I read the book series about 20 years ago, and my difficulty with reviewing BBC's His Dark Materials is that I'm not always sure whether things are wrong with it because it was poorly adapted, or because it accurately reflects a bad idea from the book series. A bit of column A and column B, most likely.
His Dark Materials was written as a response to The Chronicles of Narnia, telling the story of teenage girl Lyra who goes looking for her missing friend and ultimately finds herself in a fantasy World epic adventure involving talking bears, soul sucking ghosts, and a war against Heaven itself.
The cast is strong, though they aren't always the best directed or serviced by the script. There are hammy and narmy moments, particularly with the villainous Mrs Coulter, who channels her inner monkey whenever she gets mad. There was some eyebrows raised at the casting of Lin Manuel Miranda as Lee Scoresby, the cowboy balloonist. Since seeing Sam Elliot in the role in 2007, no one could picture anyone different. I thought Miranda brought some desperately needed levity to the show, given how every other character is super serious at all times.
A lot of the things I was most looking forward to seeing, like the creepy ghost town without adults, or the Mulefa (a race of tapir-deer creatures with wheel feet), are present and a joy to see. The show doesn't chicken out on the darker elements. Unlike the unsuccessful 2007 movie that avoided the anti-religious themes, this series goes all in on portraying a villainous, all powerful Catholic institution that wants to enslave the World. Which is fun.
The biggest issues with His Dark Materials are two fold. The first is the usual one about streaming show bloat; this is a show that feels longer than it needs to be, with too much standing around, characters slowly recounting events that have already been seen or elsewhere discussed. The second problem is to do with the broader issues in reflecting the books onscreen. The Amber Spyglass (the third book in the series), is the most challenging because a lot of it is side plots consist of philosophical musings and internal monologues. That doesn't get represented onscreen at all, so events tend to lack the impact or meaning they do in the book.
By the end, when we get to our finale with "God" himself, the main character Lyra has nothing to do with it. The show keeps assuring us that the fate of humanity rests on her, but she has little awareness, interest or involvement with the big events of the plot. She is doing her own thing. If you contrast this with Narnia, that does a much better job of keeping the kids deep in the thick of the fighting and intrigue. Lyra feels like an afterthought.
As with the book series, the second season (based on The Subtle Knife) has most of the best moments. But the show eventually becomes a slog by the third season, dragged down by awkward source material that defies adaptation.
Series Long is the Way and Hard
I read the book series about 20 years ago, and my difficulty with reviewing BBC's His Dark Materials is that I'm not always sure whether things are wrong with it because it was poorly adapted, or because it accurately reflects a bad idea from the book series. A bit of column A and column B, most likely.
His Dark Materials was written as a response to The Chronicles of Narnia, telling the story of teenage girl Lyra who goes looking for her missing friend and ultimately finds herself in a fantasy World epic adventure involving talking bears, soul sucking ghosts, and a war against Heaven itself.
The cast is strong, though they aren't always the best directed or serviced by the script. There are hammy and narmy moments, particularly with the villainous Mrs Coulter, who channels her inner monkey whenever she gets mad. There was some eyebrows raised at the casting of Lin Manuel Miranda as Lee Scoresby, the cowboy balloonist. Since seeing Sam Elliot in the role in 2007, no one could picture anyone different. I thought Miranda brought some desperately needed levity to the show, given how every other character is super serious at all times.
A lot of the things I was most looking forward to seeing, like the creepy ghost town without adults, or the Mulefa (a race of tapir-deer creatures with wheel feet), are present and a joy to see. The show doesn't chicken out on the darker elements. Unlike the unsuccessful 2007 movie that avoided the anti-religious themes, this series goes all in on portraying a villainous, all powerful Catholic institution that wants to enslave the World. Which is fun.
The biggest issues with His Dark Materials are two fold. The first is the usual one about streaming show bloat; this is a show that feels longer than it needs to be, with too much standing around, characters slowly recounting events that have already been seen or elsewhere discussed. The second problem is to do with the broader issues in reflecting the books onscreen. The Amber Spyglass (the third book in the series), is the most challenging because a lot of it is side plots consist of philosophical musings and internal monologues. That doesn't get represented onscreen at all, so events tend to lack the impact or meaning they do in the book.
By the end, when we get to our finale with "God" himself, the main character Lyra has nothing to do with it. The show keeps assuring us that the fate of humanity rests on her, but she has little awareness, interest or involvement with the big events of the plot. She is doing her own thing. If you contrast this with Narnia, that does a much better job of keeping the kids deep in the thick of the fighting and intrigue. Lyra feels like an afterthought.
As with the book series, the second season (based on The Subtle Knife) has most of the best moments. But the show eventually becomes a slog by the third season, dragged down by awkward source material that defies adaptation.