Welcome to my TED Talk: The 7 stages of grief (while watching the television adaptation of your favorite literary trilogy)

This week I have been attempting to watch the 2018 AMC original series A Discovery of Witches. “Attempting” is the key word. Yes, yes, before the eyeroll and judgement comes-- I do know that “the books are better than movies” and “the movies are never the same as the book”. I am only in episode 4 or 5 of season 1, and all observations are limited to that part of the series. This is not to write what a crummy show it is, that it never should have been created, or that they ruined a good thing—however, I am not pretending it is my personal cup of tea. I am trying to power through, as it has an excellent cast, and I do see the purpose in the changes overall. These thoughts will also be relevant to the up-and-coming adaptations of series such as Fourth Wing, Assistant to the Villain and ACOTAR.  

As a lover of the world of All Souls, it was very exciting to know that there was a TV adaptation that maybe could help round out my grasp of the very intricate trilogy. This changed fairly quickly when I began feeling, a touch dramatically, on the aggrieved side during the first 15 minutes of the first episode—why is the beginning seeming restaged? That character is significantly different than the book... Why is this main character interacting with this secondary character on screen, during a notable part from the book that didn’t even include the secondary character? Essentially, I “hate-watched” the next couple of episodes... which resulted in a sober and alone Hannah blathering at her television. I saw one of the listed producers was Deborah Harkness and made myself sit back and question if she minded these adjustments or if she appreciated her world and characters being resituated to meet a different audience. 

As I watched, I was aware that the tone of the show was drastically different from how I received the tone of the books. In the books, I found it to be a little on the.... quirkier(?) side of serious. Examples of this would be: The sweetheart of a daemon named Timothy wearing unplugged headphones with his endearingly mismatched cowboy boots, Diana finding out the stable boy thought she was speaking spanish while practicing her french, and Matthew’s distant reaction to Chris’s inquiry about werewolves. All of these moments are noted while in hiding for their lives and dealing with the culture shocks from every angle. The show, up to this point, seemingly removes those lighter observations and keeps it on the darker side of the serious vibes. I understand that some of the lighter notes of the books are mentioned through narrator observation or inner monologues and cannot always be conveyed effectively through cinema. The show would meet the criteria for more serious storyline preferences and broadens outreach, I have seen plenty of viewers praising the show! 

I could go on and on about this, for no good reason except my little brain has an opinion that demands to be expressed. I am by no means an expert on the series and could be misunderstanding things in the book/tv adaptation, feel free to point it out... It truly would make me feel better, in the long run!! Thank you for coming to my TED TALK. 
 
All the best, 

Hannah