Wheel Of Time.....

[broodblik]

A question to you guys that have read the books and watched the show so far: I have started reading the first book and does the show cover the first book or must I read more books?

[MumboJimbo]

A question to you guys that have read the books and watched the show so far: I have started reading the first book and does the show cover the first book or must I read more books?

The first season, I believe, is set to cover the first half of the first book, The Eye of the World. It also incorporates some aspects of the prequel novel, New Spring - in particular the characters Kerene and Stepin. However, reading New Spring is generally not recommended until you’ve read at least the first 5 books in the main series, as it will reveal spoilers that are best left until later in the series. Personally I read it between the 10th and 11th novels, which is the publication order.

[broodblik]

Thanks Mumbo I will follow your recommendation

[Colin YNWA]

Watched episode 5 last night and its still solidly entertaining. Not blowing me away but there's always very good bits. The villains of the piece (well since the Stupid Stupid Rat Creatures have seemingly disappeared) The Light are utterly cliche and with it utterly effective and that torture / who gets to die piece was genuinely tense.

The Orge thing was kinda cool. I like the way it drops in more fantasy bits quietly without too much fuss and without over doing its. Characters are coming on nicely and there are enough plot threads to keep things moving on at a brisk pace.

So yeah a continues to be a fun distractions and its ace looking forward to new telly week to week again. Seems to happen so rarely these days.

[Jim_Campbell]

Couldn't actually make it to the end of Ep3. This is such painfully generic stuff that's back-referencing Tolkien and trying simultaneously to be Game of Thrones (could the opening titles be trying any harder?) but fails to have a single original or even interesting character anywhere in the whole thing, never mind an original idea.

I've been urged to stick with it because, apparently, it gets better… but I'm getting old and my hours are increasingly precious, so fuck this. Sorry. If you're enjoying it — fantastic, honestly, but I'm done.

[Jim_Campbell]

The more I think about this, the more I'm convinced that what's really getting up my nose about this series is that it's so utterly po-faced. There isn't a whiff of humour in the entire thing, making it horribly portentous and stodgy, and incredibly hard to warm to any of the characters.

I mean, I know Jackson's LotR films mortified any number of Tolkien fans by having actual gags in them, but even GoT had the nouse to invest (at least some of) its characters with a sense of humour. Right from the first episode, with the tension-deflating "You got old"/"You got fat" exchange between Robert and Ned, through any number of Tyrion double-acts (notably Bronn and later Varys), a decent chunk of Arya and the Hound…

This, though… it doesn't seem to have the depth the weighty tone seems to imply we should be finding in it.

[wedgeski]

This, though… it doesn't seem to have the depth the weighty tone seems to imply we should be finding in it.

I'm not sure where that expectation comes from. I feel happy to receive the show on its own terms. It probably helps that I haven't read the books -- although I am surrounded by people who have!

I thought episode 5 was the best of the bunch. Solid world building, good character work, excellent performances, and an emotional finale.

[Jim_Campbell]

I'm not sure where that expectation comes from.

From the complete absence of any humour, as I explained…?

[Rara Avis]

I was on the fence until Ep.4 where I thought it really started to come into it's stride.

I find it far too clean (set wise) and somewhat lacking in verisimilitude however I am really enjoying it. I think it has huge potential. Last week's episode was fantastic and can't wait to see this week's.

I was also completely wrong about Daniel Henney (Lan) - he is absolutely killing it in that role!

[Colin YNWA]

Well Episode 6 was a bit of a dip. I normally like these quieter more character driven episodes of a telly show, but here it exposed the shows ponderous, yet slightly silly, underbelly. Mind that cliffhanger at the end was very good.

[Rara Avis]

I quite liked it as an exploration of non-toxic masculinity.

[Colin YNWA]

Thought that all ended rather well. Can't pretend I was disappointed with the whole Rand being the dragon thing and they way it was discovered after building up such mystery - Oh its me, I get it, its me, hey boss lady its me let's go do our thing... and it had to wrap up a lot in that final episode to make the series stand on its own BUT all that said it did it pretty well... well if you don't look too closely at some of the bits I assume were compressed to get the first book (??? is this the end of the first book?) into one series.

You can kinda see where things are starting to go, though suspect there'll be plenty of twists and turn along the way and I'm certainly coming back for the second series which I believe has been confirmed already.

Overall good solid fantasy nonsense that whipped me along for the ride in a way LotR and The Hobbit films completely failed to do.

[Tiplodocus]

Wait? What? You weren't engaged by LotR? The Hobbit, I can understand but... But..

[Colin YNWA]

Wait? What? You weren't engaged by LotR? The Hobbit, I can understand but... But..

When I re-read LotR just before the films came out it was a utter slog. When I watched the films ... well it was much the same. Pomp and pockycock. I remember watching the final one in the cinema with a friend and by the end we were having to try really hard to suppress bursting out with laughter. Everyone else seemed so engaged blurting out laughing seemed really unfair to the folks enjoying it. I couldn't look at him, but I broken when the hobbits bounced in ... someones... Frodo's bed.

The Hobbit is a good book, the film... well how they managed to do that (though I must admit I've never watch one end to end but I suspect I've seen them all in various chuck while others in the house have watched them) with such a wonderful simple, yet fantastical book is beyond me. EVERY SCENE - everyone is overblown and overplayed beyond value (also see Jackson's King Kong... or rather don't bother...

... well that came out - seems I've not ranted enough about those in my life and its been building up somewhere... sorry...

Anyway Wheel of Time, while having some of the same problems is much better.

[Radbacker]

We’ll I didn’t mind the final episode but they have made some serious changes from the books that may cause some major issues further down the track.  Still I was on the edge of my seat through most of that and the missus who hasn’t read the books liked it.  Here’s hoping for a bit of course correction at the start of next season which the issues they had after the actor that played Matt left the show and has now been recast.
One thing I really didn’t like though having Nyneve get burnt out and killed by a he one power and then bringing her back to life it’s a big point in the books and particularly at the end of book 3 you can’t cure death, even the Dragon the most powerful chaneller ever born can’t do it

CU Radbacker