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gohmak posted:I thought the books loving was kind of funny? That was great!
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Feb 7, 2016 18:44
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Yeah the book mating scene was hilarious. I think Eliot's reaction took it over the top. Am I misremembering that book-Eliot was described as having some sort of mouth/jaw deformity?
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Feb 7, 2016 18:52
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WarLocke posted:Yeah the book mating scene was hilarious. I think Eliot's reaction took it over the top. Yeah, book Elliot is notably kind of ugly.
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Feb 7, 2016 19:14
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Renewed for a 13 episode second season so yeah. Syfy is pretty happy with how it's been going so far.
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Feb 8, 2016 22:26
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Femur posted:If magic were an addictive drug, that school should be a lot meaner, not some ivy league deal. This may or may not be addressed to your liking by the time they graduate. They've already alluded to a lot of suicides/disappearances.
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Feb 8, 2016 23:03
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Cast Iron Brick posted:Yeah, book Elliot is notably kind of ugly. I don't recall that. I do recall the out-of-nowhere gay D/s scene that cleverly is never mentioned again but a interesting character trait though.
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Feb 9, 2016 01:17
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geeves posted:I don't recall that. I do recall the out-of-nowhere gay D/s scene that cleverly is never mentioned again but a interesting character trait though. The Magicians by Lev Grossman posted:There was something off about Eliot’s face. His posture was very straight, but his mouth was twisted to one side, in a permanent half grimace that revealed a nest of teeth sticking both in and out at improbable angles. He looked like a child who had been slightly misdelivered, with some subpar forceps handling by the attending. But despite his odd appearance...
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Feb 9, 2016 02:35
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He's right, it was an episode of Star Trek.
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Feb 9, 2016 03:08
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Worst Swift Cover ever.
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Feb 9, 2016 04:37
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muscles like this? posted:Renewed for a 13 episode second season so yeah. Syfy is pretty happy with how it's been going so far. I can't imagine that it costs much to make.
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Feb 9, 2016 07:29
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Wow, last episode was really fun AND different from the books! Got my hopes up that this show is finding its legs now.
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Feb 9, 2016 10:11
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Watching now. This episode is so different but actually really good.
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Feb 9, 2016 11:12
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So they rush through the best parts of the book because they don't think the viewers are able to handle a slower pace story (despite all evidence to the contrary), but then decide to devote a whole episode to a super generic plot that they just made up themselves. I really don't get why you would make a tv show based on a book when you clearly don't care about anything that is in it.
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Feb 9, 2016 12:06
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I guess they're going for a MOTW kind of thing with some of the episodes. I found it to be actually quite creative, until the reveal that it's just the Head Bitch of New York f(blank)ing with Quentin for some kind of contrived reason... Snooze. All the interactions with the Pennies were completely hilarious, and made it all worth it though. Hedrigall fucked around with this message at 12:12 on Feb 9, 2016 |
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Feb 9, 2016 12:09
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Not a fan of that episode whatsoever, just didn't sit well with me at all. The Pennies were funny, but everything else in the dream felt very forced.
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Feb 9, 2016 14:01
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At the beginning I thought it was way too early to be doing this episode. The second half was better (and probably the best the show's been so far), but we're not invested enough in this world or its characters for this setup to pay off for us yet. The head witch's plan made sense and I didn't mind it at all, but it seems like they're setting her up as a major antagonist and I really hope I'm wrong about that, because she is a terrible character. There is nothing engaging about her at all. The time issue is still coming up as well. How come the protagonist's friend now has all those stars on her arm? Did she jump straight to the head of the class at witch school? I actually hadn't noticed the stars until the final scene and I thought the head witch had just given them to her, which made no sense, but I watched it again and actually she was crossing them out? And then she teleported her... somewhere? And honestly, I don't care about her either so this all feels really low stakes. Actually, the show hasn't gotten me to care about any of the characters so far or even given me a good idea of who they are. By this point I should have a better handle on the world and have some investment in the characters. I'm not going to stop watching, but if the show were cancelled and there were no more episodes, I wouldn't be left wondering what happened or wanting to see more.
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Feb 9, 2016 16:47
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Tiggum posted:
In the books they talk about how Quentin and Julia are super studious gifted types so I'm assuming that's the implication. Most Brakebills magicians are since it's supposed to be incredibly difficult to learn even basic spells.
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Feb 9, 2016 17:51
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In the books we get a feel for all the blood, sweat, toil and tears it takes for Julia to earn even just one star. Meanwhile Quentin's and classmates are pushed to their mental limits to remember all the conditions and exceptions attached to the simplest of spells. In the show, it seems like magic users just hang out in a) a campus party house or b) a secret warehouse, with a bunch of well dressed people for a few weeks and you pick it all up, no problem.
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Feb 9, 2016 20:57
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Hedrigall posted:In the books we get a feel for all the blood, sweat, toil and tears it takes for Julia to earn even just one star. Meanwhile Quentin's and classmates are pushed to their mental limits to remember all the conditions and exceptions attached to the simplest of spells. Agreed completely. I liked this episode more than some of the others. I found Alice's schtick to be really, really annoying and uncreative. Overall, this show interests me enough to continue watching it, but not enough to really become invested or care about it. It's falling right into that lull of Guilty Pleasure Television. It also makes me want to re-read the books.
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Feb 10, 2016 05:53
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So I never expected to hear a Taylor Swift song in this show.
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Feb 10, 2016 05:57
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The spell that Quentin was casting in the preview, I can't even get my hands in that position because my middle fingers are so much longer than my index fingers. I wonder if hand shape was part of the casting process.
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Feb 10, 2016 11:56
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I've started re-reading the books and I am halfway through the first one. I figured out what really bothers me about the presentation of Brakebills: Grossman goes out of his way to say that each year (5 years total at Brakebills) only has 20 students. Year Four (to Quentin's first year) only has 10 for some mysterious reason. They covered that, sort of, regarding Alice's brother. But having SO MANY extras in the background is very distracting. Additionally, the school is talked about as some Victorian academic relic, and the fancy buildings and coffee houses on campus are less than charming. Finally, Grossman describes so many people as average looking, or odd looking (like Elliot), including one woman with a physical handicap- Gretchen. And the whole cast looking like runway models really downplays the idea that these are all brilliant loners who found their place. Oh, and one MORE thing: they all wear uniforms at the school! I get why they had to change that for television, but loving hell they don't need to buy out the whole mall. WHERE THE HELL IS JOSH, GOD drat IT.
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Feb 11, 2016 05:14
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It's apparent that this adaptation really doesn't concern itself with anything but the broadest strokes of the books and even then, only when it fits their sexy dubstep Harry Potter for cool kids. That's fine though. That's how this poo poo always works. What bothers me more is how on board Grossman is with the show. Sure, he gave his briefing about the nature of the adaptation, but the previous poster was right when they described Grossman as being overly flattered about the show. It shits on important decisions on Grossman's part and he just says thank you. That's good business sense of course, but there is a way to distinguish your work in the face of its adaptation. Look at how Jim Butcher talks about the SyFy Dresden Files. He doesn't defend the changes but he's still entirely professional.
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Feb 11, 2016 06:41
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It makes sense that you can't adapt the book word for word, you need to make some changes. But we have a ton of examples of tv shows that aren't afraid of going at a slower pace in order to tell a good story. If it is a matter of the show not having a big enough budget, then they are going to have a big problem later on when they get to Fillory.
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Feb 11, 2016 10:54
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Even CalTech takes in more than 20 students per year. It makes for bad television, but more importantly, the tiny student body would be conspicuously distracting.
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Feb 11, 2016 11:03
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Yeah, where the hell is Josh? Of all the characters they had to lose, why him dammit?
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Feb 11, 2016 11:37
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Oasx posted:If it is a matter of the show not having a big enough budget, then they are going to have a big problem later on when they get to Fillory. Fillory will be a medium-sized soundstage made up to look like a forest with a clock tree in it, and a tavern interior set with about 40 extras in vaguely fantasy-ish clothing.
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Feb 11, 2016 13:19
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Shooting Blanks posted:Yeah, where the hell is Josh? Of all the characters they had to lose, why him dammit? Josh is too pure for this world. But I kinda want to see a josh Eliot buddy comedy.
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Feb 11, 2016 13:52
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Oasx posted:It makes sense that you can't adapt the book word for word, you need to make some changes. But we have a ton of examples of tv shows that aren't afraid of going at a slower pace in order to tell a good story. I mean, I've never read the books but from what I'm reading here it seems clear that the show doesn't change things because they HAVE to for time or money, they change it because they want to. And you can dislike that if you're devoted to the original version but its not new or inherently bad that the tv show is its own interpretation of the story. It sounds like that's clearly the case here so book lovers are probably going to have to decide for themselves if they can get past that and take the show for what it is or if that's just too big a hangup.
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Feb 11, 2016 23:02
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STAC Goat posted:I mean, I've never read the books but from what I'm reading here it seems clear that the show doesn't change things because they HAVE to for time or money, they change it because they want to. I mean I get this and there's nothing wrong inherently with how this show is being handled, but it still feels kind of awkward when The Expanse is on the same channel to compare it to.
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Feb 11, 2016 23:10
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WarLocke posted:I mean I get this and there's nothing wrong inherently with how this show is being handled, but it still feels kind of awkward when The Expanse is on the same channel to compare it to. I mean, there's always been shows that stay faithful and ones that just say "I like the basic idea but I have my own spin on it." I guess I can see how people who were appreciating the Expanse for a faithful adaption would have built up hopes for the Magicians to do the same but at the same time SyFy's had plenty of more liberal adaptions in recent memory too like Being Human or Battlestar Gallactica or whatever shows I can't think of because I'm not really a sci fi guy. And again, I'm not saying you can't dislike this take on The Magicians. You can dislike it on its own merits or you can just be too disappointed by the changes to enjoy it. I'm just saying it sounds like from what I'm reading that the show has more things different from the books than similar so that's just the way its probably going to go.
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Feb 11, 2016 23:22
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This episode, while flawed, is still probably the best so far. I wouldn't say that it's because there are no book expectations to hold against it; the first part is an interesting premise (and if it had been a better show up until now or I knew nothing of the books, would have maybe even begun wondering if the rest of the season would be a mindfuck "is Quentin crazy or not?" arc). They were pretty good about keeping it ambiguous at the start (the bait-and-switch with Elliot was great), but I felt like they maybe played their hand a bit soon. I'd kinda pieced together what was happening as soon as the conversation with Julia, but that may have been because I sat through the "previously on..." part at the beginning, which I don't normally do. The head hedge witch character is pretty awful though. I've never been a fan of the mustache-twirling, chew-the-scenery types, and she really grates on me, especially that ending. I hope she gets killed off soon, but not for the reason the showrunners probably want me to. I wouldn't have minded Quentin being a *little* better at singing, but I guess it fits with him being kind of a goony doofus and that part was overall pretty funny/solid and felt tonally like it could have been in the books. I think I've said something similar about another show-only adaptation they've done... in general, I feel like the showrunners have an OK grasp of the spirit of the books, but there's what appears to be a lack of writing/directorial talent that really hinders the execution. So far it's been mediocre with occasional flashes of "eh, pretty good"-ness. I wish it was better, but it could definitely be worse. Cast Iron Brick posted:It's apparent that this adaptation really doesn't concern itself with anything but the broadest strokes of the books and even then, only when it fits their sexy dubstep Harry Potter for cool kids. Aside from outliers like Alan Moore, how often have you seen authors publicly denounce adaptations of their work? They have absolutely nothing to gain except street cred from diehard fans (which won't pay the bills), and lose out on potential future lucrative deals by getting a reputation as "difficult to work with" and "tried to torpedo the project to score points on Twitter". I make a point of ignoring whatever polite noises authors make about the movie/TV show adaptations of their work; while you sometimes get genuine enthusiasm, they are basically being forced to do it. Pompous Rhombus fucked around with this message at 12:42 on Feb 12, 2016 |
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Feb 12, 2016 12:33
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Pompous Rhombus posted:This episode, while flawed, is still probably the best so far. I wouldn't say that it's because there are no book expectations to hold against it; the first part is an interesting premise (and if it had been a better show up until now or I knew nothing of the books, would have maybe even begun wondering if the rest of the season would be a mindfuck "is Quentin crazy or not?" arc). They were pretty good about keeping it ambiguous at the start (the bait-and-switch with Elliot was great), but I felt like they maybe played their hand a bit soon. It's been done enough times before that it was pretty obvious what was going on. My first thought was that it was either too late or much too early to do this episode. If it had been the first or second episode it might have made you genuinely question it, but at this stage it was obviously bullshit and we don't care enough about the world to want to see alternate versions of it.
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Feb 12, 2016 17:06
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It was this show's spin on the Monster of the Week: Spell of the Week. Honestly I thought it was creative, and I don't mind there being 1 or 2 of this sort of thing in each 13 episode season.
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Feb 13, 2016 12:50
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I do like that they are starting to use more magic, the system of bending your fingers at crazy angles is one of the cooler concepts of the books.
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Feb 13, 2016 20:18
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Apparently they have some tutters to make that stuff up for them, so that's pretty cool.
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Feb 13, 2016 20:23
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I'm wondering if the first season is going to fully cover the first book because that took place over multiple years.
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Feb 13, 2016 20:52
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Hedrigall posted:Fillory will be a medium-sized soundstage made up to look like a forest with a clock tree in it, and a tavern interior set with about 40 extras in vaguely fantasy-ish clothing. They already filmed this in and around Vancouver so finding a forest isn't too hard.  (UBC being Brakebills is taking me right out of the show)
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Feb 13, 2016 22:50
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Snuffman posted:They already filmed this in and around Vancouver so finding a forest isn't too hard. Enjoying sci-fi TV must be really hard/hilarious if you live in Vancouver.
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Feb 13, 2016 23:31
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IRQ posted:Enjoying sci-fi TV must be really hard/hilarious if you live in Vancouver. Enjoying any show set in a major city is hard if you live in Vancouver.
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Feb 14, 2016 01:05
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