1980’s The Lathe of Heaven delivered a rare bit of intelligent science fiction at a time when the genre was at a low point on television, and for the most part it still stands up today.
What Is It?
This 1980 PBS-produced TV movie adapts Ursula K. Le Guin’s acclaimed 1971 science fiction novel The Lathe of Heaven. The story follows a man, George Orr, who discovers that his dreams can affect reality. He tries to use drugs to suppress the dreams but with no success, and finds himself sent to counseling with dream specialist Dr. Haber. As the therapy sessions progress, Haber discovers that George’s claims of effective dreaming are actually true and the doctor begins to manipulate his patient’s ability with the intention of making a better world. But he quickly finds that his good intentions are constantly thwarted by George’s unpredictable subconscious mind. And he also steers too close to an even darker truth hidden deep within his patient’s mind.
Cast: Bruce Davison, Kevin Conway, Margaret Avery
Crew: David Loxton (Director), Roger Swaybill (Teleplay), Diane English (Teleplay), Ursula K. Le Guin (Novel)
Originally Aired: 1980
Legacy:
This movie sticks very close to the source material and it is a perfect example of how television can do science fiction right. It is a bit dated and the special effects are sub-par in some places, but for the most part it represents sci fi TV at its best.
A Closer Look:
As the 1980s began, the broadcast networks were giving up on sci fi (again) after the expensive failures of Battlestar: Galactica and Buck Rogers in the 25th Century, and there were few options for genre fans airing in Prime Time. But over on PBS, an interesting TV movie showed up and delighted the lovers of sci fi who managed to catch it. The Lathe of Heaven is very faithful to the book, containing only a few variations and omissions from the source material, primarily for budgetary reasons and/or to make it fit within the two-hour framework. Genre mainstay Bruce Davison (Willard, X-Men, Star Trek Voyager and Enterprise, etc.) delivers the perfect George Orr, playing the character as a simple, nebbish man who only wants a normal life without the awesome responsibility of “effective dreaming”. Kevin Conway does an equally good job of portraying Dr. Haber, a powerful man in contrast to the somewhat timid George Orr. He is not an evil man, but he does become blinded by his own good intentions. This is even more apparent as Haber delves deeper and deeper into his attempts to control George’s dreams. Margaret Avery, as the social worker Heather Lelache, also does a good job of sharing the stage with the two main characters and does not get swallowed up by their more dominating performances.
The Lathe of Heaven is important because of its serious and respectful treatment of its source material in a medium that rarely understands science fiction. As mentioned above, it sticks close to the story of the book and does not try to dumb it down for the television audience. The broadcast networks had a hard time figuring out good sci fi because they always tried to appeal to the masses. But since this was a PBS production, a more intellectual approach to the material was acceptable. But that doesn’t mean that the film was “too cerebral” as NBC networks once referred to the first pilot for Star Trek. It works in the drama of the story as well and does a good job balancing that with the sci fi elements. Interestingly, NBC aired the British-made mini-series adaptation of Brave New World in 1980 which was also a good adaptation of the book it was based on. That seemed to signal a possible move towards quality short-form sci fi in Prime Time, but sadly the networks did not follow up on that.
Since The Lathe of Heaven was made in 1980, it is somewhat dated. Dr. Haber’s supercomputer which occupies an entire office seems like a dinosaur in comparison to today’s tablets and smartphones. Also, the extremely limited budget results in some incredibly cheesy special effects at times, especially the alien invasion scene (which looks sort of like an attack of video game spaceships). The aliens themselves are fairly well done, though, coming very close to Le Guin’s descriptions in the book. But overall, the pros far outweigh the cons, and this TV movie ultimately ranks among the finer science fiction productions, either on television or in film, even if it has since mostly faded into obscurity.
Should It Be Rebooted?
There was a second adaptation of the book that aired on the A&E cable channel in 2002, but it took a very different approach to the source material. That one revised the original story significantly and ultimately played out like an extended episode of The Twilight Zone. It was actually not a bad film when taken on its own, but surely a disappointment to fans of Le Guin’s book. And while the 1980 movie does look somewhat cheesy by today’s standards, it does not need a reboot. Perhaps revised special effects for the alien invasion sequence and a few other scenes, but apart from that it still stands up well.
Interesting Facts:
This film was actually the first of what was supposed to be a series of science fiction television movies by PBS adapting major works of literature from the genre. Unfortunately, that project was abandoned after one more film was produced, Overdrawn at the Memory Banks (based on a short story by John Varley).
PBS would rebroadcast the movie from time to time until 1988 when its rights expired. It then became one of the most-requested programs in the network’s history. The re-release was held up in part due to rights issues with the music, one song in particular was “With a Little Help From My Friends” by the Beatles. A cover version was used to replace the original song and the film finally received a rebroadcast and a home video release in 2000.
Where Can You Watch It?
Sadly, the DVD has gone out of print and there appear to be no current plans to reissue it or perhaps do a Blu-ray version. It is also not currently available for streaming on any of the major services. You can find the full movie on YouTube, and it is worth seeking out, but it may not stay there long due to rights issues. The 2002 film is also hard to track down on home video.
