In 2011 this is a complete waste of time. Don't bother with TMC.

You have to remember the book was written long before we landed Viking on the surface of Mars and so Ray Bradbury couldn't base it on what we now know about the planet. Also it (the book) isn't a novel, but a collection of short stories. So they didn't have an actual spine to the story like an actual novel would have provided. The movie I Robot had a similar genesis in that the character of the police detective and the events he's involved in weren't part of Issac Asimov's collection of stories either. The filmmakers had to build a spine for both storylines. In any case I understand you're in good company. From what I understand Ray Bradbury didn't like the finished product either.

I loved it as a kid and I still love it today. Perhaps the difference is that I still watch it in context and don't hold it up to the impossible standards of more recent productions. Plus the story, itself based on a loose collection of short stories from the 1940s never was connected in any way to the real Mars. It taps into the fantasy image of Mars, the one Carl Sagan once described as an empty canvas into which people poured their hopes and dreams. The Martian Chronicles is allegory for Earth-based issues of the day, like colonisation, war, cultural imperialism, religion, and so on. All of those messages are there when you watch it today. Go looking for sci-fi and the 'real' Mars, even back in 1979 when it was first broadcast, and you're looking in the wrong place. Mars was always just a backdrop for Bradbury's social commentary.

All of which is why I do however completely agree with you that it shouldn't be remade. It's a product of the social attitudes of another time and place which people wouldn't understand today. Plus, we know too much about Mars now to accept the old 'John Carter'-type fantasy. As you say, it would have to be changed beyond all recognition and what would be the point? I also say it's far better to move on. Supposedly there was meant to be an adaptation of Kim Stanley-Robinson's 'Red Mars', but I don't know whether that's still happening or not.

It is sad that you cannot see beyond the 'Effects' to grasp the moral of the story, because there is one. I cannot tell you because if you do not see it, no amount of my explaining it to you will make a difference. Try looking at it from another perspective, listen to what is being said and stop worrying about the 'graphics' and then maybe....just maybe you will understand it's meaning!

Thanks for saving me on this. I remember reading the book as a kid (weird) and I vaguely remember seeing on TV and wondering why they bothered... I couldn't figure out how you could POSSIBLY make a movie out of the book.

I was going to rent it just to see if it was any better than I recall.

-Most- things don't age well... I think by definition that's what defines a classic... or not. :D

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I watched this as a kid and liked it 30+ years ago. But even then, the space F/X were terrible. I just watched the first installment (The Expeditions) today on DIRECTV ON DEMAND. Oh my GOD!! It aged worse then almost anything I've ever seen. Space 1999 would give this a run for it's money, and in some respects, would win.

The three 2 hour episodes seem like 3 separate Twilight Zone scripts that were expanded from 20 to 120 minutes and then loosely tied together by setting them on "Mars" and each having appearances Rock Hudson. It actually has the feel of forcing pieces from 3 different jigsaw puzzles together and calling it 'one puzzle'. Each of the three parts are padded and stretched for no other apparent purpose than to make the running time longer. And the Twilight Zone feel is no coincidence, as the screenplay was penned by noted TZ writer Richard Matheson. But here, it just doesn't work.

I've been tempted to buy the blu ray since I love the novel but it sure sounds like a misfire.

None of your objections matter to those who are open to poetry, metaphor & allegory. Which is the heart of The Martian Chronicles.