I heard that "the Martian Chronicles" story belonged to the Sci-Fi channel now, but they don't seem to be playing it this year...any ideas on where I can get a copy? Help is MUCH appreciated!

Actually, you're in luck. This week, on the 13th, 14th, and 15th, the Sci Fi Channel is playing the movie in three parts. It's on in the middle of the night. Go to www.scifi.com. At the home page, click on schedule. The current day's schedule appears, but if you go to the bottom, you can do a search. Type in Martian Chronicles, and Voila, the exact times and dates appear. I'm not sure if these are eastern times or which time zone, plus I don't know which time zone you live in, so you will need to figure that out from here. Happy viewing!!

How can I tell if I'm sci-fi East or West?

By what time zone you're in.

my mother said that the martian chronicles is a weird and wacked out movie. she says it will ruin my vision of the book. does she speak the truth? i have never seen it.

There are central time zone listings for both East and West.

It won't ruin your vision of the book, despite some changes made. It's a pretty cool mini-series. I think you'll like it.

Greeentown, if you are in the Central Time Zone, it is playing at 3:00 AM on all three days.

[This message has been edited by lmskipper (edited 05-10-2004).]

Imskipper, thanks.
One more thing (I feel like Lt. Columbo), is it 3:00 a.m. ON the 13th in the morning, or is it a funky schedule thing where the early hours of the 14th are considered late on the 13th?

I think it's the second thing that you said, but I'm not entirely certain. To be safe, tape both, or set your alarm and get up then to check. Sounds crazy, but it's worth it!! I'd hate for you to miss it at this point. I'd feel obligated to mail you my copy!

I went to Scifi.com and did a search. It came up with April 13, 14, 15 for the Martian Chronicles....looks like we missed it!

Guapodevil

If you've read the book, seeing this movie should not ruin your vision. There were one or two things which actually struck much harder visually in the movie than simply in print in the book, specifically in "The Fire Balloons" and "The Off Season." For the most part, I much prefer the book.

guapodevil, you are so right. I feel like a space cadet!! I apologize for getting hopes up for some of you who were hoping to see it. I just saw the dates and never bothered to look at the month. Who would think they'd put it on their schedule if it's already been shown, and a month ago at that? They usually show it two to three times each year, so I promise to keep on the lookout for the next run!!

DOH! My VCR was all set.

Since I have taught MC several times and now call upon several episodes from the video set after portions of the book have been studied, I have come to better appreciate just how difficult a job it must have been to capture RB's visions to the screen.

Taking into consideration the technology available at the time (70's?), the limited budget for the actual production of over 3 hours of telecasting, and the need to interpret the RB tremendous imagery into acting/action - many of the parts of the video actually hold up pretty well. It does take some getting use to, I must admit.

Some parts attempted to capture moments in the book beyond the capabilities of the technology of the studios. Today such scenes could be done justice and precisely, as with Lord of the Rings.

I, at first, was turned off by what they had done. It seemed boring (and some still comes across that way). Yet, the scenes that are closer to what RB intended give rise to the many hopes (expressed here) that a well-versed director (in this day and age) could turn out an extraordinary cinematic accomplishment. RE: DW, MC, F451!

The 5 episodes from the "Bradbury Chronicles" tape are also worth viewing.

None of these are Academy Award quality (by any means), but when you become a bit more familiar with their content - they can be entertaining.



[This message has been edited by fjpalumbo (edited 05-12-2004).]