Noting that little theoretical work has been done on the processes of adapting novels for television viewing, and that what discussion there is tends to concentrate on judgments about "faithfulness" to the original, this paper suggests that more can be gained from approaching television adaptations in a less literal way, and shows how the differences and similarities between the novel and its television adaptation can be mapped out. F. Scott Fitzgerald's novel, "Tender is the Night," is offered as an example of the kind of adaptation that is an important element in British television programming, and a brief review of the BBC (British Broadcasting Corporation) and the Seventh Network, Australia, production of the novel and its exhibition history is provided as background for the textual analysis that follows. The ensuing discussion (1) raises some general questions about the differences between verbal and visual sign systems and the nature of the changes generated by the shift from words to images; (2) defines and gives examples of a number of strategies believed to be central to the process of adaptation; and (3) analyzes the complexity of the adaptation process by looking carefully at a short section of the television program. A sequence of the scenes in one of the television episodes and an outline by chapter of the sequences in the novel are appended. (5 footnotes) (Author/CGD)