So.. Upfront about this. I haven't read any of the books in Phillip Pullman's series, nor have I seen the film version from a number of years back. Literally, my only knowledge about the show going into it, was that there was a polar bear in it. That said, I both enjoyed, and was baffled by, this first season.
A world that resembles ours (but is not ours) has limits to scientific research placed on it by a religious sect called the Magisterium. As a number of children disappear, Lyra Belacqua (Dafne Keen) begin a quest to search for her missing friend Roger (Lewin Lloyd). Her adventures take her North, where she discovers a number of horrible truths about her past, and the fate of the missing children. Meanwhile, on our Earth, a member of the Magisterium harasses the family of a missing explorer (for reasons, If I'm honest, I don't really understand (although I'm hoping will become apparent at a later date)).
I've surmised the plot without mentioning Ruth Wilson, who dominates the show as Mrs. Coulter essentially the villain of this first season. Terrifying and captivating in equal measure. She's not the only quality selection in the high profile cast though, James McAvoy, Lin-Manuel Miranda, Anne Marie Duff and Nina Sosanya amongst many others are present too. Away from the quality cast, it's a show that looks amazing. The money spent, for a BBC series, is really high and you can see it in the CGI effects, particularly the numerous animals that the story requires. It is truly a quality production all round.
But.. coming at this series cold, I was confused a lot of the time as to what was going on. I kept having to pause it to ask my wife (who has read the books) questions about what was happening. Some of this was plot related and I figured I just had to wait until it became apparent (and much of it was clearer by the end of the run), but a lot of it was technical questions that I think the show might have explained better (or perhaps just earlier). Can people see each other's daemons? Can they hear each other's daemons? Do they have to eat? Things like that. I know that they filmed two seasons at the same time, so the new one is on the way, and I'm assuming that will explain some of the larger mysteries to me; like why Andrew Scott is cast in this really minor role and what his family have to do with anything else.
So for a layman such as myself, I found it a technically impressive but occasionally baffling experience, however, I'm confident, given the show has the books as a template, we're getting towards the answers.
