Apple TV dropped another short teaser for Neuromancer on Wednesday, and while it was only a few seconds long with no dialogue, it told us a lot about how this series will be adapted. The clip circulating on social media is focused on an old-school TV with a knob on the front, and it features flickering, low-resolution letters in a simple green font against a black background. The only sound is the whirring of old machinery as it flashes “ASHPOOL 1,” followed by the opening line of the novel. It’s not just a tease of the setting and story — it’s a promise that this adaptation is sticking with the dated, anachronistic aesthetic that makes Neuromancer the signature novel in the cyberpunk subgenre.
“The sky above the port was the color of television, tuned to a dead channel,” reads the text in the new teaser. It’s the first line in William Gibson‘s 1984 novel Neuromancer, and it’s emblematic of the book’s unique setting. As Apple points out in the caption, the novel was released 42 years ago today, and Gibson’s vision of the future was based on the technology he had at the time. Today, it’s hard to imagine a future with CRT televisions instead of flat screens, but it made sense for Gibson. Changing it in the adaptation would have disappointed fans and ultimately hurt this production.
‘Neuromancer’ Is a Time Capsule of Speculative Fiction
The inherent contradictions of the technology that’s present in Neuromancer — and the technology that’s absent from it — is a feature, not a bug. It has come to define the cyberpunk subgenre of science fiction. In fact, those who have read the 2000 re-issue of Neuromancer or listened to the audiobook likely encountered an afterword by Gibson’s friend and contemporary, Jack Womack, where he called specific attention to the book’s opening line. Womack pointed out that “the color of television, tuned to a dead channel” had changed in the time since Gibson wrote those words, and that Gibson had evolved from writing on a typewriter to a computer as well.
Today, even the term “channel” itself is pretty antiquated for television, as digital streaming does not transmit static the way Gibson described. Nevertheless, the description is as evocative as ever, and it does a lot of the subtle work to set the scene for this story. Assuming the rest of the show is just as faithful as this teaser, viewers will be confronted with more old-school computer technology being used for extremely advanced purposes. While Gibson correctly predicted some of the wonders computer technology would achieve, he imagined it still requiring dial-up connections, floppy discs, and even analog data storage in some cases.
‘Neuromancer’ Proved That Sci-Fi Does Not Need to Be Accurate
Neuromancer is credited with creating — or at least codifying — the cyberpunk subgenre of sci-fi, but a deeper dive into analysis of the book shows that’s just the tip of the iceberg. Gibson, Womack, and other sci-fi writers of their generation are often seen as a turning point in the ethos of sci-fi itself. While writers like Isaac Asimov in the prior decades had sought to imagine the outer limits of technology’s potential, Gibson was more interested in writing about how humanity and technology might develop together — for better and worse. The stories became more personal, with an inward focus.
That approach had a far-reaching impact even outside of what most would identify as “cyberpunk.” For example, the aesthetic choice to make advanced technology look old and well-used was an essential part of the original Star Wars trilogy, and later sequels were criticized for straying from that look. That motif is even more essential for Neuromancer, and for all of Gibson‘s stories set in “the Sprawl.”
It looks like Apple TV and showrunners Graham Roland and J.D. Dillard have a clear idea of what makes Neuromancer work, and they’re bringing it to the TV adaptation. The show stars Callum Turner as Case, Briana Middleton as Molly, and Mark Strong as Armitage, along with several others. The series will consist of 10 episodes, and it’s unclear if it’s intended to be ongoing for multiple seasons. Filming began last January, but updates have been scarce. Although this is our second teaser of the series, there’s still no word on when it will premiere.
This teaser was meant to capitalize on the anniversary of Neuromancer’s original publication, but hopefully it’s also a sign of more news coming soon. In the meantime, Neuromancer and the rest of Gibson‘s Sprawl trilogy books are available now in print, digital, and audiobook formats.
via Collider