We all are familiar with
the saying- "Never judge a book by its movie!” it’s like an oath to us all
nerds. There is an unsaid rule- to first read the book then go watch the movie
based on that particular book and then criticize the movie for the obvious
reasons. Book is always better than the movie no doubt.
We do know that there is
a long list of movies based on books but what about serial adaptation of the
same?! Yes! The new thing gaining popularity are T.V shows based on novels with
little variations, making it more mysterious by adding subplots and supporting
characters. The question that arises is should we start judging TV shows based
on books? Or should it be the other way round?!
Let us find out with many popular and the hottest T.V shows based on books that have got us all hooked to our
couch.
This new American
epic-fantasy series based on George R.R. Martin's "A Song of Ice and Fire" has a huge international fan following. The
series revolve around the struggles between the noble families for the control
of the Iron Throne. The originally planned trilogy is extended into seven
volumes- A Game of Thrones, A
Clash of Kings, A Storm of Swords, A Feast for Crows, A Dance with Dragons, A
Winds of Winter and A Dream of Spring. These books were not so popular before but recently have gained
a tremendous fanfare because of the series and have now sold more than 15 million
copies. Apart from series adaptation, it also has comic book adaptation and
several car, board and video game adaptation too. So I guess Mr. George have
the T.V show to thank for such humongous success of the book!!
Who is not addicted to
this show?! This teen-drama is loosely based on series of novels written by Sara Shepard. The show revolves around the sudden disappearance of queen bee
Alison DiLaurentis and how it affects the life of the four girls- Spencer
Hastings, Aria Montgomery, Emily Fields and Hanna Marin who were her 'supposed'
best friends. A frequent mysterious message from unknown ‘A’ to these girls who
threatens to reveal all their secrets just adds on to the drama. I never did
hear about the novel before until recently. It seems that the T.V show is way more
popular than the novels.
The show with incredibly
hot actors and the most amazing styling is based on the novels by the same name
by Cecily Von Zeigesar. Narrated by an omniscient blogger 'Gossip Girl', the
show revolves around the elitist affairs of Serena van der Woodson, her on-off
best friend Blair Waldorf, the bad boy of Upper East Side of Manhattan Chuck
Bass, the golden boy Nate Archibald and an outsider Dan Humphrey. There was a
lot of controversy and criticism revolving around the show as it didn't adhere
to the books plot. But nonetheless the show was admired and accepted by
everyone with its season finale being a huge success. Without any doubt Blake
Lively steals the show! I mean who would want to read when you have someone so gorgeous
to look forward to.
One of the most
addictive supernatural shows about humans, vampires, werewolves and witches has
got us all wanting for more. The show revolves around how a young human girl
Elena finds herself in love with two vampire brothers Stefan and Damon
Salvotore. The novels on which it is based, written by L.J Smith were never heard of before the show thus owing all the success to the series.
I am sure you all know about this show, based on the
books written by Candace Bushnell the series revolves around the lives of four women in
their mid thirties and forties. It showcases different sex lives of these
women, their aging problems, the men they love and their friendship to each
other. The show is very much popular among young girls and ladies and has won
around 7 Emmy Award, 8 Golden Globes and much more. The novel that was unheard
of before became popular amongst the mass after the success of the series. The
series was later adapted into a feature film Sex and the City and its sequel
Sex and the City 2. Obviously the T.V show proves to be a clear winner in
competition with the book.
Yes, not many of you know that your favorite T.V
show Dexter’s first season is largely based on the novel ‘Darkly Dreaming
Dexter’ by Jeff Lindsay (to be true neither did I until I did a little research
about it). The later seasons that followed were independent of the novel. Nonetheless
the show and the book were both popular among the viewers and the readers
respectively.
Who can forget the
cannibalistic serial killer Hannibal Lecter?! He was introduced in the novels
written by Thomas Harris namely 'Red Dragon', 'The Silence of the Lamb', 'Hannibal'
and 'Hannibal Rising'. I have read all of these books and mind you they are the
ones not to be missed. Hannibal Lecter can give you creeps in the night. The
show like the novel is a huge success among the viewers. The psychological
profile killer Dr. Hannibal Lecter sure has a huge fan following among both the
book lovers as well as the viewers.
So after 'reviewing' the
most popular T.V shows based on novels, it can thus be concluded that
series adaption of books is not that bad after all. In most of the cases the show made
the books popular and most important of all is that the show does adhere to the
details given in the book, what more can we book lover ask for?!
If you feel that I have missed out on your favorite book adapted into a T.V show or so, feel free to comment.
P.S- I am really sorry posting after such a long time, I promise to post more often.
Happy Reading until my next post :)
