Alex Rider - Better TV Series Rather Than Movie?

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I've been reading the Alex Rider series lately - I had already read Stormbreaker and Point Blanc but not the others - and something that's struck me about them is that they feel very televisual.

In 2006, a film based on the first book (Stormbreaker) was released in cinemas...and it bombed. But could the reason why it bombed be because the books don't lend themselves to movies? Could it be that Alex Rider would make a better TV Series?

I mean, the start of Point Blanc with Alex dumping the drug dealers in the middle of an anti-drugs conference is screaming to be a pre-credits scene before the title sequence kicks in.



I am the Watcher in the Night
I read these as a kid and kinda liked them and I think thats the way they should stay: aimed at kids. So a kids TV series could be great but making a movie and aiming it at a wider audience is probably why it flopped.
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I read these as a kid and kinda liked them and I think thats the way they should stay: aimed at kids. So a kids TV series could be great but making a movie and aiming it at a wider audience is probably why it flopped.
Personally I don't see them as purely for kids. To me, it's more like Doctor Who: kids can read it but equally adults can enjoy it too. I see an Alex Rider series as more of a primetime BBC1 drama; I mean, the books don't exactly kiddify the dangers of a spy life. There's lots of death and dark themes of genocide, destruction and nuclear weapons.



Personally I don't see them as purely for kids. To me, it's more like Doctor Who: kids can read it but equally adults can enjoy it too. I see an Alex Rider series as more of a primetime BBC1 drama; I mean, the books don't exactly kiddify the dangers of a spy life. There's lots of death and dark themes of genocide, destruction and nuclear weapons.
I wish Horowitz would have a crack at Doctor Who – he's done everything else, let's face it.



I attempted reading his Sherlock Holmes novel Moriarty and it was interesting and well matched to Doyle but I just couldn't maintain the interest .



I attempted reading his Sherlock Holmes novel Moriarty and it was interesting and well matched to Doyle but I just couldn't maintain the interest .
I just finished reading the third Alex Rider book and it is very similar to Doctor Who in the way it explores very mature themes. The poor kid comes away from the adventure traumatised - and still the secret agency want to use him as their 'secret weapon'!



I just finished reading the third Alex Rider book and it is very similar to Doctor Who in the way it explores very mature themes. The poor kid comes away from the adventure traumatised - and still the secret agency want to use him as their 'secret weapon'!
It's a shame in the new series that quite often the companions don't come away as better for the experience of being with the Doctor. Martha for instance was a real disappointment because she was such a nice person initially but seemed to coarsen towards the end. I think Rose was the same.



Are you gonna bark all day, little doggy?
The Alex Rider series is essentially the James Bond series but in kid form. It has all of the Bond villains, gadgets, cliches, strengths, and weaknesses. But since it's aimed at kids, it works far better as a TV series or simply as a novel series. I don't think any kid could play off the wittiness of Sean Connery or somesuch and have it work well. Simply because kid actors typically don't have enough charisma.

IMO the Alex Rider series is far too much inspired by James Bond, conversely making it uninspired in turn.