Robinson Crusoe ergo ‘Crusoe’ Comes to TV

I caught the promotion for the new TV show, ‘Crusoe’ which I believe is going to be on NBC.  Growing up, I probably read Robinson Crusoe at least a half dozen times and so I have high hopes that the television show will do the book some justice.

As its a TV show, I doubt that it will completely follow the book to the letter, but will more likely be a serialized adaptation that keeps changing. 

When Robinson Crusoe was first written, it was not a novel.  It was a serialized article that was published in the equivalent of French newspapers or magazines.  It was later pulled together as a collection of serialized stories to form an actual novel.  Unlike modern novels, this collection of serialized articles did not have a great deal of form in total, lacking a discernable plot line together, but easily wrapping up short sub plots on a regular basis in the individual article.

This same style was utilized by Alexander Dumas with his works, the Count of Monte Cristo, The Three Musketeers and other series combined to later form popular novels.

So as I start to anticipate this serialized group of articles turned into a novel and then broken up into a serialized television show, I can’t help but wonder how many more times this popular story will be recycled to entertain people in the future, whether they are watching it on their cell phones, or via an SD card, or possibly participating in a live adventure in a virtual reality setting like Second Life.