Line #135 Series/FrankHerbertsDune


1	[[quoteright:323:https://static.tvtropes.org/pmwiki/pub/images/frankherbertsdune.png]]
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3	->''"And so it begins. The trap is set. The prey approaches. A glorious winter is about to descend on House Atreides and all its heirs, and very soon, the years of humiliation visited upon my family will finally be avenged."''
4	-->-- '''Baron Vladimir Harkonnen'''
5
6	The ''Franchise/{{Dune}}'' miniseries, billed as ''Frank Herbert's Dune'', is a three-part television adaptation of the 1965 novel ''Literature/{{Dune}}'' by Creator/FrankHerbert. A co-production between the United States, Germany, Italy and Canada, the miniseries aired in December 2000 on the [[Creator/{{Syfy}} Sci-Fi Channel]].
7
8	In the galaxy-spanning Galactic Empire of the far future, the Atreides family are ordered by the Emperor to move from their traditional homeworld of Caladan to Arrakis, also known by the sobriquet 'Dune'. Arrakis is a [[SingleBiomePlanet desert world]] that is the only source of [[FantasticDrug spice]], the single most valuable resource in the galaxy. This transfer is officially a promotion and reward for the exemplary service and loyalty of Duke Leto Atreides, but everybody can see that it is part of some plot by the Harkonnens, the ancestral enemy of the Atreides and the former rulers of Arrakis. With no choice but to [[TrapIsTheOnlyOption walk into the trap in the hope of avoiding its pitfalls]], the Atreides move to Arrakis and try to forge an alliance with the native Fremen and survive the scheming of their enemies.
9
10	Creator/WilliamHurt stars as Duke Leto, who despite top-billing [[DeadStarWalking is only in about the first third of the story]]. Newcomer Alec Newman stars as Leto's son, Paul 'Muad'Dib' Atreides, with Ian [=McNeice=] as Baron Harkonnen and an international cast of supporting actors.
11
12	Its $20 million budget was small for a sci-fi blockbuster, but was almost unprecedented for a series intended for an initial TV release. It received a significant marketing push (including full theatrical trailers) as the Sci-Fi Channel tried to break into serious made-for-TV production. After the success of this project, the Sci-Fi Channel began producing high-budget miniseries on an annual basis.
13
14	While it was made on a much smaller budget and scale than the [[Film/Dune1984 1984 film version]], the miniseries is generally praised for taking fewer liberties with the story and [[TruerToTheText staying truer to the original book]]. This adaptation is sometimes referred to as "the one with the hats" because of its use of [[ColourCodedForYourConvenience flamboyant costume design to distinguish between the different factions within the story]].
15
16	The miniseries itself spawned a sequel, ''Series/FrankHerbertsChildrenOfDune'' which adapted both ''Literature/DuneMessiah'' and ''Literature/ChildrenOfDune'' into a single story.
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18	Creator/WidescreenGames developed a VideoGameAdaptation -- also titled ''Frank Herbert's Dune'' -- in 2001, published by Creator/CryoInteractive, the developers of the [[VideoGame/Dune1992 original Dune game]] based on the 1984 film.
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20	For the other live-action adaptations of ''Dune'', see ''Film/Dune1984'' and ''Film/Dune2021''-''Film/DunePartTwo''.
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22	!!''Frank Herbert's Dune'' contains examples of:
23
24	* AdaptationInducedPlotHole: The novel goes into extensive worldbuilding to justify the presence of knife fighting as the primary means of combat throughout the galaxy, including the Imperial and noble forces on other planets. Since the Fremen are the best knife-fighters, they can easily overwhelm the Harkonnen and Sardaukar troops. The miniseries, however, gives the Harkonnen and Sardaukar soldiers guns and simply has the Fremen knife-fight them anyway.
25	* AdaptationNameChange: In the novel, Paul receives two names from the Fremen when he is adopted into their culture: "Usul", a name to be used only by his close friends and family within his sietch, and "Paul-Muad'dib", a name to be used by other Fremen and outsiders which symbolically combined his old and new lives. Here he is only granted the new name "Muad'dib", without a private name or the combination with his original name.
26	* AdaptedOut:
27	** The Combine Honnete Ober Advancer Mercantiles (CHOAM) is the fourth powerhouse of society in the original novel alongside the Spacing Guild, the Imperium, and ''Landsraad'' (Nobility). They are completely absent from this adaptation, with society explicitly described as a ''tripod'' balanced between just the Guild, Imperium and Nobles; [[AdaptationDistillation their role is instead merged into the Guild and the Imperium]], since the Emperor controlled them in the novel.
28	** Thufir Hawat is completely excised from the narrative; he doesn't even have a SpiritualSuccessor as reluctant FormerRegimePersonnel for the Atreides pressed into the Harkonnens' service.
29	** Lady Fenring is not present in the miniseries, [[CompositeCharacter with some aspects of her role given to Irulan]].
30	* AdaptationalCurves: The Fremen are noted as being thin/tight-skinned in the novel due to the harsh conditions of living on Arrakis, particularly the ever-scarce water. In this adaptation, Chani in particular is much more voluptuous than the character described as slender and devoid of body fat in the books.
31	* AdaptationExpansion: Princess Irulan is a minor character with only one appearance in the original novel, but receives significant screentime to set up her marriage to Paul at the end. Some of this includes portions of [[CompositeCharacter Lady Fenring's character from the book]].
32	* AerialCanyonChase: Paul flies through a canyon in an attempt to evade the Harkonnens. The pursuing pilots manage to stay with him, [[WronskiFeint but their missiles collide with the canyon walls]].
33	* AffectionateNickname: Gurney frequently refers to Paul as "young pup", and in turn Paul calls him "Gurney-man".
34	* AgeLift: In the novel, Paul is introduced as 15 years old and ages approximately three years over the course of the story. This is increased to 18 in the adaptation, [[DawsonCasting to be closer to Alec Newman's 26 at the time of filming]].
35	* AllEncompassingMantle: The Spacing Guild representatives wear purple velvet-ish capes. However, these just keep going up and up into giant purple-velvetish cones.
36	* AltarDiplomacy: Arranged marriages are standard between noble houses.
37	** Lady Jessica is Duke Leto's only companion, but he never officially took her as a wife so that other noble houses would always have the hope of him marrying one of their daughters and forming an alliance.
38	** The Bene Gesserit are furious with Jessica for having a son instead of a daughter because they planned to wed the Atreides daughter to the Harkonnen heir to end their feud and save both families.
39	** When plotting the downfall of the Atreides, the emperor laments that he won't be able to marry Irulan to Paul if their plan is successful. [[spoiler:Paul does wind up marrying Irulan at the end to claim the throne, but everybody recognizes this is a ''pro forma'' relationship and Chani is his true wife]].
40	* AlwaysNight: Giedi Prime. Presumably following the book's explanation that the planet is fouled with pollution.
41	* AndStarring: The opening cast roll ends "with Creator/MattKeeslar as Feyd and Creator/SaskiaReeves as Jessica".
42	* AnimalMotif: The Atreides symbol is a hawk and the Corrino symbol is a golden lion. At the dinner party scene in part one Paul mockingly mentions that the Harkonnen symbol is a griffin, and that they should really be 'House Hog'. These representations are all from the novel series, although the Harkonnen griffin symbol was only established retroactively in the ''fifth'' novel in the series.
43	* AsideComment: After the Baron survives Leto's attempt on his life, he crows his victory looking straight at the camera, seemingly talking to the audience.
44	* AssassinOutclassin: Despite his general contemptible qualities, the Baron Harkonnen is actually very clever. When Feyd attempts to poison him, the Baron not only avoids the poison but apparently kills the assassin -- one of his servants -- with his own hands.
45	* AtLeastIAdmitIt: A variation when the Baron is briefing his nephews on ThePlan. Feyd-Rautha rightly points out that the other Great Houses ''will'' protest the destruction of House Atreides. However, the Baron counterargues that as a very popular man, Duke Leto's consequently and correspondingly accrued the same level of resentment and jealousy. The other Great Houses, like the Baron, will thus actually be glad to be rid of Leto – though ''unlike'' the Baron, they’ll never publicly admit it.
46	* BeCarefulWhatYouWishFor: When the emperor tells Irulan that she will one day need to grow up and stop being so naïve, she warns him that he may not be happy when she does.
47	* BlackComedy: When a dying Dr. Yueh says "[[ThanatosGambit You think you've defeated me?]]", Baron Harkonnen just nods while silently mouthing, "Oh yes."
48	* BlasphemousBoast: When the Baron survives Leto's attempt to poison him, he crows that this is proof that god has favored him over the Atreides.
49	* BleedEmAndWeep: [[DownplayedTrope Downplayed]] after Paul's duel with Jamis. He manages to keep himself together until the funeral, but starts to cry when he has to speak about what he 'learned' from Jamis. This has a great impact on the Fremen, as it is noted that he 'gives water to the dead', something with great significance in their culture.
50	* BodyDouble: [[DownplayedTrope Very briefly]], when some Fremen from another tribe show up and ask to see Muad'dib, Stilgar steps forward as though it is him to see what their intentions are. When they say they want to learn from him, Stilgar steps aside and Paul comes forward.
51	* ButForMeItWasTuesday: Irulan viewed the party she attended on Arrakis as the start of a potential relationship with Paul, and was haunted when she learned of his fathers death [[UnwittingPawn and how her father used her to help bring it about]]. She was even spurred to begin her own investigation into the plot and lay her own political machinations. Paul, however, apparently never gave Irulan another thought after that night, and when they meet again at the climax he gives no indication that he even remembers her.
52	* CainAndAbel: The Baron Harkonnen deliberately fosters a rivalry between his nephews, forcing Rabban into the role of brutal oppressor on Arrakis so that he can replace him with Feyd as a 'benevolent' ruler afterwards.
53	* ChallengingTheChief: Fremen culture requires a leader to prove their worth by killing the previous leader to take the role. When Paul has put off challenging Stilgar for official leadership of their tribe, since everybody knows Paul will win and he doesn't want to kill his most loyal and capable subordinate, Stilgar himself says that Paul has to do it in order to be fully accepted by the people.
54	-->No man recognizes leadership without the challenge of combat.
55	* CharacterTics: Baron Vladimir Harkonnen has a distinctive habit of rubbing his right temple when he is frustrated. Later on, Paul Atreides does this himself, demonstrating the family connection between the two.
56	* ChildOfTwoWorlds:
57	** Dr. Kynes explains to Paul and Leto that he is accepted in both sietch and village, since he is a Fremen in service to the emperor. Among the Fremen it is even something of a proverb, since it is noted that "Liet serves two masters".
58	** Jessica and Chani argue over how to raise Leto, Chani and Paul's son. Chani wants him to be raised in the customs of the Fremen, while Jessica wants him prepared to entire noble society.
59	** Much of Paul's identity is tied to the Atreides name and family, but he learns that he is also a ''Harkonnen''. Jessica [[LukeIAmYourFather is the unknown daughter of the Baron himself]], so Paul and Alia are his grandchildren.
60	* TheChosenOne: There are two distinct prophecies surrounding Paul. By some measure they both come true, and are simultaneously also both false.
61	** The Bene Gesserit are engaged in a centuries-long breeding program to create the Kwisatz Haderach, a being who can access areas of the human genetic memory which even they cannot reach, and will have more powers besides.
62	** The Fremen believe in the coming of the Mahdi (Messiah), the son of an offworlder and a Bene gesserit who will lead them to "true freedom".
63	* ColourCodedForYourConvenience: The Harkonnens wear red, the Imperial Corrinos are purple and gold (likely a reference to the purple togas worn by Roman emperors), the Atreides primarily dress tan and white, Fremen wear brown and dark orange, and Spacing Guild members are always in black.
64	* CombatBreakdown: Paul and Feyd's knife fight has them throwing punches and kicks after one, then the other, is disarmed. Though they pick up their knives again to finish it.
65	* CommonalityConnection:
66	** Princess Irulan tries to connect with Paul by describing how similar their lives are as [[LonelyAtTheTop isolated children of nobility who are bound by the system]].
67	** Paul and Chani do not begin to grow close until after Chani learns of Liet's death, and Paul hears Stilgar say how much she loved her father.
68	* CompellingVoice: The Voice is a technique of the Bene Gesserit to compel obedience. It is heard as the VoiceOfTheLegion, although only to its target.
69	* CompositeCharacter: Name-wise at least. In the book, the name of Imperial ecologist and Fremen leader Dr. Kynes is Liet Kynes, son of Pardot Kynes. In the miniseries, his name is Pardot Kynes, and "Liet" is his Fremen name the same way that "Muad'Dib" is Paul's.
70	* CompressedAdaptation: Sections of the novel had to be removed during the adaptation. CHOAM is completely absent, and Thufir Hawat is killed during the Harkonnen invasion of Arrakis. This removes a lot of the economic conflicts, and the entire plotline of Thufir on Giedi Prime manipulating (And being manipulated by) the Baron and Feyd-Rautha.
71	* ConspicuousConsumption:
72	** Paul's room in the opening scene is festooned with water, including multiple filled pitchers and a bowl with rose petals for fragrance/washing. On Caladan, where they are leaving, water is commonplace and affordable and this display would just be comfortable. On Arrakis, where they are going, it is as valuable as spice and this casual presentation is unbelievably ostentatious.
73	** The palace on Arrakis has large fountains set up at the entrance for visitors to wash their hands when they arrive. It was a custom of the Harkonnens for those same visitors to splash water on the floor, which would then be mopped up and sold. Jessica specifically notes that this is a custom meant to demean the natives, and she orders it stopped.
74	** There is a section of the palace on Arrakis filled with offworld plants, which require so much water to survive that they could keep many inhabitants alive for years. This room is kept as-is, unlike the water-selling custom, but Jessica has it announced that it officially belongs to the people of Arrakis and the Atreides are now only its custodians.
75	* CrazyCulturalComparison: The Atreides have trouble comprehending just how precious water is on Arrakis. When Stilgar spits on Duke Leto's desk, Paul steps forward and thanks him for the 'gift of water' when the other Atreides personnel are infuriated at the apparent insult.
76	* CreepyUncle: The Baron rapturously watches a naked Feyd-Rautha [[SexySurfacingShot emerging from a swimming pool]], and makes several comments about Feyd and other young men.
77	* DeadGuyJunior: Paul and Chani's son is named "Leto", after Paul's father.
78	* DeadlyEuphemism:
79	** The Fremen frequently talk about the water within a human body, since water is so scarce that they reclaim it even from dead bodies. The phrase "take their water" and variants therefore means to kill somebody.
80	** The Baron has to walk a very careful tightrope when it comes to having the Atreides killed, since he has to be able to honestly say that he didn't ''order'' their deaths in the event that he is ever questioned by a truthsayer. He has to give a series of oblique orders to his personnel so that they get the obvious instruction, but he doesn't actually ''say'' it.
81	* DeadStarWalking: William Hurt gets top billing as Duke Leto Atreides, despite his character getting killed at the end of part one (of three).
82	* DecapitationPresentation: A child boastfully holds aloft Rabban's head after he has been hacked to pieces.
83	* DeflectorShields: Personal shields exist in the setting, but they are only seen once at the beginning when Paul and Gurney are sparring, and once at the end when the emperor raises one around his palace. They are mentioned occasionally, but are not used on Arrakis because they attract sandworms and stir them into a frenzy.
84	* DepravedHomosexual: Baron Harkonnen, though considerably toned down in comparison to the book and the 1984 film. [[spoiler: Feyd even tries to exploit this to have him assassinated by sending a young man to seduce him and stick him with a poisoned needle... hidden underneath the skin of the boy's inner thigh.]]
85	* DistantReactionShot: When Liet-Kynes is left in the desert to die, a spice-blow erupts just as he realizes that he's right on top of it and begins screaming, "I am a desert creat-". We cut to other characters seeing the eruption from a long ways away.
86	* DiesDifferentlyInAdaptation:
87	** Thufir Hawat is killed off much earlier than in the novel, dying from an explosion during the fall of the palace.
88	** Duncan Idaho is killed by a 'thopter-launched missile, instead of falling in a knife/sword fight [[YouShallNotPass buying time for Paul and Jessica to escape]]. He stays behind with the same intent, but is killed pretty much immediately after they part ways. So while they do get away, his death was pretty much a SenselessSacrifice because he barely slowed down their pursuers.
89	** Rabban's death is depicted onscreen, while in the novel it is only vaguely described afterwards.
90	* DivideAndConquer: The Harkonnen plot involves getting the top personnel among the Atreides to suspect each other of being the traitor working from the inside.
91	* DreamingOfThingsToCome: The series opens with Paul having a prophetic dream, composed of both fantastic imagery and also direct clips from later in the series. He has additional dreams throughout the series, each containing different elements of the future.
92	* DuelToTheDeath:
93	** Paul is challenged to a fight by Jamis, one of the Fremen, who feels shamed by how easily Paul disarmed him when they struggled and blames it on witchcraft. Paul initially thinks the fight [[VictoryByFirstBlood is only to first blood]], and even asks Jamis to yield after the first cut, and is shocked to be informed that it is to the death.
94	** The Fremen expect and demand Paul to challenge Stilgar, as Fremen culture [[KlingonPromotion requires combat to prove the worthiness of a leader]]. [[DefiedTrope Paul refuses]] because it would be stupid and self-defeating to kill his most loyal and competent subordinate.
95	** The miniseries climaxes with a duel between Paul and Feyd-Rautha.
96	* DueToTheDead:
97	** The Fremen ritual of [[HumanResources reclaiming water from a body]] is accompanied by the friends of the deceased speaking of how the deceased helped them and their tribe.
98	** When Paul retrieves his father's cremated remains, he reverently places the skull in a stone recess and orders all Fremen who pass by to honor him.
99	* EliteMooks: The Sardaukar are the troops of the emperor, and are regarded with such fear that their ''presence'' is viewed as a threat.
100	* ErmineCapeEffect: Padishah Emperor Shaddam IV wears very elaborate outfits even when he's just working in his study or meeting with his advisers. This is different from the book, where Shaddam IV wore an ordinary Sardaukar officer's uniform with no decoration other than a black helmet even at official state functions.
101	* EvilGloating: When his Mentat wants to KillHimAlready, the Baron argues that rubbing Duke Leto's face in his own defeat is the entire point!
102	-->'''Piter deVries:''' Perhaps [[WhyDontYouJustShootHim we should get on with it then?]]\
103	'''Baron Harkonnen:''' Get on with it? ''[[PunctuatedForEmphasis THIS-IS-KANLY]], Piter! Vendetta!'' And I am going to savor every minute of it. My family has hated the Atreides for generations. They have been the sand in our eyes, the ''stink'' at our meals. These arrogant Atreides, ''always'' standing in our way. I want Leto to appreciate the ''beauty'', of what I have done to him. I want him to know that [[SuddenlyShouting I, BARON VLADIMIR HARKONNEN]], am the instrument of his family's demise, the extinction of House Atreides, and the ascendance ''(MilkingTheGiantCow)'' of House Harkonnen.
104	* ExactWords: The Baron needs to be able to honestly say that he did not order the death of Paul and Jessica, and that he doesn't know what ultimately happened to them. So, [[LeftForDead he has his people strand them in the desert instead]].
105	* FacelessGoons: Harkonnen troops sometimes wear black masks as part of their uniform. In one scene, when the Fremen have captured several of them and are considering whether to kill them or not, [[DeconstructedTrope Paul lifts one of the masks to show the sobbing face beneath it]].
106	* FalseFlagOperation: To conceal the emperor's involvement, his Sardaukar are disguised as Harkonnen troops when they invade Arrakis.
107	* FantasticDrug: Spice, the most valuable resource in the universe. Its benefits are numerous, including granting perfect health (And an extended lifespan), euphoria, and even ''precognition''. The precognition is what makes space travel possible, as the Spacing Guild uses it to navigate the ships.
108	* FatBastard: Baron Vladimir Harkonnen is gluttonous, sadistic and perverted. He is so overweight that he needs an antigravity harness to move.
109	* FlashStep: The "weirding way" is portrayed this way in combat, moving faster than the eye can see to dodge attacks and maneuver around opponents.
110	* TheForeignSubtitle: The series is titled ''Dune - Il destino dell'universo''[[note]]The destiny of the universe[[/note]] in the Italian release.
111	* GirlOfMyDreams: Paul sees Chani in his [[DreamingOfThingsToCome prophetic dreams]] before he sets eyes on her in reality.
112	* GladiatorGames: Feyd forces captives to fight him in single-combat to keep himself in training and put on public shows. He easily wins the fight we see and executes the slave at the end. Later in the series, the Baron mentions that Feyd has had 100 gladiator arena fights.
113	* GlowingEyes: Excessive spice consumption causes a person's eyes to turn blue, and they are also portrayed as glowing in the dark.
114	* GroupIdentifyingFeature: Sardaukar have a triangular raised mark on the skin on the back of their neck. This is used to identify them even when [[FalseFlagOperation disguised in another House's livery]].
115	* GuiltInducedNightmare: Baron Harkonnen is haunted by images of Paul in his dreams after the initial takeover on Arrakis.
116	* GunsVsSwords: The Fremen are primarily a knife-fight culture, and are so skilled that they overwhelm the gun-toting Harkonnens with ease. This is a legacy from the novel where knife-fighting is the primary means of combat galaxy-wide.
117	* HoneyTrap: Irulan sends one of her handmaids to Giedi Prime to seduce Feyd and pump him for information. When she herself attends Feyd's birthday celebration she seduces him as well, but after she gets the information she was looking for she passes him off to her handmaid and sneaks out of the room.
118	* HorseOfADifferentColor: The Fremen ride sandworms as a standard mode of transportation. Catching one for the first time is a RiteOfPassage before they become teenagers.
119	* HotterAndSexier: Compared to the previous adaptation. Jessica and Leto and later Chani and Paul are shown naked in bed together, while the 1984 film had them clothed in equivalent scenes. Paul sees the Fremen, including Chani, strip off their stillsuits [[ShamelessFanserviceGirl without regard for gender or modesty by offworlders' standards]]. The sietch's "spice orgy" is depicted as both communal religious ecstasy and a literal orgy. Feyd-Rautha is shown naked from behind and ministered to by topless, near-naked slaves.
120	* HumanResources: On Arrakis, water is reclaimed from all dead bodies, both friend and enemy. The Fremen believe that a man's flesh is his, but his water belongs to the tribe.
121	* IfIWantedYouDead: When the Baron survives Feyd's attempt on his life, Feyd is worried that he is going to be killed immediately. The Baron reassures him that he would already be dead if that was the case.
122	* ImAHumanitarian: [[AvertedTrope There is no cannibalism in the series]], but offworlders do discuss the Fremen custom of retrieving the water from their dead. Offworlders liken it to drinking blood, [[HumanResources while the Fremen see it as reclaiming a resource for the tribe that the dead person no longer has any need for]]. It is their custom that a man's flesh is his, but his water belongs to the tribe.
123	* InCaseYouForgotWhoWroteIt: '''''Frank Herbert[='=]s''' Dune''.
124	* ItsPersonal:
125	** Most of the time Leto discusses the plots and schemes around his family and Arrakis in a calm, almost dispassionate tone. He only loses control after the assassination attempt on Paul, where he is ''furious'' that the Harkonnens almost took the life of his son.
126	** Baron Harkonnen is emphatic that his vendetta with the Atreides is not simply motivated by politics or economics, but a burning hatred that has simmered between their families for centuries.
127	* IWantThemAlive: After the assassination attempt on Paul, Thufir orders that the assassin be captured alive for questioning. When Gurney finds and kills him instead (he was elsewhere when Thufir gave the order), Leto notes that this could mean that he is the traitor and is trying to cover his tracks.
128	* KilledMidSentence: Dr. Kynes is killed by a spice blow in the middle of his rant "I am a desert creature!"
129	* KillHimAlready: Piter tries to get the Baron to kill Leto as soon as he is in their custody, but the Baron instead [[EvilGloating rants that this is pointless if Leto doesn't realize the full scope of the Harkonnen victory]].
130	* KlingonPromotion: Fremen culture stresses victory through combat, and the victor in a DuelToTheDeath receives the position and titles of the loser. [[ChallengingTheChief This includes leadership of the tribe]].
131	* LeftForDead: Paul and Jessica are stranded in the desert by the Harkonnens to die [[ExactWords because the Baron needs to be able to honestly say that he did not order their deaths]].
132	* LivingLieDetector:
133	** The Bene Gesserit can detect when somebody is lying based on body language and tone that are indistinguishable to normal people. Paul, who has received Bene Gesserit training, spends his first scene deducing his mother's mental state from her tone and other miniscule clues.
134	** Powerful nobles often have Bene Gesserit "Turthsayers" in their court. This has lead to a very practiced [[DeadlyEuphemism style of giving orders obliquely]] so that, if questioned, people can honestly deny having given a specific order.
135	* LivingMotionDetector: The hunter-seeker used by assassins has very poor 'vision', so it has to track its target by movement. When Paul and a servant are trapped by a hunter-seeker, Paul commands the servant to remain perfectly still. The Shadout Mapes distracts the seeker when she unknowingly enters the room, and Paul grabs and destroys it when it focuses on her movement.
136	* LockedOutOfTheLoop: Unlike in the book, the Baron ''doesn't'' reveal the identity of the House Atreides traitor while briefing Feyd on ThePlan. On a Meta level, this is meant to not spoil the reveal that it's actually [[spoiler:Wellington Yueh]] (since readers of the book find out who TheMole is early on and the literary dramatic tension thus plays differently). In universe, it can probably be justified by the Baron exulting in his own cleverness and for operational security reasons. Given Rabban's presence at the briefing in this version, it's probably not a bad idea to withold such crucial information from someone as stupid and impulsive as the Baron's other nephew (a precaution that's vindicated after Rabban goes LeeroyJenkins trying to assassinate Paul).
137	* LonelyAtTheTop: When Princess Irulan tries to connect with Paul by pointing out their similarities, Paul angrily lashes out that after the party is over she will return to her lavish palace. She in turn retorts with all the problems that come from such a lavish life and being a pawn of the emperor.
138	* LongestPregnancyEver: The timespan of part two is not made explicit, but it is long enough for the Harkonnens to solidify control over Arrakis, for Paul and the Fremen to begin a campaign of guerilla warfare against them, and for Paul to begin training the Fedaykin in the weirding way for the coming greater war. However, Jessica's pregnancy never comes to term, and never even advances enough for it to be visible to those around her.
139	* LukeIAmYourFather: Jessica's parentage is unknown to her, as it is to most Bene Gesserit, but after gaining access to their ancestral memories Paul learns that she is the daughter of Baron Harkonnen himself.
140	* MeaningfulBackgroundEvent: Yueh is visible very faintly as a reflection in the window Leto is staring out of moments before Yueh tranquilizes him and is revealed as the traitor.
141	* MeaningfulFuneral: After the duel between Jamis and Paul, the Fremen go through the ceremony to reclaim his water. During the ceremony, everybody who knew Jamis has to stand and speak about how he helped them and the tribe. They expect Paul to speak as well, and despite his only contact with the man being [[DuelToTheDeath killing him]], Paul speaks about how Jamis taught him [[TheseHandsHaveKilled what it means to kill someone]].
142	* MeaningfulRename: The Fremen give Paul a new name after he is adopted into their culture. He chooses "Muad'dib", which is the Fremen name for the mouse he saw in the desert.
143	* MercyKill: When Rabban is surrounded by a horde of Fremen, he sees Stilgar there with a gun and manages a twitchy, bare-bones smile at the thought of such a quick death instead of being hacked to pieces. Instead, [[SubvertedTrope Stilgar turns his back and walks away]].
144	* MilkingTheGiantCow: Baron Harkonnen makes the arms-raised hand gesture several times when in the midst of a grand speech.
145	* MiniSeries: This adaptation presented the story in three parts instead of as a single film. This was the first of the Sci-Fi Channel's big-budget miniseries events, which became an annual event on the channel after the success of this release. It received a sequel, ''Children of Dune'', which adapted that titular novel combined with ''Dune Messiah''.
146	* MoneyIsNotPower: The trope is [[DiscussedTrope discussed and debated]] throughout the series. The Harkonnens are wealthy from their previous stewardship of Arrakis, but the Atreides note that this cannot buy them respect or the type of influence that Leto has amongst the other noble houses. However, Leto's own popularity breeds resentment, so those noble houses which respect him are silent -- or even assisting -- when the Harkonnen move against him. Ultimately, [[SubvertedTrope money does bring power]], [[DoubleSubverted but not enough to counter everything else]].
147	* MundaneLuxury: Water is the most valuable commodity on Arrakis.
148	* MythologyGag:
149	** In the novel, "Soo-soo sook!" is identified as the call of water-sellers on Arrakis. This is never explained in the series, but it is heard in the distance just before Jessica puts a stop to the custom of selling water leavings at the palace door.
150	** The Combine Honnete Ober Advancer Mercantiles are completely absent from the adaptation, but it is mentioned once as "CHOAM" when the representative of the Spacing Guild lists all the treaties and decrees which protects him.
151	* NeverFoundTheBody: After Paul and Jessica fly into a sandstorm, Feyd reports to the Baron that they are dead. The Baron presses the issue and asks if Feyd has seen the bodies, but Feyd [[NoOneCouldSurviveThat just reiterates that no one survives a sandstorm]]. When Feyd later tells the story to Irulan she also asks if he saw the bodies, only for him to again insist that they must be dead.
152	* NoOneCouldSurviveThat: Paul and Jessica fly into a sandstorm when escaping the Harkonnen forces, and their pursuit breaks off and reports them as dead because everybody knows it is impossible to survive an Arrakis sandstorm. Needless to say, they survive.
153	* NotWorthKilling: The story has an [[PlayingWithATrope unusual variation]], where they're not worth being killed ''by Paul''. Chani begins intercepting and killing the Fremen who came to [[ChallengingTheChief challenge Paul]] because she thinks they do not merit a death at his hands. She also hopes that if they think they'll be killed by 'Paul's woman' and not Paul himself there will be fewer challengers coming to seek glory.
154	* OhCrap:
155	** The emperor is confident of victory over the Fremen when he first comes to Arrakis, and believes that holding Alia hostage gives him leverage over Muad'dib. When the Fremen launch their assault on Arrakeen -- destroying the Shield Wall to let in a sandstorm, riding through the opening on sandworms, and launching an air invasion as well -- it cuts back to the emperor successively losing control.
156	** When Rabban sees that he is surrounded by Fremen, he manages a bare-bones twitchy smile [[MercyKill when he sees Stilgar there with a gun]]. When Stilgar turns away and leaves him to the horde, Rabban's small smile disappears [[SkywardScream and he screams to the heavens]].
157	* ProverbialWisdom: Paul tries to quote an ancient aphorism at his father that "Danger and opportunity [are] often the same thing", [[SubvertedTrope but Leto tells him that this isn't a philosophy test and he can't just quote old sayings]].
158	* QuickNip: By the third part, Paul is fully addicted to the spice and needs ever-increasing amounts to maintain his prescience. He is frequently shown partaking from a small case that he carries with him, often taking spice even in the middle of conversations.
159	* RewardedAsATraitorDeserves: Baron Harkonnen has Dr. Yueh killed after he betrayed the Atreides. He points out that you can never trust a traitor, not even one you created yourself.
160	* RhymesOnADime: In this adaptation, Baron Harkonnen has this as a coda to his scenes.
161	-->"By the time the traitor is fully revealed, the fate of Atreides will already be sealed."\
162	"So let the emperor mock House Harkonnen, call us swine. Because in the end his throne will be mine."
163	* RiteOfPassage: Fremen children ride their own sandworms by the age of twelve. It is the last Fremen custom for Paul to master, and afterwards everybody expects him to [[ChallengingTheChief call out Stilgar]].
164	* SceneryPorn: Whatever the budget might have been, the interior sets of the palaces look gorgeous (well, except for the Harkonnen's StylisticSuck, but that was intentional).
165	* ScrewTheMoneyIHaveRules: Leto orders a spice harvester abandoned to save the crew when the carryall is late for the pickup. When the crew themselves protest because they almost have a full load, Leto dismisses this out of hand because they can always get more spice later, but not replace the lives lost.
166	* SexySurfacingShot: Feyd-Rautha has a sequence emerging from water on Giedi Prime, which is made creepy [[CreepyUncle as he is ogled by his uncle]].
167	* ShroudedInMyth:
168	** At the start of the series there are stories of "Liet" as a leader among the Fremen, but it is not clear if he is one man, a group of men, or even purely legendary.
169	** Muad'dib's story is vague and filled with rumors when it reaches the emperor's palace. Irulan presses a spy for concrete information, including any sort of description, but he cannot even confirm that he is a real person.
170	* SingleBiomePlanet: Arrakis is a desert world, with no naturally occurring surface water outside of its small polar ice caps.
171	* SkywardScream: Rabban lets out a throat-tearing scream [[spoiler:as he is being hacked to death by the Fremen]].
172	* SlobsVersusSnobs: Much of the conflict is framed as the effete, arrogant nobility of the Galactic Empire versus the savage, desperate Fremen.
173	* SomeoneToRememberHimBy: Jessica is pregnant with Leto's child when he is killed by the Harkonnens. She gives birth to Alia while living with the Fremen.
174	* SpaceClothes: Costumes were extravagant throughout the series to establish allegiance and clearly divide the separate cliques. This included giant hats for the Bene Gesserit and Spacing Guild.
175	* TakeAThirdOption: The Fremen expect Paul to [[ChallengingTheChief challenge Stilgar in combat to take leadership of their tribe]]. Paul doesn't want to kill his most loyal and capable subordinate, but refusing to follow the traditions will undermine his position. Instead of either going through with the challenge or letting his authority be undermined, Paul claims that he is in charge not because he is a Fremen chieftain, but because he is the Duke of Arrakis regardless.
176	* TakingYouWithMe: Dr. Yueh gives Duke Leto a poison capsule hidden inside a false tooth so that he can at least take Baron Harkonnen with him when he dies. [[SubvertedTrope Unfortunately the Baron survives]].
177	* TauntingTheUnconscious: During the confrontation between Leto, Baron Harkonnen, and Piter de Vries, Leto is awake and sitting upright but paralyzed, and can only watch as Dr. Yueh [[RewardedAsATraitorDeserves is disposed of by the Baron's men]]. Piter tries to get the Baron [[WhyDontYouJustShootHim to go ahead and just kill Leto]], but the Baron instead gloats about how he will bring about the destruction of House Atreides. Leto releases the poison gas in his fake tooth, killing himself, Piter, and the Sardukar surrounding them, but the Baron is able to float away before the gas can reach him.
178	-->'''Piter:''' Perhaps we should get on with it then?\
179	'''Baron Harkonnen:''' Get on with it? ''[[PunctuatedForEmphasis THIS-IS-KANLY]], Piter! Vendetta!'' And I am going to savor every minute of it. My family has hated the Atreides for generations. They have been the sand in our eyes, the ''stink'' at our meals. These arrogant Atreides, ''always'' standing in our way. I want Leto to appreciate the ''beauty'', of what I have done to him. I want him to know that [[SuddenlyShouting I, BARON VLADIMIR HARKONNEN]], am the instrument of his family's demise, the extinction of House Atreides, and the ascendance of House Harkonnen.
180	* TechnicolorEyes: A result of high-level Spice addiction, when enough ingestion saturates the bloodstream and stains the eyes blue.
181	* TestOfPain: The gom jabbar test requires Paul to place his hand inside a box which causes excruciating pain, keeing with the book's description of Paul thinking that the flesh is burning off his hand. As he does this, Reverend Mother Mohiam holds the gom jabbar (a needed coated with a lethal poison) to his neck, with the test being to overcome his instinct to remove his hand and escape the pain. He succeeds, but storms out of the room once Jessica re-enters, furious with her and the Reverend Mother for not being told what would happen.
182	* TheseHandsHaveKilled: Paul is shocked and horrified after he kills Jamis [[DuelToTheDeath in their duel]]. At the ceremony [[MeaningfulFuneral to reclaim Jamis' water]], when the Fremen speak about the ways that Jamis helped them and their tribe, Paul speaks about how Jamis taught him what it means to kill somebody.
183	* TrapIsTheOnlyOption: Everybody can see that moving the Atreides to Arrakis is part of a plot by the Harkonnens, but Duke Leto goes along with it in the hopes that in realizing it is a trap he can avoid the danger.
184	* TruerToTheText: The miniseries takes some liberties with Frank Herbert's book, but compared to the 1984 David Lynch movie and the 2021-24 Denis Villeneuve duology, its fidelity is nigh-slavish.
185	* TryAndFollow: Paul and Jessica escape Harkonne pursuit by flying into a sandstorm, [[NoOneCouldSurviveThat because everybody knows it is impossible to survive an Arrakis sandstorm]]. Their pursuers pull away and report them as dead.
186	* UnwittingPawn: The emperor sent Irulan to Arrakis as a gesture of goodwill to trick the Atreides into believing that he wasn't actively working against them. Irulan had no idea, and even thought this might be the beginning of a relationship between her and Paul.
187	* VictoryByFirstBlood: Paul thinks that his duel with Jamis is only to the first blood, and asks Jamis to yield after the first cut. He is shocked when informed that it is [[DuelToTheDeath to the death]].
188	* VoiceOfTheLegion: How [[CompellingVoice The Voice]] is portrayed.
189	* WouldHurtAChild: The Sardaukar murder Paul and Chani's child when they invade their sietch.
190	* WithDueRespect: When Leto orders a spice harvester abandoned to save the crew, the crew themselves argue 'with all due respect' that they have almost a full load of spice that would be lost. [[ScrewTheMoneyIHaveRules Leto orders them to forget the spice and save their own lives]].
191	* WronskiFeint: Paul manages to dodge Harkonnen missiles by [[AerialCanyonChase flying into a canyon]] where the missiles collide with the canyon walls.
192	* YouSaidYouWouldLetThemGo: Dr. Yueh betrayed the Atreides to the Harkonnens because the Baron had his wife hostage, and promised to free her if he cooperated. When the Baron shows Yueh her body, he says that he is a man of his word: [[ExactWords She is free of her life]].

Context Series / FrankHerbertsDune