World Without End

Plot synopsis:
In March 1957, Commander Dr. Eldon Galbraithe (Nelson Leigh), engineer Henry Jaffe (Christopher Dark), radioman Herbert Ellis (Rod Taylor) and scientist John Borden (Hugh Marlowe), are returning to Earth from the first spaceflight, a reconnaissance trip around Mars. Suddenly, their spaceship is somehow accelerated to incredible velocities, and they are knocked unconscious. Their ship crash lands on a snow-covered mountain. When they venture out, they discover that they have become victims of time dilation and are now in Earth's future.
They theorize, from seeing time-worn gravestones and after their ship's instruments register heightened residual radiation, that a devastating atomic war had broken out in 2188, and that they are at least 200 years past that date. (They later learn that the year is 2508). Jaffe is particularly hard hit, as he realizes that his wife and children have long since died.
After surviving an ambush by giant, mutant spiders, they are attacked by one of two competing remnants of human society. The "mutates" (as the astronauts label them) are violent, primitive surface dwellers. They have mutated due to generations of exposure to heightened radioactivity. (However, the background radiation has decreased to tolerable levels, and the men later learn that normal humans are often born to the mutates. These, however, are enslaved.)
Seeking shelter from the attacking mutates in a cave, the four men discover the entrance to an underground city, whose residents are the descendants of those who fled there from the atomic war. These people live in a high-tech, sophisticated culture. They are a peaceful group led by Timmek (Everett Glass), the president of the ruling council. Underground, the men have grown less virile, and there are fewer and fewer children born each generation. In contrast, the women remain physically vital (and ready for romance). Elain (Shirley Patterson), admires a shirtless Herbert Ellis, commenting that the astronauts are "more muscular than our men". Deena (Lisa Montell), rescued from the surface as a child, falls in love with Ellis.
The astronauts try to persuade the underground people to arm themselves and reclaim the surface, but they are content with their comfortable existence.
When Timmek's daughter Garnet (Nancy Gates) shows she is attracted to John Borden, Mories (Booth Colman), an already hostile member of the council, becomes jealous. He retrieves the astronauts' confiscated pistols, but has to kill a man when he is caught in the act. Mories plants the guns in the astronauts' quarters. When Timmek is informed of the murder, he has his men search the newcomers' rooms. Finding the weapons, Timmek orders the astronauts expelled, but Deena testifies that she saw Mories hide the guns. Mories flees to the surface, where he is killed by the mutates.
With Timmek now cooperative, the astronauts manufacture a bazooka and head back to the surface. Fleeing the deadly bazooka fire, the mutates take shelter in the caves. Borden offers to fight their chief, Naga (Mickey Simpson), in single combat for leadership of the mutates in order to save the unmutated surface dwellers from Naga's threatened slaughter. Borden slays Naga and orders the remaining deformed mutates to leave. The astronauts then establish a thriving settlement, including members of both groups.

Tags: murder, historical fiction

Review:
So I read and watched and Pillars of the Earth, which I loved despite some misgivings with the TV adaptation.
Like Pillars of the Earth, World Without End is an excellent novel, full of historical drama but still accessible through the very human characters in the story.
The screenplay is awful, the characters have been ruined by actions that are out of character, the actors ham it up so much that it seems they are embarrassed to be in this series.I watched 2 and a half episodes and threw in the towel.
Worse still, the episodes are only about 40 minutes long which gives the TV station lots of time to break up any storytelling with a million commercials (Pillars of the Earth episodes ran almost an hour without commercial breaks) but ultimately it is the liberty that the screenwriters have taken with the story that I could not handle because they really have not crafted a good one by any standard.I understand now why The Movie Network in Canada took a pass on this one, even though they aired Pillars of the Earth first in Canada a couple of years ago.
Well, I stuck it out and watched all 8 episodes.....just because I wanted to see how badly they ended it....I've read both Pillars and World without end...loved both of them.
After seeing the first couple of episodes of World and not sure if my memory was that bad or that they had completely strayed from the story, I started reading the book again.
Others before me have posted more details about the changes, but I can only say again, if you've read and liked the book, DON'T BOTHER...you will be disappointed..
The plot bears only a tenuous resemblance to the book and is heinously created —writing, casting, directing, production, acting– everything will give you a total disappointment, even if you didn't read the book.If you did, and specially if you also read The Pillars of the Earth and then watched the excellent miniseries spawned from it, you will be left with only one thought; how could a highly sold author like Ken Follett accept such treatment of his work?
As I had read the book and saw Pillars of the Earth was looking forward to seeing the sequel, how could Ken Follet put his name to this rubbish, characters were left out, changed or altered, plot was so altered I felt I was looking at something completely different.
First let's start with the ages of Ralph, Mervin, Caris & Gwenda and the lack of the latter 2 characters from one the most important plots of the book which sets the stage for the character's future behavior.
Ken Follett's followup novel to "The Pillars of the Earth" was 18 years in coming, and was as good as the first.
World Without End is an amazing television series, full of fascinating characters and twisting plots set within interesting historical times.
Loosely based on the Ken Follett novel, the first 7 episodes are exciting and capture the spirit of the book, with small plot deviations suited to television.
I greatly enjoyed the "Pillars of the Earth" miniseries without having read the novel and was then inspired to read World Without End which I loved.
However, having watched the first episode of "World Without End" miniseries, I am dismayed to find a greatly altered beginning, minor characters transformed into major ones, and drama that just didn't occur in the book.
My background vis-a-vis this mini-series: I read both books, each when they were new, and liked them.
I really like World Without End, it's a good series with fair acting and there is a depth in the details that I do enjoy in period pieces.
With that said I did not know this was a sequel to Pillars of the Earth, which I did enjoy, and I had not read either book.
Charlotte Riley isn't beautiful but is a convincing healer.The location and production is quite beautifully filmed in Eastern Europe.There may be a few story elements that are too fantastical but it doesn't matter this is a good historical epic mini series..
The disconnect between the sequences are awkward and truly tiresome to follow.All in all you really need to want to watch this mini-series because you've either watched The Pillars of the Earth, or are a Ken Follett fan.
They suck!Well, reading both the books and watching the first television adaptation i was quite looking forward to the second one, but law and behold what a screw up - the characters are so stereotypical and the scenes devoid of feeling and cohesiveness.
Having just finished reading the novel - I can only say the mini-series World Without End was as total bastardization of Ken Follett's work.
I also loved Pillars, maybe a little more, but both truly deserve ten stars in my book.I really do enjoy how it meanders through the story giving it more of a feeling of being there, being drawn in by the story and its characters.
I recently watched Pillars, and maybe it was because I read the book like 10 years ago and don't remember all the details, but I thought it was quite good and true to the book.
It took the original story and ran it through a blender then tried to reassemble it, but ended up with characters and entire scenes missing, events impacting the wrong people, just a general bastardization of a really good novel.I've only watched Part 1 and don't plan on viewing the others unless I'm feeling in a particularly masochistic mood.The only reason I gave it any stars was that I thought some of the casting was good and overall period interpretation of England was well done..
While "Pillars of the Earth" was so good, despite some minor flaws, in "World without end" there isn't anything you can save but the cast.
Granted the book is over 1000 pages, but perhaps the producers could have hired someone that had actually read it, instead of maybe just the CliffsNotes.And to the writers and producers of this series - PLEASE FOR THE LOVE OF GOD, DON'T GO ANY WHERE NEAR KEN FOLLETT'S NEW TRILOGY.
The title of this movie is wrong since it has very little to do with the book and if you watch it after reading the original novel it will just give you a sour taste.
It's a shame and i feel tricked since i was led to believe that i was about to see a novel based movie and i just saw a fraud using the title of an amazing novel...sadThe changing of the plot transforms the whole story into a historical affair whereas the original story emphasized the social life and the troubles that a town like Kingsbrige would have encountered in the 14th century.
After the mini-series "The pillars of the earth" i have expected something at least as good but shamefully the two productions cannot even be compared.
I haven't read the book on which it is based, but would like to believe that Ken Follett wasn't responsible for this rubbish, but if that is so, he shouldn't have allowed his name to be associated with this nonsense.
The actor themselves did what they could I suppose but the screen play was just simply awful, I doubt the writer has even read the book, I am sure he must have created the screen play from a nine year olds book report.I really cannot say anything good about this mini series, the plot is barely similar to the book, the dialogue is childish at best and the whole series has many ridiculous cliché lines in it, the actor playing godwin is totally unbelievable as his character, as if a sniveling idiot as portrayed would ever be elected to Prior or be able to lead anyone anywhere.So so very disappointing Andrew.
Yes there have been changes made here, more than for Pillars, and during the first episode it was difficult for me to get past them but that was soon forgotten and saw this for the enjoyable historical epic that it is.All the plot threads from the book are here, though there course doesn't necessarily always flow in the same direction, the destination remains the same.There is the same quality of acting, effects and cinematography as it's predecessor and it is safe to say if you enjoyed Pillars of the Earth you will enjoy this series too.If you have read the books approach this with an open mind.
I really loved "the Pillars of the Earth" as a book but as the series too.
The second book "World without end" is in fact a better one than the first, but the series does not depict to me the heavy atmosphere you get in the story.
After watching the movie version of Pillars, I knew I would like the book even more and I was right.
It's ridiculous after a while, seeing how little original material there is in this story (don't know if that's a bad adaptation or if Follet actually wrote it that way).I may like it better if I watch it again, but probably not much; there's just too much copycat material from Pillars..
I guess I should say if you think a rape an episode makes a good series then this one is the best.
First off, I read the book which was okay but a bit repetitive of Pillars of the Earth.
World without End pulls history around to have the likes of King Edward III give inordinate attention to, and finally launch an all out war against, Kingsbridge when he's only just begun invading France.
Also, I just couldn't buy that falling off a crappy little bridge like that one would kill such a number of people as to be worthy of being called a major disaster.The way King Edward II was treated, as in the news of his "death" in the first episode, was stupid.
For Gods sake, if a King back then died in mysterious circumstances, lords and peasants alike would be shitting themselves because more than likely a major war would break out.All in all, a very poor show and a slur on the fine work that was "Pillars of the Earth", both the book and the series..
I really enjoyed the book but I am at a lost for words, as to why they would change or adjust the characters or major events.I think the best thing is forget the book (IMPOSSIBLE) and watch the movie.
Saying that I hope they try to get back in line with the book instead of creating their own events.Not happy with the movie so far, but can hardly wait for the next episodes.Ted. Absolutely awful.
You know what is going to happen 10 Min's before it does.It's extremely frustrating to watch, because the storyline is so conveniently fitted to how they want it to turn out, everything conveniently falls into its very obvious place.All the cast have Hollywood smiles and designer stubble, and it is far removed from medieval England as you can get.I absolutely hated it and would not recommend this to anyone,.
Pillars had similar themes around religious corruption, power struggles and murder, but it was produced in an honest, stark and unpolished way that draws the viewer in.I'd urge people to watch Pillars before this - wouldn't want this to be your first impression of Ken Follett's work!.
WORLD WITHOUT END is the TV miniseries follow-up to PILLARS OF THE EARTH; both are based on novels by Ken Follett and set in the medieval English town of Kingsbridge.
I watched this, having fallen in love with the book as a direct result of the earlier adaptation of the Pillars of the Earth,(the book and series preceding this one).The Pillars of the Earth was great TV - it drew you in and made you feel for the characters from episode one.
The TV series of the Pillars of the Earth was very different from the book - yet there was still much to enjoy.
Having watched the first episode of World Without End, which is some two hours long, I was left confused as to who each character was, what relation they were to each other, and why I should really care.If you want a good read - read both books.
If you want good telly, watch the Pillars of the Earth (even if you have read the book - there is much to enjoy).I really, really wouldn't bother with World Without End though..
As other reviewers, I thoroughly enjoyed reading Pillars of the Earth and found the series acceptable.
"The Pillars of the Earth" used this trope, but perhaps due to actors with less charisma, or a weaker script, or something else, "World Without End" was simply painful to watch.
I saw Pillars of the Earth which was very good and so I was expecting something better.I didn't give this series a one-star rating because the costumes were very well-made and some of the cast like Miranda Richardson, Oliver Jackson-Cohen and Nora von Waldstätten performed very well.But there were too many rape scenes, and I didn't like the incest.
Pillars of the Earth and World without end are such great works it is sad to see what was done to produce a movie.
;)You see, reviews should NOT be about the question "does the movie follow or match up to the original book?" Instead, reviews should purely focus on the question "what is the quality of the movie itself?" The above misunderstanding on itself already explains why 58 out of the 68 reviews (to date July 3rd 2016) are very negative, which not only is a pity but very misleading as well.I watched "The Pillars of the Earth" and give that a 8 out of 10.
"World Without End" gets the exact same rating...Both series give the same type of atmosphere, story telling, acting; in all both are excellent done, compliments to the casts and directors.
The same thing happened with "Pillars of the Earth" and I felt stupid cause I had urged people to watch it based upon the book and it was nothing like the book at all.
It felt like all the good stuff from the book had been left out, and that they just took the names and put them in a new story.
In all fairness, in Pillars they changed a lot from the book too, it's just that they did it in a good way.
I think that in general I really enjoyed pillars of the earth because they harnessed the same energy and themes as I read in the book and stuck so close to the books story line.
Trying to pack a 1000+ page novel into an 8 episode mini series was always going to be tough, especially since the huge range of characters prevalent in Ken Follett novels requires such a diversity of scenes in order to bring them together and allow the story to flow seamlessly.
That was probably wise, especially if you like Ken Follett's books.The series from the first book "Pillars of the Earth" was fairly satisfying.
However, like most Jane Austen fans, if you are a Ken Follett fan, you require only two things in turning books into movies: 1) an attempt at accuracy with plots/characters, 2) changes that only ENHANCE the movie.
Ken Follett wrote a story set in the 14th century.The mini-series "World Without End" is set in the 14th century.With the exception of some of the characters' names, any similarity between the book and the television production ends there.Cast: considering what they were given as dialogue the actors were the real highlight; they certainly rose above the material.Design: well-done, at least insofar as big-budget TV goes.
I was less than pleased with the treatment he gave Pillars of the Earth (Follett's "prequel" to World Without End) but ultimately the changes he made worked, and were understandable given the realities of budget and running time.I have no idea what Mr Pielmeier did with Ken Follett's World Without End, because it surely isn't what was filmed.The changes from the book are numerous - if you're a fan of the novel, I don't think you'll enjoy this screen adaptation.
Equally, it can be done with complete mediocrity - like World Without End.Stories can follow a book closely or diverge widely, but if a plot is well-done, ultimately it can stand alone - The Bridge on the River Kwai has a quite different conclusion from what Pierre Boulle wrote.
And having the one-armed monk be Edward II was a good idea and was what I thought was going to happen when I read the book.The softcore porn scenes throughout the miniseries are also a nice touch.My advice is: Read Pillars of the Earth but skip the miniseries & Watch World without End but skip the book..
I loved Pillars and it was as amazing as the books, but this series......In just 45 minutes they killed the entire story.
The real Edward III was a very ambitious and domineering personality and a warmonger - the character in this mini series fails to give that impression.I found a lot of the story line to be painfully contrived - the bad prior and his mum keep getting away with murder and skulduggery far too many times for it to be believable.
I originally watched Pillars of earth with my family before reading the book which in many cases was better.
I was turned on to Ken Follet books by my mother and my brother who both he agreed he was amazing.When I read Pillars of the earth afterwords, I saw differences but not anything that was impossible to change from book to screen.
It was such a moving story, I waited two years for this mini series to come out, and the first two episodes were a disappointment.But that was because I watched it from the perspective of a person who read the book and adored it.
It may not be good for the audience who loves violence so they changed it, but the audience are the people who have read the book.