Earth Abides

The concept is good, the lead character and his story gets you in, then it just drags along, the writers never knew where to take it.

Some episodes go absolutely no where and they use time jumps ranging from 1 month to 10 years ! It just doesn't flow, which is said because many times it nearly gets there, but then just moves on...and on.

Because of the dramatic time jumping few of the characters develop and you spend time working out who is who, as they age dramatically, apart from the lead who mostly looks the same.

My thoughts on why it never develops? I don't think they had the budget for a big set and effects.

The series offers a refreshing perspective on post-apocalyptic life, which I truly appreciate. However, the pacing feels rushed, and the characters lack sufficient development. For example, Evie's trauma is introduced but not explored deeply enough, leaving her arc feeling incomplete. Additionally, new characters are introduced frequently, but the audience isn't given enough time to connect with them or fully appreciate their roles in the story. I also wish they delved more into the children or what happened to Evie's family-their stories feel incomplete, leaving me hanging. Slowing down the narrative or focusing more on character development could significantly enhance the experience.

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.

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!"

I'm at the end of episode 6 and realized, oh, this is it?

This could've been really great with, at least, six more episodes. They give you just a little bit of what was probably a whole lot more, in the book, I imagine. Why make a show that gives you only just a little, from the book?

Right when something new happens, it's so short and vague. Then, years to by and something else happens, which is short and vague. I mean, did they want to sell more copies of the book? It's like they made a show from the cliff notes. But, if you want to know the whole story and elaborate on those short, vague happenings, then we have to read the book?

Was this a small filler series? It could've been great, but it fell wantingly short.