"The Handmaid's Tale", among the best adaptations of the year

THE HANDMAID´S TALE

As I see it, while it is true that 2016 had many interesting films and TV shows releases; "The Handmaid's Tale" was the best book adaptation from the whole year. In fact, the television series achieved the astonishing 95% of positive reviews on Rotten Tomatoes. The show has even become so popular that there are a lot of parodies of the first season´s trailer. Down below you can compare the original trailer (by Hulu) and one hilarious parody (by Funny Or Die).

"TheHandmaid's Tale" is an American TV show created by Bruce Miller based on the 1985 novel of the same name by Canadian writer Margaret Atwood. Although the television series was released this year, it was indeed in 2016 when the production of the TV show began. It is also important to know that the show was produced by Hulu Originals.

The synopsis of the series is the following: "A religion-based autocracy has taken over most of the United States, renaming the country Gilead. In this country women are second-class citizens. Anyone trying to escape is punished. One such person is June, who is captured while trying to escape with her husband and child and is sentenced to be a handmaid, bearing children for childless government officials. As a handmaid, June is renamed Offred. This is her story." - IMBD

The critics praised the adaptation with many positive reviews:

"The Handmaid's Tale, based on the 1985 Margaret Atwood novel, is a cautionary tale, a story of resistance and a work of impeccable world building. It is unflinching, vital and scary as hell." -New York Times

"Hulu's all-too-timely adaptation of Margaret Atwood's novel is one of the spring's best new shows and makes Elisabeth Moss an immediate Emmy contender." - Hollywood Reporter

"Another reason to watch: It's just so beautifully acted." -Boston Globe

The casting was also excellent. Elisabeth Moss, the protagonist, brilliantly brings her character to life. However, Elisabeth, until the release of was mainly known by her iconic role in the television series "Mad Men". In addition, she received this year the prestigious Emmy Award for "Best Actress in a Drama Series" for her role as June / Offred in "The Handmaid's Tale".

They should never have given us uniforms if they didn't want us to be an army...👊🏻😉#emmys #handmaidstale

Una publicación compartida de Elisabeth Moss (@elisabethmossofficial) el 19 de Sep de 2017 a la(s) 1:41 PDT

However, when talking about the adaptation of the book to the screen, we also have to take into account that this was not the first time that an adaptation for the screen was made. In fact, in 1990 was released a film version, also called "The Handmaid's Tale". This dystopian thriller also was a huge success at the time.

In addition, I would like to highlight two other examples of good books adaptations:

ME BEFORE YOU

I think that they did very well on a book to movie adaptation, because they did not change too much from the book. The movie was perfectly made, and fit my expectations for the movie. The casting and portrayal of Louisa and Will was also brilliant. There two characters were charismatic, and enjoyable, and matched the dialogue of the book. Which, for me, was very important.

THE FLASH

The third season of The Flash premiered on October 4, 2016. This season was different from the first two ones. Now, we get to meet a more mature and tormented Barry Allen. The portrayal of Grant Gustin was formidable. This season Barry has to face all the damage that he has provoked. Only by getting over it he would be able to became The Flash from the comics.