They've got an uphill climb turning Wheel of Time into a presentable show.
For starters, it's not top-shelf material. Kingkiller, Vorkosigan, Harry Dresden and many others feature better story. Jordan's world is impeccably detailed but the books themselves feature literally thousands of pages of characters scurrying back and forth accomplishing not very much. Jordan's characters are very hit-or-miss. I cared more about Waldo Butters (minor character in Dresdenverse) after a couple dozen pages than I cared about Faile after hundreds. Hell, I care more about Leanansidhe -- a freaking villain -- than I do about Faile. I get it, Bob, she's a rich brat trying desperately to be tough and independent and mad at everything. Somehow I didn't care when she got kidnapped the first time, what made you think I'd care the second time? You can stop.
Second, it's going to be held up against Game of Thrones every episode. It's almost certainly going to fall short.
Third, translation to TV can be difficult. Executive meddling, too many changes, not enough budget, wrong actors, there's a lot that can go wrong. The end product may be unrecognizable or, worse yet, recognizable only as a Frankensteinian abomination of a treasured IP. Look no further than the awful Harry Dresden TV show.
For starters, it's not top-shelf material. Kingkiller, Vorkosigan, Harry Dresden and many others feature better story. Jordan's world is impeccably detailed but the books themselves feature literally thousands of pages of characters scurrying back and forth accomplishing not very much. Jordan's characters are very hit-or-miss. I cared more about Waldo Butters (minor character in Dresdenverse) after a couple dozen pages than I cared about Faile after hundreds. Hell, I care more about Leanansidhe -- a freaking villain -- than I do about Faile. I get it, Bob, she's a rich brat trying desperately to be tough and independent and mad at everything. Somehow I didn't care when she got kidnapped the first time, what made you think I'd care the second time? You can stop.
Second, it's going to be held up against Game of Thrones every episode. It's almost certainly going to fall short.
Third, translation to TV can be difficult. Executive meddling, too many changes, not enough budget, wrong actors, there's a lot that can go wrong. The end product may be unrecognizable or, worse yet, recognizable only as a Frankensteinian abomination of a treasured IP. Look no further than the awful Harry Dresden TV show.
