Only Riff Trax makes it bearable.

https://m.

sorry Scientologists, this movie and story line really sucked

Of course, a book that long makes more sense for a 23 hour tv season than a movie.

But agreed that movie totally sucked.

Except for the last third of the book.

No one associated with that movie should have been allowed to inhale again... That was what we all said when we walked out wondering why we wasted money on seeing that movie

Although I admit I watched it

I had a job where I could come home for lunch, take my dog out, and watch TV while I ate. For some reason, I chose to watch The Gong Show. One day, there was a man with a mustache who was dressed like a nun. He was singing the Whiffenpoof Song.

I went back to work as usual. I was bewildered and bemused for the entire afternoon.

If there's a worse one, then I haven't seen it.

Students talked calculus teacher and meinto watching it after the AP exam...

I want those hours back

A group of humans ends up on some planet, and they get the idea that they want to strive to get it right this time. It was an interesting premise, but it was so stupid and lame that I couldn’t watch it. It did have sort of an agenda it was pushing, but I won’t go into that. One reason I watched it is because Tim Curry was in it, but he did not do himself or the show any favors.

For a supposed science fiction series, way too many pseudoscientific/magical elements with no prospect of any eventual resolution/explanation ever making sense.

gets my vote.

That opinion is only based on seeing ads for them, that's how bad they are.

I think of it as the screeching harpies show.

Had to watch them all so no one would have to tell me how bad they were.

I'm no fan of Ellison. I made the mistake of reading some of his work at one point or another, and found his description of this particular project to be dully mechanical, as if assembling a complete set of cliches constituted a sufficient basis for a TV series. Then he whined about how no one seemed to appreciate his genius (of course) in pulling off such a triumph.

The idea of a 'generation ship' goes back to Tsiolkovsky in the 1920's, and the idea of a societal breakdown on board such a ship has been treated multiple times. So Ellison's treatment struck me as just "here's an old idea, let's make a TV show about it" and not much more.

Having said that, reading the Wiki on the history of the show is discouraging. Failures in funding, special effects, even failure to rent sufficient space all proved injurious to the project. Perhaps the big mistake was attempting to go forward after the BBC expressed a lack of interest. It might have been better to sit on the project for a while, and try again later.

Reviews of the show are pretty mixed, with lots of good points and bad points standing out. Some interesting names show up, that's for certain.

He was at a series pitch meeting his agent set up for him, and he was coming up with ideas for a science-fiction television show. And the dumb fuck studio executive taking the meeting shot down idea after idea after idea.

Finally, out of patience, Ellison hit him with the most overdone, hackneyed plot he could think of: a space ark/generational ship story, which, as you pointed out, has been around forever.

The dumb fuck executive thought it was thrillingly original (of course) and ordered a story treatment. The whole tangled mess is related in one of Ellison’s essays on working in Hollyweird. But the heart of it is, Ellison knew it was a played-out idea from the start.

so I can't go back and check. A shame real bookmarks in real books aren't searchable digitally ...

“Somehow, I Don’t Think We’re In Kansas, Toto”, collected in the phone book-sized The Essential Ellison.

It’s a terrific read. Ellison’s non-fiction is as good, if not better than, his fiction.

Not incidentally, I had the opportunity back in 2005 to not only meet Harlan, but have dinner with him, as well. It was one of the Top Five experiences of my life. Ellison was famously combative, abrasive, and obnoxious. But that was with people who annoyed him, or just anyone, like so many in this country, who are content with, and even proud of, relentless mediocrity.

With his fans, he couldn’t have been more warm, charming, and generous. He had me and his other table-mates spellbound all throughout dinner. He was a brilliant conversationalist, and an irreplaceable storyteller.

I encourage you to read his essay, and when you’re done, read the rest of the book.

I've read most of Agatha Christie's books, but this one I had to throw away. Postern of Fate was her last Tommy and Tuppence novel (1973).




But Agatha Christie was suffering from dementia when she wrote it and strangely her daughter and editor didn't proofread it. The book rambles on with continuity and logic errors. And the premise was good, with the heroic couple discovering a coded message in an old rocking horse. Did the child uncover a murderer, sex maniac, or Nazi spy 30 years earlier?