The ending was disappointing. It can’t be that easy to trick a supernatural being!
I thought so too. They have a very similar philtrum. (Yes, I looked that up just for this post.)
Also, I thought the kid who plays young Harry looks eerily like Selma Blair.
Anyway, I liked it quite a bit - will definitely be watching more, and it inspired me to get a couple of the books.
I’ve never read the books, but I got kind of a Hellblazer vibe from the show–except without the twisted humor and cynicism.
This seem to be more normal SciFi quality. I was kind of hoping it would be up to BSG standards. I’ll give it one more try, but if it doesn’t improve, it’s not making my DVR list.
The original pilot WAS two hours long. What we saw the other night was Episode 5, I believe. SciFi reshuffled the order of the episodes and the original pilot is undergoing reshoots. It’s supposed to show up soon.
Robert Wolfe, the show’s producer, said they weren’t that thrilled with the Doom Box ex machina themselves. He’s aware that there is room for improvement, and last minute changes (like the pilot reshoot, and the evolving nature of TV-Bob) seem to have let the quality of the writing slip a little.
The ratings were decent considering they were up against a much-viewed NFL playoff game Sunday night, so hopefully the show will get a chance to work out the kinks and find its way.
OK, I finally got to see it. I enjoyed it, but it was a little slow in places and definitely a slow start. I always think it is a bad sign when they have to rework the real pilot.
I will watch it again, but I am hoping it gets better.
The women were attractive though.
Never read the books, but I watched the show when it was rerun tonight. It was OK – I’ll probably watch it but not plan my viewing around it (though its time slot is a plus – there’s nothing I want to see at 9:00 pm Sunday).
I actually liked the fact that it started with episode five. I’m tired of two-hour shows that spend a lot of time setting up all the background. Just tell a story and have the background fill in as you go.
I was looking forward to this show and liked it well enough to watch again. I’m relieved this first episode wasn’t originally the pilot. It felt “business as usual.” RealityChuck, it’s not that that’s a bad thing. Sometimes it works. But I felt like it needed a bit more oomph to grab me. I was pretty unimpressed with Harry’s wizardness. I like the actor though, and that alone will keep me watching for awhile.
To paraphrase a certain lovely lady mage: “The best magic is as subtle and undetectable as a tripwire.” Harry didn’t do any big flash-bang stuff of his own, it’s true, but the things he did were effective, and he made them look easy.
I liked the guy playing Bob, and I’m just as glad they didn’t make him a talking skull. No matter how it comes across in the books, it would look seriously hokey on TV.
The show could stand some improvement, but I liked it enough to keep watching, and not just out of loyalty to Jim.
This was supposed to be episode 5? Man, that causes me to seriously downgrade the show. I do cut pilots slack but if there are four other shows before this one some of the kinks should’ve been worked out already.
Totally didn’t get the whole “Skinwalker controlling the redhead from outside Harry’s place” business. No consistency maintained within the episode. Disappointing.
Also disappointing is the Doom Box. I’m glad to see that the creators are apparently disappointed with it as well and hopeful that it will join the list of “use once and lose the tech” items that used to be the near-exclusive province of Star Trek. Otherwise, every magickal threat he encounters it could be “Bob, make me up another Doom Box, would you?” and that doesn’t make for very interesting TV.
Not finding the apparent central mystery involving the uncle very compelling. I may give this another week but it’s on a short leash.
In the books, Harry is one of the strongest wizards in the world but lacks subtlety and finesse. He typically blasts away at things, leaving a trail of rubble and burning buildings in his wake. I just figured the TV show would be true to that if nothing else.
Harry’s also good at using magic to find things. When he picked up that raven feather, I expected him to use a spell to locate the kid.
It makes sense for this to have been a fifth episode, where maybe they were trying to lay off the heavy magic for a while. Also, I’m hoping that the earlier episodes will make his financial situation clear so that his demands for money will seem less harsh.
This is good news. I haven’t read the books, but the little kid in me wants some flash-bang. I hope we get some more.
It sounds like they’re doing some re-filming and editing so this may not have even been the way the fifth episode was originally intended.
I’ll stick with it for a bit, and look forward to pilot, once we get it.
Sci-fi channel has been hyping this show for awhile, I’m surprised with the last-minute shuffling. Well, not that surprised, given it’s on Sci-fi channel.
Okay, finally got around to watching this, and liked it, at least for one episode. I felt like the backstory with Harry, his dad and Uncle Justin was being handled well.
Now I just need to make time to watch more of them…
A few episodes have been showing here in the UK on Sky 1 for a few episodes, not bad so far. I’d rate it as highly as Medium, is that good or bad?
Another UK watcher here. 3 episodes shown so far, last nights being a re-working of the Fool Moon book.
I’ve got to say I like the changes they’ve made to Harry and Bob. With the amount of power book Harry has you would have to pit him against similarly uber-powerful enemies week after week. For a TV show that would be expensive and would also turn silly very quickly. (Yes I know I’m talking about a show featuring a wizard detective becoming silly)
I also read an interview with Robert Wolfe who said “One of the books opens with a monkey demon hurling flaming poo at Harry. Well we can’t really do monkey demons that well, and the flaming poo is just too damn expensive>”
Instead they appear to have drastically toned down his abilities so that he can be put in danger from far lower threats. Which in my (probably worthless but what the heck) opinion is what works in a 45 minute episode. It also makes what magic he does use more… well… magical.
AS for Bob, I do like him having as more than just a talking skull with an overactive libido ::cough:: Planescapes Morte ::cough:: He also appears to have more of a backstory than simply being a bound spirit.
[spoiler]From what we’ve seen so far Bob appears to have been a very powerful and very dark magician when alive. Since his death and imprisonment(?) in the skull he has been passed from one dark mage to the next. The last being Harry’s uncle Justin.
Now that Harry owns him he has a chance to atone for his past, and seems to truly care for Harry. (The way he changes from surly to genuinely worried when the skinwalker threatens to kill Harry).
I think the two of them trying to make right their past sins together is more of a dynamic than a horny faerie.[/spoiler]
Of course thats all fan****. But it does kinda fit TV land.
The one change I don’t like is Murphy. Nothing against the actress, but she is so physically different from the books character. She actually looks more like I pictured Susan to be. Are they mixing the two together? I know the book relationship between Harry and Murphy would be difficult to portray on TV. It would look more like a sexual attraction than the deep friendship/platonic love that comes across in the books. So maybe they’re combining the two so as not to confuse Joe Public.