It is not even open for debate. The series should be a period piece either late 50s or early 60s.I think that is one of the main reasons for the poor reception of the movie. And, I agree the cast can not change from week to week. You have to learn the characters and you can not do that if you have a different Dagny or different Rearden every week. I was not impressed with any of the characters in any of the movies. I did not think they came across very strong.

Definitely day after tomorrow show. Should be easy to make radio speeches TV speeches etc... It will make more since now.

Well Amen and Hallelujah! This will be an interesting litmus test of the general public. :)

It's a better idea than the films,frankly,since it can really take much more time. But I think this time the producers need to really stay away from trying to "contemporize" it. There's a look and feel that Rand implied in her book that is so clear in the first few pages. Frankly, the look and feel of "Sky Captain" is closer to what I think Rand would have liked than the sort of "made for TV movie" feel of the films. Done properly, this can envelop the watcher in the setting so that no one cares that people in the series don't use computers.

I am for the period setting. There are too many small aspects of the storyline (as with many stories written in that time) that don't translate well into modern times. People have cel phones now, which disrupts a lot of aspects. You can Google your way into finding just about anything or anyone (and there's the dark net for the things you can't Google). Train depots wouldn't have to rely on copper to communicate with T.T. headquarters or other stations (to warn them of a derailment).

Most importantly, people don't do radio speeches. Mass communication has changed dramatically since the 50's. Even as dramatically since 2000. (Fine, I think the POTUS does still do radio speeches now and then, but that's certainly no longer our means of mass communication.)

Galt wouldn't need to hijack anyone else's radio broadcast to get his message out there - unless he was a hacker and wanted to hijack a satellite feed to cable providers the Academy Awards broadcast, or the Superbowl, which would probably have more viewers than any SOTU address.


Sure, there are a lot (a damned lot) of things going on today, that a series could tie into, to show "Altas Shrugged: Now Non-fiction", but to keep the integrity of the story and the events, I think it needs to stay in the 50's.

Do not do a period piece. Make it current as we're seeing it happen happen every day. We're watching a government despot enforce is doctrine every day. Force people to vote when they may not want to participate in an election. Force people to buy health insurance policies they do not need. Force Christians to act against their faith. Force the university of Notre Dame to obey pro-abortion Obama mandate. Force a group of Catholic nuns to obey the Obamacare birth control mandate. Force the true owners of General Motors to give up ownership against their wishes and give ownership to a corrupt union that neither earned nor purchased that ownership. Make the television series current, please.

I would like to see it told from the perspective of Hank Rearden (since he was the last character to be brought to the Gulch) with him being older and reminiscing over his life as an old man and reflecting on why he had to come to the Gulch. Then it could follow the tandem cycles of him building his wealth and legacy both in his pre-Gulch life facing adversity and his post-Gulch life where he was able to accomplish what he needed to do with nothing holding him back.

I like the idea of a "day after tomorrow" kind of piece. But keep that 1920s Art Deco feel that the jacket of the book has always inspired.

I am already waiting impatiently. I am also trying to think of the network that will carry the series. Most have such a liberal bias.

Hi,
A Mini Series??? I hope NOT. I have always thought that Atlas Shrugged needed to be a Complete TV series in order to really show the depth/insight of each character. Season One - Part One, Season Two - Part Two and so on; each chapter being an episode. Making it a MINI SERIES will end up being a rush job, like the movies.

I vote for the show to be set in the 1950's when the book was published. Here's why:

The first three seasons of Mad Men and Dowton Abbey were so powerful because it showed us where we came from. It Let Us Make Our Own Conclusions. From smoking and drinking in the office (now a HUGE no no), to how women were treated, to how women started asserting themselves, to being in the closet if you were gay.

During 2008-2010 as news stories would emerge about the economy I at first would wonder why it was familiar, until it occurred to me it was right out of Atlas Shrugged and said to myself, so this is how it starts. (prompting me to read it again).

The second reason is that I'm sorry, but the movies were terrible. Just terrible; partly because it was set in present day and if you didn't read the book you didn't get it. I still haven't seen the third installment - I could not sit through yet another quick butchering of the story with new cast members to boot. Subsequently, having a series pick up where the movie left off... will not have the interest; if you already dislike the theories...why watch it. And besides, right now there are so many "future" shows on it won't stand out.

Lastly - I have met several people, even some who are conservative, who don't like Ayn Rand but have not read Atlas Shrugged. So many people put her theories down, yet don't really know what they are. Education is still needed. Side note: doesn't the movie Divergent have a similar ring to Rand's first novel, Anthem?

As I said to my niece (raised by my left leaning sister), In the book there are both good and bad capitalist, good and bad wealthy, good and bad not so wealthy with a love story running through it. Read the book - make up your own mind; set the series in the 50's, let the audience make up their own mind.

Rand's perspectives and beliefs were formed during that time frame and that's why the book continues to be so powerful today because of how correctly she nailed it. Thank you reading this far.

I would like to see it set in the original time period. I believe this would keep the integrity of the storyline intact and reduce the need to "interpret" what Ayn Rand would change to fit current days environment. Alternatively, a series set in Today with a lot of flash backs to the 1950s might be interesting as a comparison to the social progress impact the the novel.

I definitely should be set in the near future.

I agree with another reader "that it should start in the 50's and fast forward through the decades to "The Day After Tomorrow" to give the younger audience a basis for what happened to get us to where we are today.'

In a decent world, the idea would be wonderful, but today's world is NOT decent. IT is decadent.
If this comes to fruition, I fear that "circumstances" will result in a "watering down" of the premise of Galt's Gulch. I fear it will weaken, and the WEAKENED idea will be touted as "what could you expect? It's a loony idea anyway and only crazies would think otherwise." I've seen a lot of caving by people over the years, and I fear a TV series could totally destroy the premise of Ayn Rand's philosophy and great books.

Let me start by saying this is amazing news and I couldn't be excited about the potential for not only great television,but the possibility to change the world for some viewers.

For myself, and I'm sure I'm not the only one, as a fan I would love it to be set in the 1950's.

On the other hand, I think it is very important to attempt to make it relevant to today if you are going to reach people who are around my age (32) or earlier. I fear that if it is set in the 1950's a lot of people will miss the relevance to the way things are today.

I look at this television series the same way that I looked at the movies, any chance to spread the ideas of Ayn Rand is an opportunity to change some peoples way of thinking if they think at all.

Minimum screen time - at least 30 hours. 3 seasons of 10 episodes each, roughly along the lines of the 3 parts of the book.
The movie trilogy cuts out way too much. Dozens of pages on Dagny and Francisco's childhood romance, for example, get compressed into the briefest references.
There is scope to expand on the characters in ways that are consistent with their depiction in the book and its themes. For example, Judge Narragansett, a significant minor character (who is completely omitted from the all-too-brief movie trilogy).
And, I would set it in the 2030s.

An Atlas Shrugged series is awesome news! I also like the idea of a period piece, and ideally one with a twist, like the steam punk or dieselpunk (art deco, 1940s) ideas mentioned by others.

So, where's the jobs posting?

What a terrific idea. It will, however, require some top notch screen writers with permission and a mandate to alter the focus of the story. AR wrote AS as a 1%er, about 1%ers, for 1%ers. To have the correct impact it will need to be written for the rest of us though tying in with real modern day 1%ers (e.g. Trump) Maybe from the perspectives of Eddie and Cheryl. Of course movement to here and now will be required and maybe some set up as to the rebirth of rail travel -- not tied to the boondoggle of high speed rail.
Success!!

While AS would be well served by a TV or streaming series, Aglialoro has already plowed that soil.
I think it would be very cool to use the characters, settings, products and philosophies of the novel and expand the story into new adventures of Dagny, Hank, Francisco, et al.
Ann's prose and philosophy In AS are exquisite but as we see this community has the passion to take this prescient work to the next level.

I liked the near future idea. But John Gault should have been more mysterious like in the book. Who is John Gault? Kept me reading (the first time around) until he finally is identified as a person.

OMG I just realized I am going to have to buy a dozen more new T Shirts. And that's just the start.

OK. Math and numbers. If it is a short mini series, say, 10 episodes. 42 mins of program per hour on commercial TV. That equals 420 mins or 7 hours. Not much longer than the screen trilogy. If purchased for a full single season program of 24 episodes you are out over 16 hours. Plenty of time to cover all the characters and do justice to the story. The Galt speech still has to be trimmed to about what it was. However, if you get a commitment to 24 episodes and don't get the ratings the whole thing might not make it on the air. A period piece will be more expensive unless you turn to even more CGI effects. CGI is also very expensive. Big CGI films cost 150 million plus for a couple of hours on screen. Of course everyone wants the message to come across loud and clear. But you also have to add plenty of soap opera and a bit of action to keep people coming back every week. Cliffhangers always help keep an audience once established coming back for more. When you decide on TV you are playing a big money game. A pilot episode may have to be made and pass muster before a lot of money is committed. If you can get a script the quality of Lonesome Dove you will have a winner. Of course that was only 6 hours. Keep all these things in mind and the challenges presented before you get too excited. I think a pilot will have to be produced before a big money commitment is made.

Ayn Rand was so far ahead with her vision and warnings, and she had an real affect of so many people. Little did she know, though I am sure she hoped, her efforts would delay the day she knew might eventually come. I think a TV show should be set in 'the day after tomorrow' because it makes for better entertainment and allows a much broader storyline to be developed. You can be true to Ayn Rand's teachings and incorporate them throughout the series, using recent past happens along with present day, to teach people to think, in an entertaining way, as she did naturally, if you have A then you add B, you will get C. Maybe showing people they can make a difference if they take actions to change things today, then their tomorrow can be changed as well. Empowering people is what she was all about and I think she would be proud to know she was still making a difference.

The problem with "Hollywood" is that they will do a "pilot" and it looks great and the money machine is on que, but the crap falls all to you know where.....
It needs to be right on the money as far as the legacy goes....but a TV show would be fantastic....