Apple orders 10 episodes of a Neuromancer TV series | Hacker News Reader

Apple orders 10 episodes of a Neuromancer TV series

arstechnica.com

66 pointsbmm6o28 comments

After what they did to Foundation, I haven't got the least bit of interest.

Foundation is different than the books but I appreciate a lot of the story they've been telling in the show. I'm looking forward to their Neuromancer treatment

I agree. The Foundation books wouldn’t make great TV. There’s way too much time skipping and very little character development in the books. I have some gripes but they’re spoilers so I won’t say what they are. But generally I like the show, and I really loved the books and have read them multiple times.

Gotta say didn't read foundation, but i like the show, really sucks that people don't get that studios will always need to tweak books for appeal or other reasons to make it work for their audience, it doesn't make the shows bad.

This is why we end up with studios not willing to make shows and keep them around the people that just get upset cause it didn't meet their expectations from books.

Yes. Here's hoping.

I watched Foundation to the end, no matter how bad it got.

Just can't stop watching the Live Action adaptations of the old favorites.

'Peripheral', also watched it all, no matter how bad. etc...

So, I'll watch this one too.

They must know they have built in audience that will accept anything.

Why can't there be more like 'Expanse'?

I enjoyed Peripheral, having not read the book. I'd be curious to hear (spoiler-free) criticisms. (The concept was compelling enough, I definitely intend to read the series, especially given its cancellation.)

Guess Peripheral wasn't 'bad'.

Just falls prey to same problems of book-tv translation. The book was a pretty high concept idea, and just didn't think it translated well.

So on a ranking of 'good->bad' ,'book->TV' translations, it actually wasn't at bottom. It was ok. Just middling. Book was better. I'm being too judgmental.

https://www.reddit.com/r/WilliamGibson/ has certainly what you are looking for.

Interestingly it's the opposite for me. The book (read only the first) was not enjoyable and I thought it's poorly written, bad characters and plotlines. So hearing the Foundation in TV is not like the book makes me want to see it.

It was basically an entirely different (not very good) thing. I thought the genetic dynasty part of it was super awesome though, not a closely examined subject in the books and the guy who played empire day i thought was very good.

To have a counter view of the few being unhappy as usual that a tv adaptation doesn't mean being the same as the book: foundation as a TV show is great.

I love it, would love to see more of it but I will probably start reading the books later.

agree, the show betrays essential principles of the trilogy. Why even have psychohistory at all if you’re throwing away everything that stems from it?

especially sad, considering that it has a solid cast and looks beautiful

I think Apple just wanted their own Game of Thrones flagship, and on paper, Foundation seems like it should be that (epic scale, big ideas). But honestly, it needs a more subdued treatment: mostly talking heads in rooms, and an anthology that jumps forward decades with each episode, rotating characters as necessary.

Blockbuster narratives need heroes, which works directly at cross-purposes to the long-term systemic thinking that defines the books. There was probably never a scenario where the high price of buying the rights could match up with the size of audience for a more faithful adaptation. (And rightly or wrongly, non-book-readers seem broadly positive on the series.)

Julian May's Galactic Milieu might be that kind of thing. Start at Jack's book, maybe add Rogation's book as flashbacks. Th Rebellion and fury's antics give a good framework to let a bunch of writers add more material in between.

> I think Apple just wanted their own Game of Thrones flagship

Dune makes the most sense for TV and not the movies. A lot of the political subtlety is lost in the movies

Except that the other books are just wierd

Neuromancer is way easier to translate to the screen. It’s not far from Bladerunner.

The problem with Foundation is that it’s more of a historical account about empires rather than about individual characters which is made much worse when the screenwriters decided to add space magic to the mix

Silo is good though.

Foundation hater here; I agree.

City of Ember meets Ascension.

110% with you. The series took all of the worst parts of foundation and then focused on them. :|

Like all things, YMMV.

If they cast Lee Pace is this new one I'm all for it.

[dupe] please!

discussion over here:

https://news.ycombinator.com/item?id=39543281

"He never saw Molly again."

I wonder if they'll be able to honor that one if the show is successful. :)

As the series goes, though, we do see Molly again. We don't see Case again. I never thought about that until now.

dupe: https://news.ycombinator.com/item?id=39543281

Keeps getting deleted

Can we agree that if you take a POPULAR book that it probably has better writing than what a screenwriter can come up with?

It has stood the test of time for a reason in a way that most screenwriters can only dream about.

Books are one of the few mediums left where meritocracy is still going strong as it has such heavy competition and no regulation.

If you want it to have more mass appeal then choose one of those books that already have it.

Reply on news.ycombinator.com