Re: The Witcher TV series

by Arquitecto Fri Dec 20, 2019 11:22 pm

Given I am one to be influenced by reviews I am rather concerned and disappointed Witcher has not received the critical acclaim I wanted it to. Yes I have not see it and if I watch it for what it is likely will love it.

Individual fan/casual viewer opinions seem unanimously good but for some reason critics are lukewarm to it for the overall season. TV shows usually have high ratings critically compared to films, in terms of score and for Witcher to be around the low 70s makes me wonder how I will view upon it.

Maybe the next season will improve should the team look upon what needs work on but I am glad to see Cavill as Geralt seems to be praised by all.

by Myesyats Fri Dec 20, 2019 11:32 pm

Thimmy wrote:You’ll love episode 4, Mystats. Keira Metz is played by famous, Polish actress, Oprah Winfrey!

ep 1:

by Thimmy Fri Dec 20, 2019 11:43 pm

Henry Cavill/Geralt is by far, my favorite part of the show. He is perfect for the role, and the few combat scenes with him in it have been quite good, so far. I find myself struggling to associate this show with the books/games outside of obvious references to them, but that’s just me. Like you say, watching it for what it is will likely decide whether you like the show, or not. I’m up to episode 4, and my impression is mostly lukewarm, as well. It’s been a decently entertaining experience up until this point, but if I forget to continue watching it tomorrow, that’s alright too.

by BarrileteCosmico Sat Dec 21, 2019 4:00 am

4 episodes in now. It's been pretty fun so far, the bad reviews widely off the mark. My wife, who didn't play the games or read the books, is enjoying it as much as I am, if not more.

As far as I can tell they have been very true to the source so far, other than Yen's origin story which is merely implied in the books.

by Myesyats Sat Dec 21, 2019 8:12 am

EPISODE 02:

by Great Leader Sprucenuce Sat Dec 21, 2019 1:58 pm

BarrileteCosmico wrote:4 episodes in now. It's been pretty fun so far, the bad reviews widely off the mark. My wife, who didn't play the games or read the books, is enjoying it as much as I am, if not more.

As far as I can tell they have been very true to the source so far, other than Yen's origin story which is merely implied in the books.

Most of the negative reviews I've seen basically are (more politics than monster hunting) and ( it's not GOT)

Well no shit sherlock, if you did a modicum of research on the source material you'd know that anyway.

I hate reviewers and the pedestal most people put them on.

by Great Leader Sprucenuce Sat Dec 21, 2019 2:01 pm

Episode 2

Spoiler:

by Freeza Sat Dec 21, 2019 2:43 pm

Great Leader Sprucenuce wrote:Episode 2

Spoiler:

The dude they cast for Dandelion/Jaskier is perfect

by Thimmy Sat Dec 21, 2019 3:31 pm

Apparently, a friend of my cousin does most of the voice work for this show. Screaming and background noises and such. I wasn’t aware that they had designated actors for such things. Small world..

by Pedram Sat Dec 21, 2019 3:34 pm

Dandelion TV >>>>>>>>> Dandelion video game

Honestly feel CD Projekt did him dirty in the game, he's got more personality in the books.

by Myesyats Sat Dec 21, 2019 3:41 pm

I'm glad i didnt read the books now, theres plenty of characters I never heard about and its like a whole new experience.

Love Tissaia too. I don't think she was mentioned in the games? Dandelion much better than in the game.

by Great Leader Sprucenuce Sat Dec 21, 2019 4:03 pm

Episode 4

Spoiler:

by Freeza Sat Dec 21, 2019 4:10 pm

Episode 4 was the best so far imo. Really loved all the banquet stuff

by Thimmy Sat Dec 21, 2019 6:25 pm

Myesyats wrote:I'm glad i didnt read the books now, theres plenty of characters I never heard about and its like a whole new experience.

Love Tissaia too. I don't think she was mentioned in the games? Dandelion much better than in the game.

There are a few interesting characters in the books that didn’t get much screentime in The Witcher games, or weren’t even included at all. I imagine characters like, Leo Bonhart and Djikstra will have more of a part in the TV show. They both have that TV character profile. Looks like Ciri finds herself in

Spoiler:

already in episode 4, so I imagine that Barring-something archer will soon show up as well.

by BarrileteCosmico Sat Dec 21, 2019 11:00 pm

Impressed with how much Cavill is able to convey in a 'hmm'. Nailed Geralt down imo

by Myesyats Sat Dec 21, 2019 11:05 pm

No love for Ciri though. I was doubtful initially but the actress is really good

by Thimmy Sat Dec 21, 2019 11:16 pm

I like the way he says «fuck». And yeah, like I mentioned before, Cavill potrays Geralt really well. Even better than I had expected.

by Myesyats Sun Dec 22, 2019 1:22 am

Ep 3 is fantastic. Gets much better with each one. I set my standards low beforehand but I think this is a masterpiece. So far I don't think I'd have done anything differently. I don't wish anything had been done differently.

by BarrileteCosmico Sun Dec 22, 2019 2:10 am

Just finished it.

Honestly I thought it was as good as an adaptation as we could hope for it. The production quality was fantastic, the acting was great (wasn't sold on Ciri the first half but I bought in the second half), the plots were interesting and made sense, the world felt richly developed, the score was great too.

Not sure it's Netflix's GOT equivalent as they hoped for, the subject feels a bit more restrictive since it's high-fantasy, but it was damn good and I'm happy I got to watch it. Can't wait for S2.

My only concern is whether someone who is a complete newcomer to the world of The Witcher would be able to follow along with all these specific terms, the different timelines (which was not obvious at first), etc, but as I mentioned earlier my wife was able to follow along fine, so I hope that translates to the wider audience as a whole.

by Thimmy Sun Dec 22, 2019 7:57 am

Myesyats wrote:Ep 3 is fantastic. Gets much better with each one. I set my standards low beforehand but I think this is a masterpiece. So far I don't think I'd have done anything differently. I don't wish anything had been done differently.

If you’ve only watched up to episode 3 and you describe it as fantastic, perfect and a masterpiece, then this might prove to be your favorite show of all time Razz

Personally, I don’t think it’s anywhere near perfect, but it does some things surprisingly well, and it gets quite good from episode 4 and on. I have quite a few gripes with the show and I’m not as optimistic as the two of you, but I’m quite liking it’s development up to episode 7.

my biggest frustration right now, is that Fringilla is about as interesting as a rock. She’s also of a different race and appearance than the one described in the books(bar the black hair), and her personality has been unrecognizably subdued in this first season. Creative freedom is alright to some extent, but I don’t get this choice of character, at all. There is no rhyme or reason as to why she is the way she is, other than the writer wanting there to be a black person in every single group and faction. There’s nothing beyond certain names that would indicate that this story is based on Polish and Northern European folklore.

I at least wish they’d made Fringilla’s personality a bit more interesting, but I suppose that might change once her involvement becomes more focused, which it undoubtedly will. Like Arq mentioned, take it for what it is, and it’s a pretty entertaining show that does some things really well, as per the creator and main writer’s interpretation of the story.

Underneath the entertainment value, there’s a slight sprinkle of the writer’s politics that I don’t appreciate. I know the majority of you don’t care, even the ones who claim to have read the books, but for me, that takes away a bit of the immersiveness.

by Myesyats Sun Dec 22, 2019 8:44 am

I don't think i'd go as far as to say its going to be my favorite OAT. There have been some really good shows along the way.

Don't really care about the writer bringing politics into the show or not highlighting it being polish/european folklore since I am aware this is an American production and it needs to appeal to basically everyone if they want to compete with GoT. But I don't think it will, not because of the quality or anything, but because of high fantasy. It might be too much for the average viewer.

by Thimmy Sun Dec 22, 2019 9:03 am

I can’t help but mind the politics a little bit, despite trying my best not to care. I’m now looking at the tall, particularly handsome and muscular, Vilgefortz, who in the show appears to be a slender, Indian man of average height. I know most people won’t care about such details, but fuck man Laughing

by M99 Sun Dec 22, 2019 10:03 am

Thimmy wrote:I can’t help but mind the politics a little bit, despite trying my best not to care. I’m now looking at the tall, particularly handsome and muscular, Vilgefortz, who in the show appears to be a slender, Indian man of average height. I know most people won’t care about such details, but fuck man

Yennefer is Indian too and clearly looks like one, does that put you off too?

by Thimmy Sun Dec 22, 2019 11:55 am

Are you implying that I’m racist? If so, go fuck yourself.

by Myesyats Sun Dec 22, 2019 12:01 pm

Yeah i don't think it breaks the immersiveness that much particularly since it's a fantasy show. Its an ongoing discussion about certain roles and the looks that come with it, race and skin color included. Now, if they cast Tom Hanks as Obama i'd have an issue but in a fantasy setting I don't really care tbh.

by Freeza Sun Dec 22, 2019 12:04 pm

Myesyats wrote:Yeah i don't think it breaks the immersiveness that much particularly since it's a fantasy show. Its an ongoing discussion about certain roles and the looks that come with it, race and skin color included. Now, if they cast Tom Hanks as Obama i'd have an issue but in a fantasy setting I don't really care tbh.

It makes sense to have more racial diversity in Fantasy, which has generally been a very white genre imo.

All fantasy is political in its very nature, so I don't know why there shouldn't be politics in it. LOTR had huge amounts of politics. Same with Harry Potter. Same with Star Wars.

I liked how

Spoiler:

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