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WHEEL OF TIME TV series watching thread (spoilers!) (was: 'So, the WHEEL OF TIME TV series is a go at Sony' thread

#21 User is offline   TheRetiredBridgeburner 

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Posted 12 February 2015 - 06:02 AM

View PostTerez, on 12 February 2015 - 02:09 AM, said:

I think WoT could fit HBO if not for their strong association with GRRM. Some have suggested Netflix or Amazon. Where it lands (assuming this thing can be settled legally) I will watch it if it's done well. And I will bitch about it even so.


I do hope something will get made. I'm hoping there's enough wrong with the way Red Eagle went about this that a contract lawyer could poke enough holes to get the rights away from them. It would a nice thing to see done well with a budget.
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#22 User is offline   Maark Abbott 

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Posted 12 February 2015 - 07:23 AM

View PostTerez, on 12 February 2015 - 04:16 AM, said:

View PostMaark, on 10 February 2015 - 03:07 PM, said:

View PostTheRetiredBridgeburner, on 10 February 2015 - 12:59 PM, said:

Billy Zane is weird, but I have to admit what annoyed me the most is that they pronounce Aes Sedai about five different ways, none of which are correct.

I always read it as though they were Canadian. Ehs, Said I. There's a moose oover there.

It's EYES Suh-DYE.

I think the narrator got it right. I'm not sure. Pronunciation was kind of low on my list of things to be disturbed about while watching. Even Harriet pronounces Aes Sedai wrong, sometimes at least.




What's all this pronunciation aboot, eh?
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#23 User is offline   Abyss 

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Posted 12 February 2015 - 07:12 PM

Billy Zane, people.


For fuck's sake, BILLY ZANE!!!
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#24 User is offline   Raymond Luxury Yacht 

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Posted 12 February 2015 - 08:42 PM

Not watching this. My feelings regarding WoT have been made known already.
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#25 User is offline   Raizen 

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Posted 13 February 2015 - 01:58 PM

Somewhere Nynaeve is pulling the hell out of her braid at this.
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#26 User is offline   Maark Abbott 

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Posted 13 February 2015 - 03:07 PM

View PostRaizen, on 13 February 2015 - 01:58 PM, said:

Somewhere Nynaeve is pulling the hell out of her braid at this.



Sniffed Raizen, smoothing their skirt which was no longer smooth until smoothness once more returned to it.
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#27 User is offline   Werthead 

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Posted 14 February 2015 - 11:08 AM

And it keeps getting weirder.

Red Eagle's ability to operate as a legal company was suspended in August 2014, allegedly for tax issues in California. No-one's found any evidence that this status has changed recently, meaning they cannot legally sue anyone because they effectively do not exist. I guess that also means they can't have made this production and that the film rights have reverted automatically to the Jordan Estate.

I'm assuming that this actually isn't the case, otherwise the people behind Red Eagle are very daft indeed.

In addition, the actress who played Ilyena in the episode is Billy Zane's girlfriend, model Candice Neill. Either he's a huge fan of the books or he saw the potential in this going to series and decided to get on the action for the chance of an ongoing role or producer's pay-off later on.

View PostAbyss, on 12 February 2015 - 07:12 PM, said:

Billy Zane, people.


For fuck's sake, BILLY ZANE!!!


He's a cool dude.
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#28 User is offline   Werthead 

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Posted 13 August 2015 - 08:27 PM

Red Eagle de-escalate the situation.

Red Eagle are no longer suing Robert Jordan's widow, but discussions remain "ongoing" about the ownership of the film/TV rights.

My guess is that Red Eagle either 1) deliberately launched the lawsuit so they could withdraw it later on as a pre-emptive bargaining chip, or 2) realised they were on a hiding to nothing and quit whilst they were ahead.

At the moment I'm going to guess that the Jordan Estate technically get the rights back, but the Red Eagle company retains a nominal producer's credit. If the WHEEL OF TIME TV series does end up with Sony, that would at least make sense because Red Eagle set up the deal, even if it falls to the Estate to execute it.

So hopefully a final end to this mess is in sight, because WoT is in danger of missing the boat as other fantasy properties are picked up all over the shop.

One thing that is interesting: Universal may also be back interested since they missed out big time in the recent D&D legal shenanigans. If they want a slice of the fantasy pie, this is their best bet.
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#29 User is offline   Werthead 

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Posted 20 April 2017 - 07:51 PM

It's happening.

With Sony as well, as was speculated many moons ago.
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#30 User is offline   Terez 

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Posted 04 June 2019 - 03:35 AM

It's with Amazon, REE on as executive producers (in name only, supposedly, though I can think of a few ways they have definitively affected production already, and not in a good way), head writer Rafe Judkins.

The President (2012) said:

Please proceed, Governor.

Chris Christie (2016) said:

There it is.

Elizabeth Warren (2020) said:

And no, I’m not talking about Donald Trump. I’m talking about Mayor Bloomberg.
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#31 User is offline   Terez 

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Posted 04 June 2019 - 03:57 AM

No, not sabotage. Just remnants of their questionable decisions.

The President (2012) said:

Please proceed, Governor.

Chris Christie (2016) said:

There it is.

Elizabeth Warren (2020) said:

And no, I’m not talking about Donald Trump. I’m talking about Mayor Bloomberg.
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#32 User is offline   Terez 

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Posted 04 June 2019 - 05:16 AM

That's a nope.

The President (2012) said:

Please proceed, Governor.

Chris Christie (2016) said:

There it is.

Elizabeth Warren (2020) said:

And no, I’m not talking about Donald Trump. I’m talking about Mayor Bloomberg.
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#33 User is offline   QuickTidal 

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Posted 04 June 2019 - 12:54 PM

I say again...Oof... Rafe Judkins.

A former Survivor contestant.

A fairly recent hollywood screenwriter with some CHUCK under his belt (the episodes are fine; nothing to write home about), AGENTS OF SHIELD (again, middle of the road episodes, nothing particularly special), and reworked the screenplay for the film adaptation of UNCHARTED, which caused its director (Shawn Levy) to step down.

So he can probably deliver on the writing front a serviceable show...but a show-runner, this guy is really not. That is a far more monumental task that he has no experience in. The last time someone with simple minor TV writing experience jumped into such a role, we got IRON FIST S1. Or how Scott Gimple took a great show (THE WALKING DEAD) and slowly drove it inexorably into the dirt with his lack of experience.

I REALLY hope he delivers as I think this adaptation deserves to be good. I may not have felt the whole series was worth it after finishing the books, but I can see how a TV series can cut ALL the extra chaff and maybe deliver a pacey, multi-season arc show and be better than Jordan's meandering work (with removal of his more questionable...errr....penchants). This has a shot at being the next "big thing"....but I admit that with the Middle Earth TV show at the same place (Amazon) which is being called the most expensive show of all time, it has its work cut out for it. Luckily, it has a pretty sizeable fanbase to crow about it. But to really make it GoT-level...you need the filthy casuals to get on board.

TL;DR: Excited to see what they do, but I'm just leery of Judkin's lack of experience in the show runner role.
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#34 User is offline   worry 

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Posted 04 June 2019 - 05:57 PM

B-dogg himself has commented on his opinion of the show's progress recently: https://www.tor.com/...v-show-changes/
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#35 User is offline   paran falcon 

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Posted 05 June 2019 - 01:08 PM

For very personal reasons, The Wheel of Time may still be my very favorite fantasy series, despite some of its issues. I know I've become crotchety in my "old" age but I haven't been thrilled with a lot of fantasy-series-to-tv/movies adaptations. (RE: stretching The Hobbit into 3 movies, the complete bastardization of The Elfstones of Shannara, etc). I get that I may be in the minority and that some of these things are necessary for the visual transition. But I REALLY may not be able to take what can/will happen to WoT. I may have to avoid it completely. If I'm able to. I also really want to share this series with my daughter, who has become a fantasy reader, to my complete joy. And I DO NOT want a subpar tv series to be her first exposure to this world.

This post has been edited by paran falcon: 05 June 2019 - 01:09 PM

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#36 User is offline   Gorefest 

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Posted 05 June 2019 - 03:23 PM

I apologise for being contrary in this thread, but after having read the first three books back in the late nineties and losing interest, I again tried it this year. I am currently on the 10th or 11th book (who can keep track) and to be honest, it is a bit of a slog. I'm persevering because I got this far and there definitely are some interesting story threads, but dear gods there is a lot of unnecessary filler and repetition in this series. Half the time I feel as if I'm reading some young adult fiction due to the painful amount of superficial puppy love and nudity hints (hihi boobs). I cringe more heavily every time that one of the Special Ones (Rand, Perrin, or Matt) muses on how much more the other two know about women than they do. There is a bizarrely high level of spanking and whipping that takes place throughout all layers of society (cuz, you know, spanking/whipping is appropriate punishment, especially for women.....really?) that especially the girls/women in the series seem more than happy to be subjected to. The amount of times that we see the likes of Egwene and Elayne think that they deserve their naked punishment runs or extra floggings is bordering on the perverted (mister Jordan?). The whole series is also tropey as fuck, but I can appreciate that WoT is itself the creator/'populariser' of a lot of those tropes, so that is probably an unfair judgement when reading it 20 years after its inception.

Nevertheless, it is enjoyable enough and there is enough merit in the world building and concepts that I want to slog it out until the end. But I would hope that a TV series would cut out a lot of the dead wood. Seven or eight seasons, like GoT, it really doesn't need. As I said, I haven't finished the series yet by a long way, but I imagine you can easily do without all the Seanchan conquest/return stuff, several of the Forsaken, the whole kinswomen subplot, the tiresome sea folk and the elusive weather bowl, most of the city uprisings and tedious politicking (give Elayne the Caemlyn throne already FFS) and those pesky Shaido Aiel. Pffffff. It just goes on and on and on and on without an ending in sight. My understanding is that I am getting to the stage where the Sanderson crew takes over, so I am hoping that it will pick up the pace a bit and actually works towards a convergence instead of just throwing more unnecessary plot threads into the mix. But yeah, a TV series sounds interesting but it will need a firm script-writing/editing team on board.

This post has been edited by Gorefest: 05 June 2019 - 03:26 PM

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#37 User is offline   Dadding 

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Posted 05 June 2019 - 11:02 PM

View PostGorefest, on 05 June 2019 - 03:23 PM, said:

I apologise for being contrary in this thread, but after having read the first three books back in the late nineties and losing interest, I again tried it this year. I am currently on the 10th or 11th book (who can keep track) and to be honest, it is a bit of a slog. I'm persevering because I got this far and there definitely are some interesting story threads, but dear gods there is a lot of unnecessary filler and repetition in this series. Half the time I feel as if I'm reading some young adult fiction due to the painful amount of superficial puppy love and nudity hints (hihi boobs). I cringe more heavily every time that one of the Special Ones (Rand, Perrin, or Matt) muses on how much more the other two know about women than they do. There is a bizarrely high level of spanking and whipping that takes place throughout all layers of society (cuz, you know, spanking/whipping is appropriate punishment, especially for women.....really?) that especially the girls/women in the series seem more than happy to be subjected to. The amount of times that we see the likes of Egwene and Elayne think that they deserve their naked punishment runs or extra floggings is bordering on the perverted (mister Jordan?). The whole series is also tropey as fuck, but I can appreciate that WoT is itself the creator/'populariser' of a lot of those tropes, so that is probably an unfair judgement when reading it 20 years after its inception.

Nevertheless, it is enjoyable enough and there is enough merit in the world building and concepts that I want to slog it out until the end. But I would hope that a TV series would cut out a lot of the dead wood. Seven or eight seasons, like GoT, it really doesn't need. As I said, I haven't finished the series yet by a long way, but I imagine you can easily do without all the Seanchan conquest/return stuff, several of the Forsaken, the whole kinswomen subplot, the tiresome sea folk and the elusive weather bowl, most of the city uprisings and tedious politicking (give Elayne the Caemlyn throne already FFS) and those pesky Shaido Aiel. Pffffff. It just goes on and on and on and on without an ending in sight. My understanding is that I am getting to the stage where the Sanderson crew takes over, so I am hoping that it will pick up the pace a bit and actually works towards a convergence instead of just throwing more unnecessary plot threads into the mix. But yeah, a TV series sounds interesting but it will need a firm script-writing/editing team on board.

I'm in the same boat, read the first few several years back now I'm trying to tackle the series once and for all. I'm only on book 4 though, so I only half-read your second paragraph through squinted eyes. But that's pretty much the best summary of my biggest issue with the series so far. The Elayne-Egwene-Min love story stuff, the "I don't get girls", women and men are unknowable to each other, and the 'women are naggy' stuff. Ugh, it just skeeves me out. I haven't got to the whipping and spanking yet though ... though the fact that you're bringing up all these issues means they don't go away as the series progresses. I would have thought the whole "Rand is better with girls" thing would get old pretty quick.

I feel like I'm reading bad teen fan fiction sometimes. It does have its redeeming moments though. And a good friend of mine insists it's the best ending to a Fantasy series of all time. I haven't convinced her to read MBotF yet.
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#38 User is offline   Maark Abbott 

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Posted 06 June 2019 - 07:25 AM

I take what Ole Sandy says with a pinch of salt as he thought everything that went into way of kings were excellent choices.

However I am hopeful that any changes they make cut the chaff out of the story.
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#39 User is offline   TheRetiredBridgeburner 

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Posted 06 June 2019 - 07:45 AM

View PostDadding, on 05 June 2019 - 11:02 PM, said:

I feel like I'm reading bad teen fan fiction sometimes. It does have its redeeming moments though. And a good friend of mine insists it's the best ending to a Fantasy series of all time. I haven't convinced her to read MBotF yet.


Best ever is a stretch for me but it does have a good ending - I actually think the series improved when Sanderson took over the reins because he wasn't wedded to all the fluff Jordan padded the rest of the series out with. From memory (it's been a while) you do get less of Jordan's weird fascination with certain punishments for the female characters. I don't think it disappears but there's definitely a lot less of it!

As others have said, I'm hopeful the cross to TV as a medium will trim the unnecessary nonsense and leave us with what hopefully will be a decent fantasy series.
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#40 User is offline   Maark Abbott 

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Posted 06 June 2019 - 07:48 AM

View PostTheRetiredBridgeburner, on 06 June 2019 - 07:45 AM, said:

View PostDadding, on 05 June 2019 - 11:02 PM, said:

I feel like I'm reading bad teen fan fiction sometimes. It does have its redeeming moments though. And a good friend of mine insists it's the best ending to a Fantasy series of all time. I haven't convinced her to read MBotF yet.


Best ever is a stretch for me but it does have a good ending - I actually think the series improved when Sanderson took over the reins because he wasn't wedded to all the fluff Jordan padded the rest of the series out with. From memory (it's been a while) you do get less of Jordan's weird fascination with certain punishments for the female characters. I don't think it disappears but there's definitely a lot less of it!

As others have said, I'm hopeful the cross to TV as a medium will trim the unnecessary nonsense and leave us with what hopefully will be a decent fantasy series.


That's the weird thing, WOT14 is absolutely fucking brilliant. It's a wild ride through that entire tome.
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