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Scifi Channel to Make Ringworld Miniseries
Snaller writes "The Sci Fi Channel has listed its programming for the upcomming year, it includes the Farscape miniseries already mentioned by Slashdot, it also includes a miniseries based the legendary scifi story by Larry Niven: Ringworld. In the far future 4 travelers crash on a ring around a sun in a distant system. Shall be interesting to see how they depict the Puppeteers."
Well, do you remember a few years ago? George Lucas made a movie called Episode One. Well they're thinking of using the actor who played Jar-Jar...
Doesn't it make you feel good to know that our freedoms are protected by politicans, lawyers and journalists.
It's about time some one makes this. Too bad it really needs to be on an IMAX though.
Well, a rendition of one, anyway:
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8 94 803247/002-9348466-3390413?v=glance
http://students.biology.lsa.umich.edu/bio208_11
The image is taken from this book, which is definitely teh awesome:
http://www.amazon.com/exec/obidos/tg/detail/-/0
Mikey-San
Karma: +Eleventy billion (mostly affected by watching Celebrity Jeopardy)
... the Discovery Channel will be releasing its new parody miniseries: Ringworm
I really had the hots for her in Breakfast Club and Sixteen Candles...
"As long as they keep the whole sex bit out of the series"
dont worry. I am gathering that the 'Sci-Fi' channel is american so you wont see anything but precious precious violence.
*rocks back and forth, slowly carressing his sweet sweet gun*
As long as they keep the whole sex bit out of the series, it should be very cool miniseries
True. Goodness knows that we shouldn't think of sex as part of normal human behavior, so it should never be depicted, nor even talked about in polite company, especially around the children (We MUST Protect the Children!). And then once we perfect in vitro fetilization and artificial gestation, there's no reason to have that disgusting sex whatsoever.
Hopelessly pedantic since 1963.
Ender's game is already being made into a movie by the same people as XMen2! :)
Homer: Urge to kill RISING, RISING...
Please see this one.
Apparently, a pair of ostriches. But.... maybe not.
Don't blame Durga. I voted for Centauri.
I'm wondering exactly how much material from the books they're going to include.
The original Ringworld book doesn't really end with a tense climax. It's a satisfying ending for a book, but I think it would fall a bit flat in a movie/miniseries.
Ringworld Engineers ends with a good fight scene, but including that would mean they'd have to explain Pak Protectors and a lot of other things. I don't think that much material can be adequately handled in a four-hour miniseries.
Ringworld Throne just wasn't very good at all, so let's not go there.
And how faithful will they be to the books? Will they have the "invulnerable" General Products hull? Will they have the Slaver shotgun? Will they include the Puppeteer Fleet of Worlds?
This has so much potential to be great or awful.
TheFrood
If you say "I'll probably get modded down for this..." then I will mod you down.
It's about time some one makes this.
I've been hoping for this movie since I read the book in 1989.
I'm glad they waited until now, though, because I'm old enough to actually be in it.
Well, old enough to audition for it, anyway.
You're thinking of "The Integral Trees" - another Niven work. Not "Ringworld".
This was like a show I saw when I was ten years old. There was this family living in a flying saucer. They had two robots: a tall gold one and a short one like a trash can. There was a Doctor, who always said "Dammit Jim" and insulted the robots all the time. They were running from bad silver robots with red eyes who were trying to kill them. Wish I could remember the name of that show.
Don't blame Durga. I voted for Centauri.
Halo consisted mostly of shooting aliens on an artificial planet, while Ringworld consisted mostly of having sex with aliens on an artificial planet.
Eh, close enough.
The PC police believe that Jar Jar is an offensive caricature of black people (correction African-Americans). Similarly, the trade federation people were caricatures of Asians. And Watto was a Jewish stereotype.
Of course, all of this could be the result of George Lucas being a mere caricature of a good screenwriter.
Not to rehash a years-old argument (how did you miss it?), but Jar-Jar reminded some viewers of how Jamaicans and African Americans have been caricatured in popular entertainment (e.g. loping, dim-witted, exaggerated mouths, speaking pidgin English). Some of the other aliens in SW:TPM were bore some resemblance to racial stereotypes as well (e.g. the trade federation reps =~ Chinese, Anakin's master Watto =~ Jewish), leading to some spirited debates about the subject.
http://alternatives.rzero.com/
My personal favorite is:
Louis Wu, I found your challenge verbose. In challenging a kzin, a simple scream of rage is sufficient. You scream and you leap.
--Speaker-to-Animals, "Ringworld"
Other good quotes (almost all of which belong to Speaker-to-Animals/Chmee):
If you can heat some bourbon, I can drink it. If you cannot heat it, I can still drink it.
--Speaker-to-Animals, "Ringworld"
Exercise is wonderful. I could sit and watch it all day.
--Louis Wu, "Ringworld"
A docile kzin. You sought to produce a docile kzin, Nessus. If you think you have produced a docile kzin, come and rejoin us.
--Speaker-to-Animals, "Ringworld'
It does not disturb me to play a god. It disturbs me to play a god badly.
--Speaker-to-Animals, "Ringworld"
To kidnap a kzin is probably a mistake.
--Chmeee, "The Ringworld Engineers"
Scars are like memories. We do not have them removed.
--Chmeee, "The Ringworld Engineers"
Hindmost: The easy way to find out is to accelerate until something happens.
Louis: I do not believe I heard a Pierson's puppeteer say that.
--"The Ringworld Engineers"
Chmeee: With such a weapon I could boil the Earth to vapor.
Louis Wu: Shut up.
Chmeee: It was a natural thought, Louis.
--"The Ringworld Engineers"
Chmeee: Furthermore, they [kzinti] of the Map of Earth have fulfilled an ancient daydream of my people.
Louis: Oh?
Chmeee: Conquering Earth, you idiot.
--"The Ringworld Engineers"
If it's for-profit but free, you're not the customer -- you're the product (e.g., the Slashdot Beta's "audience").
So cliche, character-wise. Let me count the ways...
- We have a brave genius human (male, naturally) who solves the problems. Check.
- We have an attractive but ditzy girl for him. Check.
- We have some sex. Check.
- We have some fierce aliens. Cat people'll do. Check.
- We have some cowardly aliens. Check.
But wait! the twist!
- We have *another* attractive girl for him, and the first attractive girl goes off with someone else, hence giving brave genius male some more sex!
I'm not even going to *start* on Engineers and Throne - too many targets, too little time. If erotic furries is your thing, knock yourself out. Otherwise read something better.
Like Asimov and Clarke, Niven has a major failing as an author - he can come up with astounding technical details, and then wrap them with a story that's for shit. Niven's obviously done *amazing* research into stuff, and invented whole civilisations and past histories like Tolkein would be proud of, but the story (which basically means things happening to people and how people react) could be any trash novel from anywhere.
Grab.
I really liked the concepts presented in Ringworld, but the character interactions just seemed ... juvenille ... to me. Sorry if that runs counter to your own (well-reasoned, I'm sure) opinion.
If the sex scene contributes something to the story, by all means, include it. But if it's <pun>inserted</pun> only for shock value, then replace with with something clever that does further the plot.
Anonymous Kev
Proudly posting as AC since 1997
(Finally got a dang account in 2004)