When adapting a classic novel to tv, there are always dangers of dumbing it down or making it lame. The first episode of the three night event will air on monday, december. Writer matthew graham on his syfy adaptation of childhoods end. While there are a few changes in the source material, aka liberties taken, the true message remains, after all is said and done mankinds biggest fear is loss of identity. How closely did the childhoods end miniseries on syfy follow the. Expanded from his 1946 short story guardian angel, arthur c clarkes childhoods end has had a long and complicated path from its 1953 publication to the television miniseries debuted by syfy over three nights in december, with previous attempts to film it abandoned in every intervening decade. Childhoods end miniseries nears green light at syfy. Written back in 1953, the popular science fiction novel childhoods end is set to be aired as a miniseries on syfy in december 2015. Childhoods end was a syfy channel miniseries that you likely missed as it was inexplicably scheduled in the middle of december 2015, right smack in the heart of christmas season. The childhoods end miniseries, on syfy starting dec. Syfy rumored to be ordering a childhoods end miniseries. I hear syfy is ordering to production childhoods end, a sixhour miniseries adaptation of arthur c.
A space odyssey and many other groundbreaking works. Childhoods end is a 1953 science fiction novel by the british author arthur c. The end of the movie was hinted at in the beginning, and if they follow the story and keep it true, it may come as a sort of shock, but. Is this the full book, as arthur c clarke intended it. Clarkes childhood s end as a six hour miniseries, it is fair to compare it to the classic novel, but it should be judged on its own merits. This is the original publication of the novel, the true first edition. Syfy aims to get back to its scifi roots with a slate of highconcept dramas including the expanse, childhoods end and the magicians. A sixhour miniseries, syfys childhood s end rounds the edges of arthur c. Welcome,you are looking at books for reading, the childhoods end, you will able to read or download in pdf or epub books and notice some of author may have lock the live reading for some of country. As such, it like so many other classics of the genre has been long, long overdue for adaptation into visual media.
Thankfully syfys miniseries adaptation of childhoods end doesnt do much dumbing down or lamemaking, although i think it would be impossible to fully capture the nuance of clarkes novel on tv. Clarke has long been considered the greatest science fiction writer of all. He dreams up a perfect world, then he picks it apart, and then he tells us that none of it. Monday night syfy kicks off one of their most ambitious nights in the networks history with two big new shows, the expanse and childhoods end the former based off of the first book, leviathan wakes, in james s.
Clarkes book about visiting aliens and the price of utopia. When you are in the mood for that kind of escapist scifi, childhoods end will not satisfy you. Childhoods end is a book about ideas, and the characters and story are almost incidental to the big things that clarke wanted to think about in 1953. One of the changes that was made to the script is that the person. Syfy returns to its roots with the expanse, childhoods. Syfy premieres its childhoods end miniseries on monday, dec. The series is based upon the 1953 novel of the same name. Clarkes classic science fiction novel childhoods end 1953 is a truly staggering, mindaltering work of the scientifically informed imagination. I am pleased to say that all but one half hour is quite exciting and suspenseful. Find books like childhoods end from the worlds largest community of readers. Childhoods end syfy channel miniseries vs the book. The channel has a long history of appallingly offkey adaptions of sf classics. In keeping with its cold war origins, theres an overriding cynicism about humanitys seemingly implacable rush towards its own destruction. The shocking similarities between childhoods end and today part i by tal brooke a fter 63 years in print, childhoods end has finally come to the screenindeed flatscreen televisionnot as a major motion picture, but as a threepart miniseries on the syfy cable channel, starting in late december 2015.
I like a good monsterof the week movie as much as the next guy maybe more but this new mature side also looks good on you, syfy channel. The overlords have a plan for usoriginally posted at fantasy literaturetheres something very comforting in the sf novels of arthur c. Childhoods end is a wellcrafted adaptation of arthur c. Watch childhoods end and adele live in new york city. Syfy adaption are words that strike doubt into the hearts of most us sf fans, and with good reason. Given how much i like this book i will probably watch it but before i do i want to reread the source material first, as its been decades since i last read it. From the 1960s, attempts had been made to adapt childhoods end as a movie, but none of them ever proceeded out of development hell. Clarke collection kindle edition by clarke, arthur c download it once and read it on your kindle device, pc, phones or tablets. Likewise, syfy which was once the scifi channel in both name and content before degrading itself with programming one. There wasnt a lot mike vogel, daisy betts and yael stone could say about childhoods end at the tca summer press tour, spoilerwise, but thanks to the source material the ambitious syfy. As their material conditions improve, men raise their sights and become discontented with power and possessions that once would have seemed beyond their wildest dreams. Recently i was confronted with a very enjoyable coincidence. By definition, this tv version could only be shallow compared to the book.
Syfy takes some liberties with childhoods end, but its powerful. Use features like bookmarks, note taking and highlighting while reading childhoods end arthur c. For lovers of science fiction novels and particularly the books of arthur c. A sixhour miniseries, syfys childhoods end rounds the edges of arthur c.
Clarke, a scifi classic and one of the most memorable books i have ever read. If it available for your country it will shown as book reader and user fully subscribe will benefit by having full access. In childhoods end, clarke imagines a utopia, then the dystopia inside it. A member of the society of the cincinnati, he has authored ten books and his work has been recognized in marquis whos who in the world and whos who in america as well as the. This article contains spoilers about the miniseries childhoods end. From the 1960s, attempts had been made to adapt childhood s end as a movie, but none of them ever proceeded out of development hell. I pull no punches on the subject of book s controversial ending, so consider. In the miniseries it was only about 12 years before the overlords revealed themselves. I can certainly understand that changes have to be made when youre creating a screenplay from a novel. Syfys adaptation plays with clarkes plot and themes but does so in such a leaden, doa way that its almost like a gradeschool paper from someone who didnt read.
I felt like the people who created it did not reach a conclusion regarding what story they wanted to tell and the sub plots, as a result, competed and often outright conflicted with one another. Syfy would be wise to do more of these, and fewer sharknados. The syfy adaptation of the classic scifi novel, childhood s end, is coming later this year, and fans of the novel will notice a few controversial changes, as well as a few controversies that come. Childhoods end airs monday through wednesday nights, from 8 to 10 p. Also kicking off this week is syfys new spacebased character drama the expanse, based on the books by james s.
As i write the tv adaptation of childhoods end is being promoted by the cable channel syfy goddam silly name. Whats your opinion of the syfy channel adaptation of. In the book all the children are on earth dancing in strange formations for years on end causing the gravity to change the solar system and the. Since its publication in 1953, this prescient novel about first contact gone wrong has come to be regarded not only as a science fiction classic but as a literary thriller of the highest order. The overlords end the energy crisis and climate change. The syfy adaptation of the classic scifi novel, childhoods end, is coming later this year, and fans of the novel will notice a few controversial changes, as well as a few controversies that come. I began recreating my library of paperback science fiction and fantasy books that i enjoyed as a child in order to revisit them on my ipad, were the first ones i added something that i hadnt read in several decades, arthur c. The shocking similarities between childhoods end and today.
Clarke, this is good news indeed, as the book was considered to be one of his best novels. The story starts with a 2night premiere, monday and tuesday after childhoods end. Syfys childhoods end miniseries wastes one of science fictions. Therefore it need a free signup process to obtain the book. Childhoods end stars mike vogel, daisy betts and yael. Clarkes 1953 science fiction novel doesnt seem like it would be a difficult adaptation, but it has resisted all efforts until now. Presumably they are just undergoing massive physiological changes, and potentially have the ability to retard and even stop their own aging. The syfy three day extravaganza which retells the arthur c. On april 10, 20, syfy announced its plans to develop a tv miniseries based on childhood s end. Watch full episodes, get news, see trailers, videos and interviews for everything from the worlds of scifi, fantasy, horror and comics. Childhood s end is a 1953 science fiction novel by the british author arthur c. And so in the book, the narrative changes and its more of an exploration of. As brilliant as the book is, it was written in a time when the styles of science fiction stories always. Clarkes novel childhoods end that it is one of the few masterpieces in the science fiction genre.
The creators and stars of the syfy miniseries childhoods end talk about. Syfys uses childhoods end 3day event miniseries to launch the expanse montue and the magicians wed. In the book, the overlords assert that humans would have no idea what to make of space. I was very confused by the point of the adaptation. Clarke, my favorite of the big three sf writers of the golden age the other two being robert heinlein and isaac asimov.
Its an alien invasion novel in which the invading aliens kill us, essentially, with kindness. The renewed z nation ends its second season on friday. Coreys expanse series, while the latter serves as a threenight miniseries event adapted from arthur c. No utopia can ever give satisfaction to everyone, all the time. The only thing greater than his intellect is his curiosity, which goes into overdrive with the arrival of karellen and the overlords to earth. How closely did the childhoods end miniseries on syfy. Deadline reports that the project has finally received a green light childhoods end, a novel written by 2001. Childhoods end 1987 read online free book by arthur c. On april 10, 20, syfy announced its plans to develop a tv miniseries based on childhoods end. The story follows the peaceful alien invasion of earth by the mysterious overlords, whose arrival begins decades of apparent utopia under indirect alien rule, at the cost of human identity and culture. Lets get the answer to the big question of out the way. It seems that every change made to childhood s end has a purpose. Childhoods end remains, after over half a century, one of sfs boldest and most unusual works.