A year before the ‘Game of Thrones’ series finale, George RR Martin had another forgotten sci-fi horror series

Renowned author George RR Martin wrote much more than the Song of Ice and Fire novels, which spawned television series Game of Thrones And Dragon Housethe latter promises a Bloody Targaryen War when it returns for its third season next summer. That said, aside from its sprawling fantasy power, few of his works have been adapted for television or film. His short story “Sandkings,” for example, was adapted for television and served as a pilot episode to restart it Exterior limits in 1995. Another is Night Thieveswhich was first adapted for film in 1987 before being made into a television series for SYFY in 2018. This sci-fi horror series only lasted one season, but it’s worth remembering alongside Martin’s epic sagas of Westeros..

“Nightflyers” takes inspiration from Martin and borrows from others

Night Thieves is based on Martin’s short story of the same name, which takes place in his A thousand worlds science fiction series. But an 88-page book where – SPOILER – seven out of eight characters die before the end is thin material for a series (Martin himself saidafter learning of the plans for a series, “What will be in the fourth episode? Who will watch four seasons of a spaceship full of corpses?”) So, Martin’s book serves more as an inspiration and framework than a direct adaptation.. In this respect, the series is very different from Game of Throneswhich, despite some departuresis much closer to Martin’s novels.

In order to expand Martin’s short story for a series, Night Thieves borrows liberally from other well-known works in the genre. It’s something creative Jeff Buhler fully admits itsaying: “We leaned heavily on the shoulders of the greatest. We did not hesitate to draw on themes and even certain images.” In no particular order, the series contains elements of 2001: A Space Odyssey, Stranger, The shiny, The Exorcistand, perhaps most blatantly, Event Horizon, Paul W. S. AndersonThis is absolutely crazy of a movie.

Night Thieves starts with a very The shiny-scene where Dr. Agatha Matheson (Gretchen Mol) is stalked by an ax-wielding Angus Sampsonand manages to broadcast a warning to stay away from the ship, aptly called the Night Thiefbefore committing suicide. The series then travels back in time to 2039, with most of the first season serving as the context for this moment. A mysterious disease is ravaging the Earth, with a population already weakened by a lack of resources. A crew of scientists boards the Night Thief in an attempt to connect with an advanced race of aliens, the Volcryn, in the hopes that they will help him. The crew includes Karl D’Branin (Eoin Mackin), who leaves behind his wife and deceased daughter; Captain Roy Eris (David Ajala), which stands separate from the others, appearing only as a hologram; Genetically enhanced Melantha Jhiri (Jodie Turner Smith) and telekinetic Thale (Sam Strike), brought to communicate with the Volcryn.

“Nightflyers” is busy, but it’s worth it

During their journey, the crew sees things – D’Branin sees his dead daughter talking to him, for example – that they initially blame on Thale, assuming he’s playing with their minds. But it turns out the spaceship is haunted and it’s a matter of survival until they reach their goal. The haunted house element is by far the strongest in the series and, like ours Collider ” argues in the previously cited article, would have worked better if the series had simply stuck to this concept.

Instead, Buhler and company fill the series with almost too many turns.. It’s part haunted house, part hard sci-fi, part space opera, part body horror, and part psychological thriller, but all loosely connected all the same. The characters’ stories are explored via a series of memories, which gives the characters a tangible exploration of their memories, none of which exist in Martin’s book. Likewise, themes like science versus faith, the hubris of humanity, and the mystery of the unknown are largely created within the series itself, which makes sense given Martin had little input into the series, due to his exclusive deal with HBO. (according to the previously cited New York Times). What they have kept is exaltation, with a liberal future where sex – “sexing,” as they call it – is a recreational activity, like tennis. But not with family like they do Game of Thrones.

That said, Night Thieves actually shares a lot with his parents Martin. Any character, no matter how important they are in the series, is not safe from a sudden and brutal death (alas, Ned Starkwe barely knew you). Additionally, there is no clear morality among the characters, all existing in a morally gray environment (Sampson’s character kills a number of people in his rampage, but is released from his cell because his help is needed), leaving little room for optimism. And the vast universe of Martin’s Thousand Worlds is as complex, imaginative and detailed as the world of Westeros.

Of course, the full depth and potential was never explored, with the series eschewing Martin’s definitive ending for a thriller storyline canceled by Syfy in February 2019. Always, Night Thieves is a fascinating and engaging watch, stunning to watch and much deeper than the conventional sci-fi series (and infinitely better than SYFY’s other offerings, right Sharknado?).

night flyers

Release date

2018 – 00/00/2018

Directors

Andrew McCarthy, Mark Tonderai, MJ Bassett, Maggie Kiley, Stefan Schwartz, Nick Murphy, Damon Thomas