Source Material
Title: Delirium (Delirium #1)
Author: Lauren Oliver
Published: 2012
Series: Delirium
When I first heard that Lauren Oliver’s Delirium series was optioned for television, I was stoked. After all, we can never have too much YA-inspired television, amiright?
Then came the news that the pilot wasn’t picked up by Fox, which left us all hanging, Selection-style. LAME.
But! Out of left field, Hulu announced that they would stream the pilot, and I got excited all over again, because this NEVER happens. Finally, we would get a glimpse of the show that could’ve been, starring Emma Roberts and Billy Campbell.
So I watched it.
And y’all, it is TERRIBLE. TER-RI-BLE.
If you haven’t seen it, give it a shot, and feel free to come back here and argue with me. But holy smokes, WHAT A DISASTER.
It’s easy to see why Fox balked at picking the show up:
- The premise, already far-fetched in book form, seems ABSOLUTELY RIDICULOUS. (And not in a good way.) I mean, when the sheep came out, I was like embarrassed for my television.
- The entire first novel is packed into the pilot episode, which means there’s no time for the audience to invest in any of the characters, and also, WHAT’S THE RUSH?
- The acting is the worst.
- JK, the dialogue is the worst.
Other observations:
- Shizz, Billy Campbell is old, y’all. And that makes me sad, because I had a huge crush on him, circa The Rocketeer.
- The actor who plays Alex was moderately hot, but the actor who played Julian was SUBPAR. In other news, I’m Team (Book) Julian.
- It’s been too long since I read the first book, so I have no idea what’s been changed for the TV show, except for the fact that Julian was not around much in the first novel, and he most definitely did NOT flirt with Hana.
- The show really should’ve focused more on the ADF materials, because as the Mockingjay campaign has shown, propaganda can be incredibly compelling.
I honestly don’t know if this series, in more capable hands, could have made the leap to television, but whoever greenlit this project needs to check his/herself before he/she wrecks herself. Also, that person needs to read more YA.
Did you watch the pilot? What did you think? Leave your rants/raves/WTFs in the comments!
