Riverworld (2003) (TV)

User Rating:

5.3/10   

Director:

Kari Skogland

Writers:

Philip Jose Farmer (novels)
Stuart Hazeldine (writer)

Release Date:

22 March 2003 (USA)

Genre:

Adventure | Drama | Fantasy | Sci-Fi

Plot:

Hale, an American astronaut dies and is reincarnated with other persons who have lived throughout all...

Plot Keywords:

Astronaut | Emperor | Alien | Nero | Cliff

Awards:

1 nomination

Cast

Brad Johnson	...	Jeff Hale
Karen Holness	...	Mali
Emily Lloyd	...	Alice Lidell Hargreaves
Jeremy Birchall	...	Lev Ruach
Kevin Smith	...	Valdemar
Nikita Kearsley	...	Gwenafra
Brian Moore	...	Monat
Cameron Daddo	...	Samuel L. 'Sam' Clemens
Jonathan Cake	...	Nero
Paolo Rotondo	...	Flavius
Patrick Kake	...	Tane
Colin Moy	...	Langer
Lloyd Edwards	...	The Mysterious Stranger
Crawford Thomson	...	Warrior
André Kovachevitch	...	Guard #1 (as Andrew Kovacevich)

Runtime:

UK:86 min

Country:

Canada

Language:

English

Color:

Color

Certification:

Italy:T

Filming Locations:

New Zealand

Company:

Alliance Atlantis Communications

Trivia:

The character played by Emily Lloyd is supposed to be a grown up version of the little girl who inspired the famous story Alice in Wonderland.

Goofs:

Continuity: When Nero is killed and falls from the boat, he is holding his sword in his right hand. But during the fall, his sword moves to his left hand and is then released to fall into the water. As he impacts the river, the sword has returned to his right hand.

Quotes:

Monat: My name is Monat.
[other prisoners gasp]
Alice: What is it? What are you?
Monat: I am not human, as you can see, but neither am I dangerous, I assure you.
Jeff Hale: [to the others] It's all right.
[turns back to Monat]
Jeff Hale: Incredible.
Monat: I am from a star system your astronomers named Tau Ceti.
Jeff Hale: Yes, Tau Ceti. Are there other extraterrestrials here?
Monat: Alas, I am the only one.
[...]

Horrible travesty of the books

I was looking forward to this one, and was totally disgusted by the results; its like yet another pseudo-scifi "product" extruded from the studios of New Zealand. Except that compared to this thing, Hercules and Xena are highbrow entertainment! Sci-fi for the McDonald's generation. The script includes a jumble of maybe about 15% of the entire original lively and inventive story from the first two books, tosses the other 85%, and replaces it with childish claptrap like evil warlords pursing the virtuous blonde maiden -- and will she escape their clutches??? Yeah, really had me on the edge of my seat. I was expecting the villain to grow a mustache he could twirl, and tie her to some railroad tracks -- spare me! I'd give it a '2' for story, and a '6' for production-values.