Earth Abides

I read the original novel many times when I was a teenager, decades ago. It's a great story with lots of effective imagery, highly recommended, though a bit dated - published 1949, seventy-five years ago.

Though I had often wondered over the years whether it would ever become a film, I was not expecting this limited-series adaptation, so I was very surprised when it popped up. Also very worried, as it remains one of favorite-ever reads. "Men go and come, but earth abides" is a often-used quote for me. With some anxiety, I watched the first episode.

I ended it saying: "Wow! That was really good!" Seeing Ish stare at the smoke from Em's house brought the book's imagery to life.

Of course, by necessity it's been modernized in many ways, but important aspects of the plot remain effectively unchanged. The rattlesnake bite, finding Lucky the dog (Princess in the book), Milt and Ann. Other changes, like limiting Ish's journey to simply Las Vegas rather than Atlantic City, make sense, and are not important to the character interactions. Also, the way the book is structured makes a limited series a great production choice.

I am definitely looking forward to the rest of this series. "World without end!"

EDIT: After now having finished the season, I need to change my rating from 1 star to 5 stars. I would still never recommend the series to anyone, though. But should you choose to watch it, bear in mind that the story was published in 1941, long before any of us were born. It was written in a completely different time, where the world was so much smaller, and we had much less knowledge about anything. Furthermore, the author wasn't a skilled, experienced survivalist. No, as novelist George R. Stewart was probably more of a philosopher, it seems. My advice is to regard the series as a theater play. It would have worked much better as such, I think. But as a TV-series, the narrative is just too slow, with too little drama and too little action for today's world.

As someone who read Earth Abides 20-25 years ago, and remember the book fondly, I was pleasantly surprised to see a show being made.

There's always a bit of trepidation when this happens, as you hope they stay true to the book and meet your visual expectations, aware that it's hard for a movie or show to match what you have imagined when reading.

-With that in mind, I'm watching the first episode with a bit of bias, but trying to see this both as a "new" story as well as a welcome reminder of one of my favourite books in the "Dystopian/Post Apocalyptic" genre.

The book was written and set in the 1940s while the show is a modern take so the technology and general "feel" of the environment is different from the book. After Covid there's a place for a good pandemic narrative

Pacing is naturally brisk and notably rushed to fit character development and main plot into the first episode of a mini-series.

Episode 1 successfully sets up an engaging story that looks to honor Stewart's themes. It invites both fans of the book and new viewers to contemplate humanity's place in a changed world. The acting so far is good, production and effects look decent, maybe a bit on the sparse side (You'd expect pile-up of cars etc.).

Looking forward to the rest.

Will be interesting to see where they go with this apocalyptic near-end of humankind. The first episode was better than the preview. It is a quiet and solitary show since (almost!) everyone but the main character has died from a pandemic, but uses that quiet to ask worthy existential questions about loneliness, whether you should strive to live if your loved ones are all dead, hope, and how to move forward. There is a famous book with this title/theme and we'll see how much this series complements and parallels that novel. The first episode is good enough to watch more. It has a Walking Dead sense of desolation and despair but without zombies, and instead the personal struggle of living in a vastly changed world.

I actually like this show. It has small plotholes, but it holds together and I want more!

Sure, the behavior of some people at the outset of this is strange, but nonetheless they all do stuff that I could imagine some would.

The pain and loneliness of the main character is interesting and believable. Where he is coming from is also plausible.

My mind is full of questions, and the anticipation of what will happen is still strong enough. What will he do? What will anyone do?

It is good that it hasn't too much of over the top CGI backdrops and I like the overall feel of it.

It's also refreshing that this is NOT another zombie outbreak. We don't need every survival drama to be about that. The suspension is alive and kicking here, so keep it up!

I just hope all the childish and negative reviews doesn't kill this series. It has my support!

Looking forward to the next episode!