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Post by oxfordsimon on Nov 3, 2019 21:40:53 GMT
I read this so long ago that I can only half remember what happens which perhaps means i'm less critical though whilst I suppose it's meant to be a further hook they didn't half show a lot of stuff that is upcoming after the first episode. The opening credits made me think of the night manager, all flashy. I'm watching thinking Lyra is quite a pain and impulsive but I think that's age telling on me and vaguely knowing where it's all going. How many episodes are there? 8 episodes |
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Post by peggs on Nov 3, 2019 21:54:41 GMT
okay thanks. I thought the film was pretty dire. I'll watch again next week. Need to get my hands on the books again really to remind myself. Someone at work is crazy about His Dark Materials so will see what they thought.
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Post by oxfordsimon on Nov 3, 2019 22:22:21 GMT
I did express my misgivings about the casting of McAvoy and Wilson from the start - but I actually warmed to Wilson's portrayal. She isn't how I see Mrs C - but it works for this.
I did want it to work, I really did. But it just doesn't - for me. I know there is a lot of love for it. Possibly I wanted too much from it - to capture that sense of excitement I got from both the stage and radio versions. Perhaps making everything look real is where it trips me up - the imagination is always more powerful.
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Post by crowblack on Nov 3, 2019 22:25:29 GMT
I found it quite bitty - maybe it would have worked better just keeping it with Lyra's POV, or at least until things were established. As it is I'm not sure this will hang on to viewers who aren't already fans of the books, though the cast may keep people with it (I'm not a fan of the books but James McAvoy and Ruth Wilson should be worth watching).
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Post by crowblack on Nov 3, 2019 22:32:19 GMT
misgivings about the casting of McAvoy and Wilson I prefer them - the novels' versions are so cold it was rather like watching chess pieces being shifted round a board and I really didn't care what happened to them. |
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Post by oxfordsimon on Nov 3, 2019 22:37:54 GMT
Lord A and Mrs C are not particularly well written characters - so I can understand how people find them cold.
Having just re-watched the Imagine documentary about Pullman, it is so clear that he was writing, in part, about his own parents there.
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Post by crowblack on Nov 3, 2019 22:57:01 GMT
it is so clear that he was writing, in part, about his own parents there. Yes, I think he's working through some family issues in the books - and the peculiar religion he was then brought up in. |
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Post by oxfordsimon on Nov 3, 2019 23:01:10 GMT
I hope he has a detailed synopsis for the final book in the second trilogy...
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Post by alece10 on Nov 4, 2019 6:46:41 GMT
Not really a fan of fantasy stuff but gave this a go. Having never read or heard of the books I knew nothing about it so was at a disadvantage. Not really sure what was going on but I think it has potential especially after the trailer at the end for forthcoming episodes.
And I kept wondering where the Egyptians were?
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Post by Deleted on Nov 4, 2019 17:57:33 GMT
Well I liked it a lot, after being very sceptical.
Once Lyra started running along the rooftops i felt she was right. Ma Costa was a bit young and skinny, I imagined her all cosy and fat and motherly, but what do i know? I wish Lyra had sounded a little less posh and more Oxford like in the books, but that's just minor.
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Post by crowblack on Nov 4, 2019 19:06:46 GMT
I've watched the second half just now (yesterday's was interrupted) and thought it was a odd mix of styles. Some of the script and delivery was rather stilted, I thought - more like teatime children's TV, though when Ruth Wilson came on it really went up a few notches. I thought the boy playing Roger was good too. The scene where she's given the alethiometer was odd - wouldn't she be more wary of the master, since she's just seen him try to poison her beloved 'uncle', and what child would go, nah, I'm not sure I want this amazing-looking gadget? And, I get cgi is costly, but why not just sprinkle a few animals around in the dinner in hall scene? Oh, and, since the BBC Oxford is more diverse than Pullman's, maybe some WOMEN too? Generally I think Thorne has made Lyra and Asriel more likeable than Pullman, which for me is a plus.
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Post by lou105 on Nov 4, 2019 20:29:21 GMT
I thought the boy playing Roger was good too. Lewin Lloyd, son of Jamie. |
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Post by crowblack on Nov 4, 2019 21:25:15 GMT
Lewin Lloyd, son of Jamie. Ah. I think he was in Taboo too, along with Gollum's kid! |
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Post by lou105 on Nov 4, 2019 21:28:40 GMT
Lewin Lloyd, son of Jamie. Ah. I think he was in Taboo too, along with Gollum's kid! I was trying to think why I recognised him, and eventually found out he's in Judy too. |
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Post by Jon on Nov 5, 2019 1:44:45 GMT
Lewin Lloyd, son of Jamie. Ah. I think he was in Taboo too, along with Gollum's kid! They're really working them young aren't they! Dafne Keen is another as her Dad is Will Keen who was also in His Dark Materials. |
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Post by freckles on Nov 5, 2019 10:45:09 GMT
I really enjoyed it, and thought the world created was spot on.
Agree that Ma Costa was not at all how I'd envisaged her, and I wasn't sure about Mrs Coulter at first. In my head, she's blonde and much more chic. But Ruth Wilson does quietly menacing so well that I think she's going to be OK.
The daemons were good, although their voices at the start were a bit too similar to Lyra and Roger; it was hard to tell who was speaking. I watched with someone who hasn't read the books, who found it a bit hard to follow.
The "coming up" bit seemed to reveal a bit too much, but looked fantastic.
I'm looking forward to the rest of the series.
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Post by crowblack on Nov 5, 2019 11:06:49 GMT
The "coming up" bit seemed to reveal a bit too much, but looked fantastic. Yes - why reveal so much? If you've read the books you'll probably watch anyway, but if you haven't it signals pretty clearly how things will turn out, who is bad etc. . Even within the episode we didn't get many mysteries - for example, we're told, before we meet her, that Mrs Coulter is a baddie. Given the very generous series length, why not let that unfold naturally? Too many things here are signalled in advance. |
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Post by cherokee on Nov 5, 2019 11:15:36 GMT
I think James McAvoy is miscast as Asriel: physically he's too slight and boyish. It feels like Asriel needs to be a more physically imposing presence. But then it seems he was a (very) last minute replacement after the original actor dropped out.
The rest of the casting is OK although I rolled my eyes at Clarke Peters. Why cast an American who can't really do an English accent, when there are hundreds of British character actors who could play the role much better? And talking of accents, isn't Lyra supposed to have a less posh accent (hence her saying 'ain't). It suddenly leaped out of me when she said that and then continued in impeccable RP...
It would be nice if casting directors when looking for new child actor talent spread their net a little wider. Lyra is Will Keen's daughter and Roger is Jamie Lloyd's... Good to see dynastic theatrical nepotism is going strong.
And I did smile that only speaking characters apparently have daemons in this adaptation!!
Still I shall stick with it. It is at least better than the dreadful film.
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Post by crowblack on Nov 5, 2019 11:37:13 GMT
the original actor dropped out. Who was it? |
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Post by cherokee on Nov 5, 2019 12:03:24 GMT
the original actor dropped out. Who was it? He’s not said who it was. |
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Post by floorshow on Nov 5, 2019 13:03:31 GMT
It was OK, knowing it gets increasingly odd as it progresses is helping a lot. Thought the direction was really flat, the film was flawed but it delivery the Oxford stuff way better than the BBC's take. Asriel was a bit too nice at first but I guess that worked OK when he dumped her.
Did they stick that 'coming next' bit on (which essentially spoilt every single story beat for the rest of the first book) because they didn't have confidence in the first episode holding a crowd?
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Post by crowblack on Nov 5, 2019 16:32:37 GMT
they didn't have confidence in the first episode holding a crowd? It looked like it - it's the longest and most spoilery 'coming next' I can remember! Then again, this must be one of the BBC's most expensive co-productions and with the next series already being filmed there's a lot riding on this. |
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Post by Deleted on Nov 5, 2019 19:22:18 GMT
I assumed the 'coming next' bit was to reassure people that they are going to see the north, the armoured bears, Lee Scoresby and witches etc. There were otherwise a lot of highly billed things that weren't in the first episode at all, and I suppose some people might have been disappointed not to see them.
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Post by floorshow on Nov 5, 2019 21:01:09 GMT
He’s not said who it was. Dean Gaffney |
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Post by danb on Nov 9, 2019 9:10:06 GMT
It all looked very pretty, was weird enough to make the viewer feel a bit superior for half following it and very well cast. However, I think if you are a fan of the books you remember them as a whole, with Northern Lights being almost impenetrable to me until I really put my mind to focus on it. As soon as the rollicking adventure starts I’ll be in a better place. By the time we get to The Subtle Knife and better still The Amber Spyglass I suspect I’ll be enraptured, and slightly devastated all over again.
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