Based on the 1949 novel by Robert Heinlein, the guy behind Starship Troopers, Red Planet is a three episode miniseries that aired on Fox Kids Saturday Morning lineup in 1994. Set on the colony of New Ares (just plain old Mars in the original novel), the story follows two kids, Jim and PJ Marlowe, who are part of a mining colony run by an organization only referred to as “The Company”. They’re mining a rather important ore (the reason why is never stated and is basically a McGuffin anyway) but the miners are getting sick. The kids’ mother, the local doctor, wants to shut the mines down to investigate but the Company’s liaison, only referred to as “The General” (I’m seeing what’s referred to as “a pattern”), wants the mines open no matter who gets hurt in the process.
New Ares is a desert death trap, thanks to the sand beasts and “water seekers” running around but there’s another lifeform on the planet, and Jim makes friends with him, naming him “Willis”. Together, the kids and their parents must overcome the Company’s actions before the mining colony is destroyed…but Willis isn’t the only native involved. Enjoy!
Wikipedia lists the following additional changes to the story beyond the planet it takes place on (copy/pasted):
- Jim’s little sister, P.J. is the main supporting character. In the novel, this role was filled by his classmate, Frank Sutton.
- The main conflict in the novel was that the colonial governor was attempting to find some way to keep the miners working during the harsh winter months as well as their families need not move during the unbearable time on the planet, as the annual migration could get expensive. In the miniseries, the main problem was missed work as poison in the mine was slowly killing the miners.
- In the novel, Willis is confiscated by the school’s headmaster since it is against the rules to have pets. He is then taken from the headmaster by the colony leader, Beecher, in order to sell him to the London Zoo for a hefty sum. In the miniseries, both the headmaster and the colony leader are in on a plot to steal Willis and study his alien physiology to find an antidote to the poison in the mines.
See, these changes I can get behind or at least accept. PJ is already there and thus she’s already in position to help Jim, plus the story shows that she’s good with machines. It’s actually a benefit to the story and her character. The story doesn’t need an extra character, at least as far as how the miniseries operates. There’s only so much time. The poison doesn’t limit the threat to a winter scenario, although ultimately it doesn’t do much except make the miners sick, so I’m kind of neutral on it. As far as the headmaster goes, I’m also kind of neutral on him taking a more villainous role. It doesn’t really add anything but doesn’t take away, either.
I really enjoyed the story the first time I saw it, and I hope you did as well.
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