The Sandman (Netflix) (1 Viewer)

[NeilO]

I was surprised to not able to find an existing topic on the upcoming Netflix The Sandman series.

The release date announcement just came out today (August 5). It is a nice little preview video.

 

[NeilO]

 

[Clark Green]

Just not sure about this. I'm willing to give it a spin since it is on Netflix vs. theater.

 

[NeilO]

One story twist as folk who have been watching Legends of Tomorrow probably know or suspected.



"The rights situation with John is certainly circumscribed right now. But the plan to have Lady Johanna and Joanna be in the story and played by the same person was there from the start. It seemed tidier. So it worked out."

 

[TravisR]

This is arguably the best comic book series ever made and it's inarguably extremely difficult to adapt to live action but I'm definitely curious as to what they've come up with.

 

[NeilO]

There is a marvelous full cast audio adaptation from Audible. Two parts of the complete adaptation have already been released. I have the mp3 on CD versions.

The Sandman

Check out this great listen on Audible.com. Please note: This content is not for kids. It is for mature audiences only. Just like the original graphic novels, this audio adaptation contains explicit language and graphic violence, as well as strong sexual content and themes. Discretion is...

www.audible.com

One big difference is that the audio adaptation is quite a straightforward adaptation of the comics - even set in the "present day" that the comics were set in. In this Netflix version present day stories are supposed to be in our current present day or close to that. So, there will be some necessary changes due to that as well as due to the John Constantine rights situation mentioned earlier. I am looking forward to seeing what they do even as I am dreading some of the more horrific scenes that I know will be there.

 

[jayembee]

Looks great.

I suspect that it will be important to accept that this will not be exactly like the comics. Which is fine with me, especially if they get the tone right, and the trailer seems to do that.

 

[TravisR]

I suspect that it will be important to accept that this will not be exactly like the comics.

I'm hoping that I'm able to accomplish that. Changes never bothered me much on The Walking Dead TV show (many were good) but I hate a lot of The Boys TV show because many of the changes made were for the worse.

 

[NeilO]

I'm hoping that I'm able to accomplish that. Changes never bothered me much on The Walking Dead TV show (many were good) but I hate a lot of The Boys TV show because many of the changes made were for the worse.

I haven't watched or read The Boys. How involved were the original creators in that adaptation?

From what he has said, Neil Gaiman has been very involved in a lot of the development of this adaptation. Of course he isn't the same person he was when he first created those stories. One of the more interesting things in the original comics is that with all of the different artists on the different story arcs, each one had a different feel. I wonder if they are going to reflect some of that in the TV series with different directors and or other personnel. I am looking forward to seeing what happens.

 

[TravisR]

I haven't watched or read The Boys. How involved were the original creators in that adaptation?

The producers are fans of Garth Ennis and I've seen them say that they talked to him about the series but I'm guessing his involvement was probably limited to saying do your thing, cashing the check and then writing comic books about various wars in history since he doesn't have to worry about money.

From what he has said, Neil Gaiman has been very involved in a lot of the development of this adaptation.

Solid point and a reason for optimism. (And if I don't like it, I won't be the jerk flooding the thread with "Wahhh! This isn't good!".)

 

[JasonRoer]

From what he has said, Neil Gaiman has been very involved in a lot of the development of this adaptation.

This has me very excited. My wife and I are both fans of his. Knowing that he has been "very involved" certainly increases my optimism level. And if my wife was on the fence, I'm betting she'll be in with this info.

 

[jayembee]

I'm hoping that I'm able to accomplish that. Changes never bothered me much on The Walking Dead TV show (many were good) but I hate a lot of The Boys TV show because many of the changes made were for the worse.

I can't speak to The Boys specifically, as I haven't read the comics. I haven't read The Walking Dead comics, either, and only watched the first season of the show (didn't care for it). But your remarks about The Boys are pretty much the way I felt about Kubrick's film of The Shining.

But I've always said that the first duty of a filmmaker (applies to TV shows as well) is to make a good film, and fidelity to the source is, at best, secondary. As an example, I like to say that as an adaptation of Phil Dick's Do Androids Dream of Electric Sheep? the film Blade Runner is wanting, but that I would not want to live in a world that did not have Blade Runner in it.

I'm pretty flexible with the idea taking the basic concept and seeing what someone other than the original creator does with it. It's especially true with something adapted from comics, because after a lifetime of reading them, I'm used to multiverses and other changes, and I treat adaptations as just alternate universe versions.

 

[Adam Lenhardt]

One story twist as folk who have been watching Legends of Tomorrow probably know or suspected.



"The rights situation with John is certainly circumscribed right now. But the plan to have Lady Johanna and Joanna be in the story and played by the same person was there from the start. It seemed tidier. So it worked out."

It would have been fun to have Matt Ryan in this as John Constantine, but the symmetry between Lady Constantine before and Joh(a)n(na) Constantine in the "present day" being played by the same actress has a certain appeal.

And I like how they gave Jenna Coleman a coat that is very reminiscent of John Constantine's trench coat.

 

[billO']

I've been a fan of The Sandman since issue #1 over thirty years ago (I got rid of a lot of my comics but have held onto the complete run of the original Sandman). Over all that time there have been multiple rumblings about adaptations of this story and they all fell through, which is probably a good thing as SFX techonology probably wouldn't have done this story justice until it could advance to the state it's capable of now.

Regarding past adaptations of "mature" comics into series, two recent ones engendered polar opposite reactions from me: Preacher, and The Boys.

In the case of Preacher, I'd read the complete story previous to the AMC series...and I hated the TV show almost immediately. Disagreed with the casting (except for Cassidy); hated the show's approach to humor (being broader instead of just black); and really hated the fact that for a story that starts on the road in a car with a supernatural quest, they spent the ENTIRE first season with a storyline of Jesse's life in his hometown prior to leaving, events that were covered more succinctly throughout the comics in brief flashbacks. I didn't bother wasting my time watching any further seasons.

However, with Amazon's The Boys I had not read the comics before seeing the show (I only got them from my library and read them completely after season 2 aired). While I liked both, I much prefer the Amz series and am completely fine with all the changes they've made (I especially like that they changed Hughie from a Scottish guy to an American). I think the series captures the essence of the comics perfectly.

So I feel equal parts dread and anticipation to see NF's Sandman series. About the only thing that sways things for me to the side of optimisim is that Gaiman is deeply involved with the production of it, so hopefully his participation will ensure and mitigate an organic transfer from page to screen.

 

[Alex...]

 

[jayembee]

So...anyone watched any of this yet?

My wife and I plan to watch at least a few episodes this weekend, but we haven't started it yet.

 

[Sean Bryan]

So...anyone watched any of this yet?

My wife and I plan to watch at least a few episodes this weekend, but we haven't started it yet.

I enjoyed the first episode. Seems to an interesting set up for the rest of the story.

I’m going to view only one or two a week, so I won’t really know how things go for a while.

 

[billO']

So...anyone watched any of this yet?

My wife and I plan to watch at least a few episodes this weekend, but we haven't started it yet.

I'm curious as hell about it. . . . but I'm going to wait until after the 4th episode has aired and then watch the first 4 in a mini-marathon.

I've been watching the final eps of Better Call Saul and I have to say I absolutely HATE now waiting a week to watch every new episode. Once exposed to binge-watching, I don't think I can ever tolerate watching series weekly anymore. I'm only doing it for BCS because there's so much talk about the show I don't want any spoilers to, uh, spoil the finish for me.

(Edit: whoops! just found out all the episodes dropped at once and all are available now...guess I can get started watching it now!)

 

[benbess]

Enjoying episode one so far!

 

[benbess]

‘The Sandman’ Aspect Ratio: The Deliberate Creative Choice Behind the Divisive Skewed Imagery

Neil Gaiman's series is filled with distorted images and odd aspect ratios. It's not your TV settings — it's a deliberate creative choice.

variety.com

Netflix’s 'The Sandman' Is a Fan’s Dream. Is That Good Enough?

The TV adaptation is extremely loyal to Neil Gaiman’s original comic books—and that’s as enticing as it is frustrating.

www.theatlantic.com