What TV SHOWS are you watching?

Not sure why the fancy hit me, but I've been burning through F Is For Family lately. I'm through the first two seasons, with one more to go.

Parts of the show make me really uncomfortable, especially its copious verbal abuse of the kids. I have a good relationship with my dad, who was always a very gentle guy, so it's not bringing up any painful stuff for me. But still, it's an ugly thing and I can even feel the show backing off of it a little as it goes.

But something about the show is connecting with me. Maybe it's the Rust Belt setting, which is where I was raised and where I still feel some attachment. Maybe it's the really sad core of the show, where dreams were deferred for years until they became unreachable. I know the world does not need another show about the plight of a white family, but it's at least a fairly empathetic one.

jeb wrote: I actually really like that the story assumes you've read and are familiar with the WATCHMEN universe. I'd much rather this than some spoonfed BS that could be resolved by folks reading one of the most foundational works of literature of the last 25 years.

I agree. And that's brings us around to His Dark Materials, HBO's OTHER adaptation of a seminal work of genre fiction. The first episode aired last night, and it was ... okay. It's a rote recitation of the book's plot points, with a few additional scenes not told from Lyra's point of view. The book stays almost exclusively inside Lyra's POV, so these scenes made up for the show were sort of interesting I suppose.

I just reread the book to my son (probably my third or fourth time reading it) so it's pretty fresh in my mind. What this show, and the awful movie with Nicole Kidman, totally miss is the relationship between humans and their daemons. This relationship is explored and expanded upon slowly over time in the book, and you get a thorough understanding of just how profound this relationship is. The TV show, in its clunky, ham-fisted opening text, simply says, "This relationship is sacred." But none of this is SHOWN in the actual episode. We just see these cute little talking animals running around.

As bad as the movie version was, its cast was great. I know I'm only one episode into the show, but the cast isn't doing it for me at all. James McAvoy as Lord Asriel is a total misfire. Asriel should be charming and elegant, but also dangerous and physically imposing. In other words ... James Bond. Daniel Craig was much better in this role. The actress playing Lyra is okay, but Lyra should be this cheerful, charming, mischievous liar. This version of Lyra was mostly sad and rather mopey.

It seems everyone is chasing "the next Game of Thrones" which is why we're seeing all these lush, expensive TV adaptations of fantasy stories (next up -- The Witcher).

You're right, and it's too bad that nobody in Hollywood likes to read. Otherwise, they might do a better job of picking which fantasy stories to film and how to adapt them successfully. It sickens me that we will eventually get a tv or film treatment of The Wheel of Time series, which was a surprisingly popular waste of paper. Meanwhile, still no Elric movie, or Fafhrd and the Grey Mouser, or Nine Princes in Amber, or even The Black Company. To be honest, there isn't another Game of Thrones waiting for development. That was an epic series with a big cast of characters, a global scope, complex politics, and a variety of POV characters that included at least one actual villain. By comparison, most fantasy books offer a more linear narrative focused on one main character.

Daniel Craig would make a great Witcher minus the long hair.

I am totally on board with HDM- it’s my favorite fantasy series and I’m kind of OK with the Harry Potter approach of being super faithful to the source. I do agree somewhat that the daemons are a little underplayed, but I also liked that it wasn’t completely hammered on. After all, it really is just a matter of fact in this setting. I especially liked the Gyptian ceremony, I thought that drove home the “sacred bond” thing and I think we’ll see more of that developed over time.

I was OK with McAvoy, but I always pictured him as Sean Connery.

Lyra is good so far, I felt like she hit the right notes...maybe not quite as willful and brassy as she is in the book though.

Ms. Coulter is excellent, I think she’ll do fine.

Really looking forward to seeing how to the hilt they play the religious stuff and some of the crazier ideas, like the hair tracking bomb.

Shellhead wrote: You're right, and it's too bad that nobody in Hollywood likes to read. Otherwise, they might do a better job of picking which fantasy stories to film and how to adapt them successfully. It sickens me that we will eventually get a tv or film treatment of The Wheel of Time series, which was a surprisingly popular waste of paper. Meanwhile, still no Elric movie, or Fafhrd and the Grey Mouser, or Nine Princes in Amber, or even The Black Company. To be honest, there isn't another Game of Thrones waiting for development. That was an epic series with a big cast of characters, a global scope, complex politics, and a variety of POV characters that included at least one actual villain. By comparison, most fantasy books offer a more linear narrative focused on one main character.

I've never read the Fafhrd stories, but I love all your other examples.

Ugh, somebody actually is making a Wheel of Time TV series. Jesus. You know ... that might actually be the exception to the rule. The book series is a decent trilogy stuffed into 14 books. A screenwriter with a really sharp editorial eye could cut out the thousands of pages of sheer garbage, and trim it down into a tight, coherent story. Maybe. Fuck, I don't want that job.

I think GOT was a lightning in a bottle scenario. There was some magical alchemy there, of network, source material, special effect technology, cast, and yes, showrunners. I know it's fashionable to shit on those two guys, but for as much grief as they deserve for the bad episodes, they should also get some credit for the good episodes too. Anyway, I think it's going to be near-impossible to replicate that success.

I sometimes think a TV viewer is better off having NOT read the source material when watching an adaptation. For example, I've never read The Expanse novels, but I really enjoy the TV show. I don't know how book readers feel about that show. Did they change too much stuff, is the casting all wrong, etc? From my point of view, I don't care, because I have no existing baggage. The same goes for the upcoming Witcher show. I've never read the books, never played the games. I plan to give that one a shot.

Meanwhile, still no Elric board game, or Fafhrd and the Grey Mouser, or Nine Princes in Amber, or even The Black Company.

Michael Barnes wrote: And I'm probably completely wrong here, but I suspect that thing wasn't actually a dildo. I know, I know, it's heavily implied that it is, but I just have a feeling that's a misdirect for a laugh.

I read an interview earlier today with one of the writers (actually a woman). It is
100% a working, vibrating replica of Dr. Manhattan’s penis. It started out as a writer’s room joke and Lindelof and co. thought it was funny so it went in. And the episode title is a intended to reference cock and balls via the Devo song.

Gee, that’s just like how Watchmen was written wasn’t it, writer room jokes...

Oh well. I'm not afraid or ashamed to be wrong. I am a little disappointed, though. If it had instead been some sort of government-issue walkie-talkie version of the Phone Booth to God they showed the rest of the episode, it would have been a nice twist and played a harmless joke on the audience's expectations.

Instead, we got a giant blue dick joke.

Don't forget there's a Lord of the Rings show coming too.

Not fantasy, but was surprised to hear someone picked up Asimov's Foundation for a show.

WadeMonnig wrote: Meanwhile, still no Elric board game, or Fafhrd and the Grey Mouser, or Nine Princes in Amber, or even The Black Company.

There was an Elric boardgame, and I have a copy. There isn't quite a playable game there, but the board is fabulous.

boardgamegeek.com/boardgame/1628/elric/images

There have been a few unlicensed attempts at an Amber boardgame, including my own unpublished prototype. I will be playing it again with some friends on Saturday, November 23, and you're welcome to join if you're in the Twin Cities area that day.

Giant blue dicks attract viewers. The choice is obvious.

In the big picture Game of Thrones isn't a one-off. HBO does them one after another, just in different genres. "Another Game of Thrones" is the last thing anyone wants right now

Sagrilarus wrote: Giant blue dicks attract viewers. The choice is obvious.

In the big picture Game of Thrones isn't a one-off. HBO does them one after another, just in different genres. "Another Game of Thrones" is the last thing anyone wants right now

Though she was dissatisfied with the final season, my girlfriend is looking for something like Another Game of Thrones to watch. So I am trying to persuade her to watch The Wire.

Joebot wrote: I've never read The Expanse novels, but I really enjoy the TV show. I don't know how book readers feel about that show. Did they change too much stuff, is the casting all wrong, etc? From my point of view, I don't care, because I have no existing baggage. The same goes for the upcoming Witcher show. I've never read the books, never played the games. I plan to give that one a shot.

Me neither. Daniel Craig in a white wig would look beyond awesome, though. And I would buy that whole sex machine shtick.
As for the Expanse, I hated the first book. The world it is set in is great, interesting and complete. The characters were like a bunch of unmotivated roleplayers stumbling through a plot made up on-the-fly, which actually is how it came to pass. That said, I love the show.

Nodens wrote: As for the Expanse, I hated the first book. The world it is set in is great, interesting and complete. The characters were like a bunch of unmotivated roleplayers stumbling through a plot made up on-the-fly, which actually is how it came to pass. That said, I love the show.

This doesn't surprise me. The adventures of the crew of the Rocinante totally feels like an rpg campaign with a control freak DM railroading the group from setpiece to setpiece.

After a warmer than usual day, the weather turned unusually cold last night, so my girlfriend wanted to spend the evening watching tv together. She is still hoping for another Game of Thrones, so we tried His Dark Materials. I thought that it was pretty good, but also cynically noticed various elements that helped get it greenlit for tv. The initial setting superficially resembled Hogwarts. The star is a plucky young girl like Arya who scrambles around on rooftops like her brother Bran once did. And lots of people have warg-like abilities. I haven't read the books, and this first episode didn't entice me to read the books, but I look forward to giving episode two a try. My gf was less impressed. She didn't see Logan, so she was unfamiliar with the star of the show, and thought that she looked too much like one of the Jenner girls. She also wasn't excited about the prospect of following the adventures of a 12 year-old girl in a world where so many adults are behaving badly.

Then I got my girlfriend to try American Gods. I don't have Starz, so she recommended that I pay the $2.99 so we could watch the first episode and see if she likes it. The opening with the vikings didn't go over well, but she eventually got very interested in the Shadow Moon style. She travels a lot for work, so I knew that she would be amused by the line about Those Bitches in Airports. But as we got near the end of the first episode, I started to flinch internally, because my girl is a woman of color who is not going to be happy about the lynching scene. Even so, she is willing to watch the second episode sometime soon.

Then she got me to try a couple of episodes of Los Espookys, a fun show about young Mexican goths who stage fake supernatural occurences for fun and profit. The tone falls somewhere between telenovela and dry comedy, and is intermittently pretty amusing. One character is particularly obtuse and prone to blurting out awkward and funny things, while the homosexual guy with blue hair delivers some fun bitchy sarcasm. There are hints of actual supernatural aspects in the show, so I expect things will head in that direction while the main characters wrestle with disbelief. During the credits for the second episode, I noticed that Lorne MIchaels of Saturday Night Live is the executive producer. For what it's worth, the show is mostly in Spanish and sub-titled in English, but some characters speak in English and get sub-titles in Spanish. I studied Spanish in high school, but that was a long time ago, so I had to rely on the sub-titles half the time. It's like any show with sub-titles, it takes a few minutes to adjust and then you can follow along just fine.