Thanks for the post. Good background perspective. 

I feel really optimistic in regards to Judkins writing, he seems to be very passionate about the story and characters. Amazon has the means financially to execute the series on a high-quality level and that also gives me hope. I think what will make or break the series will be casting. 

The show's perspective from the three women worries me. Moiraine's perspective for this season is great, but what happens when we get to the Docks battle?? Nynaeve's focus is really not quite up to pasture thanks to Elayne and all of that. Looking forward to the Moghie fight. As long as they also focus on the Three, especially Rand. He drives the entire story. Apart from these worries, I am in. I hope that they deliver, I have been extremely excited since it was first announced last year.

From all i have seen from Rafe so far i'm hugely excited especially him being such a fanboy, i would have had a lot more fears  a few years ago for this but with Game of thrones being such a good show and Shannara being the failure it was, gives them plenty to aim for and know what to avoid. Totally agree that Casting is going to be essential and if you just write Moiraine as the badass she is in the books it will all be fine. The three Boys definitely need to be the focal point, as was said, they drive the story in the early parts and Rand, Perrin, Nynaeve and Egwene  later on so they all need to be fleshed out well early on. 

Man, I have waited soooooo long for this day!   PLEASE don't let this suck!!!  Rafe sounds like a true fan, so it sounds like it is in good hands.  Can't wait to see who they cast.  Matt is by far my favorite, can't wait to see who plays him.

Fingers crossed.  Amazon seems pretty serious about the SF/F genres (LotR, Neil Gaiman, WoT), so hopefully they'll spend the $ and do it right.

I had to go back and watch the Billy Zane "trailer" to remind myself how bad it could have been.  *shudder*

im getting nervous.  Why do the girls need a more emphasised role? yeah Egwene is kinda small in book 1 but Nynaeve and Moiraine certainly arnt. Plus in the overall story they all come out pretty even in terms of role importance and having big things occur, especially considering they arnt the main characters of the story.

On 10/3/2018 at 9:09 AM, Conorpow said:

From all i have seen from Rafe so far i'm hugely excited especially him being such a fanboy, i would have had a lot more fears  a few years ago for this but with Game of thrones being such a good show and Shannara being the failure it was, gives them plenty to aim for and know what to avoid. Totally agree that Casting is going to be essential and if you just write Moiraine as the badass she is in the books it will all be fine. The three Boys definitely need to be the focal point, as was said, they drive the story in the early parts and Rand, Perrin, Nynaeve and Egwene  later on so they all need to be fleshed out well early on. 

Agreed. Shannara was a MAJOR disappointment and it had such potential. However, it was MTV and Fantasy is really not their wheelhouse. I really think Amazon will pony up and invest a lot in the series because they seem to want to be the "go to" for high fantasy.  

  I think the hardest challenge for the casting department will be the WoT fans. These are characters we have loved and known in our hearts (so to speak) for years and everyone has their own visualization. Fans might initially reject an actor/actress due to them not "measuring up" to their ideal. Hopefully, the fandom will try to keep an open mind and not immediately bash the show on social media after the pilot airs. Unless it ends up being "Winter Dragon Part II" if so, we all need to jump in and dance the spears! : ) 

I think it's worth noting that Rafe's tweet from 7/30/18 mentioned AK (Amanda Kate) Shuman being involved as a writer. Her IMDB profile lists her as a writer for NBC's "The Blacklist" which is littered with strong female characters. As for that, "Agents of SHIELD" which Rafe worked on also has a lot of strong, well written female characters. I suspect this is being produced in a writer's room environment that's common in TV productions, as that's a background shared by both Rafe and Amanda. I think this bodes well for the potential quality of the writer's room Rafe has put together, especially if Amazon wants a show which celebrates the many strong women that populate the WoT universe. (Multiverse? Hmm. A philosophical debate for another day.) 

The logic of a focus on Moraine during season 1 is simple - it makes the reveal at the end of the season / book more of a surprise rather than it would if it focused on Rand from the beginning. If you have read the books you would know what was coming but, like the death of Ned Stark in GoT, most people watching the show will be surprised

On 10/2/2018 at 5:22 PM, tnsabregirl said:

Thanks for the post. Good background perspective. 

Yes, very nicely done.  This came as a tall, cold glass of water after a long crawl across the desert that lasted years. 

It seems to be that this story, this book cannot truly be adapted to a television show without it being absolutely pulverized. The story I love, the chatacters I know, will have been pictured and realized by another man probably quite differently than my own imagination. I don't feel confident what so ever based on what I've read that there will be any semblance of Robert Jordan's world left on the screen when thier done manipulation to suit viewing audiences and current social trends.

On 11/4/2018 at 11:06 PM, Logan.Ishan said:

It seems to be that this story, this book cannot truly be adapted to a television show without it being absolutely pulverized. The story I love, the chatacters I know, will have been pictured and realized by another man probably quite differently than my own imagination. I don't feel confident what so ever based on what I've read that there will be any semblance of Robert Jordan's world left on the screen when thier done manipulation to suit viewing audiences and current social trends.

I agree, it won't be 100% the same but sometimes it is fun to see people's interpretations.  Hollywood does remakes of classic literature all the time and most of the time they are great.  With Broadway plays and musicals the same plays are redone with interpretive license, even operas are redone keeping close to the original but with different actors in the roles you can have a great success or a flop.  A lot of money is being put into this project because they don't want another Shannara or Goodkind's Sword of Truth where it gets one or two dismal seasons.  The networks, and fans, are craving something of the caliber of GOT, so I believe things might be interesting enough to watch.  And of course all of fandom will be reignited with millions of new fans just being exposed to the books so that will be really great as well.

There's no possible way this can be good. Everyone is setting themselves up for a huge disappointment. Only if hardcore fans insist that it's absolutely brilliant will I give it a chance. But I sure as heck won't be counting down the days and tuning in the moment it becomes available. The writing is on the wall, only a miracle could make this worth the time investment. 

I am very excited for this, I just hope the writers keep it true to the books and not force political correctness into the show!

On 11/4/2018 at 10:06 PM, Logan.Ishan said:

It seems to be that this story, this book cannot truly be adapted to a television show without it being absolutely pulverized. The story I love, the chatacters I know, will have been pictured and realized by another man probably quite differently than my own imagination. I don't feel confident what so ever based on what I've read that there will be any semblance of Robert Jordan's world left on the screen when thier done manipulation to suit viewing audiences and current social trends.

You said it, leave social trends out of it!

On 11/18/2018 at 5:08 PM, Mike Schwarz said:

I just hope the writers keep it true to the books and not force political correctness into the show!

Ha ha! It's 100% mandatory & guaranteed. The only reason for it to exist is to create a new outlet for socio-political messaging. Everything is a PSA/After School Special now. Check out the head writer's Twitter feed: it's all you need to know. One of the many reasons I'm skipping it. 

I’m mildly concerned about the larger roles for the female characters. The series gave them some pretty big roles but the first book but was relatively light on female POV. I can see why they may want to establish those characters earlier- maybe follow Elayne fir a bit so she is actually in the first book. I’m mostly scared they will screw it up.  But if they don’t screw it up having (more of) the POV follow the females for the first book could be a pretty awesome way to make the series different from the book without changing it too much. 

Unless they treat it like the masterpiece it is and spend all the monies on it, hold no punches, this is gonna suck. Im already disappointed lol

Intentionally trying to make this story about Moraine is like Star Wars from Chewbaccas perspective just because Skywalker is a boy.

Also, I would suggest that if the show is gearing up to highlight the female characters instead of focusing purely on the story, its likely being geared for a primarily female audience. This is highlighted by 2 female writers so far. Not saying they shouldn't highlight strong feminine characters when they enter the story. But making the whole story about them is a mistake. 

Robert Jordan was able to write female characters into the gender-neutral role of 'Hero' without degrading their underlying virtues. All characters can be subject to an erosion of self when forced into heroism, but we tend to fill in the gaps when this happens to male characters.

Jordan was successful because he constantly outlined Egwene's, Nynaeve's, Min's, Elayne's, Aviendha's, Nynaeve's, Verin's, Siuan's, Birgitte's....etc,  motivations along with their character. He didn't just write events and reactions, he took us through the process of understanding and decision making for each character. Applying this to each character meant that the women, as well as the men, shone through as true hero's. 

I believe this is one of the most important characteristics of the Wheel of Time, and I believe the TV show will need to focus extra-carefully on the motivations of the female characters. If Egwene dies in vain; if she dies without showing us that true virtue of sacrifice....I shall be saddened. May the Light shine on the screen-time of the female leads!

Naturally as a WOT geek for the better part of my 40 years I’m excited for this news. Not that it matters, but I was a member of this back when dial up was how we got here. I remember printing out entire pages from this site so I could read at my leasure. Look, we can stress about so many things. And i promise you we will all be disappointed by something. But be honest with yourself. If you love this story as much as I do, you’ll watch this adaptation and pray they do it the Creator’s justice. ❤️

You can watch it, I'm skipping it. Look at the majority of posts here. The audience is getting smart, they can smell a bait-and-switch coming, from previous experience. It's like a storm warning. I think the writing's on the wall here. But some people have to get burned multiple times before they learn not to trust fire . . . . 

That is the reason for my reservation about the Moiraine focus. Been burned too many times, in fact the 13th Doctor means I cannot leave the fire I stepped into, since it is in my view the first time in 55 years , the Doctor is meh. If they focus on the characters from the books, then I will at least find something in it to enjoy. If I smell another 13th Doctor and all that comes with that, then no, unless they go from Rand and the boys perspective when that attitude shows up.. Then it will make sense. Otherwise no. Hence my mixed feelings, even though I am still really excited.