Renowned author George R. R. Martin has written more than the Song of Ice and Fire novels, which spawned television series Game of Thrones and House of the Dragon, the latter of which promises a bloody Targaryen war when it returns for its third season next summer. That said, apart from his sprawling fantasy powerhouse, precious few of his works have been adapted for television or film. His novelette “Sandkings,” for one, was adapted for television and served as the pilot episode for the rebooted Outer Limits in 1995. Another is Nightflyers, which was first adapted for film in 1987 before being made into a television series for SYFY in 2018. That sci-fi horror series only lasted a single season, but it deserves to be remembered along with Martin’s epic Westeros sagas.
‘Nightflyers’ is Inspired by Martin, Borrows from Others
Nightflyers is based on Martin’s novella of the same name, set in his Thousand Worlds science fiction series. But a book of 88 pages where – SPOILER – seven out of eight characters die before the end is thin material for a series (Martin himself said, upon learning of plans for a series, “What’s going to be in the fourth episode? Who’s going to watch four seasons of a spaceship full of corpses?”) As a result, Martin’s book serves as more of an inspiration and framework as opposed to a direct adaptation. In this regard, the series is significantly different than Game of Thrones, which, despite some departures, hews much closer to Martin’s novels.
In order to stretch out Martin’s short story for a series, Nightflyers borrows liberally from other well-known works of the genre. It’s something creator Jeff Buhler fully admits to, saying, “We leaned heavily on the shoulders of the greats. We were not shy about pulling the themes and even some imagery.” In no particular order, the series has elements from 2001: A Space Odyssey, Alien, The Shining, The Exorcist, and, perhaps most blatantly, Event Horizon, Paul W.S. Anderson‘s complete mind-f**k of a movie.
Nightflyers begins with a very The Shining-esque scene where Dr. Agatha Matheson (Gretchen Mol) is being stalked by an ax-wielding Angus Sampson, and manages to broadcast a warning to stay away from the ship, appropriately called the Nightflyer, before taking her own life. The series then jumps back in time to 2039, with the bulk of the first season serving as context for that moment. A mysterious illness is ravaging Earth, with a population already weakened by a lack of resources. A crew of scientists gets aboard the Nightflyer in an attempt to connect with an advanced race of aliens, the Volcryn, in hopes they will help. The crew includes Karl D’Branin (Eoin Mackin), who leaves behind his wife and deceased daughter; Captain Roy Eris (David Ajala), who keeps himself separated from the others, appearing only as a hologram; genetically-enhanced Melantha Jhiri (Jodie Turner-Smith), and telekinetic Thale (Sam Strike), brought along to communicate with the Volcryn.
‘Nightflyers’ Is Busy, but Worthwhile
Over the course of their journey, the crew sees things – D’Branin sees his dead daughter talking to him, for example – which, at first, they blame on Thale, assuming he’s playing with their minds. But it turns out the spaceship is haunted, and it’s a matter of survival until they reach their goal. The haunted-house element is easily the strongest in the series, and, as our own Collider argues in the previously cited article, would have worked best had the series simply stuck with that concept.
Instead, Buhler and company overfill the series with almost too many turns. It’s a haunted house, hard sci-fi, space opera, body horror, and psychological thriller all in one, but loosely connected all the same. Backstories for the characters are explored via a memory suite, which gives characters a tangible exploration of their memories, neither of which exist in Martin’s book. Likewise, themes like science vs. faith, mankind’s hubris, and the mystery of the unknown are largely created within the series itself, which makes sense given Martin had little input into the series, due to his exclusive deal with HBO (per the previously cited New York Times). What they did keep was the randiness, with a liberal future where sex – “sexing,” as they call it – is a recreational activity, like tennis. Just not with family like they do on Game of Thrones.
Forget ‘Game Of Thrones, This Is The George R.R. Martin Book That Deserves A Show
Martin delved into an entirely different genre with this underrated book series.
That said, Nightflyers actually shares quite a bit with its Martin kin. Any character, no matter how prominent they are in the show, is not safe from a sudden, vicious death (alas, Ned Stark, we hardly knew ye). Additionally, there are no clear-cut moralities among the characters, with all existing in a morally gray environment (Sampson’s character kills a number of people on his rampage, but is released from his cell because his help is needed), leaving little room for optimism. And Martin’s Thousand Worlds expansive universe is as intricate, imaginative, and detailed as the world of Westeros.
Of course, the full depth and potential were never explored, with the series eschewing Martin’s definitive ending for a cliffhanger scenario being cancelled by Syfy in February 2019. Still, Nightflyers is a fascinating, engaging watch, stunning to look at and much deeper than the conventional sci-fi show (and infinitely better than SYFY’s other offerings, right Sharknado?).
