Jonathan Strange and Mr. Norrell

Oh wow, thanks for the reminder! I knew it started this month, but had forgotten the date. DVR is now set to record!

If that's the one halfway through its run here, I wouldn't get your hopes too high.

mirandashell said:

If that's the one halfway through its run here, I wouldn't get your hopes too high.

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Well, that's disappointing, but, for my tastes, I generally find that even "bad" BBC productions are better than 80% of the programming we have to choose from, so I'm still in (at least for now).

I'm not saying it's bad. Just.... don't get too excited. That's all I can say.

The first episode already played here in the US. We watched it a couple of days ago. Maybe they released it OnDemand?

This is one of my favorite books (in, like, I've read it several times over the years). The pilot episode hewed close to the source, but was so fast-paced I worried that anyone not familiar with the book wouldn't be able to follow what the hell was happening. I mean characters were simply there doing stuff with very little explanation. And Childermass! No. And The fairy! Double-no. I'm also iffy on the casting of Norrel. Everyone else seemed perfect. But I admit that the cast not matching the characters as they exist in my head is a very personal quibble.

mirandashell said:

I'm not saying it's bad. Just.... don't get too excited. That's all I can say.

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Huh, a friend of mine, a noted English sorcerer actually, emailed me just to encourage me to watch it. Said it was brilliant. Everybody's got different tastes, a suspect.

Ah, thanks for the reminder. I'm always disappointed by film remakes of books, but I'm always willing to give it a try.

I am cautiously optimistic. A favorite book of mine as well, I also found the pilot episode a bit rushed and worried for nonbook fans getting a bit overwhelmed by that. But since I know the book, I knew it was rushed. Maybe nonbook fans didn't notice?

paddismac said:

Well, that's disappointing, but, for my tastes, I generally find that even "bad" BBC productions are better than 80% of the programming we have to choose from, so I'm still in (at least for now).

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I found this to be true as well, so I am also in for now.

The first episode here got 5 million viewers. The fifth episode was down to 1.8 million.

Saw this on tape the other day. (Yes, we're still using VHS tape; Concast charges extra for DVR.) Not bad, but I definitely get the feeling I'm missing something by not having read the book first. The dialog also sounds muddy, making it hard to pick out what people are saying, especially when they're talking fast. I also don't like the annoying commercial cuts on BBC America, especially when the show clearly wasn't written with breaks in mind.

when other AWers say 'rushed', it's uisually just right for me - I noticed that in the Doctor Who thread.

I've been wary of this show because so many new shows that were lauded by everybody for their scope and literariness and for telling a story not in one, not in two, no, in seven hours or more, have turned out to be so very boring. To me, anyway. Everbody else seems to love True Detective.

And I remember I really loved this book. Wouldn't want to see it go to waste.

Just watched the first ep, and it was almost perfect, except for the occasional mumbling. Funny, scopey, spooky, everything I loved about the book, plus Marc Warren. Also, the guy playing Norrell - not how I envisioned him at all, but he's great"! I love his awkwardness and his subtle reactions when he's uncomfortable (i. e. always). I really hope they can keep this up. And drop the mumbling.

Is everyone still watching?

I've grown to enjoy the series more and more as it progresses. A question though: has the series been re-edited for US consumption (a la Downton Abbey)? The last episode had a scene where Stephen vigorously refused to allow Segundis to interrogate Lady Half-finger, and then in the very next scene he was helping with the interrogation. It made no sense. I got the feeling a scene had been cut bridging the gap.

I just finished this on Netflix and I think my magician friend (a noted English magician I might add) was dead on. I loved the crap out of it. I have ordered the book to revisit this world in more detail. Just loved it.

Hmm. The Gentleman with the Thistledown Hair didn't work for me, but I thought Jonathan Strange and Arabella were well done. Norrell wasn't fidgety and fussy enough.

Marissa D said:

Hmm. The Gentleman with the Thistledown Hair didn't work for me, but I thought Jonathan Strange and Arabella were well done. Norrell wasn't fidgety and fussy enough.

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Huh, I thought he was awesome. Perhaps, because I haven't yet read the book?

Diana Hignutt said:

Huh, I thought he was awesome. Perhaps, because I haven't yet read the book?

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I would say he's different in the book. In the book he's more of a chaotic character whose mood can change on a dime and who seems to genuinely think that he's doing right by his human "friends," and the scariness is more that it's impossible to make him understand. The miniseries made him more straight-up villainous, I think.

I think my magician friend (a noted English magician I might add) was dead on

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Your magician friend against roughly 4 million other Brits. But hey, tastes differ.

mirandashell said:

Your magician friend against roughly 4 million other Brits. But hey, tastes differ.

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We magicians have peculiar tastes, it seems.





ETA: I am retired from magick, exchanging it for Techno-Catharism.

We magicians have peculiar tastes, it seems.

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You two probably got more out of it than the rest of us.

DancingMaenid said:

I would say he's different in the book. In the book he's more of a chaotic character whose mood can change on a dime and who seems to genuinely think that he's doing right by his human "friends," and the scariness is more that it's impossible to make him understand. The miniseries made him more straight-up villainous, I think.

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Yes, this. He was a different character in the book.

I was also bugged that Wellington's nose was wrong. I mean, really? (Yeah, I'm fussy.)

I think I feel a re-read coming on... (for about the seventh time.)

Started watching this now that it's on Netflix. I actually almost gave up on the first episode for being too slow, but the last third was great and the two episodes I've watched since were enjoyable. I actually feel like I would not enjoy the book much, simply because many of the things I am enjoying about the show would just be different in book form.

To me the man with the thistledown hair is just a little more committed than all the other characters who are manipulating folks to get what they want. And he is villainous, but in a kind of "they will be better off when I'm done" kind of way that is very self-serving.

I've got about half of the series left to watch so it might still fall apart for me, but glad I stuck with the first episode for sure.

rugcat said:

If you're a fan of Edgar Rice Burroughs, you're probably not going to like this book.(Although personally, I like them both, for different reasons)

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Whilst I did love ERB when I was a teenager, I have shockingly nuanced literary tastes these days. I think I'll be okay. Besides, I only dropped $3.50 on a used copy from Amazon.