It'll make you tug your hair outThere were some aspects of the trailer that I liked, some things I disliked and some parts where I don't know yet.
The comments under the trailer are amusing, I really forgot how much meme potential the repetitive writing style of Jordan had
Television The Wheel of Time | Thread for the TV show - book nerds shoo
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I read that the braid-tugging happened a total of 60 times, and half of those were in The Dragon Reborn and The Lord of Chaos. Given that there are 15 books with New Spring, and four and a half million words, it really isn't that bad. It's definitely a Robert Jordan thing, but people are blowing it out of proportion. It's fun to joke, of course, but I fear it might be putting people off from reading the books.
Edit: I should say, I'm not accusing you of putting people off, I'm mostly talking about comments on YouTube and maybe Reddit.
Rushing through the filler is the only way to make this work, but there will be losses that are important to the world building, character arcs, so many little gems about the world almost hidden in plain sight.
Game of Thrones felt like a highlight compilation in how they rushed forward to the big set pieces . Flattened the characters, and despite WOT having a ton of stunning moments it is the character arcs that really appeal to me, hoping the guy playing Rand had a wide range, going to need it.
Somewhat wary of how this will fall into our culture wars if it gets big, I can see certain things that could be considered problematic, but at the same time it is a hugely culturally diverse world.
Game of Thrones felt like a highlight compilation in how they rushed forward to the big set pieces . Flattened the characters, and despite WOT having a ton of stunning moments it is the character arcs that really appeal to me, hoping the guy playing Rand had a wide range, going to need it.
Somewhat wary of how this will fall into our culture wars if it gets big, I can see certain things that could be considered problematic, but at the same time it is a hugely culturally diverse world.
The prologue with Lews Therin
The Trip through the Portal Stones when Rand sees his alternative outcomes, I almost wanted to read those expanded as much as the real story
The Accepted Tests with Egwene/Nynaeve
Some form of Egwenes prophetic dreams or Mins viewing, though not sure how you do these without giving too much away
Rand in Rhuidean seeing the history of the Aiel, one of the best sequences ever in the genre, that whole trip to the Waste is peak Jordan
Fedwin Morr's death
The Trip through the Portal Stones when Rand sees his alternative outcomes, I almost wanted to read those expanded as much as the real story
The Accepted Tests with Egwene/Nynaeve
Some form of Egwenes prophetic dreams or Mins viewing, though not sure how you do these without giving too much away
Rand in Rhuidean seeing the history of the Aiel, one of the best sequences ever in the genre, that whole trip to the Waste is peak Jordan
Fedwin Morr's death
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It is so prevalent in those early books that it just sticks with you.
Also, I am sure the actor portraying Perin is going to be great, but this would have been my choice:
Trailer looks great.
Is it going to be one episode a week or all released in one go? Im guessing weekly as its Prime but not sure if its confirmed.
Is it going to be one episode a week or all released in one go? Im guessing weekly as its Prime but not sure if its confirmed.
No chance of the prologue happening in Season 1. They don't want to hire someone for Lews Therin and then not have him show up for a while again. I haven't heard anything about how they are doing Rand's madness, but I bet they'll just have Rand see Lews Therin sometimes, and other times just hear him. So they need an actor for that. They probably also want to do some world-building before they throw the prologue at us.
I can't imagine they won't have prophecies and visions in it. We know Min is in the show, and if they weren't going to have her see stuff they'd probably just merge her with Elayne or Aviendha. I'd love the Aiel sequence too, really hope that makes it. Fedwin Morr I wouldn't bet on, he's a minor character and those are going to get severely cut (for natural reasons). They might have him in to portray the process of the Asha'man going insane, though.
More than anything, I want the Battle of Dumai's Wells. Save some budget for that. It has such a great build-up too, with Rand captive. The scene where they capture him, after he's been so confident, could be a great "shock" scene.
I love that we're getting Logain so early. He was always one of my favourite characters. I am pretty sure we see him wrecking some Aes Sedai in the trailer. I imagine that will be used to establish how powerful and dangerous he is, and the role of the Aes Sedai in containing male channelers and false dragons. Show, don't tell.
I can't imagine they won't have prophecies and visions in it. We know Min is in the show, and if they weren't going to have her see stuff they'd probably just merge her with Elayne or Aviendha. I'd love the Aiel sequence too, really hope that makes it. Fedwin Morr I wouldn't bet on, he's a minor character and those are going to get severely cut (for natural reasons). They might have him in to portray the process of the Asha'man going insane, though.
More than anything, I want the Battle of Dumai's Wells. Save some budget for that. It has such a great build-up too, with Rand captive. The scene where they capture him, after he's been so confident, could be a great "shock" scene.
I love that we're getting Logain so early. He was always one of my favourite characters. I am pretty sure we see him wrecking some Aes Sedai in the trailer. I imagine that will be used to establish how powerful and dangerous he is, and the role of the Aes Sedai in containing male channelers and false dragons. Show, don't tell.
All reasonable takes.
Dumai's Wells I take as a given, a key moment of the whole story, culmination of several threads and beginning of more, Rands, with his PTSD, spiral downwards accelerates, the world changes in fascinating ways.
Logain is brilliantly handled in the books, from where he starts as a symbol of fear, that meeting of eyes across Cameyln, how he drifts in and out of the story and refinds pride and purpose. Damm it, am talking myself into a re-read, there goes the next year. I think you are right about Morr, could be any male channeler meeting that fate, the terror around Men going insane, then you have this kid whose minds snaps, retreats to an infantile state but with the power to move mountains.
Dumai's Wells I take as a given, a key moment of the whole story, culmination of several threads and beginning of more, Rands, with his PTSD, spiral downwards accelerates, the world changes in fascinating ways.
Logain is brilliantly handled in the books, from where he starts as a symbol of fear, that meeting of eyes across Cameyln, how he drifts in and out of the story and refinds pride and purpose. Damm it, am talking myself into a re-read, there goes the next year. I think you are right about Morr, could be any male channeler meeting that fate, the terror around Men going insane, then you have this kid whose minds snaps, retreats to an infantile state but with the power to move mountains.
Not that impressed by the trailer though, has that issue that a lot of these shows share, far too clean, the clothes looks like costumes. Also not feeling the power ranger Aes Sedai colour coding style they are going with.
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I'm honestly amazed at how much detail you guys remember. I read the first book around 15 years ago and I swear I remember nothing about the early books anymore. Unfortunately this series is also too long to really the time to re-read!
This. There have been so many WoT fans who have craved an adaptation for over a decade and its finally here and I'm worried it won't take off. But given the source material, the seemingly high production value and given how well GOT did, I am cautiously optimistic!
Anyone else wants Sean Bean to play Lewis Therin ?
Thanks. Now I know for sure this cnut dies.
I’m more interested in your thoughts of Rosamund Pike playing you.
Nailed it, exactly i had imagined… a little shorter in height though!
Game of Thrones with more magic. And less boobs? Take away the bad language and gore and what’s left?
a finished story?
Agree with Bobski that it looks a bit clean and all, but I will devour this as it was my first fantasy favourite book series, excepting LOTR. Never thought this series could be made, at least not in the quality it deserves. Trying not to expect too much.
I suggest Read the books first before making any comments, its not actually a medieval fantasy. The colors are much brighter than GOT or LOTR movies.
Enjoyed the trailer, cast looks great. Wasn't amazing but def has increased my anticipation.
Obviously not expecting this to be as good as GoT but hopefully its better than Witcher season 1 anyway.
Problem with these shows imo is they always have some fresh faced young'un playing someone who's supposed to have had a tough life, their skin is immaculate, their hair is on point, they have teeth which beem like a lighthouse.
Even the clothing and sets are always a bit too perfect.
Add into that the writers always manage to somehow make things sound ridiculously modern, and throw in slang from these days.
Won't be long before some cnut is making a tik tok while the film/series is set in the 1400s.
All that said, I've never read the books, I've never even read what it is about, but I know it's quite a popular series of books so will definitely give this a whirl.
Even the clothing and sets are always a bit too perfect.
Add into that the writers always manage to somehow make things sound ridiculously modern, and throw in slang from these days.
Won't be long before some cnut is making a tik tok while the film/series is set in the 1400s.
All that said, I've never read the books, I've never even read what it is about, but I know it's quite a popular series of books so will definitely give this a whirl.
The young protagonists are all young and fresh faced in a way. They have all had a year or so of work/apprenticeships, but not hard living. Jordan did not use modern language, so if hey use it then that is all on the show runners.
Im not seeing what all of you are seeing. This looks very shit to me. Almost all of the actors look uninteresting and dull fresh faced generic CW types.
Oh well. I hope all of you fans of the books get a show that does the story and characters justice for you.
Oh well. I hope all of you fans of the books get a show that does the story and characters justice for you.
Really? I enjoyed most of The Witcher season 1. There were a few meh episodes, but overall it was pretty good.
The costumes and special effects give me some very Last Airbender vibes, obviously not in a good way. World design also looks fairly generic, seems like they are going for the same medieval/futuristic hybrid like Asgard in Thor for instance. Probably too much to look for anything really groundbreaking from your run of the mill Hollywood production, but doesn’t feel like it does the source material justice, but then again I also felt GoT were overly drab and bleak in its choice of costumes, so people would probably be fine with it.
WoT is not a medieval setting it's kinda hard to explain, the characters at the start are young and fresh faced
I'm still undecided based on that trailer. The effects appear to be ok, but the actors look like they were just picked up and dropped onto the set. They really need to roughen some of them up a bit. I can understand the magic users looking polished, but others like Rand etc are meant to be living in smaller villages.
Really hope they hit the ground running with this series, as the first couple of episodes are really going to determine if people stick around with the show, or just dismiss it.
Really hope they hit the ground running with this series, as the first couple of episodes are really going to determine if people stick around with the show, or just dismiss it.
I'm exactly the same. Reading this thread, half the time I can't even remember semi major characters unless people give a bit more detail to trigger the memory.
If it does take off, we can lord it over the serial guys haha
I have read that the series is to be at least 8 seasons, and that some people digging around have found that season 1 has a budget of at least 100 million dollars.
As long as they use the Blind Guardian song for the credits they’ll be fine.
All of it, mind. I don’t care that it’s eight minutes long.
All of it, mind. I don’t care that it’s eight minutes long.
I’m not into this genre at all. GOT the tv show was great (til it lost the run of itself) but this looks a bit meh.
Come on now. Do you really think shows like this are only for people who read the books? I’m one of millions of people around the world with zero interest in this genre of book but hankering for the next GOT. You can bet your arse the money men behind this tv series are specifically targeting people like me.
Mm. Maybe being pessimistic here, but I don't expect this to be particularly good. Wish someone else other than Amazon was producing tbh, I don't think they have it in them.
Urgh. You're soooo full of yourself.
Comparing with GOT all the time is boring. This is a books series with shit loads of magic, where GOT had some dragons and the walkers, and was a lot darker and more "mature". It should only be rated for itself and against the book series. It is not an imitation of GOT. It came before GOT, and it is an epic coming of age magic series with an immense world building. It is more fantasy while GOT was more medieval.
I do not except the tv show to rival the books. I think too highly of the books and their scope for that. If one does not like magic and fantasy, of course this show will not be of interest. But I am really looking forward to it, almost the way I looked forward to the LOTR movies, although I doubt the quality will be even close.
I do not except the tv show to rival the books. I think too highly of the books and their scope for that. If one does not like magic and fantasy, of course this show will not be of interest. But I am really looking forward to it, almost the way I looked forward to the LOTR movies, although I doubt the quality will be even close.
I’m sure that’s true of the books. The tv series came after GOT and will inevitably be compared. I doubt it would have even been funded other than as a premeditated attempt to target GOT (the tv show) fans.
To be fair, GoT wasn’t super popular from the moment it started. A lot of people thought it was shit in the beginning and gave up, until the bandwagon became too big to resist from the 3rd series onwards.
Haha you guys are great. First we want to burn everyone on a stick who wants to talk about the books and then the first guy who hasn't read them and walks into the thread commenting on the teaser is hounded out because he doesn't have a clue.
I'm also a bit pessimistic how this series translates to TV. Apart from a couple of good fitting characters (Moiraine, Lan, Mat) they either have to change the style and storytelling quite a lot to get casual viewers interested or it's gonna be dull viewing. The world is also more complex than GoT (magic, different powers, dreamworld, forsaken in different forms etc.) which will be tough to portray.
Good thing is that while I normally hate every scene a move/series cuts from the original books I'm definitely looking forward for them to cut the shit out of the books 5-11 (if they ever get so far). Helpful that apart from a bit character development of Rand there's not much relevant story stuff going on for a long time anyway so after they've introduced everything - as in like after book 3 - they can just slash forward to book 12ish. It's basically power dynamics at the tower with Egwene and Elayne becoming influential, Rand captured and freed, Mat becoming influential and finding his prophecy girl, Perrin learning wolf stuff aaaand fast forward to the final battle.
Either way, it's gonna be interesting if I view certain characters differently depending on how they portray them because I don't think there was ever a book series where I disliked so many of the main characters. I mean, apart from Mat, Min and maybe Faile and Perrin aren't they all full of them and annoying? I really struggle to see how people will like major characters like Nynaeve, Egwene or basically the majority of the Aes Sedai, the Sanchea, the Aiel if they're portrayed like they're written in the books.
Also, I haven't found Elayne on the cast list. Does that mean she'll join later or have they cut her and also plan to cut the Rand and 3 women relationship? Fans would be up in arms but I actually wouldn't mind, most of the relationship writing by Jordan was shite.
Good thing is that while I normally hate every scene a move/series cuts from the original books I'm definitely looking forward for them to cut the shit out of the books 5-11 (if they ever get so far). Helpful that apart from a bit character development of Rand there's not much relevant story stuff going on for a long time anyway so after they've introduced everything - as in like after book 3 - they can just slash forward to book 12ish. It's basically power dynamics at the tower with Egwene and Elayne becoming influential, Rand captured and freed, Mat becoming influential and finding his prophecy girl, Perrin learning wolf stuff aaaand fast forward to the final battle.
Either way, it's gonna be interesting if I view certain characters differently depending on how they portray them because I don't think there was ever a book series where I disliked so many of the main characters. I mean, apart from Mat, Min and maybe Faile and Perrin aren't they all full of them and annoying? I really struggle to see how people will like major characters like Nynaeve, Egwene or basically the majority of the Aes Sedai, the Sanchea, the Aiel if they're portrayed like they're written in the books.
Also, I haven't found Elayne on the cast list. Does that mean she'll join later or have they cut her and also plan to cut the Rand and 3 women relationship? Fans would be up in arms but I actually wouldn't mind, most of the relationship writing by Jordan was shite.
I can’t remember how or why I started watching. It wasn’t my sort of thing on paper at all. I got into it very quickly though. Probably helped that it was around the time of the LOTR movies. The addition of hardcore swearing, extreme violence and bewbs to that genre made it seem instantly more interesting. I’d say most viewers were hooked from the moment Ned had his head chopped off.