Childhood's End

Dannyalcatraz · May 17, 2015

AC's classic! Will SyFy get it right? Here's the trailer:
http://www.syfy.com/childhood039send/videos/childhoods-end-trailer

Dog Moon · May 17, 2015

It looks okay. I might check it out since it's just a miniseries, but for some reason "Aliens land and want to help Earth but have a hidden agenda" just doesn't really interest me all that much. But I do like the fact that apparently the Aliens are invisible or something.

Umbran · May 17, 2015

Dog Moon said:
It looks okay. I might check it out since it's just a miniseries, but for some reason "Aliens land and want to help Earth but have a hidden agenda" just doesn't really interest me all that much.

To be clear, Arthur C. Clarke's original story was written in 1953. So, if it seems cliche to you, it may help to realize that this is the original from which the cliche came.

darjr · May 17, 2015

And if I remember there is a twist. That simplified plot isn't all there is to it. And no, they were not invisible.

Dog Moon · May 18, 2015

Umbran said:
To be clear, Arthur C. Clarke's original story was written in 1953. So, if it seems cliche to you, it may help to realize that this is the original from which the cliche came.

That makes sense. I had never actually heard of it before now.

Dog Moon · May 18, 2015

darjr said:
And if I remember there is a twist. That simplified plot isn't all there is to it. And no, they were not invisible.

Well, I don't know exactly what they are. If they're not invisible, then they're something else and that could be even more interesting!

All I know is from what I could see - or not see! - in the preview.

tomBitonti · May 18, 2015

The aliens didn't show themselves until well after the initial meeting, if I remember correctly, because they looked like Devils.

I thought this was a weak point of the story. I don't see how it advances the main story, which I understood to be a kind of transcendence.

I thought the strong points were the notes of loss together with a largely unexplained transition.

Thx,

TomB

Kramodlog · May 18, 2015

tomBitonti said:
The aliens didn't show themselves until well after the initial meeting, if I remember correctly, because they looked like Devils.

I thought this was a weak point of the story. I don't see how it advances the main story, which I understood to be a kind of transcendence.

I thought the strong points were the notes of loss together with a largely unexplained transition.

Thx,

TomB

Never read the book, but I would understand why he made them look like devils. Many humans won't follow the teachings and promises of entities that look like devils, even if they come with good intentions because some humans believe in supersitions. Adds drama is this is what Clarke was going for.

Crothian · May 18, 2015

It is a good book and defiantly a classic in science fiction.

tomBitonti · May 18, 2015

Ah, the trailer seems focused on the part of the story that Clarke leaves out: The transition from the old race to the new race.

In the book, the intermediate events occur out of picture, with a direct witness only at the very beginning and at the very end.

Darn it, now I'm going to have to go back and re-read it and see how much meshes with the trailer.

Not too happy with Sy-Fy in general, so I'm pessimistic about the show. But, that is a very biased outlook, since I really really don't like the channel in its present form.

Thx!

TomB