MBS Monthly Poll #22: Sci-fi Books Turned into TV Shows

[Ruckdog]

The premiere of The Expanse season 3 is right around the corner! That's got us thinking...what other sci-fi book series would you like to see made into a TV show?

[Dakkar]

There is only one choice .. the fact that its been with a production company but botched/idle/untapped for ages now is a disgrace to Weber's publishers.

[Jack Brown]

Does seem to be a bit of an early consensus here. 

The bigger question is: what actress to cast as Honor?

[Landlubber]

I like the Honor Harrington series, but I voted "other". I'd like to see the Ketty Jay books turned into a TV show. It would have to be a short series, since there are only four books, but it would be good I think. Airships, demonists, air piracy, swashbuckling, mob bosses, and a seemingly malevolent force inhabiting the northern continent...

https://www.amazon.com/Retribution-Falls-Tales-Ketty-Book-ebook/dp/B004J4WM8Q

As to the question of who would play Honor Harrington herself...how about Maggie Siff? I only ever saw her in Billions (on Showtime), but she was great in that show. I think she has the right stature and plays the calm, reserved, collected persona very well.

https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Maggie_Siff

Funny that you listed Expeditionary Force. I listened to the first two books in that series on Audible last summer. Pretty whacky, but a good read.

[Dakkar]

Maggie Siff is a good pick, though now she'll play a little old for Honor, esp at the start, given the whole prolong thing.

A decade ago, I might've also have said Kristin Kreuk.

Trick now is a young actress who can project an older soul. Here's other ideas:
-- Chloe Bennet (once AGENTS OF SHIELD wraps)
-- Missy Peregrym (STICK IT, Reaper, Rookie Blue, VAN Helsing)
-- Emily Bett Rickards (once ARROW wraps)
-- Chyler Leigh (if they killed her off SUPERGIRL)
-- Emma Dumont (once she's off The Gifted)
-- Kathryn Winnick (Lagertha!)
-- Sara Serraiocco ( Baldwin from COUNTERPART)
-- going outside the box, Dichen Lachman (DOLLHOUSE, Altered Carbon)
-- going further outside the box, Letitia Wright (aka Princess Shuri)
-- and lastly, give it 5 years and hire Maisie Williams :-)

Any who don't get Honor should audition for Murphy in a new DRESDEN FILES show.

The Ketty Jay stuff sounds neat, but TV's never been kind to steampunk. Witness the fate of THE SECRET ADVENTURES OF JULES VERNE

[Covertwalrus]

I like the Honor Harrington series, but I voted "other". I'd like to see the Ketty Jay books turned into a TV show. It would have to be a short series, since there are only four books, but it would be good I think. Airships, demonists, air piracy, swashbuckling, mob bosses, and a seemingly malevolent force inhabiting the northern continent...

https://www.amazon.com/Retribution-Falls-Tales-Ketty-Book-ebook/dp/B004J4WM8Q

 That sounds like a great read! I'll add it to my list

 And while there has been a lot of steampunk-esque TV , particularly British ( I'm thinking "Hyde" and certain NuWho stories ), I think a little more could be fun

[Sailion]

Honestly i havent read any scifi books, so dont know what would suggest. >.<

[Wanjajoral]

Not the deepest of novels, but I enjoyed reading the Wing Commander novels - especially the first few (Freedom Flight, End Run, Fleet Action) and the novelizations of two of the games (Heart of the Tiger, The Price of Freedom). They offer great carrier based space fleet battles and can be recommended for that. A show in the style of BSG could be great if produced by the right people.

[Landlubber]

@Wanjajoral, those sound interesting. I played Wing Commander WAAAAY back in the day on the old Super NES (I think that was the system). I liked the idea of the universe they had built, but the movie adaptation was terrible--I remember only going to see it because the trailer for Star Wars Episode I was playing in front of that movie (this was in the dark ages of the pre-YouTube days).

@Sailion you haven't ready any sci-fi books? You're missing out man! 

[Dakkar]

New idea for Honor casting, to nail the height, physicality, Eurasian decent and screen presence  - actress Maggie Q

[Wanjajoral]

@Landlubber: Yeah, the Wing Commander movie is reportedly abyssmal. I have avoided it, but the games are great. I played the first part on my Commodore Amiga and much later, towards the turn of the millenium picked up parts 4 (the price of freedom) and 5 (prophecy).
Especially these later games are very interesting as they opted for motion picture quality cutscenes and cast a few notable actors for some characters - Mark Hamill, John Rys-Davies, Malcom McDowell.
As 3D games they have not aged gracefully, but you can pick them up for cheap at Good Old Games (and probably Steam) and they are definitely worth a Dollar or two. Or watch a longplay on Youtube to get an impression:

And the novels are definitely worth a read as well. Too bad that they are not available for the kindle, but it shouldn't be too hard to find some old paperbacks. William R. Forstchen did a good job writing them.

[Landlubber]

@Dakkar yeah, I can see that!

@Wanjajoral I've read one of his books--One Second After. Pretty compelling read. I looked up the Wing Commander books, definitely look interesting--thanks for adding to my ever-growing reading list. 

[Easy E]

Regarding the Wing Commander Movie: It was really hard to see Jurgen Prochnow do a cheap imitation of himself from Das Boot to Cereal Killer from Hackers (Mathew Lillard) and the "Tiger Beat Craze" of the moment (Freddie Prinz Jr.).

In other words, I loved the badness of it..... would watch again!

[Landlubber]

The only thing I remember liking from that movie was the starfighter designs. And the Phantom Menace preview (it was before we knew the truth about THAT particular movie...)