Is there any good book adaptation series? (1 Viewer)

[Rodulf44]

GOT?
Expanse?

There are good movies like The Martian (still book better) but any good series?

 

[JWC1969]

GOT?
Expanse?

There are good movies like The Martian (still book better) but any good series?

The Night Manager (LeCarre book, AMC series)
The Terror (Dan Simmons book, AMC series)
The Alienist (Caleb Carr book, TNT series)
Smiley's People (John LeCarre book, BBC series)
Tinker Tailor Soldier Spy (John LeCarre book, BBC series)
Bonus: Tinker Tailor also had a recent terrific movie adaptation with Gary Oldman)
And here's my one-day hope: http://theconflictedfilmsnob.com/2018/05/10/the-book-adaptation-that-regrettably-never-was-yet/

 

[Johnny Angell]

I really liked The Terror but couldn’t get into The Alienist and gave up on it. Smiley’s People I saw ages ago when first released and it was excellent.

 

[Malcolm R]

I really liked The Terror but couldn’t get into The Alienist and gave up on it. Smiley’s People I saw ages ago when first released and it was excellent.

I'm not sure I was ever "into" the adaptation of The Terror, but it was definitely better than the book. It was the opposite with The Alienist, great book but the adaptation suffered from poor casting, IMO.

True Blood was a good adaptation of the Sookie Stackhouse series by Charlane Harris. But as it moved further away from her original storylines (which many adaptations seem to do, for reasons that baffle me), it became less engaging. I also feel that this suffered from some miscasting, mostly with the two male leads, Alexander Skarsgard (Eric) and Stephen Moyer (Bill).

 

[Johnny Angell]

I'm not sure I was ever "into" the adaptation of The Terror, but it was definitely better than the book. It was the opposite with The Alienist, great book but the adaptation suffered from poor casting, IMO.

True Blood was a good adaptation of the Sookie Stackhouse series by Charlane Harris. But as it moved further away from her original storylines (which many adaptations seem to do, for reasons that baffle me), it became less engaging. I also feel that this suffered from some miscasting, mostly with the two male leads, Alexander Skarsgard (Eric) and Stephen Moyer (Bill).

I had no trouble with the male leads, but I agree that as time went on, it became very much less interesting.

 

[Paul D G]

11/22/63, based on Stephen King's book was a pretty good adaptation. More of a mini series, tho. I found the book to be probably his best in years.

Dexter is good up to and including S4. The first season borrows heavily from the first two books, but goes it's own way afterwards. S5 is ok but after that... meh.

 

[Mikael Soderholm]

Patrick Melrose, https://www.imdb.com/title/tt6586318/?ref_=nv_sr_1 Absolutely superb.
Second The Night Manager, very good.
Brideshead Revisited (only one book, but 11 hours of series), https://www.imdb.com/title/tt0083390/?ref_=nv_sr_2, a classic.

 

[Johnny Angell]

How about Roots? It’s so obvious no body has mentioned it.

 

[Malcolm R]

How about Roots? It’s so obvious no body has mentioned it.

There are tons of mini-series adaptations. I've been trying to think of actual ongoing, multi-season series.

Shadowhunters is an adaptation of Cassandra Clare's Mortal Instruments series that airs on Freeform. I enjoyed the first season. Season 2 and the first half of Season 3 is on my DVR but I haven't yet watched it. The second half of Season 3 (12 episodes) airs next year and is the final season.

 

[Johnny Angell]

Bosch on Prime. An adaption of a series of murder/mystery books that are quite good and so is the series. I highly recommend.

 

[Tommy R]

Only mini-series come to mind and they've all been mentioned here. I will say thought, that Tinker, Tailor and Smiley's People are the greatest spy stories told in the visual medium.

 

[Walter Kittel]

I haven't seen The Handmaid's Tale as I don't have Hulu, but I know that it has received its share of critical acclaim and award nominations. I was quite pleased with Netflix's adaption of Altered Carbon and would recommend that particular series.

I've been meaning to check out Bosch and may give it a try.

Thinking of book adaptations, I've always maintained that one of the true tragedies of the end of the Cold War was that there was never a min-series based on Tom Clancy's Red Storm Rising; which is one the more eminently readable novels I have ever encountered.

- Walter.

 

[BobO'Link]

The mini series based on Frank Herbert's Dune and Children of Dune are quite good. Far better than the movie and more accurate to the books. The big surprise is they were produced by the Sci-Fi Channel (before it became the wrestlng channel and subsequently watered down their offerings). Considering the density and complexity of the books I'd say they'd make good candidates for a TV series.

Agatha Christie's Poirot from ITV, with every episode adapted from a book or short story, is very good.

Miss Marple, from the BBC starring Joan Hickson, adapts the 12 Marple novels and is also very good. I've not yet seen the one from ITV starring Geraldine McEwan and Julia McKenzie but hear it, too, is very good.

Hetty Wainthropp Investigates, from ITV, is very good.

Perry Mason is based on a series of books and short stories as is The Saint (1962). Many (most) episodes from the early seasons are adaptations of those books and stories. Both are very good.

The BBCs more recent production, Sherlock, adapts the novels and short stories. I hear it's very good.

Bet you didn't know M*A*S*H was an adaptation of a novel.

The 100 adapts a "young adult" book series. I enjoyed S1 but haven't watched past that one. I've never read the books.

Little House of the Prairie, both the original series and fairly recent mini series, adapts the book series by Laura Ingalls Wilder. The series is good, never seen the mini, never read the books.

The Walking Dead is based on a comic series and those I know who've read them say it's a good adaptation. I've not read the comics but watched S1 - didn't like it so didn't watch more (too many illogical moments and things that happened just to forward the plot with seemingly no other motivation).

American Gods gets good press - based on/adapts a book by Neil Gaiman (I've not read the book nor seen the series).

From Amazon, The Man in the High Castle adapts the book of the same name by Philip K. Dick. It's very good. In spite of him being a favorite author I've never read the book so don't know how it compares.

 

[Scott Merryfield]

From Amazon, The Man in the High Castle adapts the book of the same name by Philip K. Dick. It's very good. In spite of him being a favorite author I've never read the book so don't know how it compares.

The book is much different than the series. If you are curious, the Kindle version is available (or was when I read it) for free to "borrow" if you are an Amazon Prime member.

 

[BobO'Link]

The book is much different than the series. If you are curious, the Kindle version is available (or was when I read it) for free to "borrow" if you are an Amazon Prime member.

Thanks! I didn't know that and am a Prime member and just happen to own a Kindle Fire (got a refurb cheap enough to get one to test/experiment with). That's one of those titles that was available from SFBC (Science Fiction Book Club) for years. I somehow never managed to purchase a copy or get one as an enrollment (and I was a member for 40+ years cycling my account every 9-12 months).

 

[BobO'Link]

^Bummer... it's only on Amazon's "Kindle Unlimited" add-on subscription for another ~$10/month - yeah... right... I'm doing that... not! I found a used book club HC for ~$7 so will just order that instead.

 

[Scott Merryfield]

^Bummer... it's only on Amazon's "Kindle Unlimited" add-on subscription for another ~$10/month - yeah... right... I'm doing that... not! I found a used book club HC for ~$7 so will just order that instead.

Amazon must have removed it from their free "borrow" program. It's been a year or two since I read it.

 

[Johnny Angell]

^Bummer... it's only on Amazon's "Kindle Unlimited" add-on subscription for another ~$10/month - yeah... right... I'm doing that... not! I found a used book club HC for ~$7 so will just order that instead.

I just checked. It’s free under the Prime unlimited and $10 to buy which I don’t think is limited to Prime members. I am a Prime member but I saw no mention of it being available only to Prime members.

 

[BobO'Link]

I just checked. It’s free under the Prime unlimited and $10 to buy which I don’t think is limited to Prime members. I am a Prime member but I saw no mention of it being available only to Prime members.

I don't purchase non-physical books. I absolutely hate reading anything "long form" electronically but will do so if it's something I'd like to read and is free that way, but just as often as not I purchase a hard cover copy after reading a few chapters.

Prime's "Kindle Unlimited" is an add-on subscription to Prime. Another $9.99/month for "unlimited" access to a select group of ebooks. That's more than I spend on physical books in a typical month.

 

[Johnny Angell]

I don't purchase non-physical books. I absolutely hate reading anything "long form" electronically but will do so if it's something I'd like to read and is free that way, but just as often as not I purchase a hard cover copy after reading a few chapters.

Prime's "Kindle Unlimited" is an add-on subscription to Prime. Another $9.99/month for "unlimited" access to a select group of ebooks. That's more than I spend on physical books in a typical month.

I thought we were discussing it’s availability as an ebook, which lead to my comment. Since getting my first kindle, I’ve only read one hard-copy book (Memoirs of an Invisible Man, not available as an ebook) and hated doing it. I find reading on my paper-white to be like reading paper. Much more comfortable than reading a non e-ink screen. The ability to change the type face and font size works miracles for my 72 year-old eyes. To each his own.