Riverworld (TV 2010)

Welcome to Riverworld, a place of strange, watery beauty and the current abode of a fascinating cast of the recently (and not-so-recently) dead. It certainly isn't Heaven, but it just might be Hell.

Director:

Stuart Gillard

Writers:

Robert Hewitt Wolfe (teleplay), Randall M. Badat (teleplay),

Stars:

Tahmoh Penikett, Mark Deklin, Peter Wingfield

5 nominations.

Cast

Cast overview, first billed only:
Tahmoh Penikett	...	Matt Ellman
Mark Deklin	...	Sam Clemens
Peter Wingfield	...	Richard Burton
Jeananne Goossen	...	Tomoe Gozen
Alan Cumming	...	Judas Caretaker
Laura Vandervoort	...	Jessie Machalan
Chiara Zanni	...	Deborah Glass
Matty Finochio	...	Antonio Roja
Romina D'Ugo	...	Allegra Braccioforte de Venezia
Kwesi Ameyaw	...	Youseff Mbaye
Arnold Pinnock	...	Simon Porter
Bruce Ramsay	...	Francisco Pizarro
Meg Roe	...	Amalie Fabarge
Thea Gill	...	Female Caretaker
Matthew MacCaull	...	Hal Douglas

Storyline

Welcome to Riverworld, a place of strange, watery beauty and the current abode of a fascinating cast of the recently (and not-so-recently) dead. It certainly isn't Heaven, but it just might be Hell.

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Plot Keywords:

explosion | loss of loved one | french girl | reference to the hindenburg | black muslim | 

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Taglines:

The afterlife begins here.

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Genres:

Drama | Sci-Fi

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Certificate:

TV-14

Details

Official Sites:

SyFy Channel [us]

Country:

USA Canada

Language:

English

Release Date:

18 April 2010 (USA)

Also Known As:

Riverworld - O Vale das Almas

Filming Locations:

Vancouver, British Columbia, Canada

Company Credits

Production Co:

Reunion Pictures, Riverworld Productions

Technical Specs

Runtime:

189 min

Color:

Color

Did You Know?

Trivia

This miniseries was produced for the U.S. SyFy channel, and a large part of the cast consists of actors who have previously appeared in SyFy (previously "SciFi") productions, such as: Tahmoh Penikett and Alessandro Juliani (Battlestar Galactica); Alan Cumming (Tin Man); Peter Wingfield (Caprica); Kwesi Ameyaw(Battlestar Galactica and Eureka); Arnold Pinnock (Warehouse 13).

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Quotes

Youseff Mbaye: Maybe this is not the time.
Samuel Clemens: I'm pontificating.

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Connections

Version of Riverworld (2003)

User Reviews

Unambitious

If at first you don't succeed ... well, in this case, perhaps the SyFy Channel should have just given up. This followup to 2003's atrocious adaptation of Philip Jose Farmer's classic "Riverworld" stories isn't all that much of an improvement. It just doesn't follow the stories all that well, and that's a shame. Farmer's "Riverworld" stories, which eventually were edited and collected in several books, are some of the most fascinating sci-fi ever written. Basically, everyone who has ever lived and died on Earth wakes up on the banks of an endless river on an alien planet. Clearly, someone or something is controlling all of this, but Farmer takes his time in revealing the ultimate puppet master and the purpose f the experiment. As the years go by, we follow the adventures of dozens of these folks, both famous and not so famous, as they strive to make sense of their new home. An interesting twist: when someone dies on Riverworld, they are resurrected along a different stretch of the river. Knowledge of this allows certain drastic actions to be taken, but I will say no more. This new version of the saga appears to be a pilot for a TV series, and was shot in Canada with a no-name cast. It loosely follows Farmer's plot, more so than the 2003 TV movie, and the acting is better. But again, this is not truly Farmer's Riverworld. If only someone had the cojones to faithfully adapt the stories, that would make a heckuva movie. It would also require a decent budget, which this TV effort lacks. Think of the recent SyFy Channel adaptation of Edgar Rice Burroughs' "A Princess of Mars," and how awful that was for want of a decent script and budget. This is only slightly better than that, and that's not saying much. Until someone (like the guy behind "Firefly" and "Serenity") decides to do a big-budget, theatrical version of "Riverworld," you will do better to stick with the books.