Did anyone else see this ....... ?

[grondfic]

From the current Radio Times:

Seeking a Second ChanceFans of the fantasy book series 'The Dark is Rising' are in luck. RT hears Sky is in the early stages of developing a drama based on the books written by Susan Cooper. If it happens then hopefully it will be an improvement on the woeful 2007 film adaptation 'The Seeker: The Dark is Rising',

Comments

[complicat]

Hmm. I feel more cynical and apprehensive about this than lucky, especially with Sky in charge. I suspect that there will be the usual insistence that the story needs to be "modernised for today's audiences" i.e. turned into something barely recognisable to anyone who is a fan of the books.

But maybe they will surprise me, if this ever gets off the ground.

[argendriel]

I share the apprehension. Especially if it gets modernised - the whole thing doesn't really work with smartphones etc. thrown into the equation. And as always, I'm more than a little sceptical about any casting decisions.

[niceorc]

I am worried that they will change the 11 year old male magic user. That seemed to be something they really wanted to get away from in the so-called movie adaptation (ptui)! Do you think Harry Potter is still too close and too big to avoid accusations of "copying" or some such nonsense?

[full_metal_ox]

The impression I got from The Seeker was that they aged Will up chiefly to allow the possibility of adolescent romance; in many other respects, the film took great pains to come across precisely as dollar-store knockoff Harry Potter. That's why Will becomes an angry, put-upon member of a dysfunctional family (his brothers' gift of a sock for his December 23rd birthday, with its mate to be bestowed on Christmas, is a very Dursleyesque gesture); why we get the dungeon-crawl through the snake pit; why Merriman and Miss Greystone (with no hint of the latter's divine significance as the Lady) are characterized as pretty damn transparent Expies of Dumbledore and McGonagall, and why Will is himself the final Plot Coupon.

(ETA to correct a typo.)

[timetiger]

I'd like to be excited, but will await developments.

[caffienekitty]

I'd rather it was the BBC, but if they let Susan have some say in how they do things, and do it as a series rather than a movie, it could be okay. I think it would take real, malevolent concentrated effort to do it worse than the movie.

I really hope they consult extensively with Susan though; she deserves some significant respect after the horror and misery from that American film.

[argendriel]

This, so much. It was kinda heartbreaking hearing her talk about the mess that was the-movie-that-wasn't.
If she's happy with an adaption, I'd be happy, just on principle, even if I personally didn't like it. She and her work deserve better.