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Spoilers His Dark Materials TV series

I keep forgetting that the BBC airs this first, HBO second. I'm reading through thinking "How did Folks see this already?" Duh...

Anyways, I thought it was a decent world building start. Introducing the players and mythos was a bit heavy handed at the beginning, but I found it welcome, because I'm coming into this show 'cold', having never been introduced to the source material. Production values were pretty damn good and the VFX was pretty decent for the most part, only a few instances where the finished visual could have used one more pass. I think I'll give it a few more episodes. I'm intrigued and want to see where this goes...

Q2
 
Excellent start.

It's been years since I read the trilogy, so seeing it come to live on TV is essentially like experiencing it for the first time for me.

I don't get the objection to starting things off with a text introduction to the world and setting of the show, especially since this needs to be as accessible to people who haven't read the books as it is to people who have.

I like the cast, even if some of them don't quite 'fit' what I remember of the characters from the books or even the Golden Compass film (which I think is better than it gets credit for being, personally); Dafne Keene in particular continues to demonstrate her skills by turning in a performance that somehow surpasses her brilliant star-making turn as Laura/X-23 in Logan, once again demonstrating why she's the star even while surrounded by other phenomenal actors.

I also love that the series has appropriated actual chapter titles from the series and is using them as episode titles, and I'm interested to see if that's a template/trend that continues across the breadth of the series' run.

As an aside, there's a little bit of irony in the fact that the series was adapted by Jack Thorne and premiered in the US on the same day that it was announced that J.K. Rowling would be getting a screenwriting partner for Fantastic Beasts 3 because the second I saw the news, my first thought was "why wasn't it Jack Thorne?" (nothing against Steve Kloves, it's just that Thorne and Rowling have already worked together once) without knowing that he was already occupied.

My Monday nights have just gotten a lot longer and a lot more crowded, and I'm extremely happy about that because this show is well worth staying up for.
 
I hate to say this because I was very hyped for this show... but I was really really bored. Lets see if business picks up.
 
Another great episode. I'm loving how the series is adapting the book both fiercely loyal to the story while also creating new, unexplored avenues that run parallel. We see such scenes that are ripped straight from the book almost line-for-line, like the Master and the Librarian's discussion about Lyra's destiny, or the bathtub scene where Mrs. Coulter pulls Lyra's hair for lying to her. Conversely, we're Roger and Billy's journey with the Gobblers (although I wonder how long we'll stick with them until the last few episodes) as well as new characters like the priest played by Dafne Keen's father.

While his story arc isn't in the book, I'm also enjoying seeing Boreal's movements parallel (so to speak) to Lyra's, as he investigates what Asriel is up to. I particularly like how his investigation brings to light information that was omitted from Asriel's meeting with the scholars (in the book, Asriel's briefing is much more dense with information which was obviously cut down for the show so it wouldn't be an exposition dump). On the other hand, seeing Boreal's journey to Will's world robs his surprise appearance later on. I wonder if we'll see Will sooner?

One thing I'm not a fan of is the portrayal of Ma Costa. In the books, she's a fierce and strong-willed woman who was very protective of her children (and Lyra), while always maintaining a brave front after Billy's kidnapping. Unfortunately in the TV series, she's depicted as someone who is in less control of her emotions and needs to be looked after by others.

I wondered going into this episode if the show would depict Lyra's meeting with Hannah at Mrs. Coulter's party, but I'm not surprised they didn't. I figure they don't want to be died down to a particular casting with two scenes, if and when they decide to adapt The Book of Dust, even though some cast members have already expressed interest in making it (including Keen).
 
The Nth Doctor said:
Another great episode. I'm loving how the series is adapting the book both fiercely loyal to the story while also creating new, unexplored avenues that run parallel. We see such scenes that are ripped straight from the book almost line-for-line, like the Master and the Librarian's discussion about Lyra's destiny, or the bathtub scene where Mrs. Coulter pulls Lyra's hair for lying to her. Conversely, we're Roger and Billy's journey with the Gobblers (although I wonder how long we'll stick with them until the last few episodes) as well as new characters like the priest played by Dafne Keen's father.

While his story arc isn't in the book, I'm also enjoying seeing Boreal's movements parallel (so to speak) to Lyra's, as he investigates what Asriel is up to. I particularly like how his investigation brings to light information that was omitted from Asriel's meeting with the scholars (in the book, Asriel's briefing is much more dense with information which was obviously cut down for the show so it wouldn't be an exposition dump). On the other hand, seeing Boreal's journey to Will's world robs his surprise appearance later on. I wonder if we'll see Will sooner?.
Click to expand...
Correct me if I'm wrong, but in the books, whilst on Earth 1 Boreal is supposed to be 'C' the head of MI6. I don't know if this is the case here. I couldn't imagine the head of MI6 walking around alone and unescorted around the streets of Oxford, without protection of some kind?
On a personal note I live about two minutes walk from the spot where Boreal materialises on Earth 1 and its not Oxford though walking around that area I could always imagine it being in Oxford for some reason. If you want to know where exactly it is, put in Plasturton Avenue, Cardiff. I walk down it several times a week and may have seen them setting up for the shoot a few months ago, though if its for HDM, it could be for book 2? Perhaps if I look hard enough, maybe I'll find the way to get to Lyra's Earth.
 
DigificWriter said:
Excellent start.

It's been years since I read the trilogy, so seeing it come to live on TV is essentially like experiencing it for the first time for me.

I don't get the objection to starting things off with a text introduction to the world and setting of the show, especially since this needs to be as accessible to people who haven't read the books as it is to people who have.
Click to expand...

For me the text intro just seemed lazy--as did the information dumps a few times during the first episode. The scene in the crypt, or Lyra's lesson scene would have been perfect opportunities to introduce some aspects of the daemons. I just reread the first book in the trilogy and a lot of the information about daemons is learned naturally based on events rather than just explanation.

That said--I really enjoyed the episode. There was a lot of faithfulness to the novels; I liked that the show is taking its time to build up the story, and I liked a lot of the acting. I too hope that the series is successful and adapts other novels beyond the original trilogy.
 
I'm enjoying it but as someone who hasn't read the books it feels a slow burn at times. I appreciate there's a lot of world building going on but I was nodding a bit until the guy went to our Earth which caught me off guard, and Lyra breaking into Ruth Wilson's (who is as always just superb) office was nicely done. So you can kill someone by killing their Demon? That was creepy.
 
guess this second attempt at the trilogy is also doomed for cancellation
 
Starkers said:
...
So you can kill someone by killing their Demon? That was creepy.
Click to expand...
Yes, but the daemon is supposed to disappear when the person is killed. I noticed that the butterfly remained even though the reporter was killed. I wonder if it was a mistake or have they changed that aspect of the story.
 
.:: TSN ::. said:
Yes, but the daemon is supposed to disappear when the person is killed. I noticed that the butterfly remained even though the reporter was killed. I wonder if it was a mistake or have they changed that aspect of the story.
Click to expand...

There is an instance in Northern Lights/The Golden Compass where a person's Daemon is killed but doesn't immediately dissolve/disappear
, so what happened in this most recent episode isn't really an inconsistency.
 
DigificWriter said:
There is an instance in Northern Lights/The Golden Compass where a person's Daemon is killed but doesn't immediately dissolve/disappear
, so what happened in this most recent episode isn't really an inconsistency.
Click to expand...
Which instance was that? Been a while since I read the book.
 
I've enjoyed the first two episodes. I heard that the TV series isn't going to religiously stick to the books, I don't know if that's true?
 
DarthTimon said:
I've enjoyed the first two episodes. I heard that the TV series isn't going to religiously stick to the books, I don't know if that's true?
Click to expand...
It seems to be picking bits from other books to slot into the main narrative.

As someone who really disliked the novels and found the first episode a faithful adaptation, I enjoyed the second episode a little more. Not to the extent that I'd have it on if Mrs Relayer wasn't watching it but...more.
 
Relayer1 said:
It seems to be picking bits from other books to slot into the main narrative.

As someone who really disliked the novels and found the first episode a faithful adaptation, I enjoyed the second episode a little more. Not to the extent that I'd have it on if Mrs Relayer wasn't watching it but...more.
Click to expand...

It's a good slow burner isn't it? It's not rushing to any particular plot point, but letting things bubble away.
 
I've only ever watched the film from 2007 once and never read the novels, so far, I've enjoyed both episodes so far, BBC and HBO make a good partnership.
 
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