American Gods Coming To Starz

rugcat · Apr 7, 2017

On April 30, Starz will air the first episode of the eight episode first season of Neil Gaiman's American Gods.

Starz is being very cagey and not releasing any of the episodes for critics to view before they premiere the first episode April 17 at SXSW.

But I think all we need to know is that Ian McShane (Deadwood, among others) will be playing Odin.

I have a feeling this is going to be a terrific show, but unfortunately not a whole lot of people get Starz. But I'll be sure to let you know what you're missing -- or not.

Toothpaste · Apr 21, 2017

The reviews have been fantastic and it looks glorious (and I agree that really all you need to know is that Ian McShane is in it). The only issue is of course actually finding it to watch.

Fun fact: I have a small one line role in the pilot episode

.

Spooky · Apr 21, 2017

I've read this one twice by Gaiman, fascinating thing he managed to grow into a cohesive structure, reckon it will be read ravenously a hundred years from now. I really cherish the little touches that sparkle whenever I churn the bigger chunks, he really fits the whole thing together masterfully. I didn't care much for the main character no matter what he represented but it's not the first time I've loved a piece and felt flat about the main. Wednesday stuck to me since I first met him in there.

frecklesndoubt · Jun 30, 2017

No recent posts on this one. Anyone else watching?

Filigree · Jun 30, 2017

Yes. It's hooked me, right from pilot to season 1 finale.

AyJay · Jul 1, 2017

The small screen adaptation has been a mixed bag for me so far. One the plus side, I love the casting (agree that Ian McShane is perfect, I also love Ricky Whittle, and of course Gillian Anderson), and the production quality is excellent, wonderfully stylistic, and a beautiful tribute to the book.

Perhaps by way of being painstakingly loyal to the feel of Gaiman's novel - meandering, esoteric (all in good ways) - the show, to me, has felt slow and a bit too overcrowded with stories. I'm not immersed like I was while reading the book, and I guess that's because the demands for TV/film are different than for books. I didn't mind the diversions, the rotating folktales, as a reader, but they're not working for me so well in the series. As one example, there's been a lot of emphasis on Shadow's wife, maybe even more screen time than Shadow himself, and it's taken me out of the story (I also just don't find the wife's story so gripping and relatable). Maybe some of those issues will even out in the next season.

frecklesndoubt · Jul 2, 2017

That's interesting - I find the Laura story, and the performance, far more compelling than anything that's happening in the main thread with Shadow and the gods. I find Shadow really dull, to be honest, which was not a problem I had with the book. And as the book is told from Shadow's perspective, it also bothered me less that the old gods are - shall we say, less than sympathetic? I'm finding I don't care at all about the battle between the gods in the show, as it hasn't given me a compelling reason to care about them or to hope that they are successful. Also, as the show takes us out of Shadow's head, it's hard to be patient as he continues to doubt that all of the things happening around him are real. In the book, there's more ambiguity and it's easier to go along with him. In the show, he comes across as pretty unforgivably dimwitted.

AyJay · Jul 9, 2017

Hi Freckles - Sorry about the delayed reaction. I went out of town for the week soon after I posted.

So we definitely had different reactions to the main characters, but I guess we can agree that the tension that worked well in the book - will the old gods make a comeback? - doesn't work so well in the series. For me, I'm thoroughly on-board with Thor because Ian McShane does such a great job with the portrayal. Though what I didn't mention above is that I'm also a bit disappointed with the new gods of materialism and technology. I love watching Gillian Anderson on screen, and I think she does the best giving the modern gods a menacing edge. But other than that, that new god team doesn't come across as dangerous and unstoppable like they did in the book; or I guess they lost some steam after their horrible abduction of Shadow early in the season. For the rest of the series, they're just kind of inscrutable and ineffective. So that makes me less interested in the showdown to come.

greendragon · Aug 15, 2017

I was a bit bored with Shadow as a character in the book. He has very little verve or personality, but that's totally within the acceptable for Baldur, whom he portrays within the Norse pantheon.

I love that Laura is given more screen time, and LOVE the bloody leprechaun. He's fantastic. More of him, please! Ian McShane is genius and makes a perfect Odinn. The old gods weren't meant to be sympathetic. They were cruel and heartless, as much of life was before the 20th century. Life sucked, and then you died - and humanity thought up Gods to reflect that. Capricious, jealous, angry, violent - and that's just the Greek Gods.

Oh, and incestuous and over-sexed!

I love Gillian Anderson. She's a great Media. Not so thrilled with the kid... he's annoying as all get-out. And Mr. World... I keep wanting to knock him on the head and say 'McFly! McFly!"

WaywardFest · Aug 16, 2017

Big fan of Neil Gaiman and was rather impressed with the first season of the show overall. Ian McShane’s performance is a highlight, to say the least.

I’m eagerly awaiting to see how season two will unfold.

Sage · Aug 28, 2017

Enjoyed most of American Gods, although I thought the Vulcan episode dragged. I'm weird because AG is a solid 3-star read for me. I appreciate so many things about it, but I also find a lot of faults with it.

I found Shadow to be very boring in the book, which he was supposed to be, but I enjoy this portrayal of him, which seems to have more life to it. Laura also felt very wooden to me--which is weird because, IIRC, she's the one who tells Shadow that he needs to start living--and I never really liked her, but here, where she's portrayed to be very unlikeable even beyond the original getting-Shadow-arrested-and-screwing-his-best-friend, I actually like her a lot.

I'm the opposite of some, in that I didn't enjoy the wandering "Coming to America"/"Somewhere in America" tales in the book, but I think they work much better as part of (or all of) episodes. And "Prayer for Mad Sweeney" was an excellent episode, even though we didn't see Shadow and Wednesday in it at all.

I was pretty nervous about how the season was going to end, since I saw it was called "Come To Jesus." I knew that there was a bonus "Shadow Meets Jesus" chapter that I chose not to bother with because the novel just won't end so I didn't have patience for anything more, and it seemed to me we were destined to end the season far from the book. But then we met Ostara, played by the wonderful Kristen Chenoweth, so I was happy.

American Gods Coming To Starz

rugcat

Lost in the Fog

Toothpaste

THE RECKLESS RESCUE is out now!

Spooky

Even the sphinx has eyes O_O

frecklesndoubt

love, curiosity

Filigree

Mildly Disturbing

AyJay

Luv's Conscript

frecklesndoubt

love, curiosity

AyJay

Luv's Conscript

greendragon

WaywardFest

Sage

Supreme Guessinator