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Archive for season 1

The Witcher (TV) Season 1

Dec26

Show: The Witcher

Genre: High Fantasy

Watched: Season 1 – December 23-25, 2019

Summary: Loved it, but I was prepared

_

It’s been a while since I wrote a TV review, but after binge watching the show, and given my love of Fantasy, The Witcher (both novels and games), and the general process of adaption, I pretty much had no choice.

This is a show written for fans and perhaps not for the uninitiated. It’s unabashedly High Fantasy and is (mostly) extremely faithful to both the source novels for plot and character and to Witcher III in terms of visuals. This last surprised me as the show (I believe) has no connection with the games other than that they draw on the same source material — but it really does (again mostly) look like them. It’s loosely adapted from the first two books, short story collections The Last Wish and Sword of Destiny with chunks of the novel Blood of Elves worked in. These are simultaneously both great material to work from and challenging to adapt, as the world and characters are sketched impressionistically via a series of short stories — and this “episodic” feel permeates this first TV season .

Essentially, season one is preamble, being the tale of this unique alternative history Slavic fantasy world and three (at first) disconnected characters: Geralt (the witcher), the sorceress Yennefer, and the princess Ciri. The trio inhabit parallel stories on a collision course — but not yet obviously connected.

And while I loved the show, it’s not without its issues, so let’s break down the parts:

_

Characters and their actors:

Henry Cavill nails Geralt of Rivia. I’m not a Man of Steel fan — although that was mostly the barfarific writing — but he really inhabits The Witcher. Sure, Geralt isn’t exactly the most emotionally available character in the history of fiction, but Cavill brings exactly the right confidence, ambiguity, and charisma to the bleak “hero.” His pale stringy hair and cat-like contacts give him this wide eyed stare — but it works — as does the gravely voice and the continual grunting. Geralt’s combat skills are superbly fluid and perfectly in line with the character.

Freya Allan is ghostly and intensely slavic as Ciri. Just the right kind of vulnerable and a distinctly elven quality. Also great. I heard there was some initial thought of switching up her “race” and I’m glad they didn’t.

Now the mages are one of those total modern melting pots of ethnicity and looking — but the conceit works well with them both because they presumably hail from around the world and because their appearances are sculpted as much by their own magics as by nature.

Compared to Geralt and Ciri, I was more mixed in my opinion of Anya Chalotra’s Yennefer. Early Yennefer is pretty good, and her transformation quite intense. But while post-transformation Yennefer looks the part, she doesn’t bring to it the level of forceful (and petulant) intensity that I have always considered to be a hallmark of the sorceress. Basically, she lacks some of the swagger that is essential to Yennefer.

Anna Shaffer’s Triss was very flat, not at all what I was looking for. But many other characters were solid, particularly Cahir, Tissaia, Mousesack, Eist, and others.

_


Visuals and setting:

Art direction was excellent. Maybe not quite as sweeping as the games, but very similar in style and often haunting. It brought the slavic setting starkly to life. Costuming is a bit varied, but so is the game. Sometimes gritty and medieval, sometimes colorful and a bit more Renaissance. Often the backgrounds were very desaturated. This was fine.

I was not bugged by the gratuitous nudity. This is at its heart an early 1990s fantasy series. It has elves and dwarves and nudity. That’s just part of its thing.

The spell fx could have been better at times. Sometimes they were good, but sometimes a touch offscreen or fake. This is a world (and a show) with a lot of direct magic. It’s not like Game of Thrones where the magic is “subtle” like Melisandre’s. No, this has mages hurling bolts of energy and opening up portals and all that. They handled it ok, but the magic could have benefited from looking even “more expensive” and dramatic.

The creatures on the other hand looked great, as did the settings generally.

_

Music and sound:

First rate. Particularly the sound track. I loved the video game sound trackers, and this one is good as well — similar in its exotic quality.

_

Writing:

Writing was generally good, but I had two problems. Sometimes the dialog seems overly modern, particularly some comic characters like Dandelion (returning to his Polish name Jaskier in the show). And the patching together of the short story based material periodically led to jarring transitions and some tonal shifts. The show maintains the grim pathos, high fantasy, and snatches of humor characteristic of The Witcher. All of these tones being there in the source material, but I wonder about the ability of new viewers to follow the multiple interwoven time frames — which taking a page from Westworld offer only minimals clues for distinguishing the period — particularly given that many important characters in this show do not age significantly (Geralt and the mages). It’s also a show that like its source material throws about the complex “noun soup” of a complex fantasy world and its moderately complex politics. Part of the enjoyment for a fantasy or SciFi reader — and a part not appreciated by people who aren’t steeped in these genres — is the joy of trying to piece together the rules and details of the world without too much handholding. And The Witcher show is fairly true to these roots.

So, given that I’ve read the books and played the games and “get” the world of The Witcher, it’s hard for me know how a new viewer would experience the show. My wife — having neither read nor played — did watch with me, and she enjoyed the show as well, but she also likes fantasy and was peppering me with questions. So if you’ve seen the show, and particularly if you are new to the franchise, feel free to tell me your experience in the comments.

So overall, despite some cheese and some flaws, I really enjoyed the show and am deep in that cathartic sadness that follows the end of a good season. Fortunately it’s already been renewed. I know the professional critics hated the show and the fans loved it. And I think that’s because unlike Game of Thrones, which is a bit of a crossover gateway drug into fantasy, The Witcher (and I speak of the franchise overall) is something rarely done at all, and even more rarely done well on TV: an unabashed masterpiece of genre fantasy — and that’s all right because I love genre fantasy.

For my thoughts on Witcher III (it rulez), click here.

Yep, there are even knights cursed to be hedgehogs

Related posts:

  1. Witcher 3 – Middle Impressions
  2. Game of Thrones – Season 3 Goodies
  3. Game of Thrones – Season 2 Trailer
  4. Game of Thrones Season 4 Trailer
  5. Game of Thrones – Episode 4
By: agavin
Comments (0)
Posted in: Television
Tagged as: Adaption, Anya Chalotra, Fantasy, Freya Allan, Henry Cavill, season 1, The Witcher, TV review

Clone Wars – Orphan Black

Aug16

orphanblackposterTitle: Orphan Black

Genre: SciFi Thriller

Watched: August 5-6, 2013

Summary: great first season

ANY CHARACTER HERE

Lately, there have been a lot of shows  using the device of twins borrowing identities. Perhaps it’s a trend, perhaps it’s just a fan fave, as Shakespeare himself went for it in Comedy of Errors and Twelfth Night. In any case, Orphan Black up the ante. Not twins or triplets, but human clones. And there are at least seven of them. Plus, it’s better than last years duplicate thrillers: Ringer (as much as i’m a SMG fan) and The Lying Game (which is pretty good in a lightweight way).

What is crazy impressive about Orphan is that Canadian actress Titiana Maslany (Shakespeare reference right there in her name!) manages to pull off wildly distinct personalities was incredible aplomb. I mean, seriously, you can just feel the different presence of these girls. You can even see quite effectively when one of them is pretending to be another. Watching uptight suburban mom Allison pretending to be punk Sarah is hilarious — and effective.

OB-Trailer2-1024x578

Tough Sarah

This show is Science Fiction, but the SF is confined to the clone thing and it’s low budget too. There aren’t a ton of effects. What there is, however, is very good writing, casting, acting, and pacing. It’s a great show really. We can’t know that the quality will survive into later seasons, but this one is break neck. The characters are sympathetic and interesting, and boy is she(s) put through the ringer (sorry SMG). The tone is simultaneously dark and comic, but always tense and unpredictable. There is one bit in the pilot where Sarah (playing Beth) is caught in an impossible situation. She goes to the bathroom to buy herself some time, then does something completely unexpected that actually works as a clever solution. This is very effective thriller plotting. It doesn’t feel forced or overwrought but merely tense.

16764841001_2372205947001_vs-518d65b8e4b0d749ff6ef2b7-1206954758001

Psycho Helena

Importantly, the complex central mystery is drooled out episode by episode, but it is drooled out. We find out quite a lot — although hardly everything. The amount of reveal is very effective in this season, but could be problematic next year as they will not be able to depend on the same  dynamic. The show might not be able to depend on the clones even playing their normal lives (or each others).

While Maslany steals the show. Many of the secondary actors are very solid as well. Jordan Gavaris as her (very) gay foster brother is a standout. He about says it all when he sits down at a piano and says, “let me show you a bit of Queen.” Kevin Hanchard is solid as cop twin Beth’s partner.

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Geeky lesbian Cosima

The show feels slightly schizophrenic with regard to its sexuality. At times, in some episodes (like the pilot), it’s pleasantly steamy. Maslany does a good bit of walking around in underwear (always a plus). But this remains uneven, unpredictable. When two characters close we never know if the camera will linger or cut to morning. In a way, this keeps the viewer off balance. Deliberate thriller style or mere inconsistency? Who knows.

Either way, the show is very much worth watching.

Check out more TV reviews.

Related posts:

  1. Orange is the New Black
  2. Black Swan
  3. More Game of Thrones CGI
  4. Guest Interview – The Gaia Wars
  5. Men in Black 3
By: agavin
Comments (2)
Posted in: Television
Tagged as: BBC America, clone wars, clones, Orphan Black, Sarah, Science Fiction, season 1, Tatiana Maslany, Television, Television Review
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