Dune/Children of Dune

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two mini-series of TV Movies based on the first 3 Dune novels: Dune; Dune Messiah & Children of Dune...

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DUNE
n the 11th millennium Shaddam IV., ruler of the Galactic Empire, rids himself of his competitor Prince Leto by giving him control of the desert planet Dune also called Arrakis; fully aware that its present owner, Baron Harkonnen, will not give it up without a fight. The reason is that Arrakis is the source of the valuable spice, a substance produced by enormous and dangerous sand worms, which bestows special mental qualities on anyone who consumes it. A short while later Harkonnen does indeed succeed in ambushing and massacring Leto and his men. Leto's mistress Jwssica, who is a member of the clairvoyant order of Bene Gesserit, manages to escape into the desert with her son Paul, and after a long and dangerous march they finally encounter the Fremen, the long suppressed desert tribe of Arrakis. Impressed by Paul's clairvoyant abilities, tribal prince Stilgar takes in the fugitives. Very soon the Fremen are convinced that Paul is their long-prophesied redeemer, and Stilgar prepares him for his great task. While Paul is being instructed in the secrets of desert life he falls in love with young Chani, who bears him a son. During the next few years the Fremen, led by Paul, wage a guerilla war of attrition against Harkonnen, who suffers heavy losses. Most important of all, they sabotage the planet's spice production: this brings Shaddam IV. onto the scene, who senses that the basis of his power is being threatened. The rebels on Arrakis want to finish off the imperial forces once and for all, but after a terrible battle which costs him almost all his men, Shaddam is finally forced to concede defeat...

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After the production's completion and before its premiere, the Sci-Fi Channel authorized writer/director John Harrison (I) to write and direct a sequel miniseries. Harrison planned to base the next miniseries on Frank Herbert's Dune Messiah and Children of Dune.

Earned the Sci-Fi Channel's highest ratings to date.

Uses some of the same music from the film Dune (1984)

The cinematographer used matte backgrounds for the "exterior" shots, painted on massive fabric sheets. The detail worked so well that it eliminated the need to film the exteriors in an actual desert, and allowed the filmmakers to create a film with production values on par with most big screen science fiction productions at a fraction of the cost.

The design of the stillsuits was inspired by NASCAR cool suits, which pump chilled water through capillaries to keep its wearer from overheating (used also in Spawn (1997)).

The spice blow cloud was inspired by repeated viewings of the nuclear detonation montage at the end of Dr. Strangelove or: How I Learned to Stop Worrying and Love the Bomb (1964).

None of the guns actually worked; all muzzle flashes were added in postproduction.

The glowing Fremen eyes effect was accomplished with special ultraviolet contact lenses and a UV-filtering camera lens. The Mahdi statue at Sietch Tabr was inspired by the same Buddha statues which were much later destroyed by the Taliban.

The false spice in the scene where Gurney and Paul are reunited was really oregano.

Most of the Fremen were played by Czech actors.

Julie Cox is the narrator in the beginning and end of the mini-series.

During production, Laura Burton grew so much that near the end of filming her custom-designed contact lenses (designed to help create the Fremen blue eyes effect) no longer fit her properly. They became extremely irritating in later scenes, and during the climactic deposition scene the director asked her to spare herself the discomfort and not wear them at all.

Alice Krige turned down the role of Lady Jessica due to scheduling conflicts. She did, however accept the role in the sequel miniseries when Saskia Reeves proved unavailable.

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CHILDREN OF DUNE
Under Paul "Muad'Dib" Atreides' rule as Emperor, the planet Arrakis has enjoyed a renaissance. However, the revolution that Muad'dib inspired has transformed into a brutal jihad that has plunged all of humanity into a bitter, neverending cycle of interstellar war.
Now a conspiracy on Arrakis threatens to rob Muad'Dib of his throne and his life. The future of all of humanity might well rest in the hands of Muad'dib's young, vulnerable heirs — Leto II and his sister, Ghanima. Idealistic young Leto, however, fiercely resists his destiny as a force for sweeping changes, both on Arrakis and in the universe at large.
Unfortunately, the time for Leto to take action is drawing near, and friends and enemies are difficult to tell apart on Arrakis, where the only thing more precious than water is the Spice, a substance found only on Arrakis that makes possible interstellar space travel; extends life; and enables people who ingest it to have clairvoyant visions of distant places and of the future.
With the rule of Arrakis and the freedom of all humanity hanging in the balance, Leto must risk sacrificing his own humanity in order to save those who would see him destroyed.

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Despite the title, only the second and third parts are adapted from the novel "Children of Dune"; the first part is based on "Dune Messiah".

Many of the supporting parts are played by supporting actors from "Dune" (2000) (mini), recast into different characters. For example, Korba is played by Karel Dobry who previously portrayed Dr. Liet Kynes, and Klára Issová who played Lichna appeared as a Fremen housemaid in the Atreides palace.

According to interviews, Alice Krige was John Harrison's first choice to play Jessica in Dune, but was unavailable. However, Saskia Reeves had to back out of this series because of pregnancy, so Krige was re-offered the part.

Alia's death scene uses many of her lines and actions from her first appearance in Dune.