YMMV / Rendezvous with Rama

• Development Hell: Morgan Freeman and David Fincher were trying to make The Film of the Book happen since the late 1990s. But one of the biggest problems is the very nature of the story. Both report the difficulties in getting a good script. They have been adamant upon not compromising the material to be more marketable and appeal to the Lowest Common Denominator, which more often than not, happens with most Science Fiction adaptations. It's unlikely that it's going to leave development hell any time soon given Hollywood's and moviegoer's preference for sci-fi "action" movies; something that Rama is decidedly not.
  • Possibly rescued, as a movie has now been slated with Denis Villeneuve of Arrival, Blade Runner 2049 and Dune (2021) fame directing once Dune: Part Two is complete.
• Harsher in Hindsight: The book opens/begins with the deaths of 600,000 people and the near-destruction of North Italy... on September 11, 2077.
• Hilarious in Hindsight: When the 40 km-long Rama appears in the Solar System in 2131, it is claimed that nothing that large had been found in the Solar System in 100 years. Nowadays, you can count on something twice that size or bigger being found about once a month. Of course, it may all dry up in the next 20 years, but that's a bit unlikely.
  • In 2017, the first known interstellar object—so unusual that a new astronomical designation had to be invented specifically for it—was discovered, found to be of totally unknown origin, and entered the Solar System before leaving. It was officially named as 'Oumuamua, but it was so similar to Rama that it was seriously suggested that it be named "Rama," too.
• No Problem with Licensed Games: Arthur C. Clarke himself collaborated with developer Ron Martinez and studio Telarium on the 1984 adventure game adaptation; Clarke and Gentry Lee also worked with Sierra in their adaptation of Rama II.
• Only the Creator Does It Right: A frequent criticism of Gentry Lee's novels.
• OT3: Mercer, Calvert and their unnamed wife back on Earth.
• Sequelitis: The unplanned sequels were not as well received as the original.