# Childhoods End Miniseries



## BAYLOR (Jun 23, 2015)

There was supposedly a film version of this in the planning stages back in the late 70's early 80's that never came to pass.  Im looking forward to seeing how this translates onto the small screen. The book it's it based on is favorite of mine, though I find the end a bit on the bleak side of the equation.

What are your thoughts on the book and  upcoming miniseries ?


----------



## Brian G Turner (Jun 24, 2015)

Which up-and-coming series?


----------



## Warren_Paul (Jun 24, 2015)

I haven't read the book, but I saw the trailer. I'm not as enthused about it as other shows. I didn't actually realize it was only a miniseries, which is disappointing but probably for the best. The MC is best known from Under the Dome, and that show was terrible. I don't really hold up much hope for him doing any better of a job.

I do agree that it feels a bit bleak, probably too heavy for my liking.


----------



## BAYLOR (Jun 24, 2015)

I liked the book ,  but have no desire ever read it again.


----------



## BAYLOR (Jul 3, 2015)

The question is , can they tell it well in 6 parts?


----------



## REBerg (Sep 5, 2015)

Cast includes Charles Dance and Colm Meaney.

Trailer looks good, but what trailer doesn't?


----------



## REBerg (Dec 15, 2015)

*Part 1: The Overlords*

I watched this first installment last night. The story of benevolent but suspicious aliens coming to save the earth is a difficult one to make seem new. Even before Clarke's 1953 novel was the 1951 version of _The Day the Earth Stood Still_, and we've since seen two versions of _V._

This time around, the characters are engaging and the special effects are fairly decent. I'll watch the remaining two parts, but I don't think they will move to the top of my watch priorities.


----------



## kythe (Dec 15, 2015)

I recently saw the trailer and I'm looking forward to it.  Even if it isn't as good as it should be, I don't see it ruining the book for me.  I can accept it as a different story.  

I do think the twist ending should be enough to make it a unique story compared with other stories with a similar premise.  Compared with many modern action sci fi blockbusters, Childhood's End could be a welcome change in pace.


----------



## BAYLOR (Dec 15, 2015)

I thought it was excellent and so was The Expanse.  Hats of the the Syfy Channel .


----------



## Dennis E. Taylor (Dec 15, 2015)

Why is a utopian society always signified by people all wearing loose off-white knitted tops? Nothing ruins a set for me more than seeing a bunch of people wearing the same damned thing, because the props people have never heard of 'variety'.


----------



## BAYLOR (Dec 15, 2015)

Bizmuth said:


> Why is a utopian society always signified by people all wearing loose off-white knitted tops? Nothing ruins a set for me more than seeing a bunch of people wearing the same damned thing, because the props people have never heard of 'variety'.




The Utopia Uniform , signifies conformity  and resignation to ones fate.


----------



## clovis-man (Dec 16, 2015)

Warren_Paul said:


> I haven't read the book, but I saw the trailer....
> I do agree that it feels a bit bleak, probably too heavy for my liking.



The book was a fully realized version of the short story "The Sentinel" and *2001: A Space Odyssey*. A complete telling, if you will, of his vision regarding humanity's evolution and ultimate destiny. Not exactly *Anne of Green Gables*.


----------



## Droflet (Dec 16, 2015)

So, next dumb question. Is there only three episodes or is it going to be six one hour shows?


----------



## REBerg (Dec 16, 2015)

Great casting choice with Charles Dance as Karellen. 



Spoiler



Dance was undeniably devilish as Tywin. I knew from the book how Karellen was going to look when he finally revealed himself, but the CGI here was remarkable.





Droflet said:


> So, next dumb question. Is there only three episodes or is it going to be six one hour shows?


Looks like three, two-hour episodes.


----------



## Droflet (Dec 16, 2015)

Hmm, looking at the first one. 124 minutes. I guess you're right RE. Thanks.


----------



## BAYLOR (Dec 17, 2015)

I saw finale . I enjoyed it .


----------



## Dennis E. Taylor (Dec 17, 2015)

Plot hole: Why do humans have to go extinct? Why not let them keep having children? Maybe you'll get another wave of overminds.


----------



## BAYLOR (Dec 18, 2015)

Bizmuth said:


> Plot hole: Why do humans have to go extinct? Why not let them keep having children? Maybe you'll get another wave of overminds.



Because they feared possible consequences of something we might coin the future if we continued to exist?


----------



## Droflet (Dec 18, 2015)

Apparently they don't believe in the prime directive.


----------



## Dennis E. Taylor (Dec 18, 2015)

The thing is, any supposedly intelligent species that would be willing to extinguish another intelligent species for its own benefit doesn't really qualify as 'superior',  IMO. It would be different if the sequence of events was unavoidable, but I saw nothing to support that idea.


----------



## REBerg (Dec 18, 2015)

Had to give up in this one midway through the second part. Just wasn't enjoying it enough to invest another 3 hours.


----------



## Victoria Silverwolf (Dec 22, 2015)

I have just watched the first part.

Overall, I am very pleased. Yes, it does differ quite a bit in content and feeling from Arthur C. Clarke's classic novel; but it does so in a way which seems respectful of the literary work.

Like so many modern films, it's lovely to look at. The gigantic Overlord ships floating above the great cities of the Earth were quite convincing.

All of the actors did a fine job, and the film has a great deal of emotional power. Charles Dance provides the finest non-human voice acting job I have heard since Douglas Rain gave us the voice of HAL 9000. (And there does seem to be a deliberate relationship between the two characters.) I also liked Colm Meaney as the anti-Overlord media mogul. (The inclusion of a couple of anti-Overlord commercials from the Freedom League was a nice touch.)

There seemed to be visual references to *2001: A Space Odyssey*, *Close Encounters of the Third Kind*, *The day the Earth Stood Still*, and even *V*. This may have been a bit too derivative. However, this is a minor quibble.

Thanks to SyFy for allowing me to watch this for free on my computer. Waiting through a fairly large number of commercials was worth it.

The Overlords


----------



## BAYLOR (Dec 22, 2015)

It was pretty bleak but it resonated too. 

I found myself feeling pity for the Overlords, they are technically and scientifically supreme.  They help usher others into  transcendence to become part of the over mind , but because a biological fluke, they can never transcend.


----------



## Victoria Silverwolf (Dec 23, 2015)

I have just watched the second episode.



> Imagine there's no heaven
> 
> . . .
> 
> And no religion too



It's appropriate that this episode of the ambitious adaptation of Arthur C. Clarke's classic novel begins with a woman singing John Lennon's "Imagine." The excerpts I have quoted above are the most clearly heard on the soundtrack, the others somewhat diminished by narration. I don't think this was an accident.

The Overlords have made Earth as close to a Utopia as is reasonably possible. There is no war, no environmental pollution. All people can lead long, healthy lives. There is enough for everyone. But there's a price.

Science has stagnated, since the Overlords seem to have all the answers. Faith has declined, since there seems to be no need for religion. (I think that both of these points could be debated, since there are reasons for scientific and spiritual passion other than the practical. But it seems reasonable that at least some folks would turn away from both of these things during a time of plenty.)

This episode, if anything, has even more emotional impact that the first one. In particular, the character of a young woman of deep religious faith who has to face this new world is powerfully done. She could have easily been a caricature, but the character is complex and conflicted.

The tone of this segment is darker than one might expect, almost becoming a horror story. Stylistic influences of *The Exorcist* and _The Midwich Cuckoos_ might be seen, although the plot has nothing to do with them.

The theme might be that change is inevitable, and painful.

The Deceivers


----------



## Eway (Dec 24, 2015)

Has anyone mentioned the Battlestar Galactica in the opening scene?  I'm just starting this series so I have no idea what I'm in for.  But that first shot excited me already.


----------



## kythe (Dec 25, 2015)

I finally finished the 3 part series and I really enjoyed it.  The mini-series adds quite a bit to the rather short original novel and some details are changed.  But the essence of the story was intact and overall, it was well told.

I was rather upset by the ending of the book, but the movie elaborates more on the reason and I think it captured the original intent.  I still don't "like" this version of transcendence, but I believe I understand it more.

When reading the book, I didn't see it as one I would come back to.  But now after viewing the film's interpretation, I think it is up for a reread.


----------



## Victoria Silverwolf (Dec 26, 2015)

I have just seen the final episode.

The conclusion to this adaptation continues the feeling of *Village of the Damned*. Beyond that, it offers pure Sense of Wonder in the protagonist's voyage to the planet of the Overlords. My one quibble is that a few of scenes with the super-children look a bit silly. However, it still has great emotional power, and has a very elegiac mood not typical of science fiction.

Overall, this is about as good an adaptation of the novel as one could reasonably expect.

The Children


----------



## Cli-Fi (Jan 10, 2016)

Just finished the series and I thought it was lackluster but with big ideas.

The beginning reminded me a lot of independence day, of which they are making a sequel too. Having not read the book, I was shocked to see Karellen resemble the devil but felt that his appearance was way too acceptable within the overall public. Not sure how that goes on in the book, but the mythology there is just too great to ignore and it seems like they did.

I did not care for the love stories or Ricky's entire storyline. However, the reason Karellen chooses him may be due to the time period of when the book was actually written and not necessarily representative of today's culture, mind you. Just not buying the white country boy hunk storyline, would much rather prefer the old blind lady. Also what happened to Wainwright? Colm Meaney is one of my most favorite character actors and I felt they underused him by a lot!

I also felt that New Athens should have been explored more and that the Children part was done rather well albeit a bit creepy.

For the most part I liked Milo he always asked the right questions but even his story seemed rushed. His end didn't make much sense to me and it seemed like because he lost his girlfriend (he should have known this was entirely possible) all of his scientific curiosity went out the window. There seemed to be no reason whatsoever to go back to Earth, unless he was the missing piece that allowed mankind to transcend. A problem I have with the end is why did Milo keep saying everything was gone/destroyed? He was just in a ship carrying a bunch of animals from Earth! What happens to them?

Overall not much new here at all, but then again the "new" things have all been inspired by this! I'm just now realizing. At times I felt that the show went way too slow or way too fast.


----------



## Dennis E. Taylor (Jan 11, 2016)

In the book, the whole process took several generations. I can't remember offhand how many generations of people grew up under the overlords, with religion being steadily stamped out, but by the time they did the reveal, there wasn't much angels&demons belief left.

Although the main story arc was similar, there are so many differences in detail between the book and TV show that you really can't judge one based on the other.


----------



## Cli-Fi (Jan 11, 2016)

Bizmuth said:


> In the book, the whole process took several generations. I can't remember offhand how many generations of people grew up under the overlords, with religion being steadily stamped out, but by the time they did the reveal, there wasn't much angels&demons belief left.
> 
> Although the main story arc was similar, there are so many differences in detail between the book and TV show that you really can't judge one based on the other.



Yeah I think the process here took a little over 100 years to complete! That's even fast in my WIP about time travel!!!! In mine transcendence doesn't really happen until 1000 years and there's also a big question to if it really did happen at all! 

I don't judge an adaption of one thing over the original. The adapters almost always have their own spin on things! That's probably the reason why I like franchises/reboots/sequels/prequels so much. I think they are fun, there are so many times I am left wanting more at the end of a movie/book and I want to explore the universe more, but I'm in the minority there. I go in with an open mind when watching a series based off a book. Which I happily find happening more and more in recent years!

I thought the end was proper and final. You can't do much more with the world being destroyed and all that. It was fine as a mini-series but I'm guessing it had some budget restraints because of its home on the Syfy channel.


----------

