I haven't seen more than the snippets released as teasers--but, so far, it feels wrong to me. I know that it is hard to recreate books that people love because readers will form pretty exact notions about characters, settings and so on. BUT the TV series is a comedy and the books aren't. The books
have humor in them--dry, sardonic, ironic humor but not the general tone is the voice of a traumatized slave in a corporate fascist world (except for Preservation). That doesn't come through and makes the TV version shallow. At least that's how it seems to me based on the snippets.
I was also worried about the tone based on the trailer and other short clips, but it resolved when getting to watch the full episodes. The tone is pretty close to the books: dryly funny and definitely anti-corporate.
Yeah, same. The trailer had me worried about the tone of the show. But I was pleased with (though not fully blown away by) the first two episodes.
They 100% nailed all of the humans. And I think the little differences between my brain and the screen for Murderbot will melt away in future episodes.
Some others have expressed similar concerns, but Skarsgård definitely sells the part in my opinion. He doesn’t come off as extremely masculine - there’s even a scene that explicitly emasculates the character to address it - and he plays the neurodivergent aspect well.
It’s worth keeping in mind that in the UK (and Europe in general?), it’s normal to use the word “series” where we say “season” when talking about television.
I do, too. They haven’t gotten to that part in the story yet, though. They’re taking it slow and actually telling the whole story, not an abridged version of it.
I don’t think that relationship will be part of this series. From the pacing of episodes 1 & 2 they seem to be moving through the story on a cadence that will just cover All Systems Red in the first series.
Disagree. Not an over the top comedy, but as science fiction goes, I found the books to be pretty funny. The juxtaposition of the machine and the remnants of human that’s put in an extreme situation is funny in itself.
I found the books interesting and entertaining, but I suppose what we consider comedic in the sense of genre differs. All in all a great read. Finished one book and couldn’t wait for the next. A challenge to translate to film and still capture the essence of a somewhat light hearted Sci-Fi.
It was hilarious. Count the number of times Murderbot says "For fuck sake." and tell me that's not a comedy. The books were deeply funny observations on being human and that was a core part of why they are so good.
Such great books! I loved them. Passed them on to my wife. She loved them more! I'm very excited to see the show, but a little nervous about how well the internal monologues will translate into a visual medium. I suspect we're in good hands with talented cast, director, and crew.
The article is right about the AppleTV thing. Nobody I know IRL knows anything about shows on AppleTV; it's one streaming service too far for them. They watch Netflix/Amazon/Disney+ but they haven't even heard of Severance. (I am not in the US, and most of the people I know are not very wealthy.)
damnit! why didn’t I know there were books?! Sorry, I prefer the printed version. I’m sure the 3D, color version is good but . . . nahhhhh, I have more books to read than there is time in this universe and I ain’t got time!
Comments
They 100% nailed all of the humans. And I think the little differences between my brain and the screen for Murderbot will melt away in future episodes.
Just watched the first two episodes and I'll keep watching the rest of the series.
Good stuff.
I recommend reading the first few books before watching the series anyway. They're very, very good.
https://www.wired.com/story/future-of-work-compulsory-martha-wells/
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