GasBandit
Staff member
I mean... fair. 90% of what the book female MCs talk about is who is going to bone Rand firstest/bestest/mostest, IIRC. Except for the one that is stuck in a huff/pull braid/repeat loop.
[TV] Talk about the last TV you watched, the catchall thread
- Thread starter Frank
- Start date
I have them on my shelf (well, the first 6 or so) but haven't read them, to be honest. I'm just going by the "it's all about magical women" basic stuff
GasBandit
Staff member
I read all the Jordan ones, the last few as they came out. But then he died, and by the time Sanderson did the next book, I'd already forgotten too much of what had happened to continue, and there was absolutely no way in hell I was going to slog through the middle books again. Seriously, the 2 or 3 books Jordan wrote BEFORE he got his blood disease diagnosis were excruciatingly plodding and bloated because he figured out he could basically get paid by the word and could stretch things out forever. Then he got told he was terminal and suddenly the books got really good and fast paced again... then he died before finishing it.
I heard the Sanderson books were even better, but like I said... it's been too long, and I am NOT putting myself through that again.
I read all of them probably once a year(recently I've been listening on audiobook). They are bloated through the middle, but I love them. The show is a mess. It's hard to imagine the show runners even read the first book. I hate it and will watch every episode.
I have read all the books - started in grade 10 or so? Christ, it's been 20 years... - and they are so bloated and boring in the middle - but I love them. I've only watched the first episode of the show so far, and as long as I forget that it's based on these books, it's fine. It's like fan fiction in the same universe viewed through a dirty window. Some of the general shapes are familar, but that's about it. I will be watching the entire series.
GasBandit
Staff member
Sounds legit. I know exactly how you feel and where you're coming from.
figmentPez
Staff member
I haven't seen anything that doesn't feel like it's in the same tone as the books. Yeah, I noticed that the ladies get to be ta'veren as well as the guys (because, really, with as powerful as Egwene and Nynave are, they are shaping history just as much as the three guys), but that doesn't radically alter the tone of the story.
Just view this as a Wheel of Time Cinematic Universe. A WoTCU like the MCU. It's not the book, but it can still be inspired by the best parts of the book, and tell a good story by doing so. There's like 11,000 pages in the series, even with Jordan's penchant for repeating himself, there's no possible way that everything from the books was going to stay in, unaltered.
That's honestly how I view adaptations now. I used to say "They RUINED the book! Argle flargle garble!" But two things changed my mind.
One, I saw an interview once with Stephen Gould, author of Jumper, which was adapted into a movie in the early 2000s. They asked how he felt about the changes made to his book. He turned to his book shelf and pulled down a copy. He said (paraphrasing) "They didn't change anything. You can still read my book as it was published."
Two I took a course on Film & Literature (probably my favorite course), where we read the book (or comic!) and watched the movie to compare and contrast. I realized that something made for one medium may not work in the other. Books can do what film can't and vice versa. Pages of description could be just 10 seconds on screen. Pacing might need to change (Lord of the Rings takes place over many years, unlike the movie). Things need to be updated for modern audiences. I actually prefer the LOTR movies to the books, and think Scott Pilgrim is equally great in either medium but for different reasons.
That said, I haven't read or seen the Wheel of Time series, so I can't say much there. I'd look at the changes and think "Okay, why would they make such a change? How much does it affect things as a whole? Is the original book's themes intact, despite the change?"
But really, this is all just a long winded way of saying Zach Snyder's Watchmen still sucks, especially the ending.
I mean I can accept that you like it. But it is not in the same tone as the books. For one example the aes sedai kill a bunch of people with the power in the 3rd episode. Not being able/allowed to use the power as a weapon is almost the defining trait of their whole organization.
It's not just that they altered themes or characters, it's that they are unrecognizable. The "stony faced warder" Lan has a weird tearing his clothes and scream crying ceremony scene over the death of another warder in the 4th episode. I'm not sure he has more than four scenes with another warder throughout the entire series. That scene is created from whole cloth and is almost the exact opposite of that character.
But like I said, I'm too much a fan of the books to not watch.
And I've watched closely...but I haven't seen a single braid tug.
Edit: I've only read the first one, I think. And it would've been near 40 years ago. I don't get worked up over changes when stuff switches from book to screen. Because that'd be like every adaptation ever. As long as the adaptation is enjoyable to watch, I'm gonna have a good time.
Edit: I've only read the first one, I think. And it would've been near 40 years ago. I don't get worked up over changes when stuff switches from book to screen. Because that'd be like every adaptation ever. As long as the adaptation is enjoyable to watch, I'm gonna have a good time.
Yeah no, that's not why she's there.
GasBandit
Staff member
I had an uncle who practically vomited in the theater when Peter Jackson fabricated an entirely non-book-canon love triangle for Aragorn in Two Towers. His stance was "I can understand making changes. I can understand making cuts. The translation from thousands of book pages to hours of screen time necessitates such things. What I can't forgive is additions. That you somehow think the story you are adapting left something out, and that you know better than the original author what he forgot to put in."
Dave
Staff member
YES!!
Like in the first 3 minutes of Wheel of Time the Women's Circle throws Egwene into a river to make sure she's worthy. And they say she's then the Wisdom. NONE OF THIS HAPPENED IN THE BOOKS! Ugh. I had high hopes that were severely dashed when they announced the cast. And even those exceedingly lowered expectations were shattered by the font of stupidity that was the first episode.
Not a surprise. And after what they were going to do with Ed in the next season I think we all dodged a bullet there.
BULLSHIT!And I've watched closely...but I haven't seen a single braid tug.
Edit: I've only read the first one, I think. And it would've been near 40 years ago. I don't get worked up over changes when stuff switches from book to screen. Because that'd be like every adaptation ever. As long as the adaptation is enjoyable to watch, I'm gonna have a good time.
I'm still not good on names, but Nineve absolutely was tugging on her braid in episode 5.
Haven't seen that one yet.
Rhymes with knave, i guess.
I mean... that's just how english rolls when it comes to pronunciation...
Finished the final season of Lost in Space on Netflix. I'm going to miss this show, it's been fun to watch. This is what a remake/reboot should be. It kept the spirit of the original but did its own thing to update it. A good mix of serious and humor, with a hint of cheesiness. The cast was great and Parker Posey was a fantastic love-to-hate Dr. Smith. The ending seemed a little rushed compared to the rest of the series, but it was a good ending.
Most importantly...
Most importantly...
Debbie survived to the end! I was worried!
I had a lot of fun with it too.
There was one thing I wish they brought over from the original series (maybe not every episode, but it would have been great to see a few times through the series): the countdown.
@Squidleybits "New season of the Witcher, want to watch it together?"
Eerie silence...
Daughter "He's on episode 4!"
Eerie silence...
Daughter "He's on episode 4!"
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HHCGLNS: "Nobody likes a snitch! Go to your room!"
I think it's the newest twitch ad that describes it as "a true competitor to Game of Thrones!" or something like that, and...is that really how they want people to think about it? Do they not understand how badly the last couple of seasons tarnished peoples' opinions of it?
Or maybe they do and it's self-aware. All I know is it makes me laugh when I see it.
As a person who is only a casual fan of Star Wars, and someone who doesn’t really get the fascination with Boba Fett, do you think I would enjoy it? Or is the show something more for hardcore fans?
It has issues, but it was perfectly watchable. I'd imagine if I read the books I would be bothered, but my friend (who has read all the books multiple times) showed me a Reddit post by Brandon Sanderson explaining why things were the way the way they were. The Mat actor left before the show was done, so he had to be hurriedly written out (to be recast for season 2) and time constraints required so much to be Tom Bombadil'd out. He also talked about how having the whole crew at the Eye of the World while Rand did his thing would have made for terrible TV, so they had to find things for everyone else to do.
It sounds like Wheel of Time is just really, really hard to adapt but I think they did a better adaptation than for example, Cowboy Bebop, which manages to cut out the soul of the show (poverty is no longer an issue, ACAB has been thrown out the window, etc).
I think you really don't need to know a lot about Boba Fett or the fascination with him. It's a character development episode, explains his motivations and how he is, rather than the preconceived notions of fans. If you liked The Mandalorian at all, it's a continuation of that kind character development, a deeper dive into what motivates people and what drives us.
Filoni is a genius and really understands the Star Wars universe and what makes people care about the characters.
He was eaten by a Sarlacc! Give him a few minutes to catch his breath!