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I have to start off by saying I knew absolutely nothing about His Dark Materials going into it. I never read the books or saw the movie (The Golden Compass). The only thing I knew was from the trailer and a couple reviews on what the plot was but from what I read this was a great adaptation. I personally thought it was entertaining from beginning to end. I never got bored for even an episode. I'm glad they were given enough seasons/episodes to tell the entire story and not get cancelled on a cliffhanger or questions not answered. This had a satisfying conclusion. You can tell how much money and attention to detail went into this show because it was absolutely beautiful. James McAvoy, Lin-Manuel Miranda, Ruth Wilson, Dafne Keen and the rest of the cast were all brilliant.

(I've read the books several times) Episode 1- I was looking forward to this and it hasn't disappointed! (a first for me, with fantasy adaptations) Plenty of money has been thrown at this series and it shows, in a good way. Yet there's nothing Hollywood about it, it's 100% British.

We're treated to a good bit of the background story during this episode, a thankless task, skilfully done and quite quickly. We're immediately thrown into the action and I am hooked, even though I know what's coming.

The sets are amazing, the music excellent, the cast is A1: this is the BBC so it is exceptionally diverse -which is already giving us a bunch of fine actors that might not be so famous and gives us a bit of modern colour. I'm not sure yet about Lyra, she's not what I expected but I've the feeling she'll turn out to be what was needed, if not what I wanted. Lord Asriel is just the right mixture of downright attractive and breezily self-centered as in the books. As to Mrs Coulter she's just fantastically and dangerously attractive. I finally understand what Lyra loved in her. The Gyptians are represented perfectly and individually and the whole thing has a tint of alternate medievality which mirrors the book exactly.

All in all, episode 1 is a success.

I could go on and on but really, just watch it, you'll know after twenty minutes whether you'll like it or not.



Episode 2: some fair deviations from the book, all in aid of story comprehension, suspense and doling appetising spoilers from much later to the viewer so that they won't drop off - you can't blame them really, they need to keep the viewership interested, considering the price of production. It's still very well done, and it's quite scary and tense, also the modern world (already shown) has been updated to current times. It looks like episode 3 will carry on with being rather different from the book storyline, while sticking to it at the same time, if that makes sense. It's rather on the dark side, and definitely not for children the way the books are.

Episode 3: I had minor doubts with episode 2 and the "new" storylines but this episode was very exciting and has allayed them. The whole thing is now moving forward properly and the plot is very tight in an action TV series sort of a way, without losing the spirit of the books. Back to a 9.

The following episodes are a bit hit and miss, some pacing/acting /directing issues - Lee Scoresby the one unmitigated success - trying too hard to force suspense to fit the tv format rather than concentrate on telling the story as a one whole, but the last episode packs a punch and gets to you. And really leaves you hating having to wait a year for the rest, excellent finish.

UPDATE SERIES 2:

While there were a few pacing/acting issues in series 1, the first 2 episodes of series 2 are nail-bitingly near perfect. Absolutely brilliant beginning and better visuals than ever. The plot and the world's are really well handled in every particulars. Persevere if you were in two minds about series 1.

Having just binged the three seasons, I'm happy enough to come here and give it a positive review.

First and foremost I think the effects were really something. Everything felt quite immersive, there were rarely times that something felt too fake. Some of the imagery was exactly how I imagined from the books, for example the abyss and the mulefa world.

Some of the performances were amazing and award-worthy. My favourites were Ruth Wilson as Mrs Coulter, Will Keen as Father MacPhail. Simone Kirby as Mary and. Ruta Gedmintas as Serafina. They each really brought their characters to life, from the tensions of Coulter and MacPhail to the serenity of Serafina and the more ordinary yet inquisitive Mary.

Some other portrayals I was less keen on, including the two main characters, though I think they improved towards the end and delivered an impactful finale. I also wasn't completely sold on Asriel, perhaps just a bit too different from my personal image of him. My other gripe is that I felt there wasn't enough time for some characters to be properly fleshed out and felt for, which led to some scenes being less emotional than they could have been.

Regardless, this series overall did the books justice and I would definitely recommend it.

Much better than expected. When they made the movie "The golden compass" I was disappointed. The series so far has been closer to the books. And having Lin-Manuel Miranda as Lee was the best casting in the series. I just finished season two and will soon start three. I rarely rate before I finish but this one deserves it.

Keeps with the dark side of the books unlike the movie. They didn't clean it up for kids. I won't give spoilers but if you are a book fan and worry they messed it up, they didn't. If you've never read the books it's easy to follow as they leave very little in explaining out. 8 is very high. It would have been a 7 had it no been for Lin-Manuel and his delightful performance of Lee.

I haven't read the books, but I know many people have commented that this series is more faithful than Hollywood's Golden Compass. No surprises there!

I've loved Ruth Wilson since she was in Luther, and she is no less brilliant in HDM. Even though the storyline and cast of characters are quite involved, there's no difficulty in following what's happening. Even the daemons are "believable ".

You don't have to delve too deeply into the hidden meanings and sub texts: you can just enjoy it for the adventure it is. But, you CAN, if you want, think quite deeply about the issues behind the storyline. Thought provoking to say the least.

I love it.