# Wheel of Time TV pilot ("Winter Dragon") aired last night with no fanfare **URL:** \ **Category:** Cafe Society\ **Created:** [February 9, 2015, 10:12pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/wheel-of-time-tv-pilot-winter-dragon-aired-last-night-with-no-fanfare/712263 "2015-02-09T22:12:46Z")\ **Posts on this page:** 20\ **Page:** 1
**Author:** ![iiandyiiii](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/iiandyiiii/32/7924_2.png) [@iiandyiiii](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/iiandyiiii)\ **Post date:** [February 9, 2015, 10:12pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/wheel-of-time-tv-pilot-winter-dragon-aired-last-night-with-no-fanfare/712263/1 "2015-02-09T22:12:46Z")
Details [here](http://observationdeck.io9.com/the-wheel-of-time-secret-pilot-1684685865). YouTube link (who knows how long it will work) [here](https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=cvNYIEN1vIg). I haven’t watched it yet, but internet chatter is mediocre. According to the first link, it was aired on FXX in the middle of the night just before the studio was due to lose the rights – so they may have no intention to make it into a show in the near future. I enjoyed the first handful of books and lost interest as it bogged down, but I’d at least give a new show a shot, if one were made… though it would be much, much tougher to adapt than Game of Thrones – much more special effects, monsters, and the like, would probably require a much larger budget. ---
**Author:** ![tellyworth](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/t/977dab/32.png) [@tellyworth](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/tellyworth)\ **Post date:** [February 9, 2015, 11:01pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/wheel-of-time-tv-pilot-winter-dragon-aired-last-night-with-no-fanfare/712263/2 "2015-02-09T23:01:38Z")
It sounds like it was nothing more than a [throwaway production](http://observationdeck.io9.com/the-wheel-of-time-secret-pilot-1684685865) intended to prevent the rights from expiring. ---
**Author:** ![iiandyiiii](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/iiandyiiii/32/7924_2.png) [@iiandyiiii](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/iiandyiiii)\ **Post date:** [February 9, 2015, 11:02pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/wheel-of-time-tv-pilot-winter-dragon-aired-last-night-with-no-fanfare/712263/3 "2015-02-09T23:02:10Z")
> [@tellyworth](#): > > It sounds like it was nothing more than a [throwaway production](http://observationdeck.io9.com/the-wheel-of-time-secret-pilot-1684685865) intended to prevent the rights from expiring. That’s the exact same link I provided, but thanks. ---
**Author:** ![tellyworth](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/t/977dab/32.png) [@tellyworth](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/tellyworth)\ **Post date:** [February 9, 2015, 11:05pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/wheel-of-time-tv-pilot-winter-dragon-aired-last-night-with-no-fanfare/712263/4 "2015-02-09T23:05:24Z")
Guh, I missed your first link obviously. There’s an updated story [here](http://io9.com/the-real-story-about-that-wheel-of-time-pilot-that-aire-1684773094). ---
**Author:** ![elfkin477](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/e/a9a28c/32.png) [@elfkin477](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/elfkin477)\ **Post date:** [February 9, 2015, 11:22pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/wheel-of-time-tv-pilot-winter-dragon-aired-last-night-with-no-fanfare/712263/5 "2015-02-09T23:22:31Z")
Unless they wrote a lot of dialogue to discuss the clothing, I can’t imagine the episode lasted more than ten minutes. Did it? ---
**Author:** ![iiandyiiii](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/iiandyiiii/32/7924_2.png) [@iiandyiiii](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/iiandyiiii)\ **Post date:** [February 9, 2015, 11:24pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/wheel-of-time-tv-pilot-winter-dragon-aired-last-night-with-no-fanfare/712263/6 "2015-02-09T23:24:36Z")
> [@elfkin477](#): > > Unless they wrote a lot of dialogue to discuss the clothing, I can’t imagine the episode lasted more than ten minutes. Did it? I put the YouTube link for the entire episode in the OP – it seems to be 30 minutes. I still haven’t watched it – I’m only slightly interested, considering that it’s probably a throwaway production. ---
**Author:** ![G0sp3l](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/g/c68b51/32.png) [@G0sp3l](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/G0sp3l)\ **Post date:** [February 10, 2015, 12:51am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/wheel-of-time-tv-pilot-winter-dragon-aired-last-night-with-no-fanfare/712263/7 "2015-02-10T00:51:14Z")
I got a good laugh at RJ’s estate being pissed that the show was made, basically, to retain the rights. Now they should understand how fans felt at having to read 8-10 books of crap to pad his wallet. I’m sure there’s a lawsuit coming and I hope they lose, the estate, I mean. ---
**Author:** ![TBG](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/t/c89c15/32.png) [@TBG](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/TBG)\ **Post date:** [February 10, 2015, 1:09am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/wheel-of-time-tv-pilot-winter-dragon-aired-last-night-with-no-fanfare/712263/8 "2015-02-10T01:09:53Z")
> [@elfkin477](#): > > Unless they wrote a lot of dialogue to discuss the clothing, I can’t imagine the episode lasted more than ten minutes. Did it? How many braid tuggings can they fit into an hour? ---
**Author:** ![Wile\_E](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/w/c37758/32.png) [@Wile\_E](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Wile_E)\ **Post date:** [February 10, 2015, 1:53am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/wheel-of-time-tv-pilot-winter-dragon-aired-last-night-with-no-fanfare/712263/9 "2015-02-10T01:53:18Z")
> [@TBG](#): > > How many braid tuggings can they fit into an hour? Not as many as you’d expect because they have to include some dress smoothings to balance it out. ---
**Author:** ![G0sp3l](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/g/c68b51/32.png) [@G0sp3l](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/G0sp3l)\ **Post date:** [February 10, 2015, 4:30am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/wheel-of-time-tv-pilot-winter-dragon-aired-last-night-with-no-fanfare/712263/10 "2015-02-10T04:30:48Z")
> [@Wile\_E](#): > > Not as many as you’d expect because they have to include some dress smoothings to balance it out. and consideration would be needed on whether all the differently colored striped clothing would trigger seizures. ---
**Author:** ![Happy\_Scrappy\_Hero\_Pup](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/h/ea5d25/32.png) [@Happy\_Scrappy\_Hero\_Pup](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Happy_Scrappy_Hero_Pup)\ **Post date:** [February 10, 2015, 6:36pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/wheel-of-time-tv-pilot-winter-dragon-aired-last-night-with-no-fanfare/712263/11 "2015-02-10T18:36:24Z")
“What?? What’s that you say? We own the rights to something like that Thrones thing over on the HBO??? That’s gold! GOLD! How long have we had those rights and nobody told me??? Ten years??? We could have been the Thrones people- that could have been US!!! Well, get it into production! We’ll get that kid that played Hawking and we’ll get that Hermione chick and we’ll make MONEY!!! When do these rights expire, anyway? TWO WEEKS??? Forget all that other crap. Get me Billy Zane on Line 2! And set up a camera in my living room!!! NOW!!!” ---
**Author:** ![G0sp3l](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/g/c68b51/32.png) [@G0sp3l](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/G0sp3l)\ **Post date:** [February 10, 2015, 10:30pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/wheel-of-time-tv-pilot-winter-dragon-aired-last-night-with-no-fanfare/712263/12 "2015-02-10T22:30:08Z")
If they get Emma to star I’d watch. Especially if she plays Min with that pixie hairdo! Yowza! 😃 My hatred of Nynaeve and Egwene, however, is insurmountable. ☹ ---
**Author:** ![JSexton](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/j/96bed5/32.png) [@JSexton](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/JSexton)\ **Post date:** [February 10, 2015, 11:32pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/wheel-of-time-tv-pilot-winter-dragon-aired-last-night-with-no-fanfare/712263/13 "2015-02-10T23:32:11Z")
> [@Wile\_E](#): > > Not as many as you’d expect because they have to include some dress smoothings to balance it out. Not to mention knuckling their foreheads. ---
**Author:** ![Sherrerd](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/sherrerd/32/8_2.png) [@Sherrerd](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Sherrerd)\ **Post date:** [February 11, 2015, 12:20am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/wheel-of-time-tv-pilot-winter-dragon-aired-last-night-with-no-fanfare/712263/14 "2015-02-11T00:20:51Z")
> [@TBG](#): > > How many braid tuggings can they fit into an hour? Oh, dear God, the braid-tugging. What was he _thinking_??? ---
**Author:** ![Stonebow](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/s/ed8c4c/32.png) [@Stonebow](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Stonebow)\ **Post date:** [February 11, 2015, 4:35am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/wheel-of-time-tv-pilot-winter-dragon-aired-last-night-with-no-fanfare/712263/15 "2015-02-11T04:35:51Z")
Man, you people are mean. Since I met my wife through a WoT discussion group, I will always have a soft spot for Jordan. Yes, books 8,9, and 10 were fairly terrible. That being said, the man was great at writing characters you loved (and hated), and he could tell a tale or sketch out a battle like few others I have read. Sanderson did a workmanlike job finishing up the series, and while he had some really clever ideas, his sense of scale was a poor fit the for the climax. (Dumai’s wells seemed a much larger battle than Tarmon Gai’don, for instance) This attempt…oh, Billy Zane, how far you have fallen! That is all I have to say. I still hope for an anime treatment of the saga. With the effects needed, a live-action treatment seems a bit cost-prohibitive. The magic is much more present and external than in Game of thrones. But I could definitely see a 100-episode animated series a la Avatar. ---
**Author:** ![Lochdale](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/l/edb3f5/32.png) [@Lochdale](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Lochdale)\ **Post date:** [February 11, 2015, 5:30am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/wheel-of-time-tv-pilot-winter-dragon-aired-last-night-with-no-fanfare/712263/16 "2015-02-11T05:30:23Z")
Dreadful, turgid, self-absorbed crap. Enough about the books though. Really hope this is never made with a legitimate budget. ---
**Author:** ![Yookeroo](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/yookeroo/32/323_2.png) [@Yookeroo](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Yookeroo)\ **Post date:** [February 11, 2015, 6:06am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/wheel-of-time-tv-pilot-winter-dragon-aired-last-night-with-no-fanfare/712263/17 "2015-02-11T06:06:33Z")
> [@Lochdale](#): > > Dreadful, turgid, self-absorbed crap. Enough about the books though. > > Really hope this is never made with a legitimate budget. Because you’d be forced to watch it? There’s lots of stuff I imagine I’d hate it I read or watched it. The fact that it got made never really bothered me. I pretty much hate Billy Joel’s music, but I’m not bothered that it got recorded and brings people pleasure. ---
**Author:** ![yellowjacketcoder](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/y/4bbf92/32.png) [@yellowjacketcoder](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/yellowjacketcoder)\ **Post date:** [February 11, 2015, 3:02pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/wheel-of-time-tv-pilot-winter-dragon-aired-last-night-with-no-fanfare/712263/18 "2015-02-11T15:02:19Z")
Well, I actually watched it. It’s really only 20 minutes once you cut out the intro, the credits, and the ads. But it’s really bad. The acting is terrible and drawn out. The effects are terrible. There’s a reason it was produced and acted by the same two people. I wouldn’t mind real-budget adaptation a-la game of thrones. But this was bad. There’s fan art that’s better than this. ---
**Author:** ![G0sp3l](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/g/c68b51/32.png) [@G0sp3l](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/G0sp3l)\ **Post date:** [February 17, 2015, 7:03pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/wheel-of-time-tv-pilot-winter-dragon-aired-last-night-with-no-fanfare/712263/19 "2015-02-17T19:03:29Z")
Surprising no one, I’m sure, now it’s time for the lawyers. 😃 [WoT lawsuit](http://arstechnica.com/the-multiverse/2015/02/wheel-of-time-tv-pilot-producers-sue-robert-jordans-widow-for-defamation/) ---
**Author:** ![DrDeth](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/d/b487fb/32.png) [@DrDeth](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/DrDeth)\ **Post date:** [February 17, 2015, 7:23pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/wheel-of-time-tv-pilot-winter-dragon-aired-last-night-with-no-fanfare/712263/20 "2015-02-17T19:23:35Z")
> [@Stonebow](#): > > Man, you people are mean. > Since I met my wife through a WoT discussion group, I will always have a soft spot for Jordan. Yes, books 8,9, and 10 were fairly terrible. That being said, the man was great at writing characters you loved (and hated), and he could tell a tale or sketch out a battle like few others I have read. Look, the series started out fine. But then sales took off and his publishers told him “we want more books” so he started drawing them out, instead of tying up plotlines and finishing the series. This is due to greed and also the inability to come to a conclusion. He ratfucked his loyal readers by making them spend more on less and never getting a decent end to a series. GRRM is doing the same along with S. M. Stirling. When we, as fans and readers, see this happening we owe it to ourselves, our fellow readers and the authors themselves to\*\* stop buying the fucking books. \*\* I have. [http://www.openlettersmonthly.com/book-review-like-a-mighty-army/](http://www.openlettersmonthly.com/book-review-like-a-mighty-army/) Yes, the fans do demand more, but there’s fair way to do that- end that series and start another. David Eddings had fans clamoring for more of The Belgariad , so he basically redid the series with somewhat new adventures but mostly the same characters in the The Malloreon- plus three more books. If he had been a sell-out like Jordan, GRRM or Stirling he would have stretched out The Belgariad into 13 books and then died before book 14 came out. [Next page](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/wheel-of-time-tv-pilot-winter-dragon-aired-last-night-with-no-fanfare/712263.md?page=2)