His Dark Materials

[AllGoodDogs]

New BBC adaptation, looks so good, can't wait trailer here -

m.facebook.com/story.php?story_fbid=10162256439035553&id=683285552&sfnsn=mo

Her Dad plays Father MacPhail in this series of His Dark Materials!

@SweetSummerchild

No, I haven’t got round to reading la Belle Sauvage yet. I think, though, that it may have been a better idea to do the series (plural) in the order that the books were published. It’s almost as if stuff from the prequel books at the start of this TV series have acted as spoilers. I think it takes something away from it all.

Maybe they have done it so it’s not too confusing for people who haven’t read ANY of the books?

Ha ha! bingo is right!

Don’t get me wrong, I am enjoying it all immensely, what I’ve written about are just very minor criticisms and don’t take away from my enjoyment at all. I just like reading other people’s ideas and take on it all too.

Was listening to a podcast today and they said Lyra was the little girl in the film Logan. I’ve seen that and would never had guessed! And she spoke mostly Spanish in it too.

It’s almost as if stuff from the prequel books at the start of this TV series have acted as spoilers. I think it takes something away from it all.

Exactly this.

I would have preferred to have the same relationship with the characters on screen as I did whilst reading - learning who they are as the story unfolds. In fact this answers for me the question above as to the order in which to read the books now they’re available in ‘chronological’ order. I’ve realised that what makes me return to the three core books time and again is the ambiguity - and the consequent epistemic instability this engenders in me as a reader. By introducing us to Lyra’s world through an Asriel who is both incontrovertibly good and rather pitifully merely human the TV series has diminished both the grandeur of the concept and the merciless grandeur of Lord Asriel’s ambition.

Currently watching the film

I think I prefer film Ma Costa. She seems much more relatable

Where’s as tv Ma Costa looks like a heroin addict

I agree we know too much right from the start of the series.
My favourite thing about Northern Lights was the way you are dropped into this world and just shown things unfolding with no explanation. And how ambiguous Asriel is.

Apologies haven't read the whole thread or the books 😶 but my dd made a good point of finding it strange that the daemons are quite often (? always) a different sex to their person. Is there a reason for that?

She’s right, daemons are almost always the opposite sex to their human. There are a few exceptions in the novels, and it usually indicates something unusual about the person, according to Philip Pullman, though he says he doesn’t know why!

By introducing us to Lyra’s world through an Asriel who is both incontrovertibly good and rather pitifully merely human the TV series has diminished both the grandeur of the concept and the merciless grandeur of Lord Asriel’s ambition.

I agree with this, you’ve put it so brilliantly as well.

I always thought (no reason for this) daemons were the opposite sex so that it gave a more rounded individual. So together a person has both the masculine and feminine.

I was so shocked when I heard that Pullman didn’t plan the story in chronological form from the very start. Now that I’ve read the two Book of Dust instalments, I can’t get over the fact that they weren’t in his head when he was writing HDM, they all fit together so well.

@SurpriseSparDay your post sums it up perfectly!

Did anyone else see the HDM extra trailer at the end of Strictly? Lyra looks like she has climbed through the air vent shaft to Mrs Coulter's room and found diagrams of a guillotine....definitely not from the book.

I think JM’s Asriel came across as an unfeeling aggressive douche, which is exactly right. The only misstep was carrying Lyra to bed. Are people projecting a bit about how friendly or nice he seems because he’s a familiar face?

I haven't read the books so don't know the story.

I'm enjoying it so far.
I agree with pp that her uncle came across as uncaring

I can't believe how long this thread is after only one episode!

purple you should try the Strictly threads, I think we're averaging one a week at the moment!

I saw the trailer SheStood. Between that and the "next time" I think a lot of this episode will look rather familiar!

Are we all ready then 🙄

Wrong emoji!!! 👀

Here we go!

What the hell are they doing with it?

Much better this week

They were doing so well... but I think they've changed too much this week.

Not sure I like how they’ve worked in John Parry. Kind of too soon for anyone to care? And I just want her to get to the gyptians, they like to keep us waiting, don’t they.

Better than last week I agree. Lyra still not coarse enough but good to show how uncomfortable she was. Not sure about bringing in our world and the windows so early.

Were the windows in the first book?

The whole point is the sacrifice that Asriel makes at the end so I guess it makes the window less of a thing if Boreal is just casually strolling through to have a coffee