That's right, bookish hoards... there are some movies and TV shows that are VASTLY better than the books that birthed them. It's a fact well known that this doesn't happen often, but it does happen. So for all the book purists in the world, forgive me. Some stories are just better represented in film, and adapted from the original version. Screenwriters, like novelists, can sometimes add to a story rather than detract from it. Here are a few examples of why I feel this way:
Witches Of East End--I will NEVER forgive Lifetime for cancelling this show! This cast of fierce women and the men who love them was such a pleasure to watch on screen. Star crossed lovers, powerful women, secrets, magic, mystery, and just so many wonderful things happened on this show. Getting cancelled after season 2 was an absolute travesty and I'm still not over it. #SaveAuntWendy Why do I think this was written better in the TV show than the books?? Well, I'll tell you, I couldn't even finish the first of the books. Freya for example in the books is an overly sexualized character who gives away all her character agency as her blouse literally falls open (with no bra on beneath) when she trips, landing perfectly into the hands of her soon-to-be handsome doctor fiance.... I mean... can we say cheesy?? The screenwriters took characters that were objectified and gave them power and intention... no easy feat considering the source material.
Roswell- This is a cult classic from growing up and the TV show also was cancelled WAY too soon. The book series is a much younger audience and considering this has been rebooted with the characters now being adults... I'd say aging them up from the book series was a smart move. There are many plot points that have changed though, when the original TV show was developed... the books hadn't even been released yet... so of course there are going to be a ton of differences.
The 100- This one will be contentious, I can already tell. I have an unhealthy obsession/love for the TV show on the CW The 100.... my son's name is Bellamy.... just saying. This show took original content from the books and expanded this world into so much more than it was ever intended to be. In fact, they even had the same person who created the fictional languages for the Game Of Thrones series create the grounder language in the 100.
Do you have any TV shows or movie adaptation of books that you think were better than the book? Why? Let me know!