Murderbot - Season 1

A story about an introverted cyborg with a gruesome secret could go either way. Is Murderbot exciting or funny? Anyone who read my review of the first installment already knows I'm a fan of the books. Now, translating books to the big screen is often a matter of making concessions. We're all familiar with the debates surrounding The Lord of the Rings and Dune. Everyone has their own opinion, and the catchphrase "the book was better" probably rings a bell.

As far as I'm concerned, the book is usually better. After all, the film that forms in my mind while reading a good book is unfilmable. Okay, some directors come pretty close (see the aforementioned titles), but it's still a different medium.

What makes a book so difficult to adapt into a film? The protagonist's inner dialogue is often crucial to the story. But film and TV viewers prefer not to constantly hear a narrator over the images. Directors know this, and that's why they look for ways to limit the narrator's role.

I think they've balanced that well with Murderbot. Yes, we regularly hear the inner voice of the SecUnit, who calls himself Murderbot. Yet, that's only a fraction of the inner world that comes to life in the books. Fortunately, in the series, it adds just enough to the visuals to get to know Murderbot's character.

The choice to have Alexander Skarsgård play a SecUnit works out well. His just-not-too-thin appearance and awkward demeanor are perfectly suited to a robot with its own consciousness. He brings just enough facial expression to his role to reveal his emotions like a cyborg: almost none at all.

The other characters are also well-developed by the actors. They are almost exactly as I imagined them while reading. Incidentally, this season is entirely based on the first book in Martha Wells's book series, The Murderbot Diaries: All Systems Red.

I think the series could have been paced a bit faster. The books aren't thick to begin with, and with the omission of much of the internal dialogue, it's noticeable that there's relatively little action left. Much of the action in the book revolves around invisible actions. Think of hacking camera and security systems, Murderbot's dialogue with other robots and systems, and so on. It's great fun for tech nerds, but the average viewer will probably believe it.

Believe me, the books are still superior to the series, and funnier and more exciting too. But for anyone willing to give the Murderbot universe a try, the series is definitely worth it. And if you pick up the first book from the library after watching it, the series will immediately gain an extra dimension. A win-win situation, I'd say.

This first season is easy to watch, with only ten episodes of barely half an hour each. A second season is already in development. If the books are followed, we'll follow Murderbot on his quest to discover the origins of his damaged memories. I expect the pace and tension will be a bit higher then.