Wheel of Time on Amazon Prime

[GrantDawg]

I am watching the first episode right now, and thought I am definitely going to need a separate thread and some place to talk about this show. So far, I am amazed. There are definitely story changes, but I love then. The main thing I wanted to say right now is POOR PERRIN!!

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[NobodyHere]

I'm hoping to binge the episodes on Saturday.

[GrantDawg]

...but it was a begining. Freaking chills.

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[Lathum]

good for people who never read the books?

[GrantDawg]

I can't really answer that Lathum, because I have. I would think so. My wife is going to watch it, but she is at the hospital tonight.
For everybody, especially those who haven't read the books. If you go to the "x-ray" section while in the episodes. There are bonus content that have various background and world building information. Worth checking out.

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[Antmeister]

Originally Posted by Lathum

good for people who never read the books?

This. I am so curious to watch this, but don't want to feel lost for not having read the books since they are condensing over 10,000 pages/14 books into a series.

[spleen1015]

I hope you guys watch it because I am interested in the opinions of folks who haven't watched it.

If the creators of the show did it right, you shouldn't need to read the books to follow the show.

Based on the first 3 episodes, I don't think you'll feel lost at all.

[GrantDawg]

My wife and I watched the first two episodes together, and she really got into it without reading the books. Many people are comparing this to GOT, but that is not really a good comparison. Yes they are both fantasy, and yes as it goes there will be some political intrigue (but that is probably a couple of seasons away). This show is going to have way more action than GOT for one thing. And unless there is a major divergence from the book, not as much incest. I would put it as in-between LOTR and GOT in terms of grittiness. There is way more magic than either of those two as well.

[Mota]

Started watching it with my wife tonight.
I'm 8 books into the 14. Restarted a few years back and am on book 5 on audiobooks.
At one point she asked if the Aes Sedai are good guys or bad guys... "I don't know".
While the characters are nothing like I imagined them to be, I'm really enjoying it so far. Trollocs are cool, Children of the Light are creepy as all heck. Moiraine is awesome.

[Mota]

Originally Posted by GrantDawg

My wife and I watched the first two episodes together, and she really got into it without reading the books. Many people are comparing this to GOT, but that is not really a good comparison. Yes they are both fantasy, and yes as it goes there will be some political intrigue (but that is probably a couple of seasons away). This show is going to have way more action than GOT for one thing. And unless there is a major divergence from the book, not as much incest. I would put it as in-between LOTR and GOT in terms of grittiness. There is way more magic than either of those two as well.

Certainly season 1 is going to have more in common with LOTR than GOT. It was a very straight ahead book, and got more evolved and intricate as the books progressed.

[GrantDawg]

"At one point she asked if the Aes Sedai are good guys or bad guys... "I don't know"."
The answer is yes.

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[Lathum]

Originally Posted by Mota

Certainly season 1 is going to have more in common with LOTR than GOT. It was a very straight ahead book, and got more evolved and intricate as the books progressed.

YES!

Watching the third episode now. never read the books. Really enjoying it. Wife is enjoying it enough to go on. has a VERY LOTR feel to it. Beautifully shot. Setting up the story nice. Unlike GOT they focus on one faction and not a million houses, etc...

I read the GOT books so it was easy to follow. I felt like I was always explaining things to my wife who didn't read the books

[Edward64]

Watched all 3 episodes tonight.

It was eh. Trollocs were funny in a bad special effect/costume way. Rosamund Pike seemed miscast to me.

But overall, higher grade of TV than some of the <4 stars I've watched on Prime. I'll definitely keep watching but not a have to watch every Fri.

[GrantDawg]

The extra content I mentioned before: you can only get it if you watch on your phone or computer. You can't stream it to the TV which sucks.

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[thesloppy]

I got a full minute & three seconds into this series before I had to rewind like "Wait, what?" I wasn't paying all that much attention and it jumped immediately into crucial expositional voice-over.

[GrantDawg]

It is definitely not a "look at your phone while watching" series.

[GrantDawg]

Indicators looking good:

As Amazon Shifts to Big-Budget Bets, ‘The Wheel of Time’ Looks to Break Out Big https://t.co/f9HriRqQPI#TheWheelOfTime

— Creati�� Wheel of Time (@CreatiNow) November 20, 2021

[spleen1015]

Overall, it has been a good start. Episodes 2 & 3 were better than 1. I'm worried about the changes that are being made. One very important scene has already been removed that impacts a character for a very long time.

There are certain scenes that have to be done well or I will be disappointed.

EDIT - I'm also glad non book readers are enjoying it. We need them to enjoy it for the show to have a long life. My wife read the books but hasn't since the last one came out. So, she remembers some things and no others. She really likes the show, thinks it is much better than she thought it was.

[lungs]

Non-reader of the books here.... Not really my genre either. I fell asleep 30 minutes into Episode 1. But I had also just had a humongous plate of enchiladas from a great Mexican restaurant.

I'm going to go back and give it another go because I was intrigued before the enchilada induced coma hit.

[Mota]

Originally Posted by spleen1015

Overall, it has been a good start. Episodes 2 & 3 were better than 1. I'm worried about the changes that are being made. One very important scene has already been removed that impacts a character for a very long time.

There are certain scenes that have to be done well or I will be disappointed.

EDIT - I'm also glad non book readers are enjoying it. We need them to enjoy it for the show to have a long life. My wife read the books but hasn't since the last one came out. So, she remembers some things and no others. She really likes the show, thinks it is much better than she thought it was.

My wife really enjoyed the first 3 episodes, and she wasn't a reader. I did help her with some hints here and there, she's not a big fan of the huge ensemble casts that the big fantasy series like this and GoT have. But she's already getting to know the characters and like them.

[NobodyHere]

Are there any rules on spoilers in this thread?

[GrantDawg]

No. Actually I will even say spoilers on the title.

Edit:,or I will when I get back to my desk top. I can't edit the title from my phone.

[NobodyHere]

I just watched the first episode.

I'll give it 7.5

6.5 is for the episode and .5 is for Rand's sweater.

ETA: I'll add another .5 for the magic effects and women randomly getting pushed into dangerous rivers.

[Edward64]

Originally Posted by GrantDawg

No. Actually I will even say spoilers on the title.

Edit:,or I will when I get back to my desk top. I can't edit the title from my phone.

I was looking forward to another GOT duo thread. Those were the days.

[GrantDawg]

Yeah, there is not enough of us left to have two threads.I don't think the board is so busy that people can't wait to look into the thread until they have watched the current episode.

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[ISiddiqui]

Haven't read the books. In fact I tried once or twice but didn't get far. The wife and I really enjoyed episode 1. A solid 7/10 imo.

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[Lathum]

So just to be clear the spoilers are only about what has happened on the show, not anything that could be coming up people have knowledge of from the books.

[GrantDawg]

Agreed. No book spoilers. Book spoilers in spoiler tag if it is a discussion of how a TV change might change something later.

[MrBug708]

Originally Posted by ISiddiqui

Haven't read the books. In fact I tried once or twice but didn't get far. The wife and I really enjoyed episode 1. A solid 7/10 imo.

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It took me three attempts to read the first book. Couldn't make it past the first quarter of the second book. But I'm going to watch the episodes

[Drake]

Watched the first 3 episodes tonight. I've never read the books.

They were enjoyable enough that I'll probably check back in every few weeks to catch up as more episodes are released.

[Edward64]

Originally Posted by MrBug708

It took me three attempts to read the first book.

Similar to me. I read the first book but struggled through it and was never interested reading the series. The writing style didn't flow (?) that well for me as compared to more contemporary authors.

[Mota]

Originally Posted by MrBug708

It took me three attempts to read the first book. Couldn't make it past the first quarter of the second book. But I'm going to watch the episodes

The general formula for the books is 800 pages of setup, random talking, and intense descriptions, followed by 200 pages of mayhem and insanity. It pays off in the end, but it definitely is an investment.

Overall though, the series becomes much more adult and complex after the first book or two. It definitely reads as a LOTR-clone in the beginning until Jordan finds his footing.

4 & 5 are some of my fave books of all time.

[josettepugh]

I watched the first two episodes. I liked the sets and the special effects (practical and cgi) ranged from good to excellent.

[Izulde]

On my weekend watch list over the break. I gave up partway through the first book. Buddy of mine is a huge fan of the books and kept telling me it was like Tolkien. Um, no. Granted, a better prose writer than GRRM, but that's a low bar. Might have to revisit it if I still have it - I was in my 20s when I first tried.

[Edward64]

Originally Posted by Izulde

... granted, a better prose writer than GRRM, but that's a low bar.

What! I respectfully disagree with you.

[sabotai]

GRRM leans hard into wordy, even sometimes overtly purple, prose. I still love some of his books, but his strengths are characters and world-building.

I would argue that Jordan is also a very wordy prose writer, though not what I would call purple prose (but I only read the first half of book one).

Also, unpopular opinion, Tolkien's prose is worse than either of them.

[RainMaker]

Originally Posted by Izulde

On my weekend watch list over the break. I gave up partway through the first book. Buddy of mine is a huge fan of the books and kept telling me it was like Tolkien. Um, no. Granted, a better prose writer than GRRM, but that's a low bar. Might have to revisit it if I still have it - I was in my 20s when I first tried.

They were far too slow for me. I just didn't need that much description of inconsequential things.

[GrantDawg]

Originally Posted by RainMaker

They were far too slow for me. I just didn't need that much description of inconsequential things.

But then how would you know about the skirt tugging? Is it even a book if every fidget of every character isn't described in complete detail?

[bronconick]

Jordan described clothes too much. Martin describes food too much.

[Lathum]

GRRM with the food. Christ.

[GrantDawg]

It is really interesting on how the fanbase has divided on the show. Facebook fan groups are a war zone, with the anti-show fans trying to burn it down. 90% of the complaints? Too woke. So, that tells you where they are.
The Twitter fanbase are almost all loving the show. In general, much nicer people as well.

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[ISiddiqui]

Wife and I haven't read the books but we're really liking the show so far. Were in the middle of the 3rd episode.

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[ISiddiqui]

Originally Posted by sabotai

Also, unpopular opinion, Tolkien's prose is worse than either of them.

Oh God yes. Tolkien was pretty terrible to get through. I quit reading Fellowship of the Rings so many times before I finally got to something that grabbed me (the whole Fellowship part, like over 100 pages into the book). The rest of the plotting was fun to carry me through, but the run on sentences were painful all the way through.

[GrantDawg]

After two watch through I missed that the first mountain range Moraine is in is actually ancient skyscrapers. Also, the miners are pulling out metal pipes and girders in the 3rd episode.

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[Vince, Pt. II]

When I heard about the show, I thought they were going to have an awfully difficult time translating this particular series to the screen; aside from the obvious length and challenge of cutting it into manageable chunks, there is a ton more magic involved in The Wheel of Time than in any of the previously successful adaptations (LotR, Game of Thrones), and it's a really fine line between underwhelming and campy/overproduced to land on.

After watching the first episode, I enjoyed it far more than I expected to. There were some very, very nice moments - I particularly enjoyed the scene when Moiraine first walked into the Inn - and I think they did an excellent job of setting the table for each of the main characters. I've heard the 2nd and 3rd episodes are better than the first as well, so I'm excited to watch more.

Jury is still out on the magic part of things, though. I thought the initial fight scene was well done, but Moiraine slinging around the one power was easily the lowlight of the entire episode for me. It wasn't awful...but I also wasn't impressed.

[NobodyHere]

Well I guess Thursday night is the new Friday. Episode 4 is available.

[GrantDawg]

I just can't. That episode has slain me. Holy crap!

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[spleen1015]

That.
Was.
Good.

[NobodyHere]

Was that ending in the book?

[GrantDawg]

Hardly any of that was in the book. It was better.

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