Childhood’s End discussion

Is the series much different from the book?

I watched all three but haven't read the book.

My impression of it is that Clarke as an atheist would rather exalt demon like creatures to God level rather than give credit to the Creator.

Other than that, I was able to appreciate the series, although humans were not much rebellious and didn't ask many questions, which is odd.

Another question is the name Jenjedda for the hellish place where the devil like creatures were from, is it a word in a different language?
Nothing much comes up when one googles it.

In the end, the entire series left me with a sad impression where humans were deceived to such an extent that they themselves were starting seeing evil as good and good as evil.

Clark was very much interested in exploring religions even though ultimately he didn't agree with any of them.

Made me wonder if at the end all souls were lost (why circling around the word universal collective? it was souls, and they were deceived to follow a false god)

But all in all a good series to watch. It raised many questions, and yes, it makes me want to read the book to compare how different it is from the tv show.

In the book the overlords don't reveal their appearence until several generations after their arrival. So they had a lot of time for social engineering. In fact, the novel spends a good amount of time explaining that. It also explains why demons look like the overlords, but that would be a spoiler.

Steph wrote: "In the end, the entire series left me with a sad impression where humans were deceived to such an extent that they themselves were starting seeing evil as good and good as evil.

....

Made me wonder if at the end all souls were lost (why circling around the word universal collective? it was souls, and they were deceived to follow a false god)."

If that's the Impression the Series gave then it varies vastly from the book.
Not sure if the series writers really understood then what happened to humans at the end.

I was so disappointed in the series that I didn't watch past the first episode. Loved the book.

Thank you,

I guess I'll have to read the book to understand what actually happened to the children.

I read the book after the first episode, finish it after last episode. The book is much more better than the miniseries. I gave the miniseries 3 to 3.5 stars, but 5 star to the book. The book is more addictive, it explained more what's happened and give more scene for the overlords, and the miniseries take to many time on Stormgren and Rodricks' relationship, their wives or love interest are not existed in the book.

@Mae According to Wiki, this book was published at 1953, not 1970s.

I read the book coincidentally just before the miniseries. I admit I sometimes fall asleep while reading and miss some details, but I don't recall the Overlords looking like demons. I remember being frustrated because the book didn't give a lot of details regarding their appearance. It did mention that their emotions were hard to gauge, because their mouths were sort of bone like and they did have wings, but I don't recall anything about them looking like demons and I don't recall a lot of religion in the book either.

The mini series and the book were very different. I didn't think the book was that great. I think Clarke was much better with the concepts than the details and therefore it lacked some of the character development needed to keep me enthralled. At first I liked the miniseries better, but as it progressed it diverged from the book to the point, I didn't even feel they were telling the same story. I could give many, many examples, but if you wish to read the book, I don't want to spoil it for you.

Did I miss something here?

yes. you missed something.

Russel,

The physical likeness of the overlords was an important thread woven through the plot. The resolution of this thread is a major part of Rodrick's story.

Hmmm. I'd read it again, except I didn't think it was that good. Thanks for the corrections, but if you read one and saw the other, there's no denying there were a ton of differences.

Read the book several times. Seen the series too.

The entire feel of the series is completely different from the book. The series on its own is NOT bad. I seemed to me that the series was directed by much firmer christian and haven't seen that much beyond the idea of devil as A.C. Clarke did. I am not say his view is wrong, just very different.

I'm definitely recommending the book to everyone. It's one of the best i have ever read.
Book feels much better(more positive) that the series. The feel of satisfaction and accomplishment of human race at the end of the book is overwhelming. I admit I cried reading the last pages.

One of the things the series failed to do, in my opinion, is explain that Overlords understanding of the Overmind was about the same level as humans, (i.e. almost negligible). They knew that they were at an evolutionary dead end and were desperately trying to understand the nature of the being. But they could not make the evolutionary leap that humanity did almost intuitively.

Toby wrote: "Also, I am at a complete loss at trying to understand how what happened to humanity in the end could be viewed as an accomplishment. An accomplishment!? I interpreted what happened to the children as horrific."

As did I, but I got the impression that we were supposed to see it as transcendence (like "rapture" which also seemed horrific to me but some people look forward to it.) That was my big problem with the story. Maybe I am interpreting Clarke's intentions wrongly.