Almost every fantasy show is trying to be D&D or Game of Thrones

[Zardnaar]

A lot of bad takes in this thread from a lot of different angles. Nothing of value to add to most of the discourse, only this;

My partner and I freaking loved Wheel of Time. There are some definite lulls and the whole thing with Perrin having a wife was completely stupid but other than that it was a pretty good first season. The most common criticism I hear is about the art direction which is wild to me; it's not something that I tend to personally notice but my partner eats that stuff up and she thought the art direction and costuming were excellent, and that's the kind of thing I very much trust her judgment on. We re-watched it after finishing our read (re-read for me, first time for her) of the first book and we only enjoyed it more. Very excited for the second season.

Also Shadow & Bone is excellent (the show, anyway, the Grisha Trilogy was touch-and-go for me throughout it honestly but the Six of Crows Duology is amazing). Also very excited for the second season of this.

Shadow and Bone seems to get over looked. It's too 1-3 of the fantasy shows imho. May be better than Witcher as it's more coherent season 1 vs season 1. Enjoyed both in rewatch though.

Thought WoT was weak but Willow might replace it on the bottom hard to say. Liked the Willow movie on recent rewatch it's not great didn't realize it was filmed in NZ but recognized some landmarks.

 

[Jahydin]

It's weird.

Like, it's quite possible to critique a lot of these shows for bad character development, poor understanding of the purpose of scenes, talky exposition, and middling choreography, all things which have nothing to do with the creators' political views.

But nevertheless, a lot of people apparently want to complain about . . . well, Jahydin hasn't explicitly said it, but I've seen these same sorts of comments elsewhere from people who have a bug up their butts that shows have diverse casts.

Those are all valid points of why these shows are not doing well, but the original point of the post was how they all felt "the same" and "copying D&D" so that's why I zeroed in on all having the "same artistic vision".

 

[Jahydin]

Go back to your echo chamber.

That's complete nonsense.

Not sure why you think that?

EDI is without question a major priority for almost all creators right now. Here's an article on Netflix's commitment for instance.

It's not exactly going on a limb to suggest it takes priority of any established cannon of their creative source.

 

[Jahydin]

@Whizbang Dustyboots @billd91 @RangerWickett

Sorry if I was too vague. As @wicked cool pointed out, they really do look like they all came out of "Ye Olden Gap" with fresh modern hair styles.

Not only appearance though, but modern sensibilities as well. In no way does it feel like I stumbled on a new unique culture - more like they just grabbed a bunch of coffee baristas and dropped them in a fantasy setting.

 

[wicked cool]

I think it was implied I was sexist in some of my posts so I’d like to amend me criticism of Star Wars and ring

-the supporting male cast also are not very good and not likely to win awards in these shows
-I don’t dislike the strong female roles in Witcher
-my favorite video game franchise is dragon age full of strong female leads and full of lgbqt characters that I adore

Speaking of fantasy 1899 was just cancelled. I liked the show but once again I’m not suprised it got cancelled. Nothing to do with the lead but the plot was kind of a mess

 

[Jahydin]

Well, let's explore this - why are these writers with no credentials being hired to write these very expensive shows and little to no script-supervision being done by those who are producing. It feels like these writers are just activists with no actual writing potential and have been purposefully placed given that people at the top are happy to burn money.

I think it really just comes down to money.

Many new creators legitimately hold these progressive beliefs and want their art to reflect it. Those that hold the "purse strings" are fine letting them vent as long as they get the job done fast and cheap.

And it's not that they are "terrible", just amateur. Every person has to start somewhere after all.

Just my guess.

 

[Umbran]

Mod Note:
So, now it isn't just sexism - it is overall "progressive ideals".

I've heard more than enough. Next time, before entering into such discussions, take a look at the inclusivity policy.

 

[Umbran]

Ah, I see now thanks.
The podcaster I linked to upthread says this (just after the 6 minute mark)

I didn't ask what the podcaster thought. Editorial podcasts are incentivized to be controversial. And the podcaster isn't posting here.

Do you have an opinion of your own on the matter?

 

[Mannahnin]

On the positive side, this thread helped spur me to finally start She Hulk. Watched the first episode last night and quite enjoyed it. Looking forward to the rest.

 

[TheSword]

Criticizing the production of WOT because the clothing isn’t falling apart or because the actors aren’t white seems to me to show a fundamental lack of understanding about the source material.

Regarding everything else about the series… For the record…. I enjoyed WOT for what it was. Particularly the parts that filled gaps in the books as it felt fresh and new. But to be honest speaking as an Uber fanboy of WOT it didn’t incense me the way it seemed to get under some folks skin. I liked seeing several of the elements of the books brought to life on the screen. Complaining when that happens screams of ingratitude.

Same goes for people who said Galadriel wasn’t strong enough/old enough/elf enough. Or that there wasn’t enough sex in Witcher. Or too many gaps in House of the Dragon.

It has been said elsewhere more eloquently, but I suspect people don’t understand just how little interest there is in whether @XXXXXXXXXX says a show is crap. Random internet posters unsupported and unreferenced views that something is subpar carries a negligible amount of weight in random internet reader’s decision making. It’s the equivalent of seeing a 1 one star review which has no text or just says “I didn’t like it”. That kind of review says more about the reviewer than the thing they are reviewing.

Say what you think could have been done better sure, but consider that just because it’s an issue for you doesn’t make the show poor or indeed even bother anyone else. I’ve seen too many reviews from biased, reactionary, or just extremely negative people to take unsupported opinions seriously.