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Fanboy Chatter
Mar. 12th, 2007 10:21 amSo, in addition to my regular Sunday night dose of The Dresden Files on SciFi, Blood Ties premiered on Lifetime yesterday. I'm clearly in fanboy heaven.
TDF was workmanlike again. This is a good show and one I'm happy to make time for. Unfortunately, it isn't a great show. It is just missing the 'spark' to make it count. It is possible that more face time for Murphy will do it. I was really pleased with her comments to Harry as she walked out of his office (both the writing and her delivery of the lines). The Harry/Murphy dynamic really has the potential to 'pop' in a good way. Morgan is also starting to be a more interesting character, although I get the feeling they aren't quite sure yet as to what angle to write him from.
I think part of the problem for me is that the magic seems a bit hit and miss...somewhat bland. There is no consistent flavor or easily seen rhyme/reason to the spells. We haven't developed a real feel for what Harry can/can't do with magic in the show, so each spell seems a bit deus ex machina when it happens. That said, it is still a good show and clearly demonstrates the potential to take a step forward in the near future.
Blood Ties, on the other hand, was fantastic. I now have extraordinarily high hopes for this series, based on the 2 hour premiere. This was a direct adaptation of the first Tanya Huff novel with these characters, Blood Price. I'm thinking it should be an example to be studied by all filmmakers as to how to adapt a book.
Now I'll be the first to admit that a vampire series is easier to adapt (especially on a tight budget) than one about a wizard, so it has an easier start than TDF. Vampires are such a strong part of popular culture that you have a lot of background to work with without having to sell it on screen. However, the part I find amazing is how all of the key plot points and emotional moments in the book were featured and sold in less than two hours of screen time. A fair amount of the secondary beats and stories were also able to be featured.
The casting was spot on perfect. All three of the leads were either blatantly typecast or simply strong actors, as well as possessing good looks for the characters. (I haven't re-read the books recently enough to have a strong picture of how they were described. I just read all the short stories, but they aren't terribly specific as to the looks of the established characters. :) ) They carry out the personalities of the characters clearly, which is the most important point.
The villain of the piece was more than sufficiently creepy. Also more than sufficiently reminiscent of people I've met. Luckily, they fail to have possession of a functional grimoire. I'm much happier with that than depending on a vampire to come save the day. :) I can see how people could complain that the portrayal was unnecessarily over-the-top, but I think it came right up to that line in a manner that made me uncomfortable for the character. (Rather than uncomfortable with the reality of the character.)
If the series manages to uphold this level of quality, I'm going to be just as addicted as I am with Heroes. Maybe more.
TDF was workmanlike again. This is a good show and one I'm happy to make time for. Unfortunately, it isn't a great show. It is just missing the 'spark' to make it count. It is possible that more face time for Murphy will do it. I was really pleased with her comments to Harry as she walked out of his office (both the writing and her delivery of the lines). The Harry/Murphy dynamic really has the potential to 'pop' in a good way. Morgan is also starting to be a more interesting character, although I get the feeling they aren't quite sure yet as to what angle to write him from.
I think part of the problem for me is that the magic seems a bit hit and miss...somewhat bland. There is no consistent flavor or easily seen rhyme/reason to the spells. We haven't developed a real feel for what Harry can/can't do with magic in the show, so each spell seems a bit deus ex machina when it happens. That said, it is still a good show and clearly demonstrates the potential to take a step forward in the near future.
Blood Ties, on the other hand, was fantastic. I now have extraordinarily high hopes for this series, based on the 2 hour premiere. This was a direct adaptation of the first Tanya Huff novel with these characters, Blood Price. I'm thinking it should be an example to be studied by all filmmakers as to how to adapt a book.
Now I'll be the first to admit that a vampire series is easier to adapt (especially on a tight budget) than one about a wizard, so it has an easier start than TDF. Vampires are such a strong part of popular culture that you have a lot of background to work with without having to sell it on screen. However, the part I find amazing is how all of the key plot points and emotional moments in the book were featured and sold in less than two hours of screen time. A fair amount of the secondary beats and stories were also able to be featured.
The casting was spot on perfect. All three of the leads were either blatantly typecast or simply strong actors, as well as possessing good looks for the characters. (I haven't re-read the books recently enough to have a strong picture of how they were described. I just read all the short stories, but they aren't terribly specific as to the looks of the established characters. :) ) They carry out the personalities of the characters clearly, which is the most important point.
The villain of the piece was more than sufficiently creepy. Also more than sufficiently reminiscent of people I've met. Luckily, they fail to have possession of a functional grimoire. I'm much happier with that than depending on a vampire to come save the day. :) I can see how people could complain that the portrayal was unnecessarily over-the-top, but I think it came right up to that line in a manner that made me uncomfortable for the character. (Rather than uncomfortable with the reality of the character.)
If the series manages to uphold this level of quality, I'm going to be just as addicted as I am with Heroes. Maybe more.
