"There's another, low-budget version which drew much criticism."

Um, yeah, not like the highly acclaimed Rock Hudson version

But seriously...is that other version the "Martian Episodes" I've seen sometimes collected? Are they from Ray Bradbury Theater?

The Bradbury Chronicles: Martian Episodes collected series - Far better than the mini series. The mini series had a few good moments but mostly presented underfinanced and misinterpreted scenes of Mr. Bradbury's classic work.

RB did have his pen and typewriter directly involved in the Martian Episodes productions as he did the scene writing. Very accurate, nearly word for word at times. Here are several Ray Bradbury Theater episodes related to Martian Chronicles and Mars stories (not all collected): Mars is Heaven, The Earthmen, The Third Expedition, And the Moon Be Still As Bright, Usher II, The Martian, Concrete Mixer, The Visitor, Zero Hour.

And, of course, the oft hinted "remake" for which we all awaited further details - last credited to SciFi Channel??!!

For a reasonably priced "Episodes" tape visit ebay or half.com!

K thanks

The Martian Chronicles is my favorite book of all. Be it science fiction or any other particular genre. If I had not seen the six-hour NBC mini-series from 1979, I probably would not have read the book. It is the best science fiction novel I have read in years. And the finest when it comes to space mythology and space opera.

Spender was one amazing survivalist in the Martian Chronicles;defending truth and beauty was costly.

Tell me about it. He had point when he discussed with John Wilder about how the human race had a nasty talent for ruining big and beautiful things. I don't blame him for resorting to the methods he used to get that message across. Man's arrogance and moral blindness do have a way of disrupting things that are best left untampered with. Jeff Spender did his best to protect all that was beautiful on Mars. I think he was successful in that.

I agree that it was good. I didn't see the mini-series. How was it!

It was really good. I enjoyed it. Even though NBC and Charles Fries Productions took some liberties, it stayed true to Ray Bradbury's classic book. Not only did it have an excellent soundtrack, production design, special effects, a wonderful cast, costumes, etc, it was just superb. You can find copies of all three episodes on ebay, at a reasonable price. It's worth viewing.

ok, i'll go back to mi fav story from MC. i liked "the meeting", where the guy is driving along and he meets the martian, and they both see their own world's but not the others. that was very cool.

yes...That was a very cool part in the book. I liked it too. It seemes to be a favorite part for most.

I enjoyed that part of the book myself. In the NBC mini-series, that exact scene was played out with John Wilder instead of Tomas. That scene had gone into greater depth with the discussion about the Martian Way Of life and deriving pleasure from the gift of Pure Being. It was pretty philosphical and deep.

I really want t see that series. All I hear are good things about it

It's not hard to find any copies. Like I said before, you can find them on ebay at a reasonable price. Believe me, it's worth buying. Many fans of Mr. Bradbury will enjoy the mini-series. It's pretty sharp.

I enjoyed The Martian Chronicles as well. I really don't like to read, but The Martian Chronicles was like no other. I agreed with everything, well almost everything, that Bradbury was saying in the book. His attempts to warn man were amazing. It's so cool how he can see the weaknesses in mankind and see the outcome if things continue that way in the particular time he's talking about, in this case, the past as of 1950.

About Bradbury's age as you were all talking about before: When Ray does die, I bet there will be a huge remembrance of him. Everyone will suddenly go out and buy copies of his books. 50 years later, he will be considered one of the best writers of all time, as he obviously is now. It's wierd how when not-so-famous writers die, they suddenly become very famous and remain "alive" even while they rest in peace. Don't take this the wrong way. I'm not saying Bradbury isn't famous, because he's VERY famous, and saying that would just be inaccurate and wrong.

I loved the whole book. To narrow it down, I could say that I loved the story where the Martian "becomes" the child of the lonely couple. Or, especially the last chapter. My favorite part of the book, though is even more specific: the last sentence.

Interested Freshman: It's always great to find the book that stands out, the book that, maybe, turns us on to other great books. I'm sure that everyone here, myself included wishes you luck there. And, while you are right in that prosterity is a strange thing, I think that Ray Bradbury is with us to stay, as long as there are people with reactions to his work like yours.

Cheers, and a good weekend,
Dan