Anne McCaffrey's Most Popular Sci-Fi Books Were Nearly Adapted By A TV Veteran

Dragon nerds the world over are likely deeply familiar with "Dragonriders of Pern." The long-running sci-fi fantasy novel series was created by Anne McCaffrey in the late 1960s, and its entries are often ranked among the best fantasy books of all time.

The first book in the series, "Dragonflight," was published in 1968, and it takes place in the very, very distant future on a faraway planet called Pern. Periodically, a cloud of killer spores called the Thread rains from the skies of Pern, killing all organic matter. This forced humans, many years ago, to take up an alliance with the outsize fire-breathing dragon monsters that are native to Pern, allowing them to burn up the Thread before it reaches the planet's surface. Thanks to genetic tinkering, the dragons are telepathic, so humans and dragons can form permanent telepathic links, called an Impression. By the time "Dragonflight" begins, the Thread hasn't been seen in quite a while, and the denizens of Pern are beginning to wonder if it was all a myth.

McCaffrey continued to write Pern-set novels for decades, publishing stories all the way until her death in 2011. Her son Todd McCaffrey wrote several Dragonriders books with her (and a few on his own), and her daughter Gigi McCaffrey has written one as well.

Some of McCaffrey's fans may also be aware that sci-fi luminary Ronald D. Moore — whose impressive list of writing/producing credits includes the 1990s "Star Trek" TV shows, the "Battlestar Galactica" TV series, and "For All Mankind" (one of Apple TV's best sci-fi shows) – began developing a "Dragonriders of Pern" TV adaptation in the early 2000s. According to a 2001 report by Sci-Fi Wire, the show's pilot was actually about to start production when the whole thing was shut down over creative differences.

The crash-and-burn of Ronald D. Moore's "Dragonriders of Pern" TV series was horrifically spectacular. In Moore's words: 

"We were supposed to start shooting the day before yesterday. We were very, very close. We were shooting in Santa Fe. We had the cast. We had the production team. We had the CGI. We had the whole enchilada, and they pulled the plug last Wednesday."

So, what happened to "Dragonriders of Pern" that it collapsed so quickly? According to Moore, he encountered a huge amount of studio interference at the last minute that would have changed his TV series into a different animal entirely. Evidently, Warner Bros. requested that Moore's script for the "Dragonriders of Pern" pilot episode be given a little "polish" to smooth out the dialogue. The script that was returned to Moore, however, had been completely rewritten to include a lighter tone, more jokes, and more whimsy. In contrast to that, Moore wanted to retain the feeling of Anne McCaffrey's books and make what he described as a "classy, interesting show." He continued:

"[W]hat was evident in the draft they commissioned, they wanted a different show. It was more 'Buffy'-esque and 'Xena'-esque. It was something they felt more comfortable with on The WB. [...] There wasn't a way to split the difference. Ultimately, they decided we should just let the project go. It was their decision. It was very disappointing for everybody."

It sounds like it, too.

Of course, both "Buffy the Vampire Slayer" and "Xena: Warrior Princess" (which only thrived because "Vanishing Son" flopped) were hit shows that combined fantasy elements with a winking, self-aware element that made them largely comedic and often silly. "Buffy" was, in some senses, just as much a comedy series as a horror show, whereas "Xena" was produced by Sam Raimi, infusing it with Raimi's trademark vivacious, energetic cartoon logic. Anyone familiar with Anne McCaffrey's "Dragonriders of Pern" novels will know that this is not her métier in the least. 

Ronald D. Moore was diplomatic about the shuttering of his TV adaptation, naturally, although he was clearly upset that he never got to realize his vision. He explained:

"We [...] had to shutter the offices, let the crew go, and it was too bad. But ultimately, I understand and respect the position of the network, because it's their network. But I had a responsibility to the material and the source of the material. [...] And I think the fans — while they may be disappointed that the series won't go forward — would have been more disappointed if we had made a series that contradicted the world that Anne had created and was so wonderful." 

This is a fair take. I think McCaffrey's many, many fans would have been more upset if The WB had gotten its way and made an inauthentic rendition of "Dragonriders of Pern." Years later, Warner Bros. struck a new deal to adapt the "Dragonriders of Pern" novels to the screen, but it's been more than a decade since then, and the project has yet to gain any traction.