The Witcher series (Netflix)

Craterloads said:
One disappointing aspect I’ve been told is they won’t be using any of the extra non book material from the games.
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I imagine they can't. The license they have is the books. It might be the case that several seasons down the line they can negotiate for it. But given what Sapkowski thinks of the games I doubt he'd be keen on it.
 
Shamikebab said:
I imagine they can't. The license they have is the books. It might be the case that several seasons down the line they can negotiate for it. But given what Sapkowski thinks of the games I doubt he'd be keen on it.
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Sapkowski is keen enough on CDPR's work to sign a new contract with them, handing over more rights. Aside from comments made during a spat over royalties, his criticisms have been more about games in general as a storytelling medium.

Licensing a TV adaptation of the games could be complicated though given it would involve Netflix, CDPR, and (likely) Sapkowski (depending on the terms of his agreement with CDPR). I suspect it won't happen. Wouldn't surprise me if this is three or four seasons and then done; Cavill will no doubt want to move on.
 
Just finished watching it with my brother who didn't know anything about the Witcher. My background with it is reading a few books ages ago and completing the games numerous times.

It wasn't bad. It had great moments and some aspects they absolutely nailed. It was ultimately "satisfying" but only in the way beans-on-toast satisfies you after being promised steak. However the way they did the timeline was unnecessarily confusing that it felt contrived at times as if the writer got too carried away and lost perspective. It was ambiguous for the sake of it and paid no mind to newcomers or even veterans and seems to have been written for the pleasure of those already "in the know" in the writing room.

Also they should have called it "The Sorcerer" given it was more about Yennefer and spent WAY too much time with her supporting cast and played with new rules regarding magic that consistently contradicted itself. The Witcher himself was rarely in the spot light, which for the flagship season you'd think they'd focus a little and set a foundation. I understand Geralt's character is a vessel for exploring the world and the people he meets, but again it's as if the writer lost sight of the point of the show or just simply found Yennefer more interesting.

I thought the core casting was excellent. Cavill is brilliant as Geralt and Freya Allan who plays Ciri is absolutely perfect. The settings, costumes, environments, the action sequences and the effects are all great... if only the writing matched.

So overall I'm disappointed but mostly for the loss of potential rather than the end product. I do want a new season but I fear how many people were put off by the writing choices and simply turned it off after a few episodes. :(
 
satchef1 said:
Sapkowski is keen enough on CDPR's work to sign a new contract with them, handing over more rights. Aside from comments made during a spat over royalties, his criticisms have been more about games in general as a storytelling medium.

Licensing a TV adaptation of the games could be complicated though given it would involve Netflix, CDPR, and (likely) Sapkowski (depending on the terms of his agreement with CDPR). I suspect it won't happen. Wouldn't surprise me if this is three or four seasons and then done; Cavill will no doubt want to move on.
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Well yeah he's fine with them giving him money but he doesn't consider the games canon and considers them little more than fan fiction. I doubt he'd be keen on them being 'added' onto an official adaptation of his work.
 
Just finished last night as well. Pretty much feel the same way; it was fine. There's a lot of room for improvement if they want to get it up to Game of Thrones (S2-4) or Lord of the Rings standards. But it was far from a disaster like Shannara.

The timeline stuff was a right mess though. Seems really unnecessary to; a quick shuffle around of episodes and scenes and the whole thing would have flowed much better.

Looking forward to S2 now. Hopefully it isn't too long (though given it's Netflix, I won't hold my breath).
 
satchef1 said:
The timeline stuff was a right mess though. Seems really unnecessary to; a quick shuffle around of episodes and scenes and the whole thing would have flowed much better.
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It was done like that specifically to knit it all together again in the last 2-3 episodes which wouldn't have worked as well shuffled around - but they certainly could have done a lot more to give you a feel for the time and place, which would have made it less off-putting to watch, without ruining the last couple of episodes.

For me a couple of extra scene/tweaks and mostly some fixing in post like colour grading/tone to distinguish certain settings maybe would have made the difference between a good show and a great show.
 
Rroff said:
It was done like that specifically to knit it all together again in the last 2-3 episodes which wouldn't have worked as well shuffled around - but they certainly could have done a lot more to give you a feel for the time and place, which would have made it less off-putting to watch, without ruining the last couple of episodes.
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I had a feeling after watching the entire season that they either cut out, skipped or forgot one story/episode amidst all that skipping - the one with driades and Braenne (not of Tarth) and driades water that causes amnesia and visions, where Geralt rescues little girl in the forest and she turns out to be Ciri.
That's how they've met before, formed a (kind of) bond and could recognise each other at the point that forms timeline at the end of our season 1.
Without that story, has anyone found the ending slightly confusing?
 
v0n said:
I had a feeling after watching the entire season that they either cut out, skipped or forgot one story/episode amidst all that skipping - the one with driades and Braenne (not of Tarth) and driades water that causes amnesia and visions, where Geralt rescues little girl in the forest and she turns out to be Ciri.
That's how they've met before, formed a (kind of) bond and could recognise each other at the point that forms timeline at the end of our season 1.
Without that story, has anyone found the ending slightly confusing?
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I think/hope some scenes have been cut that are kind of important for viewers who aren't familiar with the material to really appreciate what is going on - same with 1-2 other concepts like the ascension stuff which does become clearer later but kind of jumps into the middle of without any feel or reference for why it is in the story.
 
I enjoyed it overall. (have not played the games)

-The timeline hopping could have been done a bit better.
-The horrible cringe moments when the actors are trying to get a feel for their roles/characters

+Production value felt high
+Once into the final few episodes it started to flow and became much more enjoyable

It has set a very strong footing for season 2. certainly will continue to watch.
 
I'm just finishing episode 6 now and while I've really enjoyed it the writing style could be a lot better and it was one of the most disjointed shows I've watched and it was only because I know a lot of the lore that I felt I could keep track of it.
 
Same vibes, overall liked it as a whole but it was awkward seeing superman with a batman brooding husky voice and with ridiculously tight trousers exposing all but Yennefer provided more meat then an xmas dinner so the balance was fine in the end.

If you liked GoT, Shannara chronicles, lotr this will be right up your alley and that almost means everyone.
 
Feels like it needed to be a 10 to 20 episode season rather than 8

Not sure I liked the fragmented story telling of the time line and the writing was a little off in parts, Triss & Yennefer actresses were miscast too, overall it felt like reading a book with every other page missing so you're only getting half the story in fragments
 
Only watched 2 episodes so far and maybe it's being a big fan of the books and reading them multiple times but episode 2 was brutal. Terrible writing, especially the sections about the humans treatment of elves. Like much pop culture stuff now it felt like it was written by someone fresh out of a social studies degree who was trying to cover current social issues based on how guilty their degree course had made them feel about being from a certain country or class. Like a hammer to the face in it's subtlety and self loathing.

The dialogue also is very cringey. Even some of the pretty fair actors are struggling. Direction and editing also feel below par so far.

I was worried that this was going to be yet another film/game/comic/TV that was taken and used as a platform for some crazies to push their ideology and sadly that seems to be the case so far. I hope it improves but finding it hard to carry on.
 
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