# Other properties you'd like to see adapted into a series by HBO **URL:** \ **Category:** Cafe Society\ **Created:** [May 22, 2013, 6:41pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/other-properties-youd-like-to-see-adapted-into-a-series-by-hbo/659050 "2013-05-22T18:41:46Z")\ **Posts on this page:** 20\ **Page:** 1
**Author:** ![cainxinth](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/c/7bcc69/32.png) [@cainxinth](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/cainxinth)\ **Post date:** [May 22, 2013, 6:41pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/other-properties-youd-like-to-see-adapted-into-a-series-by-hbo/659050/1 "2013-05-22T18:41:46Z")
Scifi’s “Dune” miniseries was pretty good (the first one anyway), but I would love HBO (or Netflix) to do something with a bigger budget, no commercials, and of course, gratuitous sex, violence, cursing, and drug use. To me, the best part of “Dune” is the transformation of a snotty rich kid into a spiritual leader and guerrilla general. If you think about it, Paul Atreides is Osama bin Laden, except instead of getting capped by Seal Team 6 (the Imperial Sardaukar) he wins his holy war and conquers his oppressors, upending the secular empire, and ushering in a new era of theocratic rule. Continuing with the analogy to the Middle East, the spice is similar to oil, a valuable commodity, that is essential to modern life, which superpowers will go to war for (both overtly and covertly). The people who write the checks that pay for these productions, no doubt, are not keen to play up the similarities between rebel fremen and modern jihadists. Which is a shame, because that is exactly what makes “Dune” so relevant right now. “Dune” is partially about the blurry line that separates “freedom fighters” from “terrorists.” ---
**Author:** ![Happy\_Lendervedder](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/happy_lendervedder/32/8488_2.png) [@Happy\_Lendervedder](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Happy_Lendervedder)\ **Post date:** [May 22, 2013, 6:49pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/other-properties-youd-like-to-see-adapted-into-a-series-by-hbo/659050/2 "2013-05-22T18:49:33Z")
Milton’s _Paradise Lost_. The great battles in heaven between Lucifer and the other Archangels, the casting out into hell, the construction of Pandemonium, the demonic transformations and power struggles, the innocence in the Garden followed by the temptation and fall. It’s a phenomenal piece of literature, which many never touch because it’s pretty difficult to read and understand. ---
**Author:** ![Bryan\_Ekers](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/bryan_ekers/32/183_2.png) [@Bryan\_Ekers](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Bryan_Ekers)\ **Post date:** [May 22, 2013, 7:31pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/other-properties-youd-like-to-see-adapted-into-a-series-by-hbo/659050/3 "2013-05-22T19:31:45Z")
_Atlas Shrugged_, in 842 episodes. ---
**Author:** ![TruCelt](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/trucelt/32/523_2.png) [@TruCelt](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/TruCelt)\ **Post date:** [May 22, 2013, 7:45pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/other-properties-youd-like-to-see-adapted-into-a-series-by-hbo/659050/4 "2013-05-22T19:45:04Z")
["The Riches."](http://www.tv.com/shows/the-riches/)Dang it, they just left me hanging - It’s driving me nuts! I simply must know if Dahlia’s all right?!? ---
**Author:** ![yanceylebeef](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/yanceylebeef/32/12290_2.png) [@yanceylebeef](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/yanceylebeef)\ **Post date:** [May 22, 2013, 7:49pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/other-properties-youd-like-to-see-adapted-into-a-series-by-hbo/659050/5 "2013-05-22T19:49:22Z")
Either the witches story lines from Terry Pratchett, or the Guards series. Either one would be fantastic if done right. ---
**Author:** ![GrandWino](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/grandwino/32/67_2.png) [@GrandWino](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/GrandWino)\ **Post date:** [May 22, 2013, 8:01pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/other-properties-youd-like-to-see-adapted-into-a-series-by-hbo/659050/6 "2013-05-22T20:01:55Z")
Michael Chabon’s “The Amazing Adventures of Kavalier and Clay” would make a great mini-series. ---
**Author:** ![Paintcharge](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/paintcharge/32/7946_2.png) [@Paintcharge](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Paintcharge)\ **Post date:** [May 22, 2013, 8:19pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/other-properties-youd-like-to-see-adapted-into-a-series-by-hbo/659050/7 "2013-05-22T20:19:29Z")
The Moon is a Harsh Mistress. Plenty of space for gratuitous nudity and violence. Snow Crash. That could be all sorts of awesome. ---
**Author:** ![Elendil\_s\_Heir](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/e/7cd45c/32.png) [@Elendil\_s\_Heir](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Elendil_s_Heir)\ **Post date:** [May 22, 2013, 8:27pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/other-properties-youd-like-to-see-adapted-into-a-series-by-hbo/659050/8 "2013-05-22T20:27:11Z")
> [@Paintcharge](#): > > The Moon is a Harsh Mistress. Plenty of space for gratuitous nudity and violence. > > Snow Crash. That could be all sorts of awesome. Agreed as to both. There’s a great script already out there for TMIAHM: [the moon is a harsh mistress.pdf - Google Drive](https://docs.google.com/file/d/0B7Sfv2Bq7xzhektwNl9oQXJPR2M/edit?usp=drive_web&pli=1) Now that _Game of Thrones_ is such a hit, I’d like to see two other GRRM books filmed: _Fevre Dream_ (vampires along the Mississippi before the Civil War) and _Tuf Voyaging_ (terrific sf/environmental satire). Both very good, both very different. ---
**Author:** ![Left\_Hand\_of\_Dorkness](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/left_hand_of_dorkness/32/7156_2.png) [@Left\_Hand\_of\_Dorkness](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Left_Hand_of_Dorkness)\ **Post date:** [May 22, 2013, 8:45pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/other-properties-youd-like-to-see-adapted-into-a-series-by-hbo/659050/9 "2013-05-22T20:45:20Z")
It’d certainly be interesting to see what they could do with some SF. I’m a big fan of the recent **Leviathan Wakes** , a space opera with interesting characters (including an excellent tension between a Humphrey-Bogart-type detective and a Jimmy-Stewart-type ship captain) and some truly oogy scenes. ---
**Author:** ![Left\_Hand\_of\_Dorkness](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/left_hand_of_dorkness/32/7156_2.png) [@Left\_Hand\_of\_Dorkness](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Left_Hand_of_Dorkness)\ **Post date:** [May 22, 2013, 8:51pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/other-properties-youd-like-to-see-adapted-into-a-series-by-hbo/659050/10 "2013-05-22T20:51:47Z")
Although, you know what would be absolutely perfect? A nineteenth-century serialized novel like **The Count of Monte Cristo**. Roughly one chapter per episode would get you about ten seasons, so they might need to change that, but if they could pull it off, how incredible would that be, to have a hundred-hour-long adaptation? ---
**Author:** ![Sampiro](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/s/2acd7d/32.png) [@Sampiro](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Sampiro)\ **Post date:** [May 22, 2013, 9:01pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/other-properties-youd-like-to-see-adapted-into-a-series-by-hbo/659050/11 "2013-05-22T21:01:26Z")
nm ---
**Author:** ![madmonk28](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/madmonk28/32/20811_2.png) [@madmonk28](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/madmonk28)\ **Post date:** [May 22, 2013, 9:02pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/other-properties-youd-like-to-see-adapted-into-a-series-by-hbo/659050/12 "2013-05-22T21:02:14Z")
Jack Vance’s Dying Earth series. If done right, it woudl be awesome. Also the Flashman series. ---
**Author:** ![Sampiro](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/s/2acd7d/32.png) [@Sampiro](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Sampiro)\ **Post date:** [May 22, 2013, 9:02pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/other-properties-youd-like-to-see-adapted-into-a-series-by-hbo/659050/13 "2013-05-22T21:02:58Z")
Two Southern Classics: _Gone With the Wind_. If you’ve only seen the movie and haven’t read the book, they’re both classics but they’re very different. The movie is more mythology while the novel is more historical fiction and has many great characters and scenes not included in the film. _To Kill a Mockingbird_. If you’ve only seen the movie and haven’t read the book, the rape trial is only maybe a quarter of the novel, if that, and another “many great characters and scenes not included in the film” or in the play versions (all of which center around the trial). ---
**Author:** ![bump](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/b/7c8e57/32.png) [@bump](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/bump)\ **Post date:** [May 22, 2013, 9:07pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/other-properties-youd-like-to-see-adapted-into-a-series-by-hbo/659050/14 "2013-05-22T21:07:28Z")
I would say the Aubrey/Maturin novels, but the number of novels, and cost of having sailing ships, etc… would probably be too much- how many years would the show have to run? I like the idea of the Flashman novels; plenty of violence, sex scenes, and hijinks, and with the added bonus of having an utterly reprehensible protagonist. It would be hilarious and entertaining all around. ---
**Author:** ![Ambrosio\_Spinola](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/a/9de0a6/32.png) [@Ambrosio\_Spinola](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Ambrosio_Spinola)\ **Post date:** [May 22, 2013, 9:08pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/other-properties-youd-like-to-see-adapted-into-a-series-by-hbo/659050/15 "2013-05-22T21:08:17Z")
There was a comic book miniseries by Ed Brubaker back in the early oughts called “Sleeper” that I have always believed would be the perfect HBO series - it’s full of over the top violence, moral ambiguity, and gratuitous nudity. Various people have been in talks over the years to make a movie of it (such as Tom Cruise, for some reason) but I think that a premium-cable series would be a better fit for it. ---
**Author:** ![Sampiro](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/s/2acd7d/32.png) [@Sampiro](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Sampiro)\ **Post date:** [May 22, 2013, 9:13pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/other-properties-youd-like-to-see-adapted-into-a-series-by-hbo/659050/16 "2013-05-22T21:13:45Z")
> [@bump](#): > > I would say the Aubrey/Maturin novels, but the number of novels, and cost of having sailing ships, etc.. would probably be too much- how many years would the show have to run? Or the Horatio Hornblower series. Ioan Gruffyd still looks good and at one point at least was very interested in resurrecting the series. ---
**Author:** ![ftg](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/ftg/32/2801_2.png) [@ftg](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/ftg)\ **Post date:** [May 22, 2013, 9:25pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/other-properties-youd-like-to-see-adapted-into-a-series-by-hbo/659050/17 "2013-05-22T21:25:44Z")
> [@Paintcharge](#): > > Snow Crash. That could be all sorts of awesome. 2[sup]nd[/sup]ed, 3[sup]rd[/sup]ed, whatever. One issue would be timeline. Some of the key characters are young adult children of WWII vets. Pushing it in a Post-Reagan apocalypse. Couldn’t be set in current-ish times without padding a generation. I’m probably one of the few that think that _Cryptonomicon_ could be suitably converted into a mini-series. ---
**Author:** ![Loach](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/loach/32/350_2.png) [@Loach](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Loach)\ **Post date:** [May 22, 2013, 10:11pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/other-properties-youd-like-to-see-adapted-into-a-series-by-hbo/659050/18 "2013-05-22T22:11:02Z")
I would love to see the Sharpe series made with a budget higher than a buck fifty and a ball of twine. ---
**Author:** ![Johnny\_Q](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/j/898d66/32.png) [@Johnny\_Q](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Johnny_Q)\ **Post date:** [May 22, 2013, 10:28pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/other-properties-youd-like-to-see-adapted-into-a-series-by-hbo/659050/19 "2013-05-22T22:28:56Z")
How about _Good Omens_ by Gaiman and Pratchett. _Imajica_ by Clive Barker has the chance to be pretty awesome. ---
**Author:** ![John\_DiFool](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/john_difool/32/19543_2.png) [@John\_DiFool](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/John_DiFool)\ **Post date:** [May 22, 2013, 10:37pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/other-properties-youd-like-to-see-adapted-into-a-series-by-hbo/659050/20 "2013-05-22T22:37:42Z")
_Sandman_ would work well as an anthology-style series which also has an ongoing overarching plot going on as well. The titular role would also allow various actors to take their turns playing Morpheus. [Next page](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/other-properties-youd-like-to-see-adapted-into-a-series-by-hbo/659050.md?page=2)