A review posted here indicates support for my thinking that no one seems to bother reading books any more. This is a story from Ray Bradbury's _The Martian Chronicles_-- not a novel but, as A.E. van Vogt called it, a fix-up.
Many of the stories that comprise the "Chronicles" were published as stand-alone pieces in the pulps. This one first saw print in 1948 and deals with the Second Martian Expedition landing near a Martian reservation populated by psychotics and other assorted nut cases.
The fun of it is that, since Martians are telepathic, they sometimes produce real-seeming hallucinations. Guess what they thought of four men in weird clothes knocking on doors and explaining about being from another planet?
This teleplay is a pretty good adaptation of the story--not a big surprise seeing as both the story and teleplay were written by the same writer. Indeed, if the boneheads in the networks would give actual writers more creative control, the science fiction on television would be a lot better.
This episode is fun to watch, *if* you understand what's going on.
Many of the stories that comprise the "Chronicles" were published as stand-alone pieces in the pulps. This one first saw print in 1948 and deals with the Second Martian Expedition landing near a Martian reservation populated by psychotics and other assorted nut cases.
The fun of it is that, since Martians are telepathic, they sometimes produce real-seeming hallucinations. Guess what they thought of four men in weird clothes knocking on doors and explaining about being from another planet?
This teleplay is a pretty good adaptation of the story--not a big surprise seeing as both the story and teleplay were written by the same writer. Indeed, if the boneheads in the networks would give actual writers more creative control, the science fiction on television would be a lot better.
This episode is fun to watch, *if* you understand what's going on.