There are so many epic works of speculative fiction that Amazon could adapt (like the rest of Philip K. Dick's work or Ursula K. Le Guin's non-Earthsea novels), but we're going to get moar Tolkien because Tolkien is a brand now, and brands are known quantities that are therefore "safe".
@starbreaker they tried with Dick (Man in High Castle). People didn't like it so they moved on. Channel 4 tried with they series "Electric Dreams" same result.
@GeekDaddy @starbreaker I disagree that people didn't like "The Man in the High Castle". It just wasn't the massive success they were hoping it would be. Everyone I know of who's watched it did indeed like it, but that's mostly been people who are interested in political and historical stuff, which the average joe is really not.
@GeekDaddy @starbreaker Well, Netflix isn't Amazon Prime, and House of Cards is set in the ordinary modern present-day, which is more appealing for most people than alt-history. Plus there's the added angle of having to put your mind in a place where the US lost WWII, which is another thing people don't want to think about.
@calyanare @starbreaker not everybody lives in USA and has this emotional baggage. As to Netflix vs Prime, as someone living outside of USA this are the same. Alt-history - Designated Survivor which to is very popular and political
@GeekDaddy @calyanare House of Cards panders to people's suspicions about corruption in DC, and doesn't require much imagination from the audience. High Castle is more demanding, or was before Trump became President. Nobody wanted to consider the possibility of the US becoming a totalitarian state.
@starbreaker @calyanare not everybody lives in US
@GeekDaddy @starbreaker True, but does anybody anywhere (who isn't a Nazi themselves) really want to think long and hard about the Nazis winning? I've never even heard of Designated Survivor.
@GeekDaddy @starbreaker Man in the High Castle is well done, but honestly it's too depressing for anyone to have ever thought it would be popular. It makes you think too much, and in ways that challenge most people's comfort zones.
@calyanare @starbreaker there many movies or show putting you in that spot - Dunkirk for example
@GeekDaddy @starbreaker They are either, like Dunkirk, about historical events that have happened, so you already know the good guys will win, or, like the TV shows you've mentioned, they're about/confirming things people know are real (corruption, terrorism) -- and there's still plot armor assuring you the good guys will win in the end, no matter how bleak it looks in the middle. MitHC doesn't have that even a little bit.
@calyanare @starbreaker it has that view into our reality where Nazis lost and that gives hope and it's still a fiction - look into how totalitarian USA will look it's the same as all the post-apo
@GeekDaddy @starbreaker It's not, though. It's no Walking Dead or Hunger Games, that's for sure. I think it's just that the protagonists are less average, and therefore less relatable to most people. It's not so much an "ordinary person finds themself involved in big stuff" as "curious person goes looking for trouble and finds it" that I think is an issue as well. I mean, are you saying it's just a bad show? Is that what you really mean?
@calyanare @starbreaker I watched first season and liked it very much, second - I couldn't finish. Can't remember why
@calyanare @starbreaker don't no if political dram is not for average joe. House of Cards is one of the most popular shows on Netflix.