# Amazon to adapt Iain M. Banks "Consider Phlebas" (Culture series) for TV **URL:** \ **Category:** Cafe Society\ **Created:** [February 22, 2018, 2:19pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/amazon-to-adapt-iain-m-banks-consider-phlebas-culture-series-for-tv/809338 "2018-02-22T14:19:39Z")\ **Posts on this page:** 6\ **Page:** 1
**Author:** ![iiandyiiii](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/iiandyiiii/32/7924_2.png) [@iiandyiiii](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/iiandyiiii)\ **Post date:** [February 22, 2018, 2:19pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/amazon-to-adapt-iain-m-banks-consider-phlebas-culture-series-for-tv/809338/1 "2018-02-22T14:19:39Z")
[http://phx.corporate-ir.net/phoenix.zhtml?c=176060&p=irol-newsArticle&ID=2333693](http://phx.corporate-ir.net/phoenix.zhtml?c=176060&p=irol-newsArticle&ID=2333693) Sounds exciting! I’m a big fan of the Culture series. ---
**Author:** ![DigitalC](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/d/ebca7d/32.png) [@DigitalC](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/DigitalC)\ **Post date:** [February 22, 2018, 3:41pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/amazon-to-adapt-iain-m-banks-consider-phlebas-culture-series-for-tv/809338/2 "2018-02-22T15:41:07Z")
I imagine they are going to play it straight as a space opera instead of an ironic space opera like it should be. ---
**Author:** ![Snowboarder\_Bo](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/snowboarder_bo/32/229_2.png) [@Snowboarder\_Bo](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Snowboarder_Bo)\ **Post date:** [February 22, 2018, 3:45pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/amazon-to-adapt-iain-m-banks-consider-phlebas-culture-series-for-tv/809338/3 "2018-02-22T15:45:21Z")
I hope they do a better and more faithful adaptation than Netflix did for _Altered Carbon_; I’ll be watching. ---
**Author:** ![Mithras](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/m/f04885/32.png) [@Mithras](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Mithras)\ **Post date:** [February 22, 2018, 4:03pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/amazon-to-adapt-iain-m-banks-consider-phlebas-culture-series-for-tv/809338/4 "2018-02-22T16:03:24Z")
Consider Phlebas is my least favorite Culture novel but I really hope the show does well because I’d love to see adaptations of Player of Games and Use of Weapons. ---
**Author:** ![Atomic\_Alex](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/atomic_alex/32/175_2.png) [@Atomic\_Alex](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Atomic_Alex)\ **Post date:** [February 23, 2018, 9:56pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/amazon-to-adapt-iain-m-banks-consider-phlebas-culture-series-for-tv/809338/5 "2018-02-23T21:56:10Z")
I noticed Amazon publicising this, I’ve pretty much stopped watching TV but a good adaptation of The Culture could start me watching it again, or at least buying the box-set. I do feel though that it would be really difficult to capture the spirit of Bank’s novels on screen, though I’m willing to be pleasantly surprised. That said they definitely won’t get the look of the ships right. 😉 > [@DigitalC](#): > > I imagine they are going to play it straight as a space opera instead of an ironic space opera like it should be. Granted its been a long time since I read it but what in particular was ironic about the story? Well apart from it being told from the POV of the opposition I suppose. > [@Mithras](#): > > Consider Phlebas is my least favorite Culture novel but I really hope the show does well because I’d love to see adaptations of Player of Games and Use of Weapons. Agreed, I do feel that Consider Phlebas is very different in tone and feel from the later Culture novels, he was still kind of fleshing things out in that one. Personal favourites are Excession and Use of Weapons, I do feel ‘Look to Windward’ would be one of the easier novels to adapt, it basically being a story of love, loss and revenge after all. Also I don’t know if it was Bank’s intention but the Culture and the Idirans seemed to have a parallel with the Western and the Islamic worlds, I wonder if they’ll explore that aspect. I kind of hope they don’t because I’m tired of heavy-handed preaching and in-your-face symbolism in modern television fiction, subtly done is fine but that’s rarely the case. ---
**Author:** ![Baron\_Greenback](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/baron_greenback/32/48_2.png) [@Baron\_Greenback](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Baron_Greenback)\ **Post date:** [February 23, 2018, 10:43pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/amazon-to-adapt-iain-m-banks-consider-phlebas-culture-series-for-tv/809338/6 "2018-02-23T22:43:28Z")
> [@Mithras](#): > > Consider Phlebas is my least favorite Culture novel but I really hope the show does well because I’d love to see adaptations of Player of Games and Use of Weapons. I want to see them attempt Excession, given that half the main characters only communicate with each other over space-IRC. Consider Phlebas and Player of Games are relatively straightforward to adapt I reckon, but Use of Weapons is a bit more of a challenge to make work on TV.