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His Dark Materials - HBO Series (1 Viewer)

Mario Kart

Mario Kart

Footballguy
First Trailer

This not only looks awesome but will also stay true to the source material, I sure hope as much as possible. It's by HBO and the BBC with a stellar cast. Not sure how far they will get through the first book but it's supposedly eight episodes for season one. Season two is just starting to film. Can't wait.

 
When I heard they were making this, made me pause and consider keeping HBO with GoT gone. Based on the trailer seems like they are going full book 1 for the first season. Wonder if it’s going to be a limited series then?

Hopefully the religious community doesn’t raise a giant political stink about the series the way they did with the movie a decade ago.

 
Buckna said:
When I heard they were making this, made me pause and consider keeping HBO with GoT gone. Based on the trailer seems like they are going full book 1 for the first season. Wonder if it’s going to be a limited series then?

Hopefully the religious community doesn’t raise a giant political stink about the series the way they did with the movie a decade ago.
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The plan is to do all three books. Rumors are it will be 4-5 "seasons" with eight episodes each season but those are rumors. The fact they are reading/filming season 2 right now is promising. The Reddit page has some news. But, for the moment, I am stoked.

 
Buckna said:
When I heard they were making this, made me pause and consider keeping HBO with GoT gone. Based on the trailer seems like they are going full book 1 for the first season. Wonder if it’s going to be a limited series then?

Hopefully the religious community doesn’t raise a giant political stink about the series the way they did with the movie a decade ago.
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Never heard of this book series.  Why was the religious community up in arms about it?

 
top dog said:
Never heard of this book series.  Why was the religious community up in arms about it?
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Without getting into spoilers because idk how much they will get into or change things in the show, the author is an admitted atheist and has a very anti-organized religion theme in the books. Some of the more zealous members of the Catholic Church had called for the book to be banned and they organized boycotts when the movie came out even though they sanitized the movie a bit for audiences.

The books are great from beginning to end  and definitely not for kids even though they are sometimes lumped in with young adult fiction. I think that’s because there are fantasy elements like the witches and polar bears and they came out about the same time as the Harry Potter books got huge. IMO they are not so much an attack on Christianity as it is an attack on the oppression and horrible things that are done by people in the name of religion. And while that stuff is definitely in the books, there are a lot of other things going on as well.

And yes, the armored polar bears are awesome! Can’t wait.  :thumbup:

 
Buckna said:
IMO they are not so much an attack on Christianity as it is an attack on the oppression and horrible things that are done by people in the name of religion.
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Well, the main characters do

literally kill God at one point....
 
bcdjr1 said:
Well, the main characters do

literally kill God at one point....
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:no:

I thought I'd try to explain but Imma let this site do it.


Pullman's depiction of God and the ultimate downfall of Heaven is the aspect of the novels which has most attracted the ire of Christians. In Pullman's portrayal, the repressive authority of the church on Earth echoes a repressive "Authority" in Heaven. This figure, worshipped as "God", is not in fact the Creator, but a corrupt angel who usurped the throne during an early conflict. Pullman's idea of this "War in Heaven" is partially inspired by John Milton's Paradise Lost. The Creator himself is extremely weak and frail and, when he is liberated from his imprisonment, is unable to survive. In His Dark Materials, Lord Asriel's ultimate goal is to create another war in heaven, overthrowing not only the Earthly power of the church, but the tyranny of "The Authority" itself.

Themes of the afterlife are also explored in The Amber Spyglass, as Lyra Belacqua and Will Parry journey to "the land of the dead". Far from being a paradise, it is a place of imprisonment and suffering, where the Authority keeps people living on permanently without either their bodies or their daemons (the passionate parts of their soul). Ultimately the dead are liberated from this land by Will and Lyra, and allowed to merge peacefully with the universe.

 
Mario Kart said:
:no:

I thought I'd try to explain but Imma let this site do it.

Pullman's depiction of God and the ultimate downfall of Heaven is the aspect of the novels which has most attracted the ire of Christians. In Pullman's portrayal, the repressive authority of the church on Earth echoes a repressive "Authority" in Heaven. This figure, worshipped as "God", is not in fact the Creator, but a corrupt angel who usurped the throne during an early conflict. Pullman's idea of this "War in Heaven" is partially inspired by John Milton's Paradise Lost. The Creator himself is extremely weak and frail and, when he is liberated from his imprisonment, is unable to survive. In His Dark Materials, Lord Asriel's ultimate goal is to create another war in heaven, overthrowing not only the Earthly power of the church, but the tyranny of "The Authority" itself.

Themes of the afterlife are also explored in The Amber Spyglass, as Lyra Belacqua and Will Parry journey to "the land of the dead". Far from being a paradise, it is a place of imprisonment and suffering, where the Authority keeps people living on permanently without either their bodies or their daemons (the passionate parts of their soul). Ultimately the dead are liberated from this land by Will and Lyra, and allowed to merge peacefully with the universe.
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I didn’t say they killed the creator. I said they killed God. Just because the being everyone in the universe thought was God wasn’t the creator has nothing to do with what I said. If you kill the being the Christians all worship as God, I don’t think they care if you start then trying to explain to them that he was a false deity. They will still see it as an attack on their religion.
 
Early reviews aren't really good.  Not really surprising if they sent the first four episodes.  Breaking this into a series, particularly at the beginning, is going to be a challenge.  In the books, you're seeing things through Lyra's eyes.  And she's a kid.  She doesn't really get what's going on.  So the show, early on, could find itself in the position where it's doing a ton of world building while still leaving the viewer pretty clueless about the significance of what they're seeing.  This becomes less of an issue once you get to armored polar bears and stuff, but so much of the power of the series turns on the end of the first book.  

 
Ramsay Hunt Experience said:
Early reviews aren't really good.  Not really surprising if they sent the first four episodes.  Breaking this into a series, particularly at the beginning, is going to be a challenge.  In the books, you're seeing things through Lyra's eyes.  And she's a kid.  She doesn't really get what's going on.  So the show, early on, could find itself in the position where it's doing a ton of world building while still leaving the viewer pretty clueless about the significance of what they're seeing.  This becomes less of an issue once you get to armored polar bears and stuff, but so much of the power of the series turns on the end of the first book.  
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On the Reddit page, people are making the assumption the early reviewers are not familiar with the source material. I'm sure, if someone isn't familiar with the material, the first few episodes are going to get lost on them. I'm also assuming the creators of the series are gearing the episodes to people that are familiar with the books. Normally there is a kind of "tutorial" to these types of shows... I'm thinking there is no tutorial because one book is eight episodes long so there is no time to explain every little thing.

 
Mario Kart said:
I'm also assuming the creators of the series are gearing the episodes to people that are familiar with the books. Normally there is a kind of "tutorial" to these types of shows... I'm thinking there is no tutorial because one book is eight episodes long so there is no time to explain every little thing.
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This talk is making me wary of putting in the investment on this show, even though it seems like my kind of thing.  I didn't read Sepinwall's review, but based on his tweet he seems to have the same concern.  "HBO's #HisDarkMaterials spends way more early time on world-building than storytelling, then does a lousy job at building the world."

 
CletiusMaximus said:
This talk is making me wary of putting in the investment on this show, even though it seems like my kind of thing.  I didn't read Sepinwall's review, but based on his tweet he seems to have the same concern.  "HBO's #HisDarkMaterials spends way more early time on world-building than storytelling, then does a lousy job at building the world."
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If you're familiar with the source material, the world is totally different. The casual viewer may not enjoy the first few episodes, if world building is what they are doing. The main character, Lyra, and you, the viewer, are seeing this world from a ~12 year-old point of view. It is not supposed to make sense because it is from a kids POV. The first book, while pretty good, is a building block to the real story. The true story of the trilogy doesn't come out till the third book, for the most part, while you get glimpses throughout... the reader/viewer grows with the characters in realization of certain things. I encourage you to give it a go because it will, hopefully, be one hell of a ride.

 
Have to watch it again but it was a good beginning. A little too quick at parts but overall a good start. Can’t wait for more. 

 
Is this appropriate for kids that are accustomed to edgier PG-13 movies? No issue with action movies, Hunger Games, stuff like that.

 
I did not enjoy the first episode.

I'll hope coming episodes can include an ounce of character development and build up/suspense.

 
Opening title sequence felt Games of Thronesy....

I know nothing (he he) about this story at all but it's an interesting world. I'm guessing the Catholic Church isn't treated warm and fuzzy? 

I will keep watching....

 
Just watched it...didnt read the books. Something felt off from TV/film standpoint- writing was hokey, music misplaced in terms of timing and tone, Campbell hero journey shoved down the gullet, and hard for me to get past the daemons.

Tbh, it felt like I was watching Star Wars, but the bad Star Wars, with sweeping views of cool worlds and the impending doom of jar jar binks and lil' Ani. Hoping something clicks better into gear for me- I like the fantasy genre, but so far the Amazon show Carnival Row feels similar but a little better (and while I liked that ok, I didn't get that jazzed about it).

 
El Floppo said:
Just watched it...didnt read the books. Something felt off from TV/film standpoint- writing was hokey, music misplaced in terms of timing and tone, Campbell hero journey shoved down the gullet, and hard for me to get past the daemons.

Tbh, it felt like I was watching Star Wars, but the bad Star Wars, with sweeping views of cool worlds and the impending doom of jar jar binks and lil' Ani. Hoping something clicks better into gear for me- I like the fantasy genre, but so far the Amazon show Carnival Row feels similar but a little better (and while I liked that ok, I didn't get that jazzed about it).
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Carnival Row was unsatisfying.   

 
matuski said:
I did not enjoy the first episode.

I'll hope coming episodes can include an ounce of character development and build up/suspense.
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I liked it but definitely seemed obvious in places and in others you felt like a bit more back story would have been nice. I’ll definitely keep watching because I like stuff like this even though I didn’t read the books. I didn’t realize those movies were about the same story although I can say I only watched them after theaters and didn’t really like them or pay attention. 

 
matuski said:
I did not enjoy the first episode.

I'll hope coming episodes can include an ounce of character development and build up/suspense.
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Slightly better than the first episode, but this still isn't working very well imo.  The Coulter actress is largely ruining it for me.  Baby Wolverine as Lyra doesn't work well either.  The story telling is herky jerky.  The whole "oh my gosh she left lets crawl through tunnels in the walls to her office and snoop - but what if we dont make it back in time!" scene appears to be the type of effort we are going to see going forward.  

I'll keep watching because I read the books and I can't ever walk away without finishing a series unless it is truly terrible.  This isn't truly terrible yet, and I want to see a bear fight.

 
matuski said:
Slightly better than the first episode, but this still isn't working very well imo.  The Coulter actress is largely ruining it for me.  Baby Wolverine as Lyra doesn't work well either.  The story telling is herky jerky.  The whole "oh my gosh she left lets crawl through tunnels in the walls to her office and snoop - but what if we dont make it back in time!" scene appears to be the type of effort we are going to see going forward.  

I'll keep watching because I read the books and I can't ever walk away without finishing a series unless it is truly terrible.  This isn't truly terrible yet, and I want to see a bear fight.
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I didn't read the books, but from a tv/film standpoint- yeah- still feels hokey. And that snooping scene was a good representation of that.

But the plot moved along a lot better this week, so I'm still in for sure and looking forward to where it goes (and hoping the story telling gets better along the way).

Quacker lips from The Affair is generally distracting for me, but granted, not as much as it is for my wife when I quack every time she's on screen.

 
Episode 3 bad enough to push me to the edge.  I'll give it one more.

At this point I'm thinking I'd rather rewatch the Watchmen episodes than trudge through this.

 
They really need to pick up the pace.   I like the feel of the show, but they've spent a lot of time on putting pieces in place when the story is really not that complicated and so far their big reveals have been obvious---no need to spend so much time hiding the ball with no payoff.   Time to get people moving.   

 
-fish- said:
They really need to pick up the pace.   I like the feel of the show, but they've spent a lot of time on putting pieces in place when the story is really not that complicated and so far their big reveals have been obvious---no need to spend so much time hiding the ball with no payoff.   Time to get people moving.   
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All of it just feels like it is trying too hard.  Poor casting/acting, the cohesion is terrible.. really the only thing that can save this is armored bears fighting.

If they screw up the armored bears, they should all be fired.

 
You guys are insane. The pacing is spot on and the books don't move fast at all. Episode 3 was terrific. Maybe you guys aren't familiar with the source material but this has been three episodes of a ~24 or so series. Get your ADHD minds and slow them down.

 
Mario Kart said:
You guys are insane. The pacing is spot on and the books don't move fast at all. Episode 3 was terrific. Maybe you guys aren't familiar with the source material but this has been three episodes of a ~24 or so series. Get your ADHD minds and slow them down.
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Totally familiar with source material, which is a huge part of the problem.  The casting/acting of the two main characters could not have whiffed in a worse fashion.

 
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matuski said:
Totally familiar with source material, which is a huge part of the problem.  The casting/acting of the two main characters could not have whiffed in a worse fashion.
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We've really only met one of the main characters. They showed a picture of the second main character in episode 3 which we would not have met until season 2.

 
Mario Kart said:
We've really only met one of the main characters. They showed a picture of the second main character in episode 3 which we would not have met until season 2.
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I'm sure you realize what I meant.

Coulter and Lyra will ultimately be the reason nobody makes it to watch season 2... they are that bad.

 
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matuski said:
I'm sure you realize what I meant.

Coulter and Lyra will ultimately be the reason nobody makes it to watch season 2... they are that bad.
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If Coulter I'd the duck bill actress from the affair...yeah...but not show breaking imo. the kid doesn't bother me.

It suffers a bit from the writing /pacing especially in terms of moving the story along, but feels like it's picking up steam and heading in the right direction..and only a few eps in. First ep almost lost me, but I'm looking forward to seeing where this goes. The daemons are kinda cringey to me, but I get they're an integral part of the world/story so say lah vee

 
El Floppo said:
If Coulter I'd the duck bill actress from the affair...yeah...but not show breaking imo. the kid doesn't bother me.

It suffers a bit from the writing /pacing especially in terms of moving the story along, but feels like it's picking up steam and heading in the right direction..and only a few eps in. First ep almost lost me, but I'm looking forward to seeing where this goes. The daemons are kinda cringey to me, but I get they're an integral part of the world/story so say lah vee
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It might be my expectations were too high.

I hold HBO/streaming providers to a higher standard.  If this were ABC/CBS.. I'd probably give it a pass.

 
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Episode 4 is pretty darn good. The show has been getting better each episode and Dafne Keen is a good Lyra. Beautifully done.

 
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