Quite a number of the original cast were replaced, which doesn't help. The acting, screenplay and cinematography were all weak although not terribly so by television standards. The first miniseries had elements of this, but they were not as prominent and therefore somewhat forgivable. It reduces Frank Herbert's classic Science fiction story to a lurid soap-opera like tale.

This continuation of the excellent 'Dune' miniseries, 'Children Of Dune' is a failure of the same magnitude that the first miniseries was a success. I didn't dislike the movie, just wished for a more fulfilling experience. I am glad I got it, I will watch it again to register the specifics more attentively. Having said that, the movie (as was said by Frank Herbert of the original Dune movie) is the best that could be done at the time even with the compromises necessary to meet budget and time constraints. The story is too grand, the written characters too well defined, the language too preci se, too elegant, to be conveyed in summarization attempts in dialogue. The dialogue, frequently used to convey the story, was stilted, limited, even mechanical at times. The books cannot be represented well on TV. A sincere attempt to capture the essence of Dune Messiah and Children of Dune that has the same limitations of the two original Dune movies. A gift of allowed me to chance upon the TV miniseries and I went for it greedily. However, when the new hard cover of Children of Dune came out recently, I read it and realized I had forgotten the depth and wealth contained therein. Frank Herbert is my favorite author and God Emperor is my favorite of the series.

I have even recorded several of the books for the blind.

Children of dune tv series