Amazon announces work on 3 new SF series: Lazarus, Snow Crash, Ringworld

[Q99]

To ramp up their streaming service, Amazon's ordered pilots for shows based on Larry Niven's Ringworld, Neal Stephenson's Snow Crash, and Greg Rucka's Lazarus

So we've got a dystopian transhuman SF, a cyberpunk show, and a space opera/megaconstruct exploration series.

Does this seem really awesome to anyone else?

[Broomstick]

Yes.

And if Amazon keeps this up I may have to subscribe to them in addition to Netflix.

[Q99]

I'm tone whether I anticipate Lazarus (Rucka directly involved, *fantastic* series) or Ringworld (space opera SF!) more. It's a really tough choice.

[SpottedKitty]

I'm cautiously hopeful for Ringworld. I hope they know what'll be involved SFX-wise in making it look good, or at least believable. (I've never played the games, how close to good enough did the Halo graphics get?)

And please, don't let them mess up the Kzin and Puppeteer designs...

[Q99]

If one technically wants to be accurate on Ringworld, it should look completely normal, save for a tiiiny line coming up from the horizon. One could shoot it entirely in British Colombian forests and studio sets!

[Adam Reynolds]

Unfortunately I suspect only one of the three will make it to a full series. Amazon has been doing this with their original shows, releasing pilots for several series to see which one does the best before making an entire season like Netflix has been doing.

[SpottedKitty]

If one technically wants to be accurate on Ringworld, it should look completely normal, save for a tiiiny line coming up from the horizon. One could shoot it entirely in British Colombian forests and studio sets!

I wonder... has anyone worked out the geometry from the description in the book? I think it mentions something like "the horizon rising up off in the distance, merging into a narrowing ribbon going up to the zenith". If it's done right, this is going to mess with peoples' heads in a big way.

And I don't think it's going to be all that tiny; one million miles wide, remember, at only twice the distance of the sun on the extreme far side. Am I right in remembering the two Great Oceans were big enough to be visible from almost anywhere on the inner surface, as long as you weren't too close to one or the other?

[Q99]

I wonder... has anyone worked out the geometry from the description in the book? I think it mentions something like "the horizon rising up off in the distance, merging into a narrowing ribbon going up to the zenith". If it's done right, this is going to mess with peoples' heads in a big way.

And I don't think it's going to be all that tiny; one million miles wide, remember, at only twice the distance of the sun on the extreme far side. Am I right in remembering the two Great Oceans were big enough to be visible from almost anywhere on the inner surface, as long as you weren't too close to one or the other?

People did work it out, and figured out that no, the curve is so shallow you wouldn't see the horizon rise up (I'd understand if they did that, but it really would just be a thin ribbon). Iirc this was talked about in some Niven essays or the back of a book.

And sure, million miles, but you gotta consider just how far away that is. Basically, whatever you're picturing? It's further.

[Broomstick]

The other factor in "will you see the curve?" is the effects of distance on vision - things far away look smaller, the atmosphere blurs/obscures things in the distance. It's just too far away.

Would you see the arc of the opposite overhead during the "night", though? If you can see it at all I'd imagine a thin blue line, or perhaps a series of blue lines because part of the overheard arc would be in shadow for the "night" over there.

[Q99]

Let's make suggestions how each one can be 'improved'-

'Ringworld' - can our team of kids collect enough rings from different gaming centers to enter the latest MMORPG sensation- the Ringworld?

(P.S. Once they do, they get trapped within the game)

[The Romulan Republic]

The Rucka one has my interest due to his work on Batman. IIRC, he wrote the No Man's Land novelization, which heavily influenced my views on Batman as a character.

[Q99]

The Rucka one has my interest due to his work on Batman. IIRC, he wrote the No Man's Land novelization, which heavily influenced my views on Batman as a character.

Greg Rucka has done a ton of good work. If you've liked his other stuff, Lazarus is one of his best.

[The Romulan Republic]

I'll keep an eye out for it, then.