Yes, The Matrix had blown everyone's minds in 1999, but that was an outlier. Two decades ago, event sci-fi wasn’t as typical. These days, high-level science fiction is everywhere, from Netflix to Apple TV+ and (shortly) back in movie theaters. The reason to see this miniseries is to grasp just how far sci-fi pop culture has come in just twenty years.Īfter Star Wars launched in the ‘70s, and after Star Trek experienced a renaissance in the ‘90s, the early 2000s were an odd time for sci-fi. If you’re hoping for a version of Dune to enthrall you and make you super-pumped for the new Villeneuve, Frank Herbert’s Dune might do that. But considering Frank Herbert’s Dune was a made-for-TV miniseries two decades ago, aspects hold up surprisingly well. Watching the miniseries more recently, its production values are lacking. As such, watching Frank Herbert’s Dune could resemble a structural rough draft for what the new Dune films are attempting.įull disclosure: the writer of this piece watched the 2000 Dune the year after I read the novel for the first time. And, in theory, Part Two will tackle what’s left. The first film - Dune: Part One - will adapt roughly those first two “parts” of Dune.

Villeneuve seems to be attempting something similar with the new Dune. Each night would reflect one of the three ‘books’ that comprise his novel: “Dune,” “Mauad’bib,” and “The Prophet.” Writing in the introduction to the 2000 book The Secrets of Frank Herbert’s Dune, director John Harrison said: “I decided that Herbert’s own structure could serve quite well as the basis for the mini-series. The format of Frank Herbert’s Dune also gestured at its faithfulness to the book. But then again, Kyle MacLachlan didn’t seem like a teenager either. Newman’s casting as Paul is a little tricky, simply because he seems so grown-up (Paul is supposed to be a teenager). If you are pressed for time and can’t read the entire book before the new Dune film hits theaters, watching this miniseries is the next best thing. With production values on par with the original Babylon 5, this miniseries tries to bring an epic story to the small screen. True to its name, Frank Herbert’s Dune changed almost nothing from Herbert’s book. (Would the Sci-Fi Channel have charged ahead with Battlestar without Dune working out first? It seems unlikely.) This miniseries preceded the 2003 Battlestar Galactica miniseries and, in terms of viewership, was one of the most popular programs the Sci-Fi Channel ever launched. It also landed smack-dab in the middle of Hurt’s “sci-fi dad” phase, after his turn in 1998’s Lost in Space but before Steven Spielberg’s 2001 film A.I.: Artificial Intelligence. Frank Herbert’s Dune is a 2000 miniseries starring William Hurt as Duke Leto and Alec Newman as Paul Atreides.Ī wildly faithful adaptation of Frank Herbert’s first Dune novel, this series was one of the most ambitious (and expensive) projects launched by the Sci-Fi Channel.

Children of dune tv show stream