Riverworld (2010 miniseries)

The story centers around Matt Ellman, a war reporter, and his beloved Jessie, as they embark on a trip to Singapore, with Matt intending to propose marriage. Tragically, their lives are cut short in a devastating terrorist attack carried out by a suicide bomber.

Their journey, however, does not end with death. Instead, they awaken in an enigmatic realm called Riverworld, a vast and extraordinary planet where every soul that has ever lived on Earth has been reborn along the banks of an endless river. Riverworld serves as a sort of purgatory, offering its inhabitants a second chance at life.

In this world, Matt reunites with several of his deceased friends and encounters famous historical figures, some of whom become his allies, while others emerge as antagonists. Among the antagonists are the explorer Richard Francis Burton and the formidable Francisco Pizarro, the Conquistador who conquered the Incas. On the other hand, Matt finds solace in the company of friendly individuals such as the renowned American author Samuel Clemens, also known as Mark Twain, and Tomoe Gozen, a 12th-century Japanese warrior from the time of the Genpei War who is wedded to Minamoto no Yoshinaka.

Along with the other heroes, Matt soon discovers that Riverworld is not a mere afterlife and is controlled by otherworldly caretakers who are engaged in a civil war.

Riverworld is a fictional setting characterized by an endless or seemingly infinite river. Within this world, a unique trait grants every human being effective immortality, preserving their perpetual youth and robust health, irrespective of their age at the time of their demise on Earth. These inhabitants exhibit remarkable resilience in recovering swiftly from injuries and display a heightened resistance to various diseases. While they can experience death, the remarkable aspect of Riverworld is the phenomenon of resurrection, wherein deceased individuals are continuously reborn at different locations along the river.

A notable aspect of this peculiar realm is the existence of a phenomenon known as the "suicide express," where some individuals deliberately seek death to be reborn at various points along the river, thus utilizing the river's resurrection mechanism as a means of transportation.

Each individual in Riverworld is bestowed with a solid metal bracelet called a "grail band." This device serves as a means for obtaining sustenance, as it provides access to food and beverages. However, champions within Riverworld are an exception; they are deliberately sent into the realm without these grail bands, symbolizing their liberation from the constraints of Riverworld. It is later unveiled that this exclusion from the grail bands not only grants them freedom but also acts as a mechanism to evade the vigilant surveillance of the caretakers of Riverworld. This enables those involved in the ongoing civil war to maintain greater mobility and remain inconspicuous to their opposing forces.

The source of the river, known as the "Dark Tower," holds profound significance in Riverworld. It serves as both the origin of the river itself and the core essence of the entire realm, signifying its central importance. The name "Dark Tower" draws a parallel with one of the novels in the Riverworld series, The Dark Design.

The two main forms of transportation are the riverboat and the zeppelin. The riverboat Not-for-Hire was built by Samuel Clemens, while the zeppelin was built by the man who built the Hindenburg and is called Herumfurzeln (which means in German to fart around). Both use what is suspected by one of the characters to be a fusion power source.

• Riverworld at IMDb