The False Dragon

[FieryTrainwreck]

The Wheel of Time series is actually very well suited to TV adaptation. There are many dozens of characters, whole stretches of books, and even an entire volume of the series that absolutely deserve to end up on the cutting room floor. It's the rare novel that might be drastically improved by a good, merciless editing.

Of course, given the ineptitude of most producers, they'd probably just cut out Mat's entire story to make way for multiple seasons outlining the bureaucracy and politics of the White Tower and its many skirt smoothers.

As for dream castings... maybe Michael Fassbender as Moridin and Tom Hiddleston as Mazram Taim?

 

[NeutralDrow]

Animated... animated... yes... lets do that. I mean... you could have a LONG-RUNNING anime, with ZERO FILLER. It would need to be done very well, but... oh god.

WoT without filler sounds like an almost-unforgivably unfaithful adaptation.

Speaking as someone who liked Crossroads of Twilight.

Isn't Logain Saldean?
snip

Edit. Never mind it's Mazrim Taim that's Saldean.

Yeah, Logain is Ghealdanin, if I remember right. Makes me wish I could remember anything about Ghealdan, beyond the fact that it's in either chaos and/or shambles for literally the entire series (when Logain's captured, suddenly here comes the Prophet, then the queen vanishes...).

Captcha: little did he know

v(^_^)v

 

[jklinders]

Billy Zane was in it. WHat were you expecting from the man who was in the Phantom?

 

[ecoho]

I hope Harriet rips out their souls and destroys their lives for this travesty. I mean to do something so malicious as this is just wrong and I hope they get thrown in prison for it.

 

[Eddie the head]

Animated... animated... yes... lets do that. I mean... you could have a LONG-RUNNING anime, with ZERO FILLER. It would need to be done very well, but... oh god.

WoT without filler sounds like an almost-unforgivably unfaithful adaptation.

Speaking as someone who liked Crossroads of Twilight.

Isn't Logain Saldean?
snip

Edit. Never mind it's Mazrim Taim that's Saldean.

Yeah, Logain is Ghealdanin, if I remember right. Makes me wish I could remember anything about Ghealdan, beyond the fact that it's in either chaos and/or shambles for literally the entire series (when Logain's captured, suddenly here comes the Prophet, then the queen vanishes...).

Captcha: little did he know

v(^_^)v

Yeah I don't blame you I have a hard time remembering anything about a lot of the nations. Besides the ones you spend a lot of time in. Andor and the like. Witch I found out upon googling to see if I spelled it right is also a place in Middle Earth. Not that suppressing with the Mountains of Mist and the White Tower both sounding like other places in Middle Earth. The Misty Mountains and Minas Tirith respectively. Anyway I got madly off topic there. Yeah I don't blame you, it's not very memorable, and I just finished the last book like a month ago so it's fresh in my mind.

The Wheel of Time series is actually very well suited to TV adaptation. There are many dozens of characters, whole stretches of books, and even an entire volume of the series that absolutely deserve to end up on the cutting room floor. It's the rare novel that might be drastically improved by a good, merciless editing.

Of course, given the ineptitude of most producers, they'd probably just cut out Mat's entire story to make way for multiple seasons outlining the bureaucracy and politics of the White Tower and its many skirt smoothers.

As for dream castings... maybe Michael Fassbender as Moridin and Tom Hiddleston as Mazram Taim?

Oh yeah Aes Sedai politics! There's some exiting action! Because why have people doing exciting things with magic when you can sit around and talk! That was honestly the most boring shit to me. Frankly I cared a lot less about the reunification The White Tower than basically anything else going on. Oh well, it wasn't that bad anyway.

 

[FieryTrainwreck]

Oh well, it wasn't that bad anyway.

No, it was pretty bad.

I think Rand, Mat, and the various Forsaken were the clear highlights of the series. The rest varied between bearable and painful with virtually all the Aes Sedai bits falling firmly into the latter category. All of their pettiness and social climbing and plays for power seemed laughably unimportant in light of the far more powerful and important channelers roaming the world.

 

[Eddie the head]

Oh well, it wasn't that bad anyway.

No, it was pretty bad.

I think Rand, Mat, and the various Forsaken were the clear highlights of the series. The rest varied between bearable and painful with virtually all the Aes Sedai bits falling firmly into the latter category. All of their pettiness and social climbing and plays for power seemed laughably unimportant in light of the far more powerful and important channelers roaming the world.

Don't mistake me I totally agree. Mat and Rand's story was easily the most interesting parts. It's just the Aes Sedai bits never stopped me form wanting to know what happened next. Witch I suppose is a really low bar. I don't remember what book it was, but that one time one of the Aes Sedai fallowing Rand comes into one of the other Aes Sedai camps and basically yells at them for being so petty at a time like this was easily one of the best parts about that whole ordeal. It was fine at the start, but it wore thin by the time it came to a resolution. Maybe I'm being too diplomatic.

 

[FieryTrainwreck]

Don't mistake me I totally agree. Mat and Rand's story was easily the most interesting parts. It's just the Aes Sedai bits never stopped me form wanting to know what happened next. Witch I suppose is a really low bar. I don't remember what book it was, but that one time one of the Aes Sedai fallowing Rand comes into one of the other Aes Sedai camps and basically yells at them for being so petty at a time like this was easily one of the best parts about that whole ordeal. It was fine at the start, but it wore thin by the time it came to a resolution. Maybe I'm being too diplomatic.

The only time I enjoyed the Aes Sedai: when they were being crushed by Rand after be broke out of the box.

 

[TheVampwizimp_v1legacy]

Don't mistake me I totally agree. Mat and Rand's story was easily the most interesting parts. It's just the Aes Sedai bits never stopped me form wanting to know what happened next. Witch I suppose is a really low bar. I don't remember what book it was, but that one time one of the Aes Sedai fallowing Rand comes into one of the other Aes Sedai camps and basically yells at them for being so petty at a time like this was easily one of the best parts about that whole ordeal. It was fine at the start, but it wore thin by the time it came to a resolution. Maybe I'm being too diplomatic.

The only time I enjoyed the Aes Sedai: when they were being crushed by Rand after be broke out of the box.

I never quite understood the way the Aes Sedai acted. I mean, was Jordan trying to portray them as self-absorbed bullies more interested in being right than doing what needed to be done? If so, then how come so many of them are also powerful, brave, intelligent women who deserve respect? You can't have it both ways. And even the main characters were both. Literally the only Aes Sedai who I was never pissed at for being a petty whining fool is Moiraine.

That said, you can't cut them out just because they spend so much time being useless. What you would need to do is reduce the number of Aes Sedai characters from about 100 in the books to about 10. Anyone not Moiraine, Egwene, Elayne or Nynaeve would be a secondary or tertiary character. Oh, and do the same thing with every single organization in the story. Kinswomen, Wise Ones, Maidens, Asha'man, and every army of every nation.

And don't think I wouldn't be thrilled at the prospect of a serious adaptation. But damn, there's so much and so many people you would need to cut or condense, just for practicality's sake.

 

[FieryTrainwreck]

I never quite understood the way the Aes Sedai acted. I mean, was Jordan trying to portray them as self-absorbed bullies more interested in being right than doing what needed to be done? If so, then how come so many of them are also powerful, brave, intelligent women who deserve respect? You can't have it both ways. And even the main characters were both. Literally the only Aes Sedai who I was never pissed at for being a petty whining fool is Moiraine.

That said, you can't cut them out just because they spend so much time being useless. What you would need to do is reduce the number of Aes Sedai characters from about 100 in the books to about 10. Anyone not Moiraine, Egwene, Elayne or Nynaeve would be a secondary or tertiary character. Oh, and do the same thing with every single organization in the story. Kinswomen, Wise Ones, Maidens, Asha'man, and every army of every nation.

And don't think I wouldn't be thrilled at the prospect of a serious adaptation. But damn, there's so much and so many people you would need to cut or condense, just for practicality's sake.

Women throughout the WoT series are illogical, irrational, petty, hysterical, and idiotic. You can count the exceptions on 1-2 hands. I was very close to skipping their segments of the books entirely.

 

[Eddie the head]

I never quite understood the way the Aes Sedai acted. I mean, was Jordan trying to portray them as self-absorbed bullies more interested in being right than doing what needed to be done? If so, then how come so many of them are also powerful, brave, intelligent women who deserve respect? You can't have it both ways. And even the main characters were both. Literally the only Aes Sedai who I was never pissed at for being a petty whining fool is Moiraine.

I don't know I don't think Verin ever came accost as petty whining or foolish. A bit morally off, but I at least liked her.

Women throughout the WoT series are illogical, irrational, petty, hysterical, and idiotic. You can count the exceptions on 1-2 hands. I was very close to skipping their segments of the books entirely.

Well in fairness people in real life can be illogical, irrational, petty, hysterical, and idiotic. So I mean at least we can't complain about accuracy.

 

[FieryTrainwreck]

Well in fairness people in real life can be illogical, irrational, petty, hysterical, and idiotic. So I mean at least we can't complain about accuracy.

Absolutely. Just happens most of the people who behave that way in WoT are women. It's not a series that nails female characterization.

 

[TheVampwizimp_v1legacy]

I don't know I don't think Verin ever came accost as petty whining or foolish. A bit morally off, but I at least liked her.

Okay yeah, you're right, Verin was cool. And the twist with her is brilliant. And actually, Elaida a'Roihan didn't bother me that way either. She is also infuriating and foolish and horrible, but that was all on purpose for her, so at least she was well written. And a few of the incidental Aes Sedai weren't annoying, but often that's because they didn't have enough to do to be annoying. And Cadsuane was at least sometimes cool, and you could tell that her attitude was for a purpose, unlike the rest of the Aes Sedai.

Okay, so there are many exceptions. But still, in a decent adaptation you would have to trim a whole lot of the pointless Aes Sedai plotting and arguing.

 

[Queen Michael]

This reminds me of Mac and Me. Remember tha movie? In the beginning, when a human space probe or something lands on the planet where Mac lives, Mac and his family slowly waddle up to said probe. And I mean slowly. But as they do so, wacky music is playing to try to fool us into thinking that this slow and boring scene is actually exciting.

This intro was the same. Quasi-bombastic music meant to make us think that a slow pan over the inside of a room is interesting.

 

[Eddie the head]

Well in fairness people in real life can be illogical, irrational, petty, hysterical, and idiotic. So I mean at least we can't complain about accuracy.

Absolutely. Just happens most of the people who behave that way in WoT are women. It's not a series that nails female characterization.

Well in fairness it is a matriarchal society kind of. Most the leaders are female, and if power corrupt it makes sense that more women would be corrupt. Personally I always took this as a consequence of the tainting of Saidin. In the age of legends there was "gender balance" for the most part, but the taint causes woman to be complacent in there role as leaders and such. That's just what I took form it.

I don't know I don't think Verin ever came accost as petty whining or foolish. A bit morally off, but I at least liked her.

Okay yeah, you're right, Verin was cool. And the twist with her is brilliant. And actually, Elaida a'Roihan didn't bother me that way either. She is also infuriating and foolish and horrible, but that was all on purpose for her, so at least she was well written. And a few of the incidental Aes Sedai weren't annoying, but often that's because they didn't have enough to do to be annoying. And Cadsuane was at least sometimes cool, and you could tell that her attitude was for a purpose, unlike the rest of the Aes Sedai.

Okay, so there are many exceptions. But still, in a decent adaptation you would have to trim a whole lot of the pointless Aes Sedai plotting and arguing.

I really didn't like Cadsuane. I kind of felt like here introduction was forced. We're just sort of told that she is some kind of "legend" or whatever. That's kind of fixed if you read the prequel, but not enough if you ask me. You know show don't tell, but whatever. I did like when she got "knocked down a peg" after Rand went to Dragonmount and basically told her "you don't know as much as you think you know and you're not as old as you think you are." In general I liked some members of the real Black Ajah more. I will agree that Elaida played her roll in the story. That's actually who she is, just a horrible person.

And oh yeah you would have to cut some shit.