The obligatory Netflix Sandman review
Aug. 16th, 2022 09:18 am![[personal profile]](https://www.dreamwidth.org/img/silk/identity/user.png){kind=small}
sabotabbyI've finished it so now we can talk about it!
Background: Sandman was the first comic I ever got into. Sandman got me into comics—it was the first comic I encountered that made me think, "hey, this medium might be for people like me." I have reread it more times than I can count. I still think it's one of the greatest comics of all time. When I was in high school I did Death's eyeliner spiral every day and my vice-principal thought it was a tattoo.
So to say that I was looking forward to this but also had apprehensions is an understatement. There have been many horrible ideas about adapting it. I was pretty confident that Gaiman's involvement would ensure that it was at least decent but you never know.
Spoiler-free version: I loved it. It's as good an adaptation as I could have possibly hoped for. They nailed the spirit of the original while making necessary changes to update it and make it work for the medium. The casting choices were near-perfect and there were times when I was just overwhelmed with emotion. I'm not terribly concerned with visual effects, as I do think the CGI looked good but will inevitably feel dated, but I think they did a good job with them. My quibbles are of the minor variety. I let out a little squeal at the end.
My biggest concern was "did they get Death right, tho?" and they got Death right. They got Death perfect.
Episodes 1-3: Charles Dance was born to play Burgess. I loved the softening of Alex's character—they gave him a depth and complexity that he didn't have in the comics. Ethel was definitely more interesting than she was in the comics. I didn't love the voiceover but I thought it was necessary to appeal to people who didn't read the comics.
Jenna Coleman as Constantine was, I thought, the most questionable casting decision, as I see Constantine as fairly gritty and she was my least favourite Who Companion. I am happy to be wrong on this! She did a very cool take on the character and I really enjoyed watching her play an edgier character than Clara was.
The thing I wanted, but didn't think I would get, was Catboy Morpheus, and we got that in episode one. Thank you, show, for understanding my needs.
Also, the Corinthian. *chef's kiss*
Episodes 4-6: These, according to the internet, were the strongest episodes. I would agree that episode 6 is the highlight for me. 4, though, is the weakest. Which is a pity because it's one of my favourite issues of the comic.
I was really looking forward to Gwendolyn Christie as Lucifer, which was an inspired choice. Visually, I can absolutely see it working. But something felt off on both her costuming and her line delivery. Jesse Gender, who I respect but don't always agree with, described her (positively) as a terrifying middle manager type. I do think that's an interesting interpretation and I see what they were going for, but to me that's not who this version of Lucifer should be. I think she was at least in part hampered by costuming—she was just too stiff for a character inspired by Bowie.
My biggest issue was the Morpheus/Lucifer battle. I think changing his opponent to Lucifer was a cool idea, but. Look. It is one of my favourite moments in the whole comic. And I envisioned it as a poetry slam between skilled opponents, except that Morpheus is holding back and knows he's going to win. "I am hope" is understated and confident. Turning the battle physical, and have him come up with the line at Matthew's encouragement feels weird and off for me.
With "24/7," my critique is that it pulled its punches. If you've only seen the show, that will sound very odd, as it's the most harrowing, gory episode, but trust me the comic is more intense. I can see them reining in the gore for obvious reasons, but the dialogue is also brutal, and that was what was lacking to me. David Thewlis as John Dee was phenomenal though.
"The Sound of Her Wings" deserves to win an Emmy and a Hugo and was absolutely the highlight for me. As you can probably tell, Death of the Endless is my favourite and Kirby Howell-Baptiste nailed her character. Maybe even surpassed her character—there's something about seeing That Smile in live action that just can't be done in comics.
Death was the character in comics that made me feel seen as a weird teenage girl. I wanted to be her. I wanted to cultivate her qualities of compassion and humanism and adventure. And this may sound dorky but I just keep envisioning a whole generation of weird Black teenage girls who will see her and have that same experience that I did as a kid.
Oh yes, and Hob Gadling. Loved him. He's overshadowed a bit by sharing an episode with Death but I absolutely loved his part as well.
7-10: The Doll's House arc was always going to be weird and hard to adapt. The horrible film script that you used to be able to find floating around the internet was focused on that one, which. Why. It's a very complex storyline with references to comics in different genres that play an important role later on but seem like non sequiturs here.
So I am pleased to report that they did it well. They had to introduce a whole bunch of new characters very quickly, and everyone got their moment to shine and were convincing as a weird found family. I liked the choice to make Jed the Sandman rather than Hector, and Gault was a more interesting character with a more interesting motivation.
The Corinthian. Hoo-boy. So my Cursed Ship in the comics is Corinthian/Matthew (spoilers for a 30-year-old comic—he gets remade into a marginally nicer nightmare) and I like that you get hints of his rather clever, charming side here. He's good with kids, lol.
Rose is great. Unity is great.
But let's talk about Stephen Fry as Fiddler's Green. He's another one of my favourite characters from the comics and I wonder if Fry wasn't who Gaiman had in mind when he wrote the character (besides G.K. Chesterton, obviously). He just somehow embodies this sense of joy and beauty and restfulness that makes you weep and he absolutely nailed it.
I love the little hints that you get of what's to come. I hope they do "Season of Mists" before they do "A Game Of You" (I forget which comes first chronologically) because I like the former much more, but I won't be sad if they do it the other way around. Everyone having relatively in-character dreams and then Barbie and Martin Tenbones showing you that there's much more depth to her character was just a phenomenal moment.
Ultimately, though, the moment that made me squeal was Lucifer's last line. Can't. Fucking. Wait.
Anyway, what did you think? I'm interested to hear from both people who read the comics and people who are coming into the show brand new with no expectations.
Background: Sandman was the first comic I ever got into. Sandman got me into comics—it was the first comic I encountered that made me think, "hey, this medium might be for people like me." I have reread it more times than I can count. I still think it's one of the greatest comics of all time. When I was in high school I did Death's eyeliner spiral every day and my vice-principal thought it was a tattoo.
So to say that I was looking forward to this but also had apprehensions is an understatement. There have been many horrible ideas about adapting it. I was pretty confident that Gaiman's involvement would ensure that it was at least decent but you never know.
Spoiler-free version: I loved it. It's as good an adaptation as I could have possibly hoped for. They nailed the spirit of the original while making necessary changes to update it and make it work for the medium. The casting choices were near-perfect and there were times when I was just overwhelmed with emotion. I'm not terribly concerned with visual effects, as I do think the CGI looked good but will inevitably feel dated, but I think they did a good job with them. My quibbles are of the minor variety. I let out a little squeal at the end.
My biggest concern was "did they get Death right, tho?" and they got Death right. They got Death perfect.
Episodes 1-3: Charles Dance was born to play Burgess. I loved the softening of Alex's character—they gave him a depth and complexity that he didn't have in the comics. Ethel was definitely more interesting than she was in the comics. I didn't love the voiceover but I thought it was necessary to appeal to people who didn't read the comics.
Jenna Coleman as Constantine was, I thought, the most questionable casting decision, as I see Constantine as fairly gritty and she was my least favourite Who Companion. I am happy to be wrong on this! She did a very cool take on the character and I really enjoyed watching her play an edgier character than Clara was.
The thing I wanted, but didn't think I would get, was Catboy Morpheus, and we got that in episode one. Thank you, show, for understanding my needs.
Also, the Corinthian. *chef's kiss*
Episodes 4-6: These, according to the internet, were the strongest episodes. I would agree that episode 6 is the highlight for me. 4, though, is the weakest. Which is a pity because it's one of my favourite issues of the comic.
I was really looking forward to Gwendolyn Christie as Lucifer, which was an inspired choice. Visually, I can absolutely see it working. But something felt off on both her costuming and her line delivery. Jesse Gender, who I respect but don't always agree with, described her (positively) as a terrifying middle manager type. I do think that's an interesting interpretation and I see what they were going for, but to me that's not who this version of Lucifer should be. I think she was at least in part hampered by costuming—she was just too stiff for a character inspired by Bowie.
My biggest issue was the Morpheus/Lucifer battle. I think changing his opponent to Lucifer was a cool idea, but. Look. It is one of my favourite moments in the whole comic. And I envisioned it as a poetry slam between skilled opponents, except that Morpheus is holding back and knows he's going to win. "I am hope" is understated and confident. Turning the battle physical, and have him come up with the line at Matthew's encouragement feels weird and off for me.
With "24/7," my critique is that it pulled its punches. If you've only seen the show, that will sound very odd, as it's the most harrowing, gory episode, but trust me the comic is more intense. I can see them reining in the gore for obvious reasons, but the dialogue is also brutal, and that was what was lacking to me. David Thewlis as John Dee was phenomenal though.
"The Sound of Her Wings" deserves to win an Emmy and a Hugo and was absolutely the highlight for me. As you can probably tell, Death of the Endless is my favourite and Kirby Howell-Baptiste nailed her character. Maybe even surpassed her character—there's something about seeing That Smile in live action that just can't be done in comics.
Death was the character in comics that made me feel seen as a weird teenage girl. I wanted to be her. I wanted to cultivate her qualities of compassion and humanism and adventure. And this may sound dorky but I just keep envisioning a whole generation of weird Black teenage girls who will see her and have that same experience that I did as a kid.
Oh yes, and Hob Gadling. Loved him. He's overshadowed a bit by sharing an episode with Death but I absolutely loved his part as well.
7-10: The Doll's House arc was always going to be weird and hard to adapt. The horrible film script that you used to be able to find floating around the internet was focused on that one, which. Why. It's a very complex storyline with references to comics in different genres that play an important role later on but seem like non sequiturs here.
So I am pleased to report that they did it well. They had to introduce a whole bunch of new characters very quickly, and everyone got their moment to shine and were convincing as a weird found family. I liked the choice to make Jed the Sandman rather than Hector, and Gault was a more interesting character with a more interesting motivation.
The Corinthian. Hoo-boy. So my Cursed Ship in the comics is Corinthian/Matthew (spoilers for a 30-year-old comic—he gets remade into a marginally nicer nightmare) and I like that you get hints of his rather clever, charming side here. He's good with kids, lol.
Rose is great. Unity is great.
But let's talk about Stephen Fry as Fiddler's Green. He's another one of my favourite characters from the comics and I wonder if Fry wasn't who Gaiman had in mind when he wrote the character (besides G.K. Chesterton, obviously). He just somehow embodies this sense of joy and beauty and restfulness that makes you weep and he absolutely nailed it.
I love the little hints that you get of what's to come. I hope they do "Season of Mists" before they do "A Game Of You" (I forget which comes first chronologically) because I like the former much more, but I won't be sad if they do it the other way around. Everyone having relatively in-character dreams and then Barbie and Martin Tenbones showing you that there's much more depth to her character was just a phenomenal moment.
Ultimately, though, the moment that made me squeal was Lucifer's last line. Can't. Fucking. Wait.
Anyway, what did you think? I'm interested to hear from both people who read the comics and people who are coming into the show brand new with no expectations.
no subject
Date: 2022-08-16 05:36 pm (UTC)I really liked it! and want a second season!
I LOVED Death.
I LOVED Rose, and I thought making her and her brother Black was a stroke of genius, given all the hassles the family has with being brushed off by the foster care system and people in positions of authority not listening to Rose or taking her seriously.
I LOVED Lucienne and was very happy with
a) her being a woman
b) her being Black
c) her expanded role compared to the comics.
The only casting decision that annoyed me was Jenna Coleman, who sets my teeth on edge. I'm 1000% here for female!Constantine and queer!Constantine, I just would have preferred a different actress. (I thought Jenna Coleman was good as Queen Victoria, but in everything else she has been in has felt like nails on chalkboard)
For Constantine I would have been looking at
Emma Mackey (Maeve Wiley in the Netflix series Sex Education) who has a great ability to come across as jaded/cynical but actually caring more than she wants to admit
Tilda Swinton
Archie Panjabi if they were open to racebending the character from the original comics (also has a great ability to come across as jaded/cynical but actually caring more than she wants to admit)
no subject
Date: 2022-08-16 05:44 pm (UTC)I pulled a Dream and didn't acknowledge how great Lucienne was. She was also perfect. Love her.
All of your choices are great for Constantine. I was surprised that I liked Coleman as much as I did but they could have done better. Also I don't care what gender or ethnicity Constantine is but they should always be blond imo.
no subject
Date: 2022-08-16 10:28 pm (UTC)no subject
Date: 2022-08-17 01:30 am (UTC)no subject
Date: 2022-08-16 10:35 pm (UTC)Clara was absolutely nails-on-chalkboard for me for most of Who, so Jenna Coleman surprised and delighted me with her swagger and cynicism.
no subject
Date: 2022-08-17 01:32 am (UTC)no subject
Date: 2022-08-16 10:06 pm (UTC)Agree with you on Death. She was perfect.
no subject
Date: 2022-08-17 01:28 am (UTC)It's interesting too because it's quite a long-running series, and the arc of the entire thing could be summed up as "Dream learns to be less of an asshole." Which does not happen this early in the comics, lol.
no subject
Date: 2022-08-16 10:34 pm (UTC)Ditto, ditto, lol, altho I didn't go to high school and so I just dressed up as Death for Halloween for a WHILE. So did many other goth girls. Watching this brought back so many memories!
The teaser trailers had made me REALLY uneasy, but I loved it too. Death was absolutely perfect. The casting in general was superb. This is apparently an unpopular opinion, but T and I both loved Tom Sturridge as Morpheus -- the voice more than anything else. He sounded just right. It was interesting, for me Matthew and Cain & Abel were like glimpses of old friends and for T (I am the comics geek in this house, LOL) they were fascinating side characters. I think they did a very good job of balancing the adaptation between people who love and grew up with the story, and newcomers, which is pretty rare.
tl;dr rewatched Sound of Her Wings twice already, rewatching the whole thing again
no subject
Date: 2022-08-17 01:35 am (UTC)I also didn't catch that Merv is Mark Hamill until after the episode, which is a hilarious bit of casting.
no subject
Date: 2022-08-24 03:02 am (UTC)Oh I have just remembered that in first-year uni I wore an ankh
no subject
Date: 2022-08-24 03:09 am (UTC)no subject
Date: 2022-08-24 11:59 am (UTC)no subject
Date: 2022-08-16 10:58 pm (UTC)We are not quite finished with watching this, so I glossed over whatever you wrote about the last few episodes because I am not sure where I am. I agree with you on Charles Dance. He was great.
no subject
Date: 2022-08-17 01:36 am (UTC)no subject
Date: 2022-08-24 03:03 am (UTC)no subject
Date: 2022-08-24 03:09 am (UTC)no subject
Date: 2022-08-16 11:28 pm (UTC)no subject
Date: 2022-08-17 01:36 am (UTC)I have been Slightly Obsessed ever since an official date dropped.
no subject
Date: 2022-08-18 10:00 pm (UTC)I'd forgotten the original 24/7, but one article I read made the case that it in some way improved on the comics by macing John Dee a more nuanced villain - instead of the direct mind control forcing people to have orgies against their will and do awful things, that obsession with "honesty", and causing chaos by bringing out truths and aspects of people that they hide, or hide from.
I'd previously seen David Thewlis in Fargo S3, where he was absolutely brilliant as one of the most grotesque, horrifying villains around, and he was equally good here, also a villain, but such a totally different character.
Looking forward to the rest...
no subject
Date: 2022-08-18 11:51 pm (UTC)Right? You can just see being okay with it.
I'd forgotten the original 24/7, but one article I read made the case that it in some way improved on the comics by macing John Dee a more nuanced villain - instead of the direct mind control forcing people to have orgies against their will and do awful things, that obsession with "honesty", and causing chaos by bringing out truths and aspects of people that they hide, or hide from.
See, I like it from his end as a motivation. But I got more of a sense in the comic that he was just allowing the things that they had in them the whole time to come to the surface, whereas in the show it felt more like they probably would have all been fine and good if he hadn't been there.
I'd previously seen David Thewlis in Fargo S3, where he was absolutely brilliant as one of the most grotesque, horrifying villains around, and he was equally good here, also a villain, but such a totally different character.
Oh yeah, he was fantastic in Fargo. And in Naked, where he's not exactly a villain per se but is absolutely mesmerizing and horrific.
no subject
Date: 2022-09-04 12:02 pm (UTC)Not his magnus opus with Marlon Brando?
I've gotta say, I did love him in this. It may be his most subtle acting.
no subject
Date: 2022-08-19 03:46 am (UTC)And apart from "The Sound of Her Wings" and "Men of Good Fortune," none of these are even favorite comics of mine! I like Gaiman's fantasy better than his horror, and the first two volumes are heavy on the horror. I also don't care about serial killers...
...and I loved the Corinthian. His eye effects were not the best but his performance was great.
I was dubious about Tom Sturridge as I first thought he was too young and pretty, but he nailed the inhuman/human aspects, the very likable/absolutely awful aspects, the body language, the voice, and even the shifting between specific ages and agelessness. I could have lived without the voiceover but I think without it, the story would have been very confusing if you didn't know the comics.
Death was absolute perfection. I loved her so much. I want to see her when I die.
Rose was wonderful and had the absolute best rainbow hair. Unity was wonderful and heartbreaking. Jed was great. Gault was great. Gilbert, oh, I cried when he asked Rose to visit him in Fiddler's Green.
Lucienne was great. Big improvement on original Lucien, honestly.
Modern Joanna Constantine was a miss for me. She was fine as an original character but didn't have the John Constantine vibe at all - she was too young, too slick, not worn down and battered enough. Also, she needed to be blonde, dammit.
Lucifer was fine but not fantastic. I don't love her costuming. I wanted Tilda Swinton, I think. I also really disliked Matthew prompting Morpheus. Come on!
I didn't love 24 hours but I didn't love the comic of it either. David Thewlis was much better than original demonic rotting Dee but there was a missing link between the horror of people revealing way too much and them suddenly killing themselves. It didn't causally follow, and I wanted the deaths to be due to revealing/living too much of truth.
Desire wasn't hot enough and their heart realm looked really cheap.
no subject
Date: 2022-08-19 11:36 am (UTC)I've seen some complaints but I thought he was great. I felt like the main thing is he shouldn't be an actor I'd heard of. But also pretty.
Gilbert, oh, I cried when he asked Rose to visit him in Fiddler's Green.
Right??? I don't know why the very concept of Fiddler's Green makes me bawl so much but there we have it.
And Rose's hair! Inspired.
Lucienne was great. Big improvement on original Lucien, honestly.
Yeah. I don't remember the original Lucien having much of a character, whereas Lucienne definitely did.
Modern Joanna Constantine was a miss for me. She was fine as an original character but didn't have the John Constantine vibe at all - she was too young, too slick, not worn down and battered enough. Also, she needed to be blonde, dammit.
I absolutely would have preferred someone 40+. And smoking. And with less of a posh accent, now that I think about it. And the only way she should have been not-blond was if she was racebent as well (not that they couldn't have a BIPOC actor with blond hair).
But she was great as Lady Johanna and better than I expected as modern Joanna so I'll give it a pass.
Lucifer was fine but not fantastic. I don't love her costuming. I wanted Tilda Swinton, I think. I also really disliked Matthew prompting Morpheus. Come on!
I'm pretty sure the showrunners wanted Tilda Swinton as well. The whole interpretation of the character would have worked with her.
It's a poetry slam not a boxing match ffs.
I didn't love 24 hours but I didn't love the comic of it either. David Thewlis was much better than original demonic rotting Dee but there was a missing link between the horror of people revealing way too much and them suddenly killing themselves. It didn't causally follow, and I wanted the deaths to be due to revealing/living too much of truth.
Yeah, I think that was the missing piece for me. It was always going to be a nightmare (lol) to adapt.
Desire wasn't hot enough and their heart realm looked really cheap.
HAH. For me this was pulled straight from the comics. No objection.
no subject
Date: 2022-08-20 04:09 am (UTC)Sandman was and is a Big Deal to me, though I first read it so long ago that it's almost an unconscious influence now. This was a very pleasurable return. (I've only watched up to the end of Ep. 7 as yet.)
Most importantly, the TV show gives me the same weird thrill as first encountering the original, like my sense of reality has genuinely been disrupted, and it's wonderful to feel that again. I'd almost forgotten that beautiful disorientation. I'm not even quite sure how it's done, what the alchemy of it is.
I think my critical responses are close enough to yours that there isn't that much I have to add as yet. Please forgive me if I echo you just for the pleasure of talking about Sandman again.
I like Lucienne better than Lucien.
I was delighted to see Cain and Abel and Goldie, which I think signals intent to finish the full arc.
The Lucifer casting should work, but I also felt the scenes were flat. Also the hair. Why was Lucifer's hair flat?
I agree that Jenna Coleman's Constantine was surprisingly good, even if she isn't really what I'm looking for from that character.
...Look, I would like some of the hot dudes to remain in the plot.
Death, perfect. Desire, perfect. Despair a little muted.
Was hoping for more critique of slavery in Hob Gadling's story but otherwise liked it a lot.
I do feel like they've kind of middle-classed a number of scenes that were written in more economically diverse settings in the comics.
Nothing in the TV show is quite as grotesque as in the comics, and I wish they'd leaned into that aesthetic a little bit more -- not the Sam Kieth vibe necessarily, since he's not my favorite artist in the series, but just the weird and uncomfortable visuals.
I think Season of Mists comes first? I came in the first time on A Game of You. I hope to post the story of my Sandman discovery one day when I have the energy.
(A friend handed me a comic. I opened it and saw a face nailed to a wall. I closed it and said "I have to have this.")
I want them to do it all. I feel like it's in good hands.
no subject
Date: 2022-08-20 12:06 pm (UTC)I'm surprised they got that. One of the reviews complained about the Netflix flatness of the filming, but honestly I don't see it—it's weird and structured more like the comic than a TV show, like they give the story space to breathe. If that makes sense.
I like Lucienne better than Lucien.
Such an improvement!
I agree that Jenna Coleman's Constantine was surprisingly good, even if she isn't really what I'm looking for from that character.
...Look, I would like some of the hot dudes to remain in the plot.
HAH this is so valid. Well, Hob is cuter than he is in the comic imo.
I do feel like they've kind of middle-classed a number of scenes that were written in more economically diverse settings in the comics.
Agreed. I don't know that there was much hope of this not happening, TV productions being what they are, and also not having the cartoon villainy of Thatcher's Britain to reference (of course, BoJo's Britain is even more cartoonishly evil, as is Biden's America, but not in a way that is as easily communicable aesthetically). I did like how they did Rose and her interactions with the foster care system, but I had this nagging feeling, with the college talk and the lack of housing precarity, that she kept landing on her feet too often to be realistic. Same with the diner, but that was a general lack of grittiness.
I think Season of Mists comes first? I came in the first time on A Game of You. I hope to post the story of my Sandman discovery one day when I have the energy.
Oh shit yo. That's a tough one to come in on. I came in on "Season of Mists", which is a much more gentle introduction.
DID YOU SEE THAT THEY POSTED A NEW ONE IT IS THE CAT ONE AND CALLIOPE BUT MAINLY IT IS THE CAT ONE
no subject
Date: 2022-08-24 02:59 am (UTC)Yes, I agree with you -- I really like the way it's episodic in a more -- elliptical? -- way, like a comic, rather than in a closed-loop way, like a TV series often is. Dream of A Thousand Cats / Calliope does that too. I hope they keep on with that.
no subject
Date: 2022-08-24 11:53 am (UTC)no subject
Date: 2022-08-24 03:18 am (UTC)I thought both were SUPERB, too. The animation was so catlike, Sandra Oh was fantastic, loved Neil as the skeleton-headed prophet lol, Morpheus as a cat was great. And then making the writer a total Nice Guy (bringing CHOCOLATES to a POTENTIAL RAPE, uh wow) and giving Calliope a bit more agency was great too. I dunno why everyone kept saying "standalone" when that was clearly the introduction to the Orpheus arc, but whatever. I dunno if it was Netflix trying to goose the numbers or the creatives really pushing for the release once the news leaked (or "leaked") or what, but it was such a great treat to get another installment, especially since it was so good.
no subject
Date: 2022-08-24 11:58 am (UTC)Calliope was so good. I didn't want to see a woman raped and tortured for a whole episode and they managed to convey her suffering without making her a helpless victim and it was awesome.
I assume the people saying standalone didn't read the comics? Like my mom was all "are they going to get back together??? what happened to their son???" and I had to explain the whole Orpheus arc + Morpheus' love life in general to her. Oh and it also sets up an interesting tension for both "A Game Of You" and "Kindly Ones" and I think to a lesser degree, "Season of Mists" where the rules of the universe are patently unfair. Which is an important thing to seed early.
no subject
Date: 2022-08-24 07:26 pm (UTC)"What a great standalone episode!" Amusingly enough it's turning out to be a litmus test for if people actually read the comics. "I like it better when they do the anthology stories that don't follow an arc that has too much/too little time blah blah!" And I'm just like....but this is setting up the Orpheus story which leads to the Kindly Ones which is the grand finale? And it's clearly thematically connected to the other episodes? (Humans wanting the powers of the Endless, characters treating other people as playthings i.e. dolls, mortals and the Endless jarring up against each other....) It's like Shakespeare popping up. If you know World's End (I think that's the title) you know yeah that's a "standalone" but it also continues with the theme of artists being willing to pay any price for immortality (and then being SORRY, whoops), the collision of world and dream, the "shared dream" as Gardner put it of literature itself, fathers and sons and sacrifice....anyway.
tl;dr We already got the WHOLE SETUP where Desire is trying to get Dream to spill family blood which should set alarm bells ringing even before the Fates say you don't want to meet us as the Kindly Ones, dearie!
no subject
Date: 2022-08-24 07:29 pm (UTC)no subject
Date: 2022-08-24 07:32 pm (UTC)no subject
Date: 2022-08-24 07:51 pm (UTC)no subject
Date: 2022-08-22 03:58 am (UTC)Yes, this, so much this.
no subject
Date: 2022-09-04 11:57 am (UTC)Unlike you (I think we are of a similar-ish age), I didn't read Sandman in high school, except for one issue right at the end (not sure which, but it's the 1000 Arabian Adventures one later in the run - and I loved it. And Death: The High Cost of Living. I've had an image of Death of my fridge since '93).
For reasons, I never got around to reading it (cost, Gaiman fans, all of those issues), but I finally bought the boxed set a while back but never read it.
Didn't like Preludes, did like the standalones and Ihe Doll's Houseahead
I think the biggest fail was Constantine. Jenna was terrible.
I think the way they wove the Corinthian through it.
As an Infinity Inc fan, I loved what they did with Hector and Lyta.
Also, Fiddler's Green was perfect.
I don't think Dream was well cast, and while I had some initial misgivings about Death: They nailed it.
(I think I much prefer the one-offs to the ongoing storylines, but we'll see. I'll be working though the comics. )
I'm hoping they make more too. It's different enough.
no subject
Date: 2022-09-04 01:43 pm (UTC)Though some of the broader DC things were lost on me. I knew who John Constantine was (not when I first read them, but picked up that he was a character from another comic and read some of Hellblazer but had no idea why I should care about Hector and Lyta. I thought the show did a really good job of making me care about them.
no subject
Date: 2022-09-06 10:44 am (UTC)So, I immediately recoognised Lyta (Fury, Wonder Woman's Earth 2 protege) and Hector (Silver Scarab, Hawkman & Hawkwoman's son), and, as of last night, Rainie as a Metamorpho from 'Fascade', although my understanding of the Rex-Metamorpho backstory isn't my wheelhouse.
I'm not even sure you really needed to know who they were in the comics, but it tells the story well enough, I do think the TV show improved it, so I was happy. And, that Sandman costume!
Oddly, I *think* my first exposure to Sandman may have been via the DC RPG game c1989 of all places, I can't swear to that.
Gotta say, I finished 'Dream Country' last night (loved the two they adopted, less so the other two), and, wow, I reckon 'A Dream of a Thousand Cats' was perfection. Even better than on the page.
Calliope I loved, Arthur's performance was far more nuanced than I expected from the actor, but like '24 Hours' it was a little less nasty. I'm not sure if it was blunted too much, or not. But enjoyed it too.
I'll be ploughing through the rest now, and hoping for a second season.
(I just discovered Matthew the Raven was from Swamp Thing. A good thing that's on my wishlist anyway!)
no subject
Date: 2022-09-06 11:02 am (UTC)Calliope I loved, Arthur's performance was far more nuanced than I expected from the actor, but like '24 Hours' it was a little less nasty. I'm not sure if it was blunted too much, or not. But enjoyed it too.
I was way more okay with them decreasing the nastiness in it. I guess there are some forms of violence I'm more or less okay with seeing on screen.
(I just discovered Matthew the Raven was from Swamp Thing. A good thing that's on my wishlist anyway!)
Oh yes! Swamp Thing is excellent. It weirded me out that Matthew says he died in his sleep in the show though.
no subject
Date: 2022-09-06 11:56 am (UTC)I had the impression Gaiman/Vertigo quickly shed the DC stuff.
I don't mind. I suspect, in terms of Calliope, you're referring specifically to the scene where he goes upstairs, off screen, and it just focuses on his laptop?
Damn effective that was.
I'll get Swamp Thing some day, but I just ordered Miracleman.
no subject
Date: 2022-09-06 07:29 pm (UTC)I don't mind. I suspect, in terms of Calliope, you're referring specifically to the scene where he goes upstairs, off screen, and it just focuses on his laptop?
Damn effective that was.
Yep. That's one case where subtlety is the better choice.
I'll get Swamp Thing some day, but I just ordered Miracleman.
IMO Miracleman is better. Or more interesting in terms of what it's doing. Its reach often exceeds its grasp.
no subject
Date: 2022-09-07 12:19 pm (UTC)I agree.
IMO Miracleman is better. Or more interesting in terms of what it's doing. Its reach often exceeds its grasp.
I don't have any huge desire to read Swamp Thing, but I recognise, I will read it someday, probably. MM is pitched for me, so I'm curious to see how it ends up.
no subject
Date: 2022-09-07 09:31 pm (UTC)