- "Arrakis. Dune. Wasteland of the Empire...and the most valuable planet in the universe, because it is here and only here where Spice is found. The Spice; without it there is no commerce in the Empire, there is no civilisation. Arrakis, Dune, home of the Spice. Greatest treasure in the universe and he who controls it controls our destiny."
- ―Princess Irulan Corrino[src]
Dune is the first episode of Frank Herbert's Dune. It premiered on December 2, 2000 on the SciFi Channel. It was written and directed by John Harrison.
Premise[]
On order of the emperor, Duke Leto Atreides moves his family from his home planet Caladan] to another planet, Arrakis, also known as Dune. After an attack on their stronghold, his son Paul and his concubine flee into the desert.
Synopsis[]
Paul Atreides awakes from a dream in which he sees war and bloodshed, a young woman and the death of his father, Duke Leto Atreides. A filmbook recorded by the Suk Doctor of House Atreides, Wellington Yueh tells him that his family's move to Arrakis will be a test of his father's loyalty to the Padishah Emperor Shaddam Corrino IV. As Yueh speaks of the tripod which upholds the Empire's society, the Emperor, the Landsraad and the Spacing Guild, Paul is visited by his mother, Lady Jessica. She attempts to comfort Paul, who resents having to relocate to Arrakis, and reminds him of his responsibilities as a Duke's son. She then informs him that her mentor, Reverend Mother Gaius Helen Mohiam of the Bene Gesserit, has arrived and wishes to see him.
Jessica brings Paul before Mohiam, who tells him to come close to her, using the Voice on him when he does not. He resists and when Jessica attempts to intervene, Mohiam dismisses her. As Jessica leaves, Paul is shocked by Mohiam's audacity. She asks to hear about his dreams, using the Voice to compel him to reveal what he sees in them. He tells her that he sees a war, which Mohiam calls a "Jihad", people worshipping water and chanting a name and a girl with strange eyes. Mohiam asks him what he thinks the dreams mean and he uses the Voice on her, asking what she thinks they mean.
Mohiam points Paul to a box, telling him that it is a test. She tells him to put his hand inside and once he does she holds a Gom Jabbar to his neck, telling him that she will kill him if he removes his hand from the box. Paul feels great pain and recites the Litany Against Fear. Once he has passed the test, Paul removes his hand to find it unharmed and Mohiam tells him that no woman-child has ever withstood so much pain. Jessica returns to the room and Paul storms out, angry as her for not warning him. As she prepares to leave, Mohiam chastises Jessica for disobeying her order to only produce daughters. She tells Jessica that they may be able to save Paul, but not Leto.
Paul trains with the Atreides' warmaster, Gurney Halleck, under the watchful eye of the Mentat Thufir Hawat. Paul overpowers Gurney, who points out that he has also positioned his knife for a killing blow. Paul declares that he is not in the mood, which Gurney states to be irrelevant to combat, and Paul leaves. Thufir tells Gurney that something Mohiam said of did has distracted Paul.
Once the Atreides ships enter a Heighliner, Thufir informs Paul that a Guild Navigator is arriving. Paul asks Thufir about the Navigators' dependence on the Spice and its mutation of them. Paul then states that he has never seen one and Thufir warns him not to endanger their shipping privileges by trying. Paul asks about the dangers on Arrakis and Thufir tells him of the storms and the Sandworms, but Paul states that they are not what worries him. Thufir tells him that Duke Leto is a formidable man and that he should not fear the words of a Bene Gesserit hag. Paul asks Thufir why he hates the Bene Gesserit and Thufir replies that he does not hate them, but mistrusts them due to his trust of logic and statistics over mysticism and prophecy. Agents of the Spacing Guild bring forth a pod containing a Guild Navigator, who folds space to transport the Atreides ships from Caladan to Arrakis.
On Giedi Prime, Baron Vladimir Harkonnen discusses his plan to overthrow House Atreides with his nephews, Glossu Rabban and Feyd-Rautha Harkonnen, and his twisted mentat, Piter de Vries. The Baron reveals that he has a traitor within House Atreides who will aid him in his plan to defeat Duke Leto so that House Harkonnen can regain control of Arrakis. Feyd asks about potential pushback from the other Great Houses and the Baron replies that due to his popularity they all wish to be see Duke Leto as a threat and wish to be rid of him, though would never publicly admit it. He declares that he plans to sow mistruct amongst the Atreides and strike when they are at their weakest.
On Arrakis, the Atreides arrive at Arrakeen. Duke Leto is approached by his swordmaster, Duncan Idaho, who warns him of heavy losses that are expected from their Spice mining operations. Leto tasks him to become an ally of Arrakis' native people, the Fremen, who are said to exist in vast numbers in the deep desert. Duncan warns that the Fremen are unlikely to trust them, having been hunted by the Harkonnens for sport, and Leto replies that they must gain their trust, as they may prove to be essential allies. Leto instructs Duncan to find the Fremen's leader, a mysterious individual known as "Liet".
As Paul and Jessica travel through the city with Yueh, they see a man selling water and Paul notices several locals with blue-within-blue eyes like he has seen in his dreams. He asks Yueh about this and he informs him that it is due to the Spice, which is in the air and food on Arrakis. Once they reach the governor's palace, Paul sees a fountain which Yueh explains is for guests to splash water on the floor after washing their hands, which Jessica finds demeaning. As Leto and Thufir discuss the business Duncan has been sent to attend to, Jessica assures the servants that unlike the Harkonnens, the Atreides will treat them with respect. The housekeeper tells the servants to speak their Lady's language at all times. Yueh introduces her as the Shadout Mapes and Leto instructs her to show Jessica her apartments and make sure she has all that she needs.
Mapes shows Jessica to her apartments, where she finds a greenhouse, which Mapes explains was build offworlders many years ago. Jessica deduces that the water used to maintain the plants for a month could allow one thousand people to survive for a year. She tells Mapes to inform the people that the greenhouse belongs to them before going out of the palace's front door and tells a servant who is selling water to give her customers their money back, declaring that the custom will no longer continue and any person who calls at the Atreides door after each meal will receive a full cup of water for free. The servant then asks Mapes if Jessica could be the one who brings the Mahdi.
At Leto's instruction, Paul accompanies him to a meeting. Leto instructs Gurney to inform the smugglers that they will ignore their operations if they make it worth their while. Thufir warns that the Emperor will not approve of this and Paul suggests that they inform him of it so that he may profit from it. Gurney and Thufir both commend him for this.
On Kaitain, the home of House Corrino, Princess Irulan Corrino is trained in the Weirding Way by Mohiam. Emperor Shaddam IV watches from a distance alongside his friend and Mentat, Count Hasimir Fenring. Shaddam expresses disappointment that Irulan's interests lean more to the literary than the political and Fenring advises him never to underestimate the political uses of an awakened mind. He suggests that a marriage be arranged for Irulan and Shaddam laments that it cannot be to Paul. He then declares that they must send Leto a token of their love so that he continues to think of them fondly.
On Arrakis, Paul asks Leto why they have really come to Arrakis. Leto tells him that Shaddam fears them and their influcne among the Great Houses and may be plotting against them. Paul states that they have been sent into a trap and Leto replies that knowing that there is a trap is the first step in evading it. Later, Leto and Jessica are in bed and he expresses regret for not taking House Atreides renegade and fleeing to the darkest corners of the universe. She point out that he is too honorable to do that and that the Harkonnens can never buy the respect that he has earned. He tells her that he would trade all of that respect for peace and safety for his family. Jessica tells him that if she could go back and choose a different path, she would change nothing.
As Leto sleeps, Jessica looks out of the window and sees a red light flashing on a rock formation outside the city. On a cliffside, Duncan is with a Fremem named Turok and asks if the light is coming from one of his people. Turok replies that it is a Harkonnen mercenary and that someone is signalling from the palace. Duncan makes to intervene, but Turok informs him that word has already been sent to the palace.
In the morning, Jessica finds Yueh, who tells her of his wife, Wanna Marcus, and that despite his Imperial Conditioning he still has hope. He cries and declares it sacrilege to waste his water in such a desolate place. Jessica tells him that they have spies everywhere and if she is alive they will find her. She apologises for dragging him to Arrakis and he replies that he came willingly. Leto, Paul, Gurney and Thufir meet with the Imperial planetologist Dr. Kynes, who has provided them with stillsuits. Kynes notices that Paul wears his stillsuit correctly, despite never wearing one before.
Leto, Paul, Gurney and Kynes travel into the desert, where they reach a Spice harvester. They notice wormsign and Kynes alerts the workers on the harvester. With the carryall nowhere in sight, Leto elects to evacuate the crew, despite warnings from Gurney and Kynes that their Ornithopter cannot carry that many people. Once all of the workers have boarded the Ornithopter, they take off as the worm consumes the harvester and then attempts to consume their Ornithopter. Once they return to Arrakeen, Kynes expresses his admiration of Leto to Gurney due to him prioritising the lives of his men over the Spice. Leto tells Paul that while on Caladan they ruled by air and sea, on Arrakis they will need desert power.
On Giedi Prime, Feyd trains in combat while Rabban complains to the Baron about Leto's success on Arrakis. He deduces that Leto must be disposed of as soon as possible and Piter advises him that Leto's continues success makes the other Great Houses nervous, which will allow them to spread rumors to create envy. Rabban suggests that they utilise their traitor to strike immediately. Feyd then fights against a slave and the Baron tells Rabban that he wishes Leto succeed so that he may be secure and confident, which will render him distracted and vulnerable. Feyd kills the slave, which impresses the Baron.
Paul watches a filmbook about Sandworms before following Kynes into the greenhouse. As they examine the plants, Kynes suggests that the ecology of Arrakis may be changed so that it may become a paradise, which may happen if the Mahdi arrives. Leto discusses this word with Thufir, who informs him that it means "Messiah" and that the Fremen have a prophecy that a leader will come to them from offworld, a boy who is the only son of a Bene Gesserit who will guide them to true freedom. Leto deduces that they believe Paul to be this Messiah and Thufir dismisses it as the belief of a simple people who surive on hope.
Paul wakes from a dream and finds a servant standing over him. She apologises and goes to leave, but he tells her that she can go about her work. He then asks her if the cooks use much Spice in the food and she tells him that it is everywhere on Arrakis. Paul orders her not to move as he notices a hunter-seeker entering the room. He warns her to stay perfectly still, for it can only target movement. The hunter-seeker approaches Paul and when Mapes enters the room it turns towards her, but before it can strike Paul grabs it, smashes it against a pillar and drops it into a jug of water. Mapes orders the servant to alert Thufir and then warns Paul that there is a traitor among the Atreides. The operator of the Hunter-seeker is found and killed by Gurney, despite Thufir's orders that he be taken alive. Leto is enraged when he learns of the attempt on Paul's life and orders that the operator's body be burned except for his hands, which should then be sent to the Baron with Spice in each hand.
On Giedi Prime, the Baron chastises Rabban for sending the operator to attempt to assassinate Paul, which has now made the Atreides more defensive then ever. Piter suggests that they advance their timetable by offering the Spacing Guild an increase in Spice royalties to be paid in advance from Rabban's earnings. Rabban is angered by this, but the Baron agrees and states that Rabban's incompetence may be useful and hasten the fall of House Atreides.
As they prepare to hold a banquet, Leto and Paul discuss the recent assassination attempt. Leto points out that the assassin could not have entered the palace without help from with and Paul asks who he suspects. Leto replies that he can only suspect, but cannot prove anything. Paul refuses to believe that any of their most trusted advisors could betray them and Leto warns him not to be blinded by sentiment. Paul deduces that the Harkonnens are creating suspicion and doubt to turn them against each other andLeto advises that to hold Arrakis, he must fight fear with fear. Jessica approaches them and alerts them that it is time to greet their guests.
As they enter the banquet, Jessica informs Leto of natable attendees, including water shipper Lingar Bewt and Spice smuggler Lingar Bewt. Kynes approaches them and informs them that the missing carryall has been found, having been stolen by Harkonnen agents who attempted to sell it to smugglers. Princess Irulan then arrives accompanited by Sardaukar and annouces her father's confidence in House Atreides to all present. During the meal, Irulan discusses the use of water on Arrakis with a Spacing Guild representative while Paul argues with Bewt about the Spice. Paul then leaves the table after making his distrust of Irulan clear. The Guild representative then asks Kynes if it is true that the Fremen drink the blood of their own kind, to which Kynes replies that they drink all of a man's water, which is a necessity when one lives in the deep desert.
Paul sits with Gurney as he plays his baliset. He asks Gurney if he loves his father and Gurney tells him that Leto rescued him from a Harkonnen slave pit and brought him into his household, hence he would never betray him. Paul apologises for doubting him and does an impression of the Baron for his amusement. Irulan joins them and Gurney departs. Irulan assures Paul that they are not as different as they may appear, with both of them inheriting the solitude and responsibilities of their birthrights. She invites him to dance and tells him that she did not wish to come to Arrakis, but he has turned out to be more complicated then his reputation led her to believe, which she likes. The Sardaukar arrive and ask Irulan if she has been hurt, at which point Gurney arrives with Atreides guards. Paul and Irulan order them to stand down. The Bashar tells Irulan that it is time for her to leave on the strict orders of her father. Before she leaves, Irulan tells Paul that he is far more interesting than he appears and that she hopes it will not be their last encounter. As he sleeps that night, Paul has a nightmare in which Leto vanishes before his eyes.
Duncan returns and meets with Leto, informing him that the Fremen found Harkonnen infiltrators in a cave in the Shield Mountains and Turok was badly wounded. Duncan rushed him to Arrakeen for treatment, but he succumbed to his wounds. Duncan introduces Leto to Stilgar, the leader of Turok's tribe. Leto offers Stilgar his friendship, but Stilgar replies that his people have long suffered under the rule of Arrakis' governors. Leto assures him that he will not rule as they did and Paul arrives, overjoyed to see Duncan. Leto introduces him to Stilgar, who states that the Fremen have heard much about him. Leto assures Stilgar that he only wants peace between them and Stilgar spits on his desk, shocking those present. Paul thanks Stilgar for the gift of his body's water and accepts it in the spirit in which it was given. Stilgar agrees to Leto's offer of an allience and departs.
Leto sits along late at night staring at his Ducal ring when Jessica joins him and urges him to come to bed. She sits across from him and he laments leaving Caladan and asks if Paul is ready for what is coming. She urges him not to frighten her and asks him to allow her to be his comfort as he is hers. Gurney laters watches Jessica return to her room and as Leto walks through a corridor, he hears a noise. He investigates it and finds Mapes fatally stabs. He asks her who did it and she warns him that the shields are down. He calls to Gurney for help, but receives no answer. A dart strikes him in the back of his neck and as he collapses, Yueh approaches him. Leto asks why he has betrayed them and Yueh replies that he must save his wife. He then removes one of Leto's teeth and replaces it with a poisoned capsule, telling him down bite down on it when the Baron is near him.
The forces of House Harkonnen lay siege to Arrakeen and the Atreides soldiers rush to defend it. Gurney kills an attacker and discovers that it is a Sardaukar. Thufir demands from a soldier to know where Leto is and the soldier replies that they have not been able to find him or Paul. By morning, the Harkonnens have taken the palace and as Piter holds Jessica prisoner, the Baron instructs him to remove the Sardaukar on their frigate so that Shaddam's involvement in the siege will remain a secret. The Baron then mocks Jessica and Piter orders a soldier to take Jessica and Paul deep into the desert and feed them to the Sandworms so that their bodies will never be found.
Yueh presents Leto, who is still paralyzed from the dart, to the Baron and demands that he fulfil his end of the bargain. The Baron agrees and presents Wanna's suspended corpse to the horrified Yueh. Piter then stabs Yueh in the back, killing him. The Baron then gloats to Leto, telling him that Paul and Jessica have been taken into the desert to be eaten by Sandworms and that Shaddam aided him in the demise of House Atreides. Piter suggests that they get on with it, , but the Baron insists on savoring his victory. Leto speaks softly and they move closer in an attempt to hear him. He then bites down on the capsule and unleashes the poisoned gas, but the Baron floats to safety as Piter and the soldiers are killed.
In the desert, Paul wakes Jessica and informs her that Leto is dead. As she mourns, he urges her that they must take shelter, due to the hostile environment, Harkonnen patrols and Sandworms. They see an Atreides Ornithopter approaching, but unsure if it has been hijacked by Harkonnens they attempt to run for cover. The Ornithopter lands ahead of them and as the ramp lowers, Duncan urges them to hurry, as Harkonnen patrols are approaching fast. They board the Ornithopter, which is piloted by Kynes, and travel to a Fremen Sietch. Jessica asks Duncan how he knew where to find them and he replies that Yueh alerted him. He then gives Leto's ducal ring to Paul, which drives Jessica to tears. Paul overhears another Fremen calling Kynes "Liet" and realizes that he is the elusive Fremen leader, though Kynes states that he is merely a guide until Mahdi comes.
As a Harkonnen patrol approaches, Paul, Jessica and Duncan make to leave. Paul asks Kynes if he will come with them, but as Kynes works for Shaddam, he states that he will tell the Harkonnens that he was their hostage. Paul and Jessica board the Ornithopter and Duncan tells them that he must remain with the Fremen as he promised Leto. Once they leave in the ornithopter, Duncan is killed in a Harkonnen strike. Paul flies into a Coriolis storm to escape from the Harkonnens, despite Jessica's warning that nothing survives such as storm. Paul recites the Litant Against Fear as they enter the storm