SyFy eyes Ringworld and Childhood’s End

Does anyone remember when SyFy was actually called the Sci-Fi Channel and offered up some really cool shows for their viewers?

The Invisible Man was one of my all-time favorite shows, as was First Wave, Alphas, and other like series that have since been discontinued in favor of reality programming.

Well, now word has surfaced that SyFy is going to be getting a couple of new mini-series that fans of science fiction will be thrilled to hear about. Yes, the Larry Niven science fiction classic Ringworld is reportedly headed to the network as a miniseries.

Interestingly, SyFy apparently tried to develop the novel as a miniseries almost 10 years ago, but never managed to finish the project. As such, the new miniseries is said to be returning under the direction of an entirely new team.

The screenwriter is currently Michael Perry, known for other genre TV series such as The River, The Dead Zone, Millennium, and American Gothic. Another classic science fiction book titled Childhood’s End – penned by Arthur C. Clarke – is also tipped to be coming to the network. The invasion described in the above-mentioned book doesn’t result in death and dismay, rather it leaves the Earth in near utopia.

While these two mini-series have reportedly been green lit for production, there is no indication as to when exactly we might expect to them to hit the small screen, although rumor has it that it won’t be before 2014.

Personally, I still have high hopes for SyFy’s new series Defiance, which recently kicked off to much fanfare and hype. The first episode certainly hadsome high points, but whether or not the series has the legs to make it on the air remains to be seen.