shaxper
CCF Site Custodian
Posts: 22,860
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Post by shaxper on Aug 15, 2022 7:04:14 GMT -5
For anyone who received an error message at the end of the survey, we've been told the following: It's cool that they're giving feedback. Oh, there has been a lot of communication back and forth. They really do find this particular community of value. |
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Post by thwhtguardian on Aug 15, 2022 7:14:39 GMT -5
It's cool that they're giving feedback. Oh, there has been a lot of communication back and forth. They really do find this particular community of value. That's pretty cool, my experience with these kinds of things in the past was very impersonal. |
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Post by commond on Aug 15, 2022 8:20:06 GMT -5
I watched the first two episodes. It's not bad. It's kind of weird watching them turn this comic that it's a literary masterpiece into a television series. Sandman is pretty much the pinnacle of the comic book medium. If it's not the best series of all-time, it's at the least in the top 5. On the other hand, the quality of television is so high right now that the Sandman is unlikely to be in the top 5 of series I watch *this year.* I'm not sure it will make waves as a television show, but as an adaptation of a favorite comic book series, I've been fairly satisfied. Tom Sturridge is amazing. Morpheus is such a difficult role, but he's been impeccable. They were blessed by that casting as the entire thing would fall apart without a convincing Dream. He doesn't quite nail how I imagine Dream's voice to be, but I don't know you're supposed to vocalize that white text on a black word balloon. I don't love Lucienne, but Acheampong does have to deliver a ton of exposition for the audience. The CGI is a bit Harry Potter/Lord of the Rings-ish, but I guess that's unavoidable. There's been some beautiful long shots. I keep asking myself whether I'd want to watch this if I wasn't familiar with the comic, and I'm not sure yet. I don't think it's as good as The Boys or The Umbrella Academy as far as TV series based on comic books go, but then again, those comic books were nowhere near as good as The Sandman.
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Post by codystarbuck on Aug 15, 2022 10:12:30 GMT -5
My answer on least favorite character was Lucienne, solely because she has been little more than "Captain Exposition." There is really little that the actress can do with it, based on her dialogue. Episode 7 had a touch more, but she was still heavily delivering exposition.
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Confessor
CCF Mod Squad
Not Bucky O'Hare!
Posts: 10,197 
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Post by Confessor on Aug 15, 2022 17:43:17 GMT -5
I just watched episode 1 tonight and basically thought that it was great. My wife (who has never read the Sandman comic) liked it a lot too and said that she was already hooked enough to watch the rest.
I thought Tom Sturridge basically nailed it as Dream: he was suitably alien-looking and suitably enigmatic, although I do agree with those saying that his voice wasn't quite as I'd imagined Morpheus's to be. Although that's just a preconceived idea from my own imagination, so I don't fault the program makers for that.
Lucienne seems to be getting some flak here, but I liked her and thought the actress did a nice job of capturing the essence of the character. The gender and ethnicity changes didn't bother me at all, and in fact, I thought it was a nice touch that she was renamed Lucienne, instead of Lucien, to better fit with her gender in this series.
The Corinthian was suitably creepy and it's interesting that they've brought him into the storyline much earlier than in the comics. I didn't dislike that addition, to be honest.
I did have a few nitpicks though, like the unrealistic amount of black people present in the scenes set in the 1910s and 1920s in England. That was just not historically accurate at all.
I also question whether posh people back then would use such coarse language as, "who the f*ck are you?" or "f*cking tw*t" in public. Obviously the swear words in question are much, much older than the 1920s, but their use by young men and women in polite, upper-class society seemed unrealistic to me. Roderick Burgess's profanities inside his own home, on the other hand, we're more believable precisely because they were uttered in private.
Anyway, those slight nitpicks aside, I thought this was basically a pretty sound retelling of issue #1 of the comic series.
One observation, based solely on that first episode, is that, already, it seems clear that this series will be nowhere near as literary, thought-provoking or as intellectual as the comic is. This TV adaptation is definitely designed to appeal to the lowest common denominator Netflix viewer. That's not necessarily a problem, but it's perhaps the most distinctive difference between this Netflix series and the comic on which it's based.
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Post by codystarbuck on Aug 15, 2022 21:34:47 GMT -5
I just watched episode 1 tonight and basically thought that it was great. My wife (who has never read the Sandman comic) liked it a lot too and said that she was already hooked enough to watch the rest. I thought Tom Sturridge basically nailed it as Dream: he was suitably alien-looking and suitably enigmatic, although I do agree with those saying that his voice wasn't quite as I'd imagined Morpheus's to be. Although that's just a preconceived idea from my own imagination, so I don't fault the program makers for that. Lucienne seems to be getting some flak here, but I liked her and thought the actress did a nice job of capturing the essence of the character. The gender and ethnicity changes didn't bother me at all, and in fact, I thought it was a nice touch that she was renamed Lucienne, instead of Lucien, to better fit with her gender in this series. The Corinthian was suitably creepy and it's interesting that they've brought him into the storyline much earlier than in the comics. I didn't dislike that addition, to be honest. I did have a few nitpicks though, like the unrealistic amount of black people present in the scenes set in the 1910s and 1920s in England. That was just not historically accurate at all. I also question whether posh people back then would use such coarse language as, "who the f*ck are you?" or "f*cking tw*t" in public. Obviously the swear words in question are much, much older than the 1920s, but their use by young men and women in polite, upper-class society seemed unrealistic to me. Roderick Burgess's profanities inside his own home, on the other hand, we're more believable precisely because they were uttered in private. Anyway, those slight nitpicks aside, I thought this was basically a pretty sound retelling of issue #1 of the comic series. One observation, based solely on that first episode, is that, already, it seems clear that this series will be nowhere near as literary, thought-provoking or as intellectual as the comic is. This TV adaptation is definitely designed to appeal to the lowest common denominator Netflix viewer. That's not necessarily a problem, but it's perhaps the most distinctive difference between this Netflix series and the comic on which it's based. I like Vivienne Acheampong and have nothing against her performance; it's just that Lucienne isn't really given much to do, except spout exposition. More than any other character. Episode 7 gave her a little more; but, still not much to hang her hat on. Lucienne kind of slides in and out of the stories, so I hope she gets more to do in either future episodes of this season or in the next. Season of Mist should certainly add to things. I have no real issue with any of the casting I have seen, so far (up to episode 7), even with changes from the comics. They have all been pretty good actors. I kind of feal they are a bit top heavy in important characters. It's easier to handle a cast like that on the page. It is kind of funny to see characters where their connection to the DCU has been severed, for obvious reasons. John Dee is no longer Dr Destiny, which actually works better, for me. Johanna Constantine replaces John Constantine, in the present, rather than just being his ancestor, who aids Morpheus, in the past. Lyta Hall is no longer an ex-superhero and Hector is dead, but was not the son of Hawkman nor a Sandman. Jed is no longer the kid from the Simon & Kirby Sandman of the 70s. For the most part, they have skillfully altered those elements, without losing their main purpose, though it will be interesting to see if Lyta retains her role, from the comics. Enjoyed seeing Stephen fry make a dramatic entrance, though I was waiting for Hugh Laurie to stumble in. Cain and Abel were spot on, if maybe Cain was a bit less sinister. Watching the first episode, I thought I might have recognized Vivienne Acheampong, based on her voice; but, at the same time, I knew that couldn't be right. She sounded like an actress from Prime Suspect 2, but that was about 30 years ago and that actress was at least in her 20s and Vivienne looked too young. Checked IMDB and sure enough, it was just a similar voice and delivery. I didn't immediately catch Nina Wadia as the Mother Fate, but knew she was familiar. She just wasn't on my screen long enough for her face to fully register. I knew I had seen the Crone Fate and, sure enough, Souad Faress, the actress, played a barrister/solicitor in Prime Suspect 2, after one of the characters hangs himself in police custody. She was very riveting in her role, then and she stood out in my head; but, I haven't seen her in anything since, that I recall. |
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Post by Roquefort Raider on Aug 16, 2022 20:34:24 GMT -5
I finished season 1 yesterday and since my honest reaction was "over already? But I want more!" I'd say the adaptation is a success.
Dream slowly changing his ways is more in your face here than in the comic, but that's all right. I don't expect things to follow the book chapter and verse, although the series does a great job sticking closely to the original.
Definitely looking forward to season 2 (Season of mists?) and I hope we get all the stand-alone tales too... especially the ones crucial to the overall storyline. Hopefully, if the series is popular and generates a lot of money, we'll get to see Emperor Augustus in Cinecitta.
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Post by commond on Aug 17, 2022 8:01:54 GMT -5
I didn't care much for Jenna Coleman's portrayal of Constantine but that was always going to be a hard sell. I thought episode 4 was great. Easily the best episode so far. The scenes in Hell were fantastic, and the Thewlis subplot was much better than the previous episode. Sarah Niles was great in her role. I'm surprised they changed the ending from the comic, but it was a gripping scene nonetheless.
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Post by thwhtguardian on Aug 17, 2022 17:58:01 GMT -5
The survey was a lot more in depth than I thought it would be, I was especially interested that it had a couple questions on what specific stories or characters from the comics I'd like to see adapted. I of course said I wanted more Merv Pumpkinhead and that if they adapted "A Dream of a Thousand Cats" then I could die a happy man. I wonder what the questions would be like if I had answered I had never heard of the comic? So it looks like I'm getting my wish...and earlier than I thought as it sounds like Dream Country was already filmed |
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Post by commond on Aug 18, 2022 8:46:40 GMT -5
The diner episode was pretty good. It didn't quite hit the mark for me, but it's difficult to direct a set piece scene like that. Tom Sturridge looks more like Robert Smith with every passing episode.
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Post by Ricky Jackson on Aug 18, 2022 13:38:52 GMT -5
I really enjoyed the season. I only finally read the first 8 issues a couple weeks ago to prepare for the show. Great casting. Sturridge really nailed Dream imo. And for first time in years in years of watching comic book movies and shows with me, my wife is actually interested in checking out the source material that inspired the product. So that speaks for the quality of the ideas and how well everything was executed
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Post by Dizzy D on Aug 19, 2022 7:32:04 GMT -5
The survey was a lot more in depth than I thought it would be, I was especially interested that it had a couple questions on what specific stories or characters from the comics I'd like to see adapted. I of course said I wanted more Merv Pumpkinhead and that if they adapted "A Dream of a Thousand Cats" then I could die a happy man. I wonder what the questions would be like if I had answered I had never heard of the comic? So it looks like I'm getting my wish...and earlier than I thought as it sounds like Dream Country was already filmed
Episode 11 is now available (haven't watched it yet) and it's indeed 2 stories from Dream Country (and I doubt they can do Facade or need to really rework it to remove the DC references from it.)
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Post by thwhtguardian on Aug 19, 2022 7:35:39 GMT -5
Episode 11 is now available (haven't watched it yet) and it's indeed 2 stories from Dream Country (and I doubt they can do Facade or need to really rework it to remove the DC references from it.)
I'm pretty surprised they released it so soon, even after reading that they were already filmed and completed I thought they'd hold it back until the fall to keep interest longer during the wait for the next season. |
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Confessor
CCF Mod Squad
Not Bucky O'Hare!
Posts: 10,197
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Post by Confessor on Aug 19, 2022 12:04:00 GMT -5
Episode 11 is now available (haven't watched it yet) and it's indeed 2 stories from Dream Country (and I doubt they can do Facade or need to really rework it to remove the DC references from it.)
I think Facade was the weekest of the Dream Country stories anyway. |
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Post by Jesse on Aug 19, 2022 17:14:42 GMT -5
Bonus episode!
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