The Martian Chronicles

The miniseries, based on the book of the same name by Ray Bradbury, is as faithful an adaptation as it could get. Unfortunately, it was a bit bland. Since it was made in the early 1980's, the special effects weren't very good, and the scene where the Martians chase Darren McGavin across the Martian landscape on the sandships comes across as almost comical. I will say this: the people who made the film did the best with what they had.

At some point prior to the original broadcast of this mini-series, Ray Bradbury was interviewed and asked how it was. His reply was that it was boring. He was right. I read this book when I was in junior high school for the first time and reread it many times after that. The book is great. This mini-series is boring. I gave it a six out of 10 more for the source material than this actual mini-series. A couple of my favorites are in here, Rock Hudson, Chris Connolly, Roddy McDowell, and Darren McGavin. Several other actors who were staples of 1970s television are also included. The problem is the screenplay. The Martian Chronicles are a series of short stories about the colonization of Mars and all connected with the constant threads of Wilder and NASA running through them. If the screenwriter had simply taken the book and wrote the screenplay directly from it, the mini-series would have been great. Instead it is more like a documentary with a narrator explaining what everyone is thinking or feeling, and a lot of just driving around what is supposed to be the Martian landscape by Wilder. I see a lot in the other reviews about the special effects. That's not really an issue for me as they are not a large part of the series. If you have no problems watching Star Trek TOS or Space 1999, the special effects here will not bother you. If you are expecting the latest from Disney, well you will be disappointed. The space craft in this series is reminiscent of what was available in the 90s and they were of course guessing what they would look like in the future. I think they did okay in that respect. If you like the premise of the series, then by all means visit your local library and check out a copy of the book. The book is great. You will see a few differences. The Bernadette Peters character was nothing like was portrayed in the mini-series for one. I would love to see Hollywood redo this but stick to the book this time. For those younger viewers who watched it and were surprised that we were colonizing Mars at the start of the 21st century, when I was in elementary school in the '60s, we were told we would have George Jetson cars and robot maids by the year 2000. We haven't come as far as we thought we would.

I saw "The Martian Chronicles" as a child during its first UK transmissions between 1980 and 1984 then didn't see it for many years but so many moments from it stuck with me.

Now I've just had my video tapes of it out and watched it again for the first time in 8 years or so. The series looks very dated now in terms of special effects, photography, costumes and even in the acting - typical of late seventies US television rather than what we see today. The dates of man's arrival of Mars are now known to be rather ambitious and of course the whole "cold war" idea is something that film & television has moved on from nowadays.

Despite these faults, I still found the three episodes to be highly enjoyable. Its certainly not Star Wars or even 2001, but The Martian Chronicles gives us a refreshingly different kind of science fiction. The series is not so much about martians as about humans and many human feelings are explored - loneliness, bereavement, faith, nostalgia, vanity, greed...

What I really liked was the realization of the martian landscapes - even watching it now there's a real feeling of it being an alien planet and the strange stone monoliths and spheres linger in the memory.

Rock Hudson I found okay as the lead. Some say he's too bland but he's not meant to be a big hero or even a particularly dominant character. It's a relaxed performance that allows the story lines, rather than Mr Hudson himself, to come to the fore.

Although each episode lasts 90 minutes, they're broken up into shorter stories which are more easily digestible, although a couple of sequences are played out a little too long. The direction is functional for the most part but there are some nice touches along the way - for instance when the second expedition lands and the fog slowly clears to reveal the ship to be in what appears to an American town is very well done, and then there's a very Prisoner-esque shot early in episode three when Rock Hudson opens the double-doors of the base back on Earth and finds it deserted.

The music's quite good too!

I remembered seeing this mini-series when I was ten or eleven. There were some scenes that were ever etched in my mind, and there were others which immediately raced to my mind as I began reliving my past watching it once again. This mini-series is extraordinary in many ways, yet problematic and flawed in many ways too. The whole concept is a huge undertaking when you consider when this was made. There were no CGI effects. The special effects are the things which have aged the poorest in this series. Some of the effects are probably even crude for 1979, but the design of the sets and costumes helps overshadow that now glaring flaw. The set designs, when you consider budget, etc..., are very innovative and even dream-like. The Martian landscape does seem to have a life of its own in this set of tales loosely connected about expeditions sent to Mars, the colonization of Mars, the realization that Martian life exists, the destruction of Earth from human vice, and some small anecdotal stories of people living on Mars. The thing which does bind all these together is the character of Rock Hudson. Hudson does a serviceable job, albeit a bit bland in his role. The script by legendary writer Richard Matheson is pretty good when considering how difficult Ray Bradbury's works are to film or televise. Matheson injects humour, heart, and hope in his teleplay about the human spirit and its quest to survive. Matheson also added some very nice narration that tries, if not always successful, to bring cohesion to the varying plot elements. In the end, the story is successful for its spirit. It is a thoroughly entertaining story. It has some good character acting by the likes of Roddy McDowell, Darren McGavin, Barry Morse, Bernie Casey, and Bernadette Peters. In fact the story that I seemed to remember best from my adolescent days was the one concerning Miss Peters. Hmmm....I wonder why. Anyway, if you like a pretty decent science fiction story, The Martian Chronicles will fit the bill. Its message about living life for the joy of being is a strong one, and one not to be taken too lightly.

Anyone coming to this 1980 adaptation of "The Martian Chronicles" for the first time will undoubtedly be put off immediately by the special effects, which were so-so even then, and the slower, more cerebral pace of the narrative. And that would be a shame, because the heart & soul of Bradbury's book is alive & well here, and still both thought-provoking & emotionally satisfying.

Of course, it was never hard science to begin with, so complaining about the unscientific depiction of Mars & the behavior of the Earthmen is utterly beside the point. This is as much fable, parable, allegory as it is anything else: a study of the human propensity to opt for the crass over the sublime, the material over the spiritual, ugliness & power over beauty & harmony. It is, in fact, a sometimes scathing, sometimes sorrowful exploration of the human condition, and particularly human weakness.

And yet, both in the idealized Martians, and in the few humans who respond to the wonder of the Martian landscape & philosophy, we're shown what we could be, if only we could transcend our own pettiness, greed, and driving fears. This is shown to especially good effect in the slow growth of Colonel Wilder (a quietly effective Rock Hudson), whose initial misgivings about what Earth will do to Mars leads to his own eventual transformation. And in the final two stories - "Night Meeting" & "The Million-Year Picnic" - this is depicted in scenes that have stayed with me for close to 4 decades now, for their sheer beauty & wisdom.

Again, not everyone will be able or willing to make the leap & overlook the flawed surface of this mini-series. But if they can, then they'll experience science-fiction at its best: not CGI explosions & battles & endless action, but the interplay of ideas & emotions, inviting the viewers to look at their own lives, and to think about what they really want from the gift of existing, however briefly, in this miracle of the Universe.