Many classic sci-fi stories have been adapted for film and television. In the former category, some even rank among the best science fiction movies. However, there’s one story that’s been around for 65 years that still has yet to receive either treatment. In 1961, author Robert Heinlein published Stranger in a Strange Land, which took its title from an Exodus verse in the King James Bible.

The book tells the story of Valentine Michael Smith, a human who was born on Mars as the sole survivor of a space expedition, raised by Martians, and then brought to Earth as a 20-year-old. As he learns about life on our world, Valentine, who also has special powers, becomes a celebrity. He even creates his own church that blends elements of Martian culture with the hedonistic ideology of a rival church.

Stranger in a Strange Land won the 1962 Hugo Award for Best Novel, and was named by the Library of Congress as one of the 88 “Books that Shaped America.” The book also introduced terms to the public lexicon like “grok,” “Fair witness,” and “waterbed,” with the latter coming a decade before the modern waterbed was created.

Yet, despite its impressive reputation, Stranger in a Strange Land has never been given the movie or TV adaptation treatment, unlike fellow Heinlein novel Starship Troopers, which spawned a movie series. However, that’s not for a lack of trying, as Heinlein’s 1961 novel came close to making it to the small screen in the 2010s.

Syfy announced in November 2016 that it was partnering with Paramount Television and Universal Cable Productions to make a television series adaptation of Stranger in a Strange Land. It was part of a development slate at the time that included Krypton, Happy!, a reboot of the 2013 sci-fi movie The Machine, and Brave New World.

However, that was the only time this adaptation of Heinlein’s novel received media attention. No on-camera or behind-the-scenes talent was ever announced for the project, and no further Stranger in a Strange Land updates have been provided. The Machine also failed to materialize. Krypton and Happy! both only lasted two seasons, and Brave New World, an adaptation of Aldous Huxley’s same-named dystopian novel, was ultimately moved to Peacock.

Whatever the reason for Syfy’s Stranger in a Strange Land moving forward, this Heinlein novel is arguably more difficult to adapt than Starship Troopers. Its religious and sexual themes were innovative for the early 1960s, and the book still functions as an intriguing time capsule of what sci-fi literature was like in this era. However, they’re not the most translatable elements for an ambitious sci-fi movie or TV show.

Additionally, Stranger in a Strange Land was very much a product of its time when it came to sexism. Characters like nurse Jill Boardman and secretaries Anne, Miriam, and Dorcas, all of whom worked for intellectual Jubal Harshaw, weren’t depicted in the most flattering light. They certainly wouldn’t fly with contemporary audiences.

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All this being said, that doesn’t mean Stranger in a Strange Land should never be adapted outside the printed page. This is one of those instances where, although it’s still important to stay true to the spirit of the source material, it shouldn’t necessarily be a fully faithful adaptation.

That would be different if a film or TV version of Stranger in a Strange Land had been made later in the 1960s, but Heinlein’s take is in dire need of modernization if it’s going to succeed as an adaptation now. With the right creative mind, particularly someone who has experience with prestige sci-fi storytelling, a Stranger in a Strange Land adaptation could be effectively pulled off.

There’s also now the benefit of the streaming era, which hadn’t quite gotten underway when Syfy announced its TV project. A modernized TV version of Stranger in a Strange Land would benefit from being made as an exclusive for one of these platforms, as there would be fewer restrictions to deal with than if it were on basic cable.

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