Dune & Children of Dune: Television Adaptations of Frank Herbert's Classic Novels

John Harrison's 2000 adaptation of Frank Herbert's classic novel Dune often has the feel not so much of a movie or TV miniseries, but rather that of a play. That is probably due largely to the story and content of the program. The miniseries has a very Shakespearean feel to it. The story features a Joseph Campbell-style hero in a coming of age story, which also influenced George Lucas with the Luke Skywalker character in the original Star Wars Trilogy.

There are things to like about both Harrison's version, and David Lynch's 1984 big screen version. But where Lynch's film is faithful to the novel in terms of feel and atmosphere, Harrison's version is faithful in attention to detail. Ian McNiece gives a delightful performance as the Baron Vladimir Harkonnen. Other performers I liked included P.H. Moriarty as Gurney Halleck, Giancarlo Giannini as Emperor Shaddam IV, Uwe Ochsenknecht as Stilgar, and Barbora Kodetova and Julie Cox are delightful surprises as Chani and Irulan, respectively.

The bonus features include several featurettes, including "The Lure of Spice" (A behind-the-scenes look at the production of the miniseries), "Defining the Messiah," a talk with religious scholars, plus "Science Future/Science Fiction," a discussion between writer-director John Harrison and science fiction authors Harlan Ellison, Octavia Butler and Michael Cassutt, along with moderator Arthur Cover. Also included is an interview with Harrison as well as a commentary track with the production team.

The Atreides family saga continues in Frank Herbert's Children of Dune (2003), John Harrison's epic television adaptation of Herbert's novels Dune Messiah and Children of Dune. As impressive as the first miniseries was, this sequel manages to surpass it. The story picks up twelve years after Dune ended, with Paul Muad'Dib as the head of a galactic empire, and Muad'Dib's Fremen followers have plunged the Universe into a long, bloody holy war. Conspiracies develop all around Paul and his family as enemies, both on Arrakis and elsewhere, plot to destroy the Emperor.

Alec Newman returns as Paul Atreides (aka Paul Muad'Dib). Newman has grown into the role and brought a new sense of maturity to the character. The same is true of Barbora Kodetova, who returns as Chani, Paul's true love. Julie Cox shines as Princess Irulan, as do P.H. Moriarty (Gurney Halleck), Alice Krige (replacing Saskia Reeves as Lady Jessica), James McAvoy (Leto II) and Daniela Amavia (Alia). Director Greg Yaitanes manages to draw some spectacular performances from his cast. And Brian Tyler's elegant score helps add some emotional weight to the storyline and sometimes even steals the show.

These are two excellent adaptations of three great novels, and I wholeheartedly recommend them to anyone who loves the Dune novels, or good science fiction for that matter. I would love to see Harrison return someday and film the remaining books in Frank Herbert's classic Dune chronicles.