This two-part TV pilot basically takes the concept from Farmer's novels and fuses them with multiple elements from a movie script that was making the rounds in Hollywood a few years back called "Everwar." The inclusion of a samurai, the warriors from different time periods fighting each other (particularly the overly ambitious general, Spanish here but Italian in the film script), the "ascent" to attack the alternative world's controlling element and put an end to it and several other facets were lifted directly from Everwar; not sure if they bought the rights or not. I really hope that script gets properly made some day, because I read it and its story was far superior to this.
Review of Riverworld
