Interviews and News Articles

[swollymammoth]

4 minutes ago, Guire said:

This show will rise or fall through the characters relationships. The interviews from the actors by WoT fans made me really optimistic.  You could set that group together at a pizza buffet for 2 hours and just film it and it would be entertaining.  

Yes. I'm reading a lot of articles complaining that the characters aren't good or that they're getting swept under the rug in favor of the story. However, this is also a common criticism of the books, so maybe this sort of reaction is natural when the audience for a story gets expanded to people who wouldn't even have like the original in the first place. 

 

Personally, there's been lots of talk about the breakneck pace of the show, and this has me torn. On the one hand, the pace of events in EotW is certainly breakneck, but RJ takes his time in presenting them. This creates a story that is at once fast and slow which I think is difficult in a TV show where you can't mess with the audience's perception of time like you can in a book. 

[CaddySedai]

23 minutes ago, TheDreadReader said:

 

I would dare to say that 90% of those professional critics who review WOT as a tv series will not have read the books.  The 10% that may have will have read/skimmed only a subset of them.

 

 

 

In the theater before the show we joked how Critics tend to try to encapsulate stuff they have little grounding in. And in doing so make something that is interesting into something that sounds trash haha.

 

I mean I could review the Hobbit thusly: "An old man dupes a small gentleman into following short bearded men to their ancestral home that was taken over by a flying lizard. The small gentleman steals a magic ring from a fish man and ends up helping restore the home of the bearded men. He goes home and writes a book."

 

LotR?: An old man dupes a child and his friends into joining a quest to throw a magic ring into a volcano. The old man fights the devil and dies, but comes back with a different color hat. They walk to the volcano and the ring is destroyed. the child and the old man sail away with the old gentleman from the Hobbit."

Edited November 16, 2021 by CaddySedai

[CaddySedai]

9 minutes ago, DaddyFinn said:

I'll just have to avoid thinking how things "should be" and how I would do them. I have a bad habit of picking out illogicalities in movies and TV and get annoyed with bad and lazy writing. I'm not saying I could do anything better than the professionals but can't help myself.

 

Probably best to do your best to not overthink it hehe.

[DaddyFinn]

4 minutes ago, CaddySedai said:

 

Probably best to do your best to not overthink it hehe.

I'm sure I will have to pick my jaw from the floor

[CaddySedai]

1 minute ago, DaddyFinn said:

I'm sure I will have to pick my jaw from the floor

 

The first major One Power scene will make it all worth it ?

[AdamA]

I'd honestly be surprised if very many professional critics hadn't read The Hobbit, given it's practically canon for American middle schools. And LOTR itself is the second best selling book of all-time behind the bible. They're kind of in a class by themselves in that respect, but in general, I'd expect most professional critics to have not read source material of adaptations they're reviewing.

 

Usually, for something like this, if it ends up getting popular enough, larger publications and podcasting outlets will assign someone who has read the source material to do weekly recaps and individual episode reviews, but the preseason review of preview materials screened for critics will just be written by any critic they employ.

 

That's kind of a downside of review aggregator sites like Metacritic and Rotten Tomatoes with respect to television, because all but the most popular shows only get the preview material reviews, so the rating is based on usually the first three or four episodes and nothing more, except for Netflix shows because of the binge "release all at once" model.

[Mnemosyne]

1 hour ago, CaddySedai said:

Its a review of a person who knows nothing about the series. 

 

1 hour ago, Deadsy said:

It has to be liked by people who know nothing about the series. But the article is trash.

 

Even within the context of the show, it's inaccurate. From what I've read, in the show the braid clearly happens in the context of a coming-of-age ritual... and other Two Rivers women in the trailer have their hair braided (such as Marin al'Vere).

[Elder_Haman]

51 minutes ago, swollymammoth said:

I'm reading every review I can as they come out. Kinda seems like most of the reception is lukewarm. 

Seems to sum it up. I’d say that the tone of most them seems …. guardedly optimistic? 

[CaddySedai]

Just now, Mnemosyne said:

 

 

Even within the context of the show, it's inaccurate. From what I've read, in the show the braid clearly happens in the context of a coming-of-age ritual... and other Two Rivers women in the trailer have their hair braided (such as Marin al'Vere).

 

You read correctly. hehe.

[CaddySedai]

2 minutes ago, Elder_Haman said:

Seems to sum it up. I’d say that the tone of most them seems …. guardedly optimistic? 

 

Fair. That's the general vibe of audiences too. Least what I've seen. I enjoyed the heck out of it but...I just hope they can keep it up thru two plus seasons lol.

[Mnemosyne]

35 minutes ago, swollymammoth said:

Personally, there's been lots of talk about the breakneck pace of the show, and this has me torn. On the one hand, the pace of events in EotW is certainly breakneck, but RJ takes his time in presenting them. This creates a story that is at once fast and slow which I think is difficult in a TV show where you can't mess with the audience's perception of time like you can in a book. 

 

This was always my biggest concern with any WoT TV/film adaptation. Ironically I find myself hoping they've cut enough to make it feel less rushed.

 

Also, you could argue that the opening drama and early parts of the journey are experienced at a breakneck pace by the characters themselves... the true test for the show will be whether they are able to slow it down enough in later episodes and seasons to leave room for character development.

[CaddySedai]

2 minutes ago, Mnemosyne said:

 

This was always my biggest concern with any WoT TV/film adaptation. Ironically I find myself hoping they've cut enough to make it feel less rushed.

 

Also, you could argue that the opening drama and early parts of the journey are experienced at a breakneck pace by the characters themselves... the true test for the show will be whether they are able to slow it down enough in later episodes and seasons to leave room for character development.

 

we shall see, won't we? ?

[Elder_Haman]

5 minutes ago, CaddySedai said:

 

we shall see, won't we? ?

I’m jealous that you already have! 

[Katherine]

https://gizmodo.com/the-wheel-of-time-tv-series-is-better-worse-and-diffe-1848063392

 

 

Have we posted this one yet? Made me nervous. It backed up some of the things that I saw in the previews that made me nervous. 

Too clean, no realism etc, bad CGI, etc. 

 

Also says that the only way it is better than the books is that it throws out the gender binary part. 

 

I think I am coming to terms with that... but if that is the best  thing you can say about the show..... ugh. 

 

Hope it was just a dumb critic. Will see Friday. 

Edited November 16, 2021 by Katherine

[themann1086]

https://www.polygon.com/reviews/22783995/wheel-of-time-review-amazon

 

Mostly positive review from Polygon. Counter the Gizmodo review, they say the gender divide is absolutely still there, just less rigid and more nuanced. So, I dunno who's right lol. I will say that "too clean" and "bad cgi" was absolutely not my experience with the first two episodes

[DaddyFinn]

There's a lot of bad and lazy reviews out there. I wouldn't waste time worrying about those.

[CaddySedai]

12 minutes ago, Katherine said:

https://gizmodo.com/the-wheel-of-time-tv-series-is-better-worse-and-diffe-1848063392

 

 

Have we posted this one yet? Made me nervous. It backed up some of the things that I saw in the previews that made me nervous. 

Too clean, no realism etc, bad CGI, etc. 

 

Also says that the only way it is better than the books is that it throws out the gender binary part. 

 

I think I am coming to terms with that... but if that is the best  thing you can say about the show..... ugh. 

 

Hope it was just a dumb critic. Will see Friday. 

 

Its a series about magic weaving...I think a realism argument is weaksauce lol.

 

The CGI is quite good for a TV show. And considering the AMOUNT of CGI needed that is a feat. It isn't "perfect" but I didn't have any immersion breaking moments from it. 

 

I'm not sure what "too clean" means. If them mean like...mortal combat dirty or clean - There's murder, death, blood and gore, pus and wounds, burning alive, blood dripping from mouths (and only half are trolloc lol). Do they mean the concepts... cuz those aren't all "little child safe" lol. It is definitely not targeted at the YA crowd as many have feared openly. 

[Mnemosyne]

8 minutes ago, DaddyFinn said:

There's a lot of bad and lazy reviews out there. I wouldn't waste time worrying about those.

 

But I need something to obsess over for the next 48-72 hours ?

Edited November 16, 2021 by Mnemosyne

[DaddyFinn]

5 minutes ago, Mnemosyne said:

 

But I need something to obsess over for the next 48-72 hours ?

https://www.wotseries.com/2021/11/16/spoiler-free-review-for-episodes-1-3-of-amazons-the-wheel-of-time/

 

This was a nice read. 

[DaddyFinn]

https://decider.com/2021/11/16/the-wheel-of-time-on-prime-video-review/

 

I stopped reading quickly because there was a spoiler of a book-scene I didn't want to read lol. Awesome scene. It's almost time for me to stop reading stuff and just wait for 19th

 

Edit. One more. I didn't read much of it but this chapter about Valda is just BAD. It feels like overthinking a scene way too far

 

https://www.google.com/amp/s/www.polygon.com/platform/amp/reviews/22783995/wheel-of-time-review-amazon

 

Spoiler

Quote

Not every choice is perfect: the show still falls prey to colorism practices common in Hollywood. Abdul Salis is a real stand-out with his role of the painfully reprehensible Whitecloak Questioner Eamon Valda, part of a group of zealots who arbitrarily designate people as Dark Friends and who hate and hunt the Aes Sedai. He’s terrifying and his first appearance calls to mind John Noble’s Denethor in The Lord of the Rings trilogy.

 

But the scene where he, as a dark-skinned Black man, manhandles Pike’s Moiraine is difficult to stomach, particularly within the context of the very long history of entertainment deliberately mythologizing and falsifying Black men’s aggression against white women.

 

 

 

Edited November 16, 2021 by DaddyFinn

[Orel P]

27 minutes ago, DaddyFinn said:

Spoiler

But the scene where he, as a dark-skinned Black man, manhandles Pike’s Moiraine is difficult to stomach, particularly within the context of the very long history of entertainment deliberately mythologizing and falsifying Black men’s aggression against white women.

 

 

There will always be these types of people who need to find something "problematic" in everything. Just wait until they find out about Valda's interactions with Morgase ?

[TheMountain]

I was worried it was going to be "too clean" as well. I am happy to report that overall, in my opinion, it was not.

[swollymammoth]

The Dusty Wheel 2021

[DaddyFinn]

 

@6:56 about One Power

 

Spoiler

Apparently weaves are colored after all at least in some scenes. Different elements also behave differently

 

[TheDreadReader]

48 minutes ago, DaddyFinn said:

 

Edit. One more. I didn't read much of it but this chapter about Valda is just BAD. It feels like overthinking a scene way too far

 

https://www.google.com/amp/s/www.polygon.com/platform/amp/reviews/22783995/wheel-of-time-review-amazon

 

  Reveal hidden contents

 

 

 

There have already been some rumblings about this from some fans.   It can be a dynamic known as colorism.

 

Just look at the difference in skin tone between the actors playing Nyneave, Eqwene, Siuan, and Perrin.  (All "Good" guys.)  And, Padan Fain and Valda.  (Both "Bad" guys.)

 

Getting representation right can be a challenge and there will be missteps here and there.