BBC to film Mieville's The City and the City

[Stephen Palmer]

My own problem is that I found Perdido Street Station very slow and hard going (almost didn't finish it.) I haven't read anything else by him.

Check out The Scar, which is much tauter and my favourite novel by him.

 

[Vince W]

I've only watched two episodes so far, but I'm enjoying it. Not completely faithful to the book, but what adaptation is? I'd like to see them tackle Un-Lun-Dun.

 

[Dave]

Spoiler: Orciny

Is Orciny the "Undiscovered Country"?

Spoiler: end of final part

(given that he seemed to have an out of body experience after the neck stabbing, but decided not to follow his wife and instead to continue "living")

Or have I got that all wrong?

 

[Stephen Palmer]

I'd like to see them tackle Un-Lun-Dun.

Oh, wow! Me too!

 

[StuartBurchell]

Is anybody else watching this?

Currently being aired on BBC 2 at 10pm, episode 3 having just been shown tonight (20th April) of a four part serial of China Mieville's 2009 book. Starring David Morrisey.

It may not be a 'proper' sci-fi or fantasy, but it is good.

On the fringes of Europe lies the city of Beszel, along with it's twin city of Ul Qoma, seperated and interlocked with each other, with the people of each city being taught from childhood to ignore the other city by 'unseeing' it. Access to the other city is by a heavily controlled border points. People who otherwise violate this border, known as breaching, are apprehended by a mysterious organisation known as 'the Breach'.

Inspector Tyador Borlu of Beszel's Extreme Crime Squad is assigned to the murder of a girl found on waste ground near a spot where you can 'crossover', an American who was living in Ul Qoma.

With politics, superior officers and the probable next mayor of Beszel all pressurizing and wanting to ignore the girl's death, Borlu must do the only thing he can do to solve the girl's murder, he must 'crossover' and investigate in Ul Qoma...and maybe find out the reason for his wife's disappearance years earlier.

This is extremely good, a detective story with a twist.

They show the two cities by means of colour (yellow for Beszel and red for Ul Qoma) and when in one city, the other city is out of focus, we, the viewers, can see two characters walking along a street 'together', but they have to speak to each by mobiles whilst ignoring each other and deliberately 'unsee' each other, the camera having one or the other blurred.

There are a couple of differences from the book, of course, notably Borlu's wife, Katryna (Lara Pulver) was created for the series.

It is, of course, a parable, all cities or towns are like that, we all deliberately ignore the rough sleeper sleeping on a bus station's benches, the things we choose not to see in daily life.

Discuss.

 

[mosaix]

There’s another thread running on this, Stuart.

 

[Brian G Turner]

I've moved this thread from the China Mieville board to the TV discussion one, where it'll be more visible.

 

[Dave]

You all do realise that you could watch all 4 episodes on BBC iPlayer since the first episode was broadcast?

 

[StuartBurchell]

You all do realise that you could watch all 4 episodes on BBC iPlayer since the first episode was broadcast?

i prefer watching it on a bigger screen.

And thanks for moving my previous post, hadn't seen this thread.

 

[Ursa major]

You can watch programmes on iPlayer on the "smarter" TVs.

That's what I do.

 

[mosaix]

You can watch programmes on iPlayer on the "smarter" TVs.

That's what I do.

And me. I'm surprised at the quality of TV coming through my router.

 

[Vince W]

Finished it today. It was a very good police drama with some interesting bits tacked on. Not a fantasy story, but more like weird detective fiction. There is the element of strangeness running throughout the series, but nothing you could actually point to and say 'yes that fits in fantasy', but that's more indicative of Mieville than the show's producers I think.