"The Martian Chronicles" (1980) TV mini-series

Director:

Michael Anderson

Seasons:

1

Release Date:

27 January 1980 (USA)

Genre:

Sci-Fi

Plot:

Earth sends its first manned probe to Mars in 1999, and a jealous Martian murders the two astronauts when his wife has erotic dreams of meeting them...

Plot Keywords:

Mars | Martian | Plague | Telepathy | Lost Civilization

Awards:

1 nomination

Cast

Rock Hudson	...	Col. John Wilder (3 episodes, 1980)
Gayle Hunnicutt	...	Ruth Wilder (3 episodes, 1980)
Bernie Casey	...	Major Jeff Spender (3 episodes, 1980)
Christopher Connelly	...	Ben Driscoll (3 episodes, 1980)
Nicholas Hammond	...	Commander Arthur Black (3 episodes, 1980)
Darren McGavin	...	Sam Parkhill (3 episodes, 1980)
Roddy McDowall	...	Father Stone (3 episodes, 1980)
Bernadette Peters	...	Genevieve Seltzer (3 episodes, 1980)
Joyce Van Patten	...	Elma Parkhill (3 episodes, 1980)
Maria Schell	...	Anna Lustig (3 episodes, 1980)
Fritz Weaver	...	Father Peregrine (3 episodes, 1980)
Linda Lou Allen	...	Marilyn Becker (3 episodes, 1980)
Michael Anderson Jr.	...	David Lustig (3 episodes, 1980)
Robert Beatty	...	General Halstead (3 episodes, 1980)
James Faulkner	...	Mr. K (3 episodes, 1980)
Jon Finch	...	Christ (3 episodes, 1980)
Richard Heffer	...	Captain Conover (3 episodes, 1980)
Barry Morse	...	Peter Hathaway (3 episodes, 1980)
Nyree Dawn Porter	...	Alice Hathaway (3 episodes, 1980)
Wolfgang Reichmann	...	Lafe Lustig (3 episodes, 1980)
Maggie Wright	...	Ylla (3 episodes, 1980)
Terence Longdon	...	Wise Martian (3 episodes, 1980)
Richard Oldfield	...	Captain Nathaniel York (3 episodes, 1980)
John Cassady	...	Briggs (3 episodes, 1980)
Anthony Pullen Shaw	...	Edward Black (3 episodes, 1980)
Burnell Tucker	...	Bill Wilder (3 episodes, 1980)
Peter Marinker	...	McClure (3 episodes, 1980)
Vadim Glowna	...	Sam Hinston (3 episodes, 1980)
Alison Elliott	...	Lavinia Spaulding (3 episodes, 1980)
Derek Lamden	...	Sandship Martian (3 episodes, 1980)
Phil Brown	...	Narrator (3 episodes, 1980)
Estelle Brody	...	Mrs. Black (3 episodes, 1980)
Laurie Holden	...	Marie Wilder (3 episodes, 1980)
Stacey Sipes	...	Margarite Hathaway (3 episodes, 1980)

Runtime:

360 min | Brazil:165 min (compact video version)

Country:

USA

Language:

English

Color:

Color

Aspect Ratio:

1.33 : 1

Sound Mix:

Mono

Certification:

Argentina:13

Filming Locations:

Lanzarote, Canary Islands, Spain

Company:

British Broadcasting Corporation (BBC)

Trivia:

The miniseries was originally scheduled for release in September 1979 as a major kickoff to the 1979-80 season. Unfortunately, it fell victim to some negative publicity from Ray Bradbury himself. Although Bradbury had worked with scriptwriter Richard Matheson in adapting his book to the small screen, he was less than thrilled with the final production. At one point, shortly before the miniseries' scheduled release, Bradbury found himself the sole representative of the production at a press conference. When one reporter asked him what he thought of the miniseries, he responded candidly, "Booooooooring!" NBC soon shelved the miniseries and did not air it until January 1980.

Goofs:

Continuity: When Col. Wilder discovers the grave markers of Peter Hathaway's wife and daughter, the markers state that both died in July 2000. According to the earlier episodes, the third expedition to Mars (the first successful expedition) did not reach Mars until June 2001, and the colonization fleet did not arrive until February 2004.

Quotes:

Maj. Jeff Spender: You know, a race creates itself for a million years, refines itself, does everything it can to give itself respect and beauty, and then it dies - part in its own time, with dignity as it should be, but the other part... Does it perish of some majestic affliction? No, it doesn't. It dies of a disease that does not kill the youngest child on Earth. It's like saying that the Greeks died of mumps. Or the Roman Empire was decimated by athlete's foot.

Movie Connections:

Referenced in Mission to Mars (2000)

Thought-Provoking Alien Saga

I remembered seeing this mini-series when I was ten or eleven. There were some scenes that were ever etched in my mind, and there were others which immediately raced to my mind as I began reliving my past watching it once again. This mini-series is extraordinary in many ways, yet problematic and flawed in many ways too. The whole concept is a huge undertaking when you consider when this was made. There were no CGI effects. The special effects are the things which have aged the poorest in this series. Some of the effects are probably even crude for 1979, but the design of the sets and costumes helps overshadow that now glaring flaw. The set designs, when you consider budget, etc..., are very innovative and even dream-like. The Martian landscape does seem to have a life of its own in this set of tales loosely connected about expeditions sent to Mars, the colonization of Mars, the realization that Martian life exists, the destruction of Earth from human vice, and some small anecdotal stories of people living on Mars. The thing which does bind all these together is the character of Rock Hudson. Hudson does a serviceable job, albeit a bit bland in his role. The script by legendary writer Richard Matheson is pretty good when considering how difficult Ray Bradbury's works are to film or televise. Matheson injects humour, heart, and hope in his teleplay about the human spirit and its quest to survive. Matheson also added some very nice narration that tries, if not always successful, to bring cohesion to the varying plot elements. In the end, the story is successful for its spirit. It is a thoroughly entertaining story. It has some good character acting by the likes of Roddy McDowell, Darren McGavin, Barry Morse, Bernie Casey, and Bernadette Peters. In fact the story that I seemed to remember best from my adolescent days was the one concerning Miss Peters. Hmmm....I wonder why. Anyway, if you like a pretty decent science fiction story, The Martian Chronicles will fit the bill. Its message about living life for the joy of being is a strong one, and one not to be taken too lightly.