Author Topic: His Dark Materials - A BBC Production (Read 6056 times)

gmillerdrake · « **on:** November 12, 2019, 09:53:13 AM »

Anyone watching this show? I'd never heard of the book trilogy it's based off of, but the show itself is pretty interesting. It's a bit fantasy....a bit modern day....idea being there are multiple 'realities' out there and potential travel between them.

Has quite a few known actors like James McAvoy, Lin-Manuel Miranda, James Cosmo, Andrew Scott, Dafne Keen.....only two episodes in and I'm very curious as to how the story will keep progressing.

ProfessorPeart · « **Reply #1 on:** November 12, 2019, 10:35:02 AM »

I will be starting this soon.

hefdaddy42 · « **Reply #2 on:** November 12, 2019, 10:51:21 AM »

I caught the first episode. I thought it was fantastic.

Still have to catch episode 2.

faizoff · « **Reply #3 on:** November 12, 2019, 10:52:17 AM »

First two episodes are great so far, ton of world building and great visuals.

I did watch the movie that came out eons ago, don't remember much of it. I've heard the books are great and have to tread lightly when it comes to reading about the show or episodes since I believe they are more or less done. So spoilers are there galore.

One comment regarding the thread title and I saw it mentioned elsewhere... It's actually not an HBO show, they are distributing it but it's actually produced by the BBC. Not that it matters to me, but I saw very heated exchanges on the webs regarding the branding of the show lol. Brand loyalty is very important to some

gmillerdrake · « **Reply #4 on:** November 12, 2019, 11:20:27 AM »

I changed the thread title to maintain accuracy.

faizoff · « **Reply #5 on:** November 12, 2019, 11:32:42 AM »

lonestar · « **Reply #6 on:** November 12, 2019, 11:40:38 AM »

Of the four shows I'm currently running, this is the best of the pack so far. Granted the Mandalorian only has one episode, but HDM just clicks on all levels, and visually it's beyond stunning. Really looking forward to when the bears get into the mix.

ariich · « **Reply #7 on:** November 12, 2019, 12:25:01 PM »

Am a fan of the books, so yep I'm watching this. Really fantastic so far in pretty much every regard, can't wait to see how the show develops.

In terms of the potential to travel between realities that you mention, it's really interesting that they've started including this fairly directly from early on whereas it wasn't really explicit in the books until the second one (which the second season will be adapting). The show seems incredibly faithful so far though, and some playing around with exactly what happens (or gets shown) when tends to be needed anyway to make something work on screen.

I'm also curious as to what their plans are. They've pretty much said seasons 1 and 2 are books 1 and 2, but book 3 is huge so I wonder if that will stretch across two seasons. Four seasons in total feels probably right for the scope of the story.

lonestar · « **Reply #8 on:** November 12, 2019, 12:31:30 PM »

So Rich, what did the movie Golden Compass cover as far as the books go? I saw it a ways back and it was entertaining enough, but now realize the vast amounts of info it neglected.

hefdaddy42 · « **Reply #9 on:** November 12, 2019, 12:39:21 PM »

I saw The Golden Compass and didn't like it one bit.

The cast on this new adaptation is incredible.

ariich · « **Reply #10 on:** November 12, 2019, 01:52:52 PM »

The Golden Compass also pretty much covered most of the first book, but oddly enough not the whole thing - the book ends with a much more exciting set-up for the next one, whereas the movie for some reason ended earlier with little fanfare or drama. And yeah it was pretty surface-level - always a risk when trying to adapt a rich novel into a 2-hour movie and they didn't do a very good job of condensing it down.

It was also irritating that the movie had the American title of The Golden Compass, instead of the actual original book title which was Northern Lights.

MoraWintersoul · « **Reply #11 on:** November 15, 2019, 03:47:06 AM »

The book series was translated in full and fairly popular around the time I was the age of the main characters, and it was my gateway into fantasy books, alongside Harry Potter and Artemis Fowl. Not to spoil too much of the themes of the later parts of the series, but it was the first text that made me realize other people aren't huge fans of religion and that it isn't just me

so if you have curious pre-teens or early teenagers, I definitely recommend watching with them, or buying them the book series.

ariich · « **Reply #12 on:** November 15, 2019, 04:19:03 AM »

Quote from: MoraWintersoul on November 15, 2019, 03:47:06 AM

Not to spoil too much of the themes of the later parts of the series, but it was the first text that made me realize other people aren't huge fans of religion and that it isn't just me

I mean, it's not just the later parts. From pretty early on (in both the books and the show) it covers the fact that the Magisterium wants to control everything.

MoraWintersoul · « **Reply #13 on:** November 15, 2019, 05:15:58 AM »

I was talking about that other thing

lonestar · « **Reply #14 on:** November 19, 2019, 12:07:53 AM »

The young lady playing Lyra is such a tremendous actress, She is just killing it on this show. I remember that she practically made Logan, and she's matured a great deal since then.

ariich · « **Reply #15 on:** November 19, 2019, 10:28:21 AM »

Yeah she's really great. I also find it quite funny that her dad is in the series too.

lonestar · « **Reply #16 on:** November 19, 2019, 08:19:19 PM »

Quote from: ariich on November 19, 2019, 10:28:21 AM

Yeah she's really great. I also find it quite funny that her dad is in the series too.

Who does her dad play?

ariich · « **Reply #17 on:** November 19, 2019, 11:53:11 PM »

Quote from: lonestar on November 19, 2019, 08:19:19 PM

Quote from: ariich on November 19, 2019, 10:28:21 AM
Yeah she's really great. I also find it quite funny that her dad is in the series too.

Who does her dad play?

Father Macphail from the Magisterium. https://www.imdb.com/name/nm1652308/

I've seen him in a few things but hadn't made the connection before. Quite funny that he's a fairly experienced actor that isn't very well known while his 14-year-old daughter is pretty much a global superstar already from one movie and one TV show.

lonestar · « **Reply #18 on:** November 20, 2019, 07:40:18 AM »

Ah yeah...well, it was one hell of a movie role.

lonestar · « **Reply #19 on:** November 25, 2019, 10:40:38 PM »

Tonight's episode was pure magic. I have fallen completely in love with this show.

ProfessorPeart · « **Reply #20 on:** December 02, 2019, 12:20:23 PM »

Just binged the first 4 episodes yesterday. Yes, Daphne Keen is already quite the actor despite her age.

Those 4 hours blew by. Guess that means I enjoyed it. Looking forward to the rest of the season.

lonestar · « **Reply #21 on:** December 02, 2019, 11:59:27 PM »

Ep5 was absolutely crushing. The conviction when Billy's mom say's "we'll kill them..." sent layers of chills down my spine. The acting is just so good across the board here. Serious cliffhanger end...next Monday can't come soon enough.

ariich · « **Reply #22 on:** December 03, 2019, 12:24:47 AM »

Yeah the events of ep 5 (those on Lyra's world anyway) from the book gradually came back to me as the episode progressed. It was so brilliantly done.

Also interesting how they're very much introducing the start of the second book already. I think it does make a lot of sense for a TV show to make the transition from season 1 to season 2 smoother. Back when I first started reading the second book I remember thinking "is this even the same story?"

lonestar · « **Reply #23 on:** December 10, 2019, 05:28:28 AM »

Ugh.. That cliffhanger man..

Another perfect episode, they're building nicely to the finale.

faizoff · « **Reply #24 on:** December 10, 2019, 06:35:52 AM »

Two more episodes left, I'm very surprised James McAvoy was barely in the season so far. I thought he was one of the main characters. The camp with the kids was a tough watch though at times it appeared a little goofy with Lyra weaving in and out of the crowd.

Every weekend is a season finale for the shows I'm watching now. Silicon Valley ended last weekend, next Sunday is Watchmen, followed by His Dark Materials and then finally series finale for Mr. Robot.
Plus The Mandalorian.

lonestar · « **Reply #25 on:** December 10, 2019, 10:40:15 PM »

I've stayed behind on Watchmen and Mr Robot to have something to run in the new year, plus I wanted to rehash S3 of Mr Robot to remind where the show was rolling.

lonestar · « **Reply #26 on:** December 24, 2019, 09:50:24 AM »

Solid finish to a brilliant season....can't understate how well executed this show is. Don't think I can wait too long for season two.

MirrorMask · « **Reply #27 on:** August 18, 2020, 03:07:27 AM »

Started watching this.

The first episode is intriguing and the production values are high, but one episode isn't just enough to judge the show.

lonestar · « **Reply #28 on:** November 16, 2020, 03:13:18 PM »

New season starts tonight

gmillerdrake · « **Reply #29 on:** November 16, 2020, 03:15:59 PM »

Quote from: lonestar on November 16, 2020, 03:13:18 PM

New season starts tonight

Wait...what!? How'd that happen? That snuck up on me quick....thanks RJ

ariich · « **Reply #30 on:** November 16, 2020, 03:19:35 PM »

We're two episodes in so far in the UK, it continues to be fantastic.

lonestar · « **Reply #31 on:** November 16, 2020, 06:26:35 PM »

Quote from: ariich on November 16, 2020, 03:19:35 PM

We're two episodes in so far in the UK, it continues to be fantastic.

Show off.

faizoff · « **Reply #32 on:** November 16, 2020, 06:45:03 PM »

I am hoping the 2nd season has tighter story telling, I liked season 1 and it had some great high points but some side stories looked like they were just season 2 setups. So I'm hoping the new season will have solid offerings. Might binge it after the season is over.

ariich · « **Reply #33 on:** November 17, 2020, 01:37:30 PM »

Quote from: lonestar on November 16, 2020, 06:26:35 PM

Quote from: ariich on November 16, 2020, 03:19:35 PM
We're two episodes in so far in the UK, it continues to be fantastic.

Show off.

I'm allowed to be slightly smug on the very rare occasion we're ahead. Normally we're behind by at least a few days if not weeks, sometimes months, and sometimes no UK network picks things up at all.

kaos2900 · « **Reply #34 on:** November 24, 2020, 07:52:47 AM »

First season is on Blu-Ray for $9.99. Going to pick it up based on the praise here.

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Author Topic: His Dark Materials - A BBC Production (Read 6056 times)