His Dark Materials - TV Series

[krtek a houby]

Is this a Harry Potter rip off?

No

 

[Dandred]

No

Seems like it. Talking animals and a magical world.

 

[Spandex]

Seems like it. Talking animals and a magical world.

There are no talking animals in Harry Potter, although some wizards and witches can speak to animals.

Which leaves the only similarity you've identified as 'a magical world', which is hardly unique to Harry Potter.

I suppose you could throw in 'a young person as the hero' as another similarity, but that is common to most fiction aimed at younger audiences.

There's really not very much in common between His Dark Materials and Harry Potter. The books were written at a similar time, but HDMs have 10 times the depth of HP and are about 100 times better written.

Of course we'll all have to wait to see if this TV series is better than the HP films, but that's quite a low bar to meet.

 

[Ax^]

first book came out before Harry potter


and Harry potter is a rip of Meg and mogg

 

[Chilli.s]

Friend with a fantasy sci fi allergy said it was "a load of old tut"! I like it but I liked the books. It is contemporary to Harry Potter, quite like to see some kind of mash up.

 

[Rebelda]

I bet that fan fiction already exists a hundred fold

 

[8ball]

Seems like it. Talking animals and a magical world.

If that's not shocking enough for you, I heard there was a third series of books involving talking animals and a magical world!

 

[Lazy Llama]

If that's not shocking enough for you, I heard there was a third series of books involving talking animals and a magical world!

You're Tolkien rubbish... even if there was it'd be Narnia business.

<gets coat>

 

[8ball]

You're Tolkien rubbish... even if there was it'd be Narnia business.

<gets coat>

I speak the truth and it’s Bible to suggest otherwise.

 

[8ball]

About 20something years ago a pigeon tried to strike up a conversation with me in the street and I blanked it out of embarassement.

<possibly one for the “lonely post” thread, but it seemed topical enough>

 

[wiskey]

Watched the first one with the 10yo, he's not read the books hmm:...yet) but seemed to enjoy it.

I thought it suffered from the usual BBC sound issues, I could hear all the music but none of the dialogue the cast is pretty epic though.

Will watch E2.

 

[T & P]

Watched the first one with the 10yo, he's not read the books hmm:...yet) but seemed to enjoy it.

I thought it suffered from the usual BBC sound issues, I could hear all the music but none of the dialogue the cast is pretty epic though.
.

are you watching on a telly through a telly signal, or streaming? The sound disparity you speak of is a particular bugbear of mine and happened with all the streaming services we watched, though Netflix appears to have solved it. Amazon is terrible though.

if you have the option to downgrade the sound quality from Dolby 5.1 to bog standard, it usually helps a lot.

 

[PursuedByBears]

Sounds like you need a decent sound bar.

 

[8ball]

Sounds like you need a decent sound bar.

I have a reasonable sound bar that’s a few years old. Sounds great (I’m v. fussy with sound with TV stuff). Watched the first 10 mins tonight (iPlayer via PS4), think I’m going to get hooked.

Spoiler

The daemons are a metaphor for smartphones, clearly

 

[Chz]

I was a bit "meh" on it, but now that the Spectator says they absolutely loathe it I'm determined to enjoy it as much as I possibly can.

 

[8ball]

I was a bit "meh" on it, but now that the Spectator says they absolutely loathe it I'm determined to enjoy it as much as I possibly can.

Have you read the books? I know nothing about them - sometimes that helps.

 

[Chz]

Have you read the books? I know nothing about them - sometimes that helps.

I read the first one, but I didn't think much of it beyond "at least CS Lewis was subtle in the first book". Forgot most of what it was about by now.
But then if I'd read the first Harry Potter book, I'd have probably never gone back to that either. I saw the first movie, then went to the second book and enjoyed the series. I read the first one to my son last year, and I think it was good that I hadn't read it before.

 

[chemn]

first book came out before Harry potter


and Harry potter is a rip of Meg and mogg

I was more thinking that HP is a RIP off of Earthsea.

 

[Spandex]

I was more thinking that HP is a RIP off of Earthsea.

An inexperienced yet magically powerful boy with A Destiny goes to wizard school and ends up battling a powerful evil?

Whatever gives you that idea?

 

[wiskey]

are you watching on a telly through a telly signal, or streaming? The sound disparity you speak of is a particular bugbear of mine and happened with all the streaming services we watched, though Netflix appears to have solved it. Amazon is terrible though.

if you have the option to downgrade the sound quality from Dolby 5.1 to bog standard, it usually helps a lot.

On a fuckoff projector, but I know nothing more than that as dervish my in house IT consultant does the rest.

 

[Orang Utan]

Enjoyed E02 even more. Glad they're not slavishly following the plot of the books as that's always a mistake

 

[T & P]

This is really bloody good isn’t it?

 

[Ax^]

Still enjoying the production

can see why they changed the story to bring our world into it so early

this could be fun


still have no idea how they are going to progress with the next 2 books

 

[Rebelda]

Oh yes that was a bit more like it

 

[moochedit]

Much better than first episode.

Spoiler: Spoiler

so is he really her dad or did she just say that to turn lyca against him? also will she turn out to be lyca's mum darth vader style? (don't awnser that book wankers! )

 

[Ax^]

Spoiler: spoiler

don't ask questions that only book wankers can tell you

 

[kalidarkone]

Great cast and I have a massive crush on Lord Boreal played by Aryion Bakare

 

[kittyP]

Still enjoying the production

can see why they changed the story to bring our world into it so early

this could be fun


still have no idea how they are going to progress with the next 2 books

See I read Northern Lights so long ago I'm questioning myself as to what happened (and when) in the books and what is different in the programme.

 

[Ax^]

i read them myself upon release but as i'm reading the secret commonwealth atm it jogging my memory at little

Mostly due to a character being present in this book

 

[8ball]

Not feeling invested yet, but it’s pretty interesting. The mechanics of the daemons seems a bit odd in terms of what has been explained so far.

Also, all the airships made me wonder whether the helicopter at the start of the first episode was a clue to something (ie. has there been some world-crossing going on in the intervening years)?