His Dark Materials - New BBC/HBO/New Line Cinema TV Series

I'm generally on the side of 'watch the series/movie' before reading the book.

If you read the book first you build up a unique idea in your head of what everything should look like, and can often be disappointed with the end result.

If you watch the TV series first, when you read the book you are likely to visualise characters as the actors that played them, and then the books can help fill in subplots and details.
 
VincentHanna said:
I thought that the first episode was decent, but afterwards they showed a trailer for (I guess) the whole series, which looked really quite spectacular.

I read the books about 12 years ago but I can't remember anything about the gyptians.
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Was quite annoyed at how long the trailer at the end went on for. Was about 4x longer than your typical 'next time' teasers at the ends of episodes, I guess it makes sense if it's for the whole series though. Is that normal to do?

Thought the episode was decent but wasn't blown away. Think I read probably the first 3 or 4 chapters when I was younger.
 
I thought it was good. My only concern is that the second and third books are so different that it might lose people when they reach that part. I listened to them on Audible and genuinely thought I'd started the wrong book about 15 minutes into book 2. I remember thinking, "what is this?" Then it got even weirder in book 3 with the Mulefa. :)
 
It was really good, obviously slightly condensed but still a pretty accurate adaptation. The only negative I felt, and one I'm not sure how they'd fix, is that unless it is just a human and daemon scene it is quite hard to tell when the daemon's are talking. Especially in the first scene, I kept thinking Pan talking was Roger.
 
Shamikebab said:
It was really good, obviously slightly condensed but still a pretty accurate adaptation. The only negative I felt, and one I'm not sure how they'd fix, is that unless it is just a human and daemon scene it is quite hard to tell when the daemon's are talking. Especially in the first scene, I kept thinking Pan talking was Roger.
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Yeah, that was an issue for me too. Pan's voice just sounded like a small boy. Also, because the daemons keep changing form my wife was confused about where all these animals were coming from. :)
 
Enjoyed first episode, CG looked decent and happy to see where it goes as I've never read the books so going 'blind' into this.
 
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Glanza said:
CG looked decent and happy
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watched Tim Burtons - Miss Peregrine's Home for Peculiar Children, last night, first programme I've seen in ages with decent CG/vfx,
despite the potential international audience for BBC material I find their CG in Doctor Who, Peaky Blinders, Dark Materials underwhelming
]
 
I enjoyed the first episode and look forward to the rest though reading some reviews I'm not sure about how they've apparently done the Magisterium. I've only read the books once so I'm finding it interesting seeing the start of the story knowing what is to come.
 
The books are some of my all-time favourites so I was really looking forward to this (but understadably sceptical after the woeful film). I was not disappointed. They seem to have captured the feel of the books very well from what we've seen in 1 episode.
 
Finally got round to watching the second episode. I enjoyed it even more than the first, interesting that they're bringing some elements of book two into the first.
 
Are you talking about crossing worlds? I remember some of the bigger plot points but would struggle to say which book they happen in. It stood out to me as I didn't think it was introduced so early in the books but I assumed I had just forgotten as it's been years since I read them.
 
I've never read the books nor watched the film but am enjoying the tv show.

Only problem is my wife loves the books and so knows a lot more about what's going on than me, so we can't have the usual conversations where you hypothesise about things because she already knows things!
 
Greboth said:
Are you talking about crossing worlds? I remember some of the bigger plot points but would struggle to say which book they happen in. It stood out to me as I didn't think it was introduced so early in the books but I assumed I had just forgotten as it's been years since I read them.
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Chronologically Boreal travels between the worlds in Book one, but we don't find out until book two. Multiple worlds is not seen at all until the end of the first book.
 
I listened to the audiobooks sometime before the film came out, because I take way too long to read a book. What can I say; I'm a better listener than I am a reader. :p

Anyway: There's certain things I can recall, and some bits I can't remember, but....

when Boreal went through the portal to what looks like our world. I thought, I'm sure that's something that didn't happen in the first book (Northern Lights).

Now that's been explained by Shamikebab; I suppose it makes sense that being shown in the first series, rather than the second. Possibly something to do with the TV show having to be condensed and some things have to be cut or shortened; or could be so viewers can understand the order of events more easily...

Anyway; I really enjoyed the first 2 episodes. So far, more than making up for the disappointing film. :D
 
Shamikebab said:
Chronologically Boreal travels between the worlds in Book one, but we don't find out until book two. Multiple worlds is not seen at all until the end of the first book.
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Ahhhh thanks for clarification, that makes sense :) I guess it makes sense to have the show run chronologically and it helps it flow in to season 2 / book 2.

Like Marsman though, I have enjoyed the first 2 episodes and look forward to the rest. Hopefully it does better than the film though as I'd like to see how they tell the story of book 2 and mostly 3.
 
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