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Spike TV Is Turning Red Mars Into a TV Series (arstechnica.com)

Posted by Soulskill on from the hat-tip-to-andy-weir dept.

An anonymous reader writes: Kim Stanley Robinson's popular trilogy Red/Green/Blue Mars is going to see its first book turn into a TV series produced by Spike TV and is slated for release in 2017. The episodes will be an hour long, and their writing will be led by J. Michael Straczynski, the creator of Babylon-5. According to Variety, "the series will follow the first settlers charged with terraforming a mysterious planet, all of whom have competed to be a part of the mission."

10 of 39 comments (clear)

  1. Gonna need some hollywood magic by Nikkos · · Score: 3, Interesting

    The books were interesting, but pretty boring. Very slow moving.

    1. Re:Gonna need some hollywood magic by jlv · · Score: 3, Insightful

      I didn't find them slow at all. However, I would have loved to see real 2nd and 3rd generation characters, rather than inventing life-extension and keeping the same old group around.

    2. Re:Gonna need some hollywood magic by farrellj · · Score: 2

      If anyone can do a good translation to the small screne, it would be JMS. He knows what is good science fiction, and what is good TV. If it fails, it won't be because of his writing. I think I need to dig out my copies and re-red the series again.

      --
      CAN-CON 2019 - Ottawa's only book oriented Science Fiction Convention! October 18-20, Sheraton Hotel, Ottawa, Canada h
    3. Re:Gonna need some hollywood magic by Dragonslicer · · Score: 2

      Probably why they've got Strasinsky

      You should send him a link to your post to see where it ranks on his list of worst misspellings of his name.

  2. Books are not Scripts by drinkypoo · · Score: 2, Insightful

    The books spent a lot of time on the science and on characters' personal motivations. By its very nature, a television (or movie) script will elide most of that, or at most allude to it, and automatically become more concise.

    When there wasn't a massive space battle, Babylon 5 was basically a soap opera. In honor of this fact, they even hired several former soap opera actors. The Mars trilogy can be written much the same way.

    On the other hand, part of the feeling inherent to the books involves the emptiness of the planet, and they're probably going to have to have some long shots and long silences to convey that. It's questionable whether modern audiences will sit still for it.

    --
    "You're right," Fisheye says. "I should have set it on 'whip' or 'chop.'"
  3. Spoiler alert by wonkey_monkey · · Score: 4, Funny

    Kim Stanley Robinson's popular trilogy Red/Green/Blue Mars

    According to Variety, "the series will follow the first settlers charged with terraforming a mysterious planet

    Spoiler alert: it's Mars.

    --
    systemd is Roko's Basilisk.
  4. Re:Spike TV by jtownatpunk.net · · Score: 2

    Don't forget Cops.

    Red Mars,
    Red Mars,
    Whatcha gonna do,
    When they terraform you?

  5. Re:How will the Reds be portrayed? by drinkypoo · · Score: 2

    I doubt the network execs are going to allow that on the TV show without some major editing.

    They don't have to change a thing, since even the reddest red tries to stop the violence (e.g. assault on the cable.) They can easily turn it into any message they want without changing events.

    --
    "You're right," Fisheye says. "I should have set it on 'whip' or 'chop.'"
  6. Re:How will the Reds be portrayed? by spauldo · · Score: 2

    That's a good point. They could frame it as a movement gone out of control, and villanize the extremists.

    That would probably play well to the execs.

    --
    Those who can't do, teach. Those who can't teach either, do tech support.
  7. Red Green by LunaticTippy · · Score: 2

    I hope they bring Red Green in for a cameo. He can fix some space equipment with the handyman's secret weapon, duct tape.

    --
    Man, you really need that seminar!