almost as annoyed with that as the first time i read the books and realized they gave a male goose the name kaisa (which is female, up here in the north).

My best guess is expense - the gyrfalcan meant they could reuse an existing animation rig (the Costas’ daemons) and they couldn’t justify a one-off model for a small part

So am I the only bothered by Kaisa begin some sort of falcon here when he’s a goose in the books?

Oh, and one more thought that just occurred to me: Will is inspired by seeing the story of Superman (brought to us via the American immigrant narrative, as symbolized by the accented newsstand guy whose copy he looks at), thinking it mirrors his own story, but the actual baby cast away from their home planet in this…

I don’t get the impression that they were making the Apollo 11 crew “rubes.” I think more than anything it highlighted that every experience is shaped by your own frame of reference. For the astronauts, the things that come to mind, the moments that stuck out aren’t the things Philip wants to hear. Meanwhile, being at…

As much as I love Star Trek II, IV, and VI, it’s hard for me to oppose the notion that cinema is not the natural medium for Star Trek. It’s fundamentally an episodic notion and should probably stay there...

That continues to be my biggest frustration too, Jack Thorne’s lack of trust in the audience or faith in storytelling. It;s particularly conspicuous becuase Northern Lights is so built with the tools he seems to lack confidence in - mystery, open questions, tension, world-building by carefully placed hints and…

I don’t recognise this sullen, over-cautious, resentful Lyra. I believe in the books she was happy to be with the Gyptians, happy to speak with John Faa and Farder Coram and Ma Costa. They set up the scene with her, John Faa, and Farder Coram to be very similar to an investigation, instead of a mature discussion.

This was the weakest episode in my opinion and where Thorne’s flaws as a writer are starting to show themselves... I am officially worried about this show’s ability to a) do the books justice and b) catch on with a wider audience.

Anybody who casts Lin-Manuel Miranda in a role that was considered perfect for Sam Elliott is either drunk or a villain.

I am still having problems with the human/daemon relationship as depicted in the show. In the books, you are talking to yourself, essentially and it’s clear that you are dealing with a singular entity. Presumably, writing let’s your emotions and feelings of characters come across that way.

Jack Thorne’s writing continues to be underwhelming for me. He doesn’t trust the audience, so things that should be hinted at or communicated obliquely are stated plainly.

And he’s addicted to Big Important Speeches, Delivered With Sober Gravity.

The two exceptions being the revelations about Lyra’s parentage. And that…

This episode was a good example of what makes this show tolerable (and thus, allows it to be great). There is never any attempt to sell the viewer as to why Phillip is right, and why the newspaper is wrong. We don’t leave the episode thinking the Royal family deserves a yacht, and we don’t leave thinking that Phillip…

It’s Jeremy Irons playing Jeremy Irons.  I was willing to accept it in the prison because its 30+ years and he’s gone a little batty.  But it’s jarring in what’s supposed to be the same era as the comic.

So it’s only me that hated the reveal that his dad was sexually abusing him? Felt like a cliché.

And let’s not forget, Boba Fett, in the actual context of the movies, divorced from merchadising, spinoff material and absurd fan-worship, is an EXTREMELY minor character.  It’s perfectly fine if a minor henchman is completely “mysterious”, but it’s entirely different when it’s the titular character in a series. …

I have spoken!

Let’s just applaud Lucas for the one time he decided that “mystique” was the best way to go and resisted the urge to over explain EVERYTHING, as he did in so many other instances.  

Just so we’re clear, this is a safe space for crotchety fanboi-ing.

Damn, Jean Smart just came in and owned every scene like a total boss. Who knew this is where she would end up at this stage of her career?