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Grex Scifi Item 123: The Lathe of Heaven, on television, again
Entered by krj on Tue May 23 17:21:42 UTC 2000:

The PBS adaptation of Ursula K. LeGuin's "The Lathe of Heaven" is reported
to have been liberated from the vaults; some PBS stations will be airing 
it in the next week or two, and I've read that after that it will be 
available for purchase on tape or DVD.

The program was aired once, before VCRs were very common.  My faint 
recollection is that it was a pretty good, very low-budget adaptation
of the story, which is one of my favorite LeGuin works.  
Since then there have been rare bootleg showings at SF conventions, 
but other than that this program has not been seen in about 20 years.

A story about the re-release is at Aaron Barnhart's "TV Barn" site:
http://www.tvbarn.com/sfloft/sf-051700.html

14 responses total.

#1 of 14 by mcnally on Tue May 23 18:09:41 2000:

  I wonder -- did the story's protagonist dream away the bottom 15-20
  lines of Ken's text?  ;-)

#2 of 14 by krj on Tue May 23 19:58:00 2000:

Ooops.  The cat walked on the keyboard at one point and I forgot
to clean it up.  Sorry about that.

#3 of 14 by scott on Tue May 23 21:24:44 2000:

Riiiiiggghhhhttt.

Yeah, I remember watching that movie.  I must have been 13 or 14 at the time,
but I thought it was really cool.  Seems like I've seen it since, though.

#4 of 14 by gjharb on Thu May 25 01:28:14 2000:

I saw it and never forgot it.  I've thought about it often over the years
and wondered why such a first rate production was never repeated.  I also
remember liking the music.

#5 of 14 by krj on Thu May 25 02:23:55 2000:

I saw a list of stations carrying it posted to a Usenet SF newsgroup.
It is *not* getting a wide distribution.

#6 of 14 by robh on Thu May 25 17:46:46 2000:

Re 4 - I think it had to do with arguments over who had the distribution
rights, or some such legal silliness.

#7 of 14 by dbratman on Tue May 30 20:30:26 2000:

The New York PBS station produced it and owns the rights to it, and for 
years was simply not interested in re-broadcasting it or releasing it on 
videotape, no matter how many people pleaded for it.  As I recall, the 
human producer died, so there was nobody to fight for it in the 
bureaucracy.

I've seen it three times, I think, thanks to home copies made by other 
people.  It's exceedingly low-budget, but it's also very faithful to the 
book, and the acting is good.  Kevin Conway, then little-known, is Dr. 
Haber: he's probably the best.

#8 of 14 by mcnally on Tue May 30 21:44:39 2000:

  the phrase "Kevin Conway, then little-known.." implies that at this
  point Kevin Conway is now better-known.  Obviously not to me, however --
  who is ie?

#9 of 14 by gjharb on Wed May 31 16:10:02 2000:

When it comes out on video, I'll be first in line.

#10 of 14 by dbratman on Fri Jun 2 17:22:43 2000:

I think Kevin Conway is best-known for his stage work, but I was 
pleased to see him not too long ago as Hastings in Al Pacino's "Looking 
for Richard".

#11 of 14 by janc on Mon Jun 5 15:59:53 2000:

I remember seeing it on TV too.  Liked it.

#12 of 14 by gjharb on Sun Jul 2 19:08:24 2000:

Any new info when this might be televised in the Ann Arbor area - or anywhere
in the states at all?

#13 of 14 by scott on Sun Jan 14 01:15:47 2001:

I found it on video (and possibly DVD; I didn't check) at the downtown Ann
Arbor Border's.  I *think* it's the same one, anyway.  About $25; I haven't
decided whether to buy it or not.

#14 of 14 by robh on Sun Jan 14 02:14:35 2001:

Wow, I'd forgotten this item was here.  I got the video via the
SF Book Club for $25 or thereabouts, and I was very impressed.
(My fiance' was less impressed, but she's not info SF, and
is usually not impressed by much of anything.  >8)

Obscure trivia - the fellow who played George Orr also played
Senator Kelly in last summer's X-Men movie.

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