. Ron Hubbard, like Battlefield Earth, don't let the 9000 pages scare you off, and don't even watch the movie, (what an insult).
I am looking forward to reading Childhoods End, I have already downloaded it to my tablet and will start it right after I finish Divergent, Insurgent, Allegiant and Four. (movies are good too).
BATTLEFIELD EARTH is not even considered a comedy. Even in the book, it has one of the dumbest plots ever conceived. And there isn't redeeming value. The movie defines embarrassment.
People look at Heinlein's STARSHIP TROOPERS movie with Caspar Van Dien for his bare ass and for the comedy of it. The book is very jingoistic and nationalistic in a disturbing way.
What most people never got from the movie of Starship troopers was that it was about politics, not a war with bugs. Heinlein did make some interesting points, that to have the right to vote you should serve your country in some manner, many countries on this world of ours do employ such a system with great success.
Dave (imported) wrote: Wed Dec 09, 2015 9:19 pm
Childhood's End starts this coming Monday the 14th and goes for the next two nights -- Tuesday and Wednesday.
The best thing about Tuesday night is that you won't have to watch the political debate if you watch CHILDHOOD'S END.
... and you won't get arrested and be force to shave your head and make rootbeer in the toilet ...
I just watched all the extra video stuff that SyFy has put out and read a number of reviews in newspapers and online.
First, I will say that the book CHILDHOOD'S END was written between 1946 and 1953. It was published in 1953 and the first printing (210,000 books) sold out in two months.
Why do I tell you this? Well, the adaption of CHILDHOOD'S END sixty years later required character and image changes. It was a book written at the height of the cold war in the aftermath of the last World War. So 60 years later, the adaptation required some changes to fit into the 2010's and 15 years beyond.
Second, yes the story does extend 15 years into the future after the arrival of the Overlords. In the book, it extends 50 years into the future but this is a three part, six hour story and that required brevity and compaction.
Third, and as in the book, my last comment for in preparation for the first episode -- do not be surprised that you see very familiar things in the first night -- That would be the Arrival of the Alien Overlords in massive ships over all the major cities of the world.
Until CHILDHOOD'S END and before Arthur C. Clarke's vision of alien invasion, all alien invasions were similar to H.G. Wells' WAR OF THE WORLDS.
And these images of Arrival were copied into INDEPENDENCE DAY in 1996 with all it's glorious cheesiness, dipshitty cardboard characters, and wonderfully silly dialog and plot. But Hey dudes and dudettes, I won't crap on something that enjoyable. I've watched it too many times.
LOL