Jᴀᴄᴜʀᴜᴛᴜ - Tʜᴇ Cᴀsᴛ Oᴜᴛ

I just recently bought the Children of Dune miniseries which aired on the sci-fi channel several years ago.

I have read all of the Dune books, and I have to say I thought they did a good job with the first episode which basically was Dune Messiah. I just wanted to get everyones input on what they thought. Although I can't stand Alec Neuman as Paul Atreides, I thought everyone else was pretty good.

I have to admit that the last scene of the first episode when they were cutting to all the different scenes (Stilgar killing Mohiam, Irulan, breaking Edric's tank, birth of the twins, etc) it was very emotional.

What did you all think of the miniseries. As a stand alone, or compared to the original Dune miniseries from 2000.

I thought they went way overboard with the hats. It's obvious from the quality they had a bigger budget for CoD. Overall I liked it, I'd like to get a copy too.

Much nicer than the first, IMHO.

(They've never shown the Children one on TV over here that I know of. I had to get the DVD. Definitely worth it. Even with the hats. )

I thought it was much better than the first one.

I loved the first episode, when I first saw it I was blown away man... (Partial becuase the lighting outside kind of matched the lighting during Paul's exile into the desert)

After that, not much to say, though it was done decently.

Now its time to thin about Lithium...

You have to watch both miniseries to fully appreciate COD - they link up quite nicely. COD is brilliant - the first one was good, but I had issues with it, mainly because looked so cheap and blatantly made-for-tv. COD fixed that

I just had issues with retarded changes to the story, like the above-ground open-air sietch. I understand when things have to be changed in order to make a movie shorter, or to make things work in a film instead of a book, but why the hell was that necessary? It undercut one of the key concepts in Dune, and as far as I can tell they did it for no reason.

A Thing of Eternity wrote:I just had issues with retarded changes to the story, like the above-ground open-air sietch. I understand when things have to be changed in order to make a movie shorter, or to make things work in a film instead of a book, but why the hell was that necessary? It undercut one of the key concepts in Dune, and as far as I can tell they did it for no reason.

...like the hats.

Freakzilla wrote:

A Thing of Eternity wrote:I just had issues with retarded changes to the story, like the above-ground open-air sietch. I understand when things have to be changed in order to make a movie shorter, or to make things work in a film instead of a book, but why the hell was that necessary? It undercut one of the key concepts in Dune, and as far as I can tell they did it for no reason.

...like the hats.

The hats were obviousy a mistake by FH, desert people would need big hats.

I liked them both very much, although I've only seen CoD all the way through once (hmmm ... another viewing this week? That sounds do-able). And I just don't seem to have the problems with them that many others bring up (Paul, special effects, William Hurt, costumes, etc.); I really enjoyed both series, especially when compared to the over-the-top idiocy of Lynch's abysmal movie. I'll read 15 KJA books before I ever watch that PoS again.

The best part about the two TV series, though, was clearly the hats. Simply breathtaking.

TheDukester wrote:I really enjoyed both series, especially when compared to the over-the-top idiocy of Lynch's abysmal movie. I'll read 15 KJA books before I ever watch that PoS again.

That;s a bold statement! Design-wise the movie pisses all over the miniseries, and it has waaaay more lines of Herbertarian dialogue lifted directly from the book.

DuneFishUK wrote:

TheDukester wrote:I really enjoyed both series, especially when compared to the over-the-top idiocy of Lynch's abysmal movie. I'll read 15 KJA books before I ever watch that PoS again.

That;s a bold statement! Design-wise the movie pisses all over the miniseries, and it has waaaay more lines of Herbertarian dialogue lifted directly from the book.

Yeah, but throw in heart plugs, cat milking and weirding modules and that loses some of it's magic.

Too bad it's an incomprehensible mess, though. And it comes with a 30-year-old Paul ... and with trying to convince the audience that sticking a tube up your nose while leaving the entire rest of your head exposed makes some sort of sense ... and with a Baron Harkonnen who is such a cartoon that he might as well be animated ... and with a Duncan Idaho who has about 18 seconds of screen time and is a complete mystery to 99 out of every 100 viewers ... and with (drum roll!) fucking heart-plugs!

Bleh. I loathe the Dune movie with every fiber of my being; I consider it one of the 20 worst movies I've ever seen.

Freakzilla wrote:... weirding modules ...

Oh, Christ, I think I'd blocked those out. Fucking weirding modules!

"Hiiiiiiiii-YAWWWWWWWW!!"

What a farce. I need to go purge myself ...

I've spent almost 25 years now dealing with my hatred for it... but I still watch it if it's on.

Me and a buddy of mine were actually the "first" two people in my hometown to see it (first in line at the first showing on opening night). We got the programs and everything.

And even though we'd both recently finished Dune ourselves, we walked out just shaking our heads at how insane the whole thing was. I can only imagine what it was like for those in the audience who hadn't read Dune. Seriously, I think "incomprehensible" would be about right.

TheDukester wrote:Me and a buddy of mine were actually the "first" two people in my hometown to see it (first in line at the first showing on opening night). We got the programs and everything.

And even though we'd both recently finished Dune ourselves, we walked out just shaking our heads at how insane the whole thing was. I can only imagine what it was like for those in the audience who hadn't read Dune. Seriously, I think "incomprehensible" would be about right.

I had a similar experience except that I took a friend who was a fantasy fan I was trying to convince to read the book. He never did.

What was the deal with the giant tadpoles vommiting planets?

TheDukester wrote:

Freakzilla wrote:... weirding modules ...

Oh, Christ, I think I'd blocked those out. Fucking weirding modules!

"Hiiiiiiiii-YAWWWWWWWW!!"

What a farce. I need to go purge myself ...

Hmm.. yeah... I do see where you're coming from...



...(still bum that film though )

TheDukester wrote:

Freakzilla wrote:... weirding modules ...

Oh, Christ, I think I'd blocked those out. Fucking weirding modules!

"Hiiiiiiiii-YAWWWWWWWW!!"

What a farce. I need to go purge myself ...

A farce? Wait until you see my take on the whole weirding module fiasco.

I didn't know you all had such issues with the Hats of Dune. Maybe that was Frank Herbert's plan for Dune 7. The no-ship was really escaping into uncharted space because Sheeana and Duncan needed to escape the Honored Matres, the Outside Enemy, and insanely ornamental and totally over the top hats.

Really liked the CoD mini, thought the overall acting was good coming from a cast of strangers for the most part...really liked Bijaz, The Prophet, Hayt...Best looking Navigator so far...

...and Ghanima is so hot !!

I actually loved the hats.

They chimed perfectly with my sense that there is basically and fundamentally something wrong with the world.


(Seriously, I did like them.)

(I mean it.)


(Really!)

(really?)

BasharTeg wrote:... Hats of Dune...

Shut up! Don't give them any more ideas!

I thought the outfits in the Lynch film were better, apart from the Bene Gesserit bald heads, they were just weird.

Apart from some inconsistencies (Irulan the goody two shoes who had met Paul before and the twins being teenagers come to mind, though I can see the reason for that one, marketing wise) and some dodgy effects it's my favourite Dune movie. I think Alec made an ok Paul but a very good Preacher, and the overall feel was fairly Dune-ish...plus I really enjoyed the soundtrack for some reason Bijaz was also brilliant.

A much better attempt than the first miniseries, or "The attack of the Gloweyes of Doom" as I like to call it.