The Dark Crystal Prequel Series Coming To Netflix

To go back to my Star Wars analogy, I would say that however you would tell a first timer to watch the Original Trilogy and the Prequel Trilogy, is the same way I would watch this.

 

I’m the opposite. I tell people to watch them order so I can see if it gives people a different perspective on the franchise.

 

Opposite of what? I wasn't actually talking about a specific order.

 

I watched the movie tonight. That was a little light on plot (but it was a kids movie so that’s a minor thing) but it was gorgeous to look at. For being an early 80s film, I was really captivated by the scenery. I’m really looking forward to this series with 2019 effects and sensibilities.

 

Yeah, at this point the movie is more of a primer on the world of Thra than anything else.

 

With the Star Wars movies. I tell people to watch them from I to VI, and then tell them to read the EU novels.

 

They're not that hugely different, in a lot of ways. Certainly there are more sweeping CGI vistas in the series, but the live effects are mostly just recreations, elaborations, and refinements of what the original already did so well, rather than radical reinventions. They feel like they share a consistent universe and a consistent aesthetic -- unlike, say, TRON and TRON Legacy. Though I guess that's because it's still based on Brian Froud's designs and the Henson Company's techniques.

The biggest advance is in the writing, plotting, and characterization, which are enormously richer and subtler than in the movie.

 

When you've finished watching the series, I recommend a re-watch of the movie. I found having the rich context behind it made it feel a bit more complex, which was a nice surprise.

 

I was thinking about that last night. The movie is nice and short that it could be used as a finale of sorts to the season, even though I don't know what to expect from the season itself. Is this series a limited run or are the planning multiple seasons to help further tie into the movie?

 

There are probably decades or generations between the series and the movie. By the end of season 1, we've seen the beginning of the chain of events that will lead to the status quo preceding the movie, but we're a long way from the end.

No season 2 has been ordered yet, but given the universal critical acclaim and widespread buzz I'm seeing, and given that this is an in-house Netflix production spearheaded by a couple of Netflix execs who are huge fans of the property, I'd be surprised if there wasn't another season or more.

 

Plus, much of the expenses are already covered with the existing sets and puppets. Of course, there will undoubtedly be more in a potential second season, but the series has a very strong baseline so that such a season shouldn't necessarily be as expensive as the first season.

 

I'm not so sure of that. There was a line in the documentary about many of the sets being made of styrofoam, and I got the impression they had to do a movie-like approach and keep tearing down sets they were done with and building new ones in the same studio space, in order to manage creating so many different sets and locations in a finite amount of time and studio space (since they couldn't use any real-world location shooting so everything had to be a set). I'm sure they've saved as many of the components as they could, but a lot would probably have to be rebuilt all over again.

Of course, one thing that should help with the budget is that even big-name actors get paid less for voice work than on-camera work. Having no human faces onscreen probably saves them a considerable amount in actor salaries and residuals. Although of course that's probably cancelled out by the expense of having to create all the onscreen characters from scratch.

 

For the sets, yeah, there might be a lot of building and rebuilding going, but I bet the Skeksis puppets were the most expensive to make and that's largely covered now (we could potentially see as may as five new ones if I remember my count correctly). However, we might see more urRus and that'll cost plenty.

 

Depends on how well the creatures hold up over use. However they do have experience in restoration from efforts on the original creatures.

The other issue will be how long it will take to produce.

Plus the Gartham are heavy suits, like 70 pounds each. Add to that the difficult performance position for the Mystics, and you will have a long time to film.

 

Ah, damn, I forgot about the Gartham. I guess everything will balance out.

Yeah, long filming time although I was surprised to learn from the documentary (assuming I understand what they said) that it only took them six months to film the first season.

 

One thing that bugged me is at the end, why didn’t they take the shard to the castle and fix the Crystal? The Skeksis were in retreat and the Geldlings had an army. They could have easily taken it.

 

Just started the first episode. A couple observations, the dialogue is snappier, the scenery is still gorgeous, and the music is already epically amazing. The production quality of this series is already top notch. I think I'm going to have fun with this show.

This is really the Jim Henson Company showing how amazing they are now.

 

I've been going on the assumption that the shard would only restore the crystal if it was replaced during a great conjunction. Indeed, the movie makes this whole thing seem like a waiting game played by Aughra and the Mystics.

Also remember that despite appearances, the Skeksis are still powerful creatures and one can imagine that even the cowards among them could be dangerous when cornered. That combined with their technology makes me think a direct assault would be more dicey than it might appear. Plus without the support of all the clans, the Resistance have have to spend as much time fighting their own if they loyalists rally to defend the castle.

 

The Gelflngs would basically have to take the castle and hold it for the next 80 to 200 trine until the Great Conjunction. Either they would need to force the Skeksis out of the castle (than bring them back to be made whole), Imprison them for a several Gelfling generations, or execute them all. And not all the Skeksis are at the castle at this time. At least three are being recalled, and there is a least one more out there (if not three more). While executing them might be the simplest way, that also kills their Mystic counterparts, who have done nothing to the Gelflings to deserve death.

And just nine Skeksis seem to be formidable in combat despite how they look.

 

Who else thought Brea's sister was a bitch? i wanted to slap her.