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His Dark Materials TV Series |OT| UK - BBC One, Sundays; RoW - HBO, Mondays [See spoiler guide in OP]
- Thread starter CeeCee
- Start date
Money makes the world go round!
Enjoyed the first episode, but it was a little slow. Thats how I remember the books starting out too, though I haven't read them since I was about 14 or 15. Excited to see more!
Does anyone know how much of the story is going to be covered by this series? I'm presuming that it'll follow the events of The Northern Lights but we'll have to wait for the next one to get The Subtle Knife and so on?
OP
OP
Yeah, this one is basically going to the end of the Northern Lights.
And if anything, that was much faster paced than the books haha I think we've done about 70 pages in that episode.
I think it's a season a book. And they're already filming the second season so Lyras actress isn't too much older between seasons.
Second season is already filmed, so I'm wondering how long we will have to wait between season 1 and 2.
Yeah that was really awesome. I really like the intro credits too. Nice, subtle foreshadowing. Of course a lot of the mystery is lost on me since I know what's going to happen but I'm still really liking what they've done so far.
So yeah, just saw episode 1. I know nothing about the source material but I did see The Golden Compass years ago and I kinda liked it. I like most fantasy and sci-fi.
So it looks really nice, great locations. McAvoy was hamming it up, but otherwise nice acting. I like Ruth Wilson in everything and she's great here as well. CG effects are solid.
But...I'm just not feeling the young adult plot. The talking animals don't bother me, but eveyone just acts so dumb and goofy it's hard to take anything seriously.
I'll watch next episode as well, maybe it will grow on me.
So it looks really nice, great locations. McAvoy was hamming it up, but otherwise nice acting. I like Ruth Wilson in everything and she's great here as well. CG effects are solid.
But...I'm just not feeling the young adult plot. The talking animals don't bother me, but eveyone just acts so dumb and goofy it's hard to take anything seriously.
I'll watch next episode as well, maybe it will grow on me.
Slow but solid start.
I'm not convinced by playing up the prophecy angle - part of the charm of the first book is that it starts off as a more normal adventure story then develops - but otherwise this feels like they've captured everything very well.
I'm not convinced by playing up the prophecy angle - part of the charm of the first book is that it starts off as a more normal adventure story then develops - but otherwise this feels like they've captured everything very well.
Thanks!
I wonder if they'll split the third book into multiple since it was a fair bit longer than the others?
They can trim a lot of fat. Like a lot. Like a third of the damn book. 🤣
I read the plan is 10 episodes instead of 8 for book three, but S3 hasn't been commissioned yet, the BBC are waiting to see how S1 is received first.
Really enjoyed it. I haven't read the books but I didn't feel lost at all. The concept and characters won me over fairly quickly. Dafne Keen is very good.
She's literally perfect casting for Lyra. The master of the school said they should be scared for her and scared of her and if anyone can justify that it's Dafne Keen. You couldn't ask for a better actress to portray such a brave, stubborn and intuitive girl.
Also important to note that it will probably go beyond 3 seasons (provided it does well) using the material from the new Book of Dust novels.
That was a solid start. I thought the editing was a bit frantic and rushed in the retiring room scene, but after that it settled down, and the last half was much better.
Dafne Keen is showing all the potential I expected, my favourite casting.
Ma Costa was my unexpected favourite performance, Anne-Marie Duff really felt like she was channeling the character well. In fact, all the Gyptians were great.
Roger was a little goofy, not gonna lie. The other Jordan College characters were all solid.
Ruth Wilson and James McAvoy were filling very very big shoes as Kidman and Craig were such perfect castings for Mrs Coulter and Lord Asriel. I thought Wilson did an excellent job, she's already nailing that charisma and personality. McAvoy was a little mixed for me. On the one hand I think he suffered unfairly from his scenes being the ones that got edited weird, but even still I thought he came off a little too manic for me. I always pictured Asriel more calm and dignified. That said, a different take on the character isn't always a bad thing, so I'm curious to see where he takes it.
P.S. The Alethiometer is tiny! And square!
Dafne Keen is showing all the potential I expected, my favourite casting.
Ma Costa was my unexpected favourite performance, Anne-Marie Duff really felt like she was channeling the character well. In fact, all the Gyptians were great.
Roger was a little goofy, not gonna lie. The other Jordan College characters were all solid.
Ruth Wilson and James McAvoy were filling very very big shoes as Kidman and Craig were such perfect castings for Mrs Coulter and Lord Asriel. I thought Wilson did an excellent job, she's already nailing that charisma and personality. McAvoy was a little mixed for me. On the one hand I think he suffered unfairly from his scenes being the ones that got edited weird, but even still I thought he came off a little too manic for me. I always pictured Asriel more calm and dignified. That said, a different take on the character isn't always a bad thing, so I'm curious to see where he takes it.
P.S. The Alethiometer is tiny! And square!
Overall I thought it was an awesome start to the series. Dafnee Keen and James McAvoy were both great, but the standout for me is Ruth Wilson who is just perfect as Mrs.Coulter, pretty much exactly as I imagined her while reading the books.
Just a couple of minor niggles, lack of daemons in the more crowded scenes (budget related I guess) and 'La Belle Sauvage' spoiler:
Just a couple of minor niggles, lack of daemons in the more crowded scenes (budget related I guess) and 'La Belle Sauvage' spoiler:
no Malcolm or Alice at the beginning, I was waiting for the 'treasure them' line.
I loved this, had a permanent case of hairs standing up on my neck as they nailed each and every aspect. Particularly loved how they did Pan and his constant flitting between forms. Really hope this takes off globally as it absolutely deserves to.
So hyped for this show. Hope it's better than the movie. The movie really wasn't THAT bad until the end when it went off the rails.
I enjoyed that plenty and am looking forward to the rest. Alas, I did read the books about a decade ago - which is unusual for me as I don't read many books - only a few a year. So for most of these books to film/TV adaptations (Harry Potter, LOTR, GOT etc) I never read the books before seeing the adaptation. So I guess this doesn't quite live up to majesty of what I saw in my head and is to be expected of course, but it was damn close.
As an aside - Steve and Fiona!
As an aside - Steve and Fiona!
OP
OP
Would love to have a discussion about the new books, but not sure if enough people here are reading. I haven't reread the original trilogy. I was pretty much Lyra and
Will's
It's already included material from Book of Dust in episode 1.
I just finished the Secret Commonwealth, got quite a few thoughts on it, but seeing episode one kind of reminds me how different the Northern Lights felt... it felt a bit more fantastical. I could never quite place where that world is technologically compared with ours, in my head it was a bit more Victorian. The show is doing pretty well on that front in a surprising way. I kind of pictured Mrs Coulter as the English teacher at the time, who was a bit like a blonde Ruth Wilson, so I think it works well.
The BBC's coming up next trailer after the episode is kind of crazy though, a bit spoilerish for non book readers.
Because it was made by the BBC (with HBO) so is brits get it first for once... 🤪
So uh is this just remaking what i saw in the Golden Compass? Cause its basically exactly the same so far. I know they're both based on books, but i havent read them. Other than knowing everything that's gonna happen, it's incredibly well made and acted. Wish it was more surprising to me.
Well, for one it aims to be even more accurate to the books and more importantly it will hopefully actually cover the entire series, while the movie failed so bad it stopped after one instalment. So at the very latest Season 2 will be entirely original to you, but likely sooner than that
First series will be mostly just the same but with lots more of the richness of the novel in there. But there's two more books they've never adapted (and even more if we count the new ones). And the 2nd book is an absolute belter.
That's what i figured. Seems guaranteed for at least another season based on the premiere.
Cool, good to hear. My only familiarity is with the movie too.
Nice
Felt perfectly appropriate for 11. It's broadcast at 8pm on bbc. The family viewing slot.
Really? Interesting. If they adapt the entire source material, how long will the series be? One novel per season, so three seasons?
The BBC preview feels like it was for the whole season.
I would guesstimate may still be a years wait at least given all the effects work it'll need. And I think they are shooting quickly mainly because Dafne Keen and other kids are growing up quickly; quite a difference between a 14 year old girl and a 16 year old.
Yes, about one book per season. However, considering they are including Book of Dust material, not just stuff from the first 3 novels, this will likely be 5-6ish seasons assuming it's successful -- the last book should be done and out long before they get there.
I assume it was the trailer for the whole season. It looked like exactly the same trailer they released online a few weeks back, but I'm not entirely sure.
Which is a major issue when we are dealing with two or so child protags.
The new books are a new trilogy. Not sure if they are part of the show's deal, but the show has included material from the prequel book La Belle Sauvage. Lyra is like 20 years old in The Secret Commonwealth so, i can see them carrying onto the new books is the series is successful. The original trilogy is pretty perfect on its own as well, so I wouldn't mind if they stop with the Amber Spyglass.
I personally have more issues with the new books, but that may be because it's been so long since I read the old ones.
Odds are the preview was showcasing parts of the whole series and not just the next episode.