Showrunner Alison Schapker brings a nerdy appeal to this world, with its lessons in mind control and distaste for ‘thinking machines’ (computers), and it’s much more satisfying when it leans into that. Often there is a tendency to frame the show through our understanding of the films (Villeneuve had nothing to do with this show), which makes sense to get the audience on board, but doesn’t always respect their intelligence.

Do you know Timothée Chalamet? Well, here’s another young guy with good hair. You liked Charlotte Rampling as a strict nun in the film! Perhaps a slew of British actresses will satisfy your craving. You can remember the goodies (House Atreides) and the baddies (those pesky Harkonnens). Well, here’s an origin story that might change your way of thinking. You knew where this was going before it even started.

Still some inventive accents. I loved the vape-cum-gas masks – which the youngsters use to sniff the elusive herbs (you remember that one from the movies!) – and bonus: there’s real sex here. It’s a sex position, as is mandatory on these types of shows, but at least it’s more lustful than the mid-length looks of the films.

But as the episodes progressed, it became clear that this series is doomed by comparison. The first is his HBO stablemate, House of the Dragon (And Game of Thrones before). Dune: Prophecy is clearly being positioned as an alternative to that franchise, although I don’t think anyone involved in Westeros has much to worry about. No one inside Dune: Prophecy has as much fun as Matt Smith or is as miserable as Emma D’Arcy. And for whatever House of the DragonThe mistakes – a bit unwieldy, a bit repetitive – gave it a distinctive look and feel.

The second is of course Villeneuve’s Dune franchise that brings Herbert’s world to life in a much more attractive way. It’s not that those film adaptations dilute Herbert’s plot (the source material isn’t exactly intellectually challenging, there are just a lot of crazy names to remember), but both parts are packed with arresting images: the palace raid in the first film, the Harkonnen -ambush in the sequel. These plasticky sets are reminiscent of boring nightclubs; the fight scenes are uninspired; the weddings are boring. Not a single scene in it Dune: Prophecy meets this, although I am sure the budget did not either.

But most of all I wanted to see something cool: a spaceship, a sandworm, a… smile (no jokes in this series). Instead of, Dune: Prophecy is a bit herbless.

‘Dune: Prophecy’ is available to watch on Sky or NOW TV. New episodes every week