This is the Sci-Fi channel I miss and loved. A time when you'd finish watching this and a show like Lex would come on. The story itself is really solid and with its length is able to explore Dune as it was meant to be. But unlike its predecessor from 1984, the graphics do not hold up. I can easily get lost in the visual imagery from the 1984 version to this day... but this adaptation?I recall being much more wowed when it first aired. I think some of that has to do with the time. When this was released, there weren't a lot of shows that were so extravagant in the set pieces. Star Trek being an exception along with Farscape. If I were to equate the set pieces / costume, I'd put it more in line with Flash Gordon.I've not read the book, so whether this is an accurate representation to the source material is unknown to me. I still really enjoy it for what it is on its own. If you're looking for an epic mini-series, you could do worse... say, Langoliers kind of worse.

Dune 2000 TV series, with so little budget of $20,000,000 they were able to treat it with so much love and care that would only make you wonder what would they did if they didn't had to make it on so tight schedule and low budget, it's a story of a wasteland that was made so many times but never like this, when just a boy had to leave his home land and face terrible destiny of becoming a messiah, you can feel, watch how his character grow, At the end he is not the same person, and the best part is you can believe it. Almost most of the actors are unknown, but they all (well ...most) fit their parts perfectly, William Hurt as Duke Leto Atreides, i always though Leto to be a stronger character, but he did a great job, i got used to him in the first minutes, Alec Newman as Muad'Dib, this is the Muad'Dib in my mind, and now after seeing the series i can never visualize Muad'Dib other than him , and that is a big deal because Muad'Dib is my all-time hero , Saskia Reeves as Lady Jessica Atreides is not as good as i was hoping, she have few minutes to shin , like when she talk's to paul about him going too far , fearing for him and the rest of the universe, Ian McNeice as Baron Vladimir Harkonnen , there will never be a better Baron Vladimir Harkonnen than him , he is so good here i think he was born for this part, it's so good to see actors like him have a part where they could really show their true talents, he is outrages , melodramatic, with sick twisted cunning mind, whenever he is on the screen i think he is giving the series a whole new dimension. if you are frank herbert's fan , or a fan of any kind of Si-Fi, or simply love deep philosophical story , this is a must watch

Now I must say that both the 1984 and the 2000 versions have their flaws. I of course like the book best but I'll just review the 2000 interpretation.Paul Atreides: I prefer him over the 1984 Paul, he is just far more relatable. The 1984 Paul was harsh and cold, he has emotion and just has a great look.Duke Leto: Once again, he is preferable. He looks cooler, acts better, has far more screen time and is more meaningful to the story. He was one of my fav characters and his death scene was 100 times better than the crap I saw on the 1984 version. He has charisma and strength.Thufir Hawat: WHAT?!! One of the best characters of the book has been totally ruined here!! He is terribly underused, he has no charisma(MASTER OF ASSASAINS) and he wears a ridicuolus top hat! I find myself missing Freddie Jones's fantastic performance.Piter De Vries: Forgettable. That's the best way of saying it. Like Thufir, he wears a stupid hat. And he is just entirely forgettable. The contrast between him and Thufir that was so clear in the 1984 version is gone entirely and all I got was that he's an annoying adviser guy.Baron Vladimir Harkonnen: Here is where things get interesting. McNeice was a frickin' masterpiece. Gone is the ugly psycho-Baron from 1984. McNeice followed the book to the letter and brought his own style to the role. I kept hoping to see Harkonnen scenes more than Atreides scenes.Feyd-Rautha Harkonnen: My first reaction to him was: "Why isn't his hair ginger?". Looking back, I must say he makes a better Feyd than Sting did, he was just more... Feyd-ish. He was of course arrogant, but also had style, something that the 1984 Feyd(who wore the same suit for 2 years) lacked entirely.Rabban Harkonnen: His first name is not Glossu. It was said in the original book by Gurney himself: "Rabban Harkonnen". Anyway, I liked him better here, he was intimidating and if you'd been his prisoner, you would know straight away you're doomed. The 1984 Rabban was a buffoon.Duncan Idaho: While I enjoy Duncan having more screen time here, the 1984 Duncan was far better. This Duncan just wasn't... familiar. I dunno how to say it.Gurney Halleck: I think this is one of the few characters whom I like equally in all versions. The 2000 Gurney is sort of a cross between the rough ugly Gurney from the book and the Captain Picard from 1984.Lady Jessica: Like with Gurney, I like her equally in both versions. Of course, there's no denial that the 2000 Jessica is more beautiful.Shaddam IV: Personally, I liked the 1984 one far more. He immediately gave away a feeling of justice and security. He was an Emperor whom you would want to join. The 2000 version just kept annoying me with his attitude(it is sad that the new Herbert/Anderson books depict this Shaddam). Frank's original Shaddam seemed to be a cross between the 1984 and 2000 ones.Chani: Better here.Liet-Kynes: While the 1984 version had much more charisma, he lacked four things. First of all, I never knew he was Liet. Secondly, I never knew he was Chani's father. Thirdly, he didn't have his *I am a desert creature* death scene. Fourthly, it was never mentioned that he was behind the ecological reformation of Arrakis. Irulan: This Irulan was much better than the pointless 1984 Irulan. That's all I have to say.Sorry if the comparison bored you.I really liked this miniseries, it kept closer to the tone of the book. Unlike the 1984 version, it had warmth. The Fremen felt more adapted to the ways of the desert, the sandworms were clearly better.

After the Harkonnen's processes are no longer deemed satisfactory the Atreides family is requested by the Emperor of planets to oversee the extraction of a precious commodity known as Spice on Arrakis. However, an ongoing feud between Harkonnen and Atreides leads to treachery and double cross. A gifted young adult of the Atreides family after being exiled and thought dead turns to the denizens to restore order, not knowing that he maybe the prophesied messiah.It's not often that a miniseries limitations can be critically overlooked; however, Dune is the exception due to its intriguing multi-layered, character loaded presentation. Should Dune have been made recently with a filmatic look and budget of recent TV series' it may have become an archetype version of Dune.John Harrison's screenplay and direction is at times cleverly subtle, however, on occasion it is bland and clichéd. Notwithstanding much of the scripts highs and lows maybe be courteous of Frank Herbert's inspiring, influential novel source material as it's been around since 1965.The cast donning elaborate costumes are on fine form and wrestle well with Harrison's and Herbert's dialogue. The ensemble include the likes of Giancarlo Giannini, Saskia Reeves and Zuzana Geislerová who plays the creepy Reverend Mother Gaius Helen Mohiam. Julie Cox is captivating as Princess Irulan Corrino and William Hurt is perfectly cast as the heavy burdened, ill-fated Duke Leto Atreides. Notable is Karel Dobrý who gives a memorable and resonating performance as Dr. Pardot Kynes. Lead Alec Newman as Paul/Muad'Dib carries the story arch and weight of the series successfully.The effects and backdrops vary in quality and execution, some are wonderfully realised and ingeniously produced while others take you out of the moment, comparable in distraction to Ian McNeice's Baron Harkonnen breaking the fourth wall with theatrics to the camera.You can take or leave the actors, special effects, action scenes and sets the real star of the show is the story which can be revisited, dissected or just taken at face value. As with all grand sagas there's a lot going on, with an array of characters to keep track of. Perhaps it may be disappointing to those wanting to see a straightforward space adventure.Nevertheless, through all its short comings it's an epic story on a sweeping scale only hampered by its budget restrictions and occasional delivery.