I'm currently reading (well, listening to) the exhaustive collection of PKD short stories (The Minority Report I through V -- I'm in the middle of IV after II and III).
While I don't mind rewrites (e.g., the terrific actual movie The Minority Report), what I'm finding in this series, and this episode in particular, is that it fails to capture any of the the feel or character of the original stories.
Human Is is really funny. He comes back a dapper gentleman with a Victorian style of speech and impeccable manners, because that's all the Rexorians had to learn from. He has no idea his behavior is odd. He's insufferably polite. Yes, the plot doesn't make sense but that's why it works. It's delightfully silly.
All PKD stories have a biting sense of humor and sarcasm, which is what separates PKD stories in the first place. They entertain throughout.
Another funny story, one of my favorites, is A Present for Pat in which a guy brings back a gift for his wife (Pat) from Ganymede that turns out to be minor deity. The god turns his best friend and coworker into a frog and his wife to stone. The guy's accepting reaction to these events is hilarious. It would make a great episode.
Reading PKD's stories draws you back to the original Twilight Zone, which also had a biting sense of satire in every episode. This series does not. It takes itself entirely too seriously.
While I don't mind rewrites (e.g., the terrific actual movie The Minority Report), what I'm finding in this series, and this episode in particular, is that it fails to capture any of the the feel or character of the original stories.
Human Is is really funny. He comes back a dapper gentleman with a Victorian style of speech and impeccable manners, because that's all the Rexorians had to learn from. He has no idea his behavior is odd. He's insufferably polite. Yes, the plot doesn't make sense but that's why it works. It's delightfully silly.
All PKD stories have a biting sense of humor and sarcasm, which is what separates PKD stories in the first place. They entertain throughout.
Another funny story, one of my favorites, is A Present for Pat in which a guy brings back a gift for his wife (Pat) from Ganymede that turns out to be minor deity. The god turns his best friend and coworker into a frog and his wife to stone. The guy's accepting reaction to these events is hilarious. It would make a great episode.
Reading PKD's stories draws you back to the original Twilight Zone, which also had a biting sense of satire in every episode. This series does not. It takes itself entirely too seriously.