Admittedly, Childhood’s End is another alien invasion/post apocalyptic kind of tale, of which we currently have a glut in our television schedules. But, if Syfy is going to insist on churning these stories out, it may as well be from the pen of the master – Arthur C. Clarke. In fact, since it was first published in 1954, it could be argued that Syfy has actually landed one of the original, and best.
When mysterious Overlords arrive and peacefully invade Earth, they end all war, eradicate poverty, and help humanity to form a world government – the planet becomes a near-utopia. However, the Overlords remain hidden, distant and mysterious until, years later, their unveiling heralds the dawn of a new age. The story has previously been adapted for a two-hour BBC radio presentation by writer Tony Mulholland, but it has never reached our screens – big or small – making this something quite special for Syfy.
When mysterious Overlords arrive and peacefully invade Earth, they end all war, eradicate poverty, and help humanity to form a world government – the planet becomes a near-utopia. However, the Overlords remain hidden, distant and mysterious until, years later, their unveiling heralds the dawn of a new age. The story has previously been adapted for a two-hour BBC radio presentation by writer Tony Mulholland, but it has never reached our screens – big or small – making this something quite special for Syfy.
- 8/16/2014
- by Sarah Myles
- We Got This Covered
This review was written for the cablecast of "The Lost World".
A grand dinosaur hunt can be pure escapist fun, and when you throw in savage, primitive ape-men, a lost tribe and a plucky team of explorers, you've got the makings of a rousingly good adventure.
A&E's new miniseries, the latest take on Sir Arthur Conan Doyle's "The Lost World", may be the most entertaining spin yet on the classic science fiction yarn. It's still a potboiler, giddy with giant reptiles and mysterious jungle denizens, but it's also a thoroughly engaging romp, somewhat in the "Indiana Jones" style.
However, the miniseries has characters of a more human, believable dimension. No bullwhips, no magical artifacts.
This version focuses on likable types and provides old-fashioned romance over special effects and tons of dinosaurs, giving us suspense, decent drama and comedy relief that comes out of behavior. There's a subtlety here that's quite, quite charming -- including the ways that dinosaurs are first shown to us.
Among the engaging things going for this "Lost World" saga is the ever-adroit Bob Hoskins as the charmingly flawed Professor George Challenger, Peter Falk (underused but vivid) as the Rev. Theo Kerr and Tom Ward as Lord Roxton. Along with them are other fine actors, including Matthew Rhys as Edward Malone, Elaine Cassidy as Agnes Cluny and James Fox as Professor Leo Summerlee. Acting all around is just fine, and the performers commit nicely to their roles, reacting to their surroundings with appropriate English aplomb or trembling upper lip.
The look of the jungle frontier is spectacular (New Zealand stood in for the remote Amazonian wilderness), and best of all, the dinosaurs are pretty nifty, as the producers got hold of the computer graphics team behind the Emmy-winning BBC natural history series "Walking With Dinosaurs". Animatronics combines some very nicely done models with the computer graphics to give us a handful of ferocious-looking monsters and, inevitably, a too-cute and cuddly baby dinosaur.
"Lost World" hits its appropriate marks, including an argument of evolution vs. religion, with Falk as the fundamentalist reverend irked at Summerlee's arrogant
science; early feminism (capable women and female hunters!); protection of the balance of nature; and the sin of interfering with other cultures. OK, maybe some poetic liberties have been taken and these Victorian males are a lot more enlightened than real men of the period would have been.
In the year 1911, Challenger, a bombastic scientist-explorer, interrupts a science lecture to make wild claims about a remote South American region where dinosaurs still live. And he's got the bones of a pterosaur to prove it.
His excitement is contagious, and soon enough, money comes in and an expedition is formed, made up of a womanizing aristocratic daredevil (Ward), an ambitious reporter (Rhys) who wants to impress his girlfriend, and the professor's conservative rival, Summerlee (Fox), drawn out of curiosity.
Of course, they make their way to the remote plateau, get more than they bargained for in the way of danger, find enemies and allies and, finally, return to civilization. And, oh yes, there's romance along the way, but to name names would be ruining the potential surprise. But viewers should be able to figure things out along the way.
THE LOST WORLD
A&E
A&E/BBC in association with RTL Television
Credits:
Director: Stuart Orme
Writers: Tony Mulholland, Adrian Hodges
Adapted from the novel by: Sir Arthur Conan Doyle
Producer: Christopher Hall
Co-producer: Tim Haines
Executive producer for A&E: Delia Fine
Executive producers for the BBC: Jane Tranter, Kate Harwood
Production designer: Rob Harris
Director of photography: David Odd
Composer: Rob Lane
Editor: David Yardley
Cast:
George Challenger: Bob Hoskins
Leo Summerlee: James Fox
Lord Roxton: Tom Ward
Edward Malone: Matthew Rhys
Agnes Cluny: Elaine Cassidy
Theo: Peter Falk
Chief: Nathaniel Lees
Achille: Tamati Te Nohotu
Maree: Nicole Whippy...
A grand dinosaur hunt can be pure escapist fun, and when you throw in savage, primitive ape-men, a lost tribe and a plucky team of explorers, you've got the makings of a rousingly good adventure.
A&E's new miniseries, the latest take on Sir Arthur Conan Doyle's "The Lost World", may be the most entertaining spin yet on the classic science fiction yarn. It's still a potboiler, giddy with giant reptiles and mysterious jungle denizens, but it's also a thoroughly engaging romp, somewhat in the "Indiana Jones" style.
However, the miniseries has characters of a more human, believable dimension. No bullwhips, no magical artifacts.
This version focuses on likable types and provides old-fashioned romance over special effects and tons of dinosaurs, giving us suspense, decent drama and comedy relief that comes out of behavior. There's a subtlety here that's quite, quite charming -- including the ways that dinosaurs are first shown to us.
Among the engaging things going for this "Lost World" saga is the ever-adroit Bob Hoskins as the charmingly flawed Professor George Challenger, Peter Falk (underused but vivid) as the Rev. Theo Kerr and Tom Ward as Lord Roxton. Along with them are other fine actors, including Matthew Rhys as Edward Malone, Elaine Cassidy as Agnes Cluny and James Fox as Professor Leo Summerlee. Acting all around is just fine, and the performers commit nicely to their roles, reacting to their surroundings with appropriate English aplomb or trembling upper lip.
The look of the jungle frontier is spectacular (New Zealand stood in for the remote Amazonian wilderness), and best of all, the dinosaurs are pretty nifty, as the producers got hold of the computer graphics team behind the Emmy-winning BBC natural history series "Walking With Dinosaurs". Animatronics combines some very nicely done models with the computer graphics to give us a handful of ferocious-looking monsters and, inevitably, a too-cute and cuddly baby dinosaur.
"Lost World" hits its appropriate marks, including an argument of evolution vs. religion, with Falk as the fundamentalist reverend irked at Summerlee's arrogant
science; early feminism (capable women and female hunters!); protection of the balance of nature; and the sin of interfering with other cultures. OK, maybe some poetic liberties have been taken and these Victorian males are a lot more enlightened than real men of the period would have been.
In the year 1911, Challenger, a bombastic scientist-explorer, interrupts a science lecture to make wild claims about a remote South American region where dinosaurs still live. And he's got the bones of a pterosaur to prove it.
His excitement is contagious, and soon enough, money comes in and an expedition is formed, made up of a womanizing aristocratic daredevil (Ward), an ambitious reporter (Rhys) who wants to impress his girlfriend, and the professor's conservative rival, Summerlee (Fox), drawn out of curiosity.
Of course, they make their way to the remote plateau, get more than they bargained for in the way of danger, find enemies and allies and, finally, return to civilization. And, oh yes, there's romance along the way, but to name names would be ruining the potential surprise. But viewers should be able to figure things out along the way.
THE LOST WORLD
A&E
A&E/BBC in association with RTL Television
Credits:
Director: Stuart Orme
Writers: Tony Mulholland, Adrian Hodges
Adapted from the novel by: Sir Arthur Conan Doyle
Producer: Christopher Hall
Co-producer: Tim Haines
Executive producer for A&E: Delia Fine
Executive producers for the BBC: Jane Tranter, Kate Harwood
Production designer: Rob Harris
Director of photography: David Odd
Composer: Rob Lane
Editor: David Yardley
Cast:
George Challenger: Bob Hoskins
Leo Summerlee: James Fox
Lord Roxton: Tom Ward
Edward Malone: Matthew Rhys
Agnes Cluny: Elaine Cassidy
Theo: Peter Falk
Chief: Nathaniel Lees
Achille: Tamati Te Nohotu
Maree: Nicole Whippy...
- 10/4/2002
- The Hollywood Reporter - Movie News
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