Summarize this content to 2000 words in 6 paragraphs in Arabic Unlock the Editor’s Digest for freeRoula Khalaf, Editor of the FT, selects her favourite stories in this weekly newsletter.There are prequels and there are preee-quels. This spin-off from Denis Villeneuve’s blockbuster movie adaptations of Frank Herbert’s 1963 novel Dune is the latter. Set a whopping 10,000 years prior to the birth of Paul Atreides, the series is a stern and occasionally impressive space opera that is likely to draw in many fans of the films. From the first two episodes (of six), it’s too early to tell if there’s enough to entice the uninitiated. Based on one of 15 prequels written by Brian Herbert (Frank’s son) and Kevin J Anderson, the story finds the war against the Thinking Machines, sinister AI robots, coming to an end and House Atreides emerging as the hero. House Harkonnen not so much. Against this backdrop, two Harkonnen sisters — Valya (Emily Watson) and Tulya (Olivia Williams) — have become powerful figures in the Bene Gesserit, a sisterhood of religious truthsayers whose mission is to find the political leader who will bring peace to the universe and restore the prestige of their house.Meanwhile, Mark Strong is the Emperor, nibbling his lips in anxiety as he contemplates a royal wedding between his daughter — a plucky princess (Sarah-Sofie Boussnina) with the hots for her sword-fighting teacher — and the child-son of a despised but needed ally. Into this heady mix arrives a soldier with the bafflingly normal name Desmond (Travis Fimmel, The Vikings), who has come from the desert with a dark secret and new powers to lie at the feet of his lord. The definition of a slow burn — and a couple of violent scenes make the epithet literal — Dune: Prophecy looks magnificent. Taking its visual cues from Villeneuve’s cinematic vision, the technology has a grounded feel: the spaceships resemble pebbles and the palaces are all medieval futurism. The first two episodes are intent on establishing a wide array of characters, most of whom are competing for power in the internal politics of great houses, or — in the case of a young cohort of Bene Gesserit sisters — preparing their skills for the future, like a bunch of Jesuital Hogwarts students with knives. The performances of Watson and Williams are particularly strong.But so far the show feels overly familiar. These dynasties and their internal power politics have become the bread and butter of HBO with the success of Succession and House of the Dragon, but here, where the universe is vast, we spend too much time watching people in rooms, talking. Where are the Navigators, spice-evolved beings who can fold space? Why aren’t human computers the Mentat given some screen time? Still, as one character says when describing the home planet of the Bene Gesserit: “If you like barren landscapes and minimalism, you’ll be very happy.” ★★★☆☆On Max in the US from November 17 and Sky Atlantic and NOW in the UK from November 18
