fogza: The Witcher vs. The Wheel of Time TV show

Gameofmetal 12.20.21	Between the two I prefer Witcher, but Wheel of Time is pretty good. Mind you, I'm someone who set the first WoT book back down a couple hundred pages in, but the show has been some pretty decent high fantasy. Not quite up to date on the episodes, but there have been some strong ones, particularly 5. They've both got some footing to find I think, but no fatal flaws really. As long as you're not some psycho that insists any adaptation must be 100% to the letter or its trash then you should find something to like.
fogza 12.20.21	Nah I never got through the 4th book of WOT, I don't mind if they play with the storylines somewhat. I just think it's a little flavourless and stiff, and the casting is lacklustre. But it's ok enough to watch.
Divaman 12.20.21	Never watched WOT. Getting to ready to delve into season 2 of The Witcher.
JohnnyoftheWell 12.20.21	4th wheel of time book is the best, so you played yourself there Haven't watched the Witcher yet, but my expectations are lukewarm. The WOT show has a weak start but has grown into itself better than I expected tbh; the worthwhile characters have been developed better than than they were at that point in the book, and tbh I rate most of the adaption choices they've made so far above the source material and it's nice to watch a high profile fantasy flick that actively avoids catering to the cheap thrills misogyny bois a la GOT. Still waiting for about half the main party to come into their own, but that big ol fuckin world n plot is steadily finding its feet, so kudos kudos
fogza 12.20.21	"4th wheel of time book is the best, so you played yourself there" i saw the writing on the wall and made a wise tactical retreat. "it's nice to watch a high profile fantasy flick that actively avoids catering to the cheap thrills misogyny bois a la GOT." probably the only area it one ups the witcher tbf, which has some gratuitous moments.
Durrzo 12.20.21	So far The Witcher is better, but season 1 had its fair share of stumbles so WoT should get somewhat of a pass while it finds its footing. Witcher Season 2 improved from the first season in pretty much every way. WoT looks cheap though, and that bugs me. The cinematography is a bit shit, it looks like a high budget CW show. The magic effects are also pretty mediocre. I know they have the budget but I don't see where the money is going. But again, season 1 of The Witcher had the same problem and improved hugely in that area. Hopefully WoT can do the same with some time.
fogza 12.20.21	"WoT looks cheap though, and that bugs me. The cinematography is a bit shit, it looks like a high budget CW show." Agreed.
theBoneyKing 12.20.21	I’m a big Wheel of Time book fan but have never read the Witcher books or played the games, so my opinions are far from objective here but (not having watched Witcher Season 2 yet) I do think the Wheel of Time is a bit stronger. I had a kind of hard time following the different plot lines in Witcher S1, the varying timelines were quite confusing, and I thought the world building was just fine. Characters and performances were great though and I do think season 2 may be better if the plot lines become more streamlined. The Wheel of Time is far from perfect but I echo a lot of Johnny’s feelings on it.
fogza 12.20.21	Never really been a Cavill fan but I'm amazed how he carries the show and has such presence. Anya Chalotra is excellent and elevates the show, standout performer.
Durrzo 12.20.21	I'm a huge fan of The Witcher games and Geralt as a character, and I really couldn't ask for a better portrayal than what Cavill has delivered.
theBoneyKing 12.20.21	Agree re: Cavill and on the flip side I think Rosamund Pike has really nailed Moiraine (in terms of her performance; I have some issues with the show runners’ decisions about their portrayal of her).
fogza 12.20.21	I find Pike a little one note as the sort of big name actor, in general that's been an issue for me on WOT.
JohnnyoftheWell 12.20.21	Pike had a tall order taking on a character whose primary outgoing is the near-impossible levels of guardedness to which she subjects everyone around her. Think the series did a solid and relatively subtle job of humanising her and exploring her motivations in the 5th and 6th episodes, and her performance really came into its own around that point. The character doesn't allow anything actively expressive or charismatic, but I think Pike's made nuanced and convincing work of every glimpse we're given to Moiraine's inner self Before those episodes tho, hmm, there's a reason the book iirc had much more of an emphasis on the original trio
Sinternet 12.20.21	both pretty mediocre
fogza 12.20.21	"Pike had a tall order taking on a character whose primary outgoing is the near-impossible levels of guardedness to which she subjects everyone around her." Yeah acting the Gandalf role is tough in a high fantasy series, granted. However, I feel like there's this one expression she wears 55% of the time, and it's not totally working for me. But like I said, the show is ok and I can roll with it. The Witcher's acting is better than it needs to be in most cases, whereas WOT's is just enough.
EphemeralEternity 12.20.21	Big dick swingin Tolkien comin next year to remind em who the king is (not it since it will probably be mediocre at best) And there’s a halo and last of us series that I’m expecting to flop
Durrzo 12.20.21	I want to believe. Amazon actually has several very good original series and I know they're throwing obscene amounts of money at the LoTR series so I'm choosing to be optimistic about it. Halo on the other hand... doubt.
Sinternet 12.20.21	mass effect series though, if it actually happens please don't fuck it up
theBoneyKing 12.20.21	WoT is struggling a bit with character portrayals, the challenge there being that most of them take a while to come into their own in the books. Some fans are being overly harsh because of this imo as I think they themselves forget that the versions of the characters they love don’t show up till later. Problem is the show has gone all in on the ensemble cast structure that the books don’t get to until midway through the series and somehow along the way to that they’ve done a worse job with some of the characters who are the best in book 1 and have done better with others.
Shemson 12.20.21	Witcher is being handled very well imo as a big fan of the books which I’ve gone through about four times now The little changes, like having Ciri in the Nevellen story have been fine so far except I hated the second episode of the second season where they killed off Eskel in Kaer Mohren for no good reason… that was weird and unnecessary, though Eskel wasn’t really in the books so it won’t be a big deal in the long run
bloc 12.20.21	Gotta check this Wheel of Fate shit, but I watched the first few episodes of The Witcher and it was pretty boring
EphemeralEternity 12.21.21	Some things just don’t translate well across mediums, especially with video games where the player/character makes choices (or believes they do) like bioshock and mass effect so watching a tv series or movie would be a much more passive activity, but it could still be very enjoyable if they captured the atmosphere and characters right. I want to be optimistic but I rarely have my optimism rewarded with tv/films
Emim 12.21.21	Mostly enjoyed Witcher S1 and I like S2 thus far, though I've heard they take some dumb liberties with the source material. Cavill really carries this show.