His Dark Materials Getting A TV Series!

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**Paradigm**

Well this is some splendid news! After that terrible (or more accurately, unfinished) film a few years ago, hopefully this will do the fantastic books justice. Pullman is executive producing, New Line Cinema and Bad Wolf are producing, and after how excellently the BBC adapted Jonathan Strange and Mister Norrel, I am very pleased indeed. This won't fit in 7 episodes though, so hopefully we get multiple series.
http://www.bbc.co.uk/news/entertainment-arts-34711492

Philip Pullman has expressed delight that his trilogy, His Dark Materials, is to be made into a BBC One drama.
His epic fantasy novels, set in a parallel universe, have already been adapted for stage, radio and cinema.
The 2006 film The Golden Compass, based on the first novel, starred Daniel Craig and Nicole Kidman.
"It's been a constant source of pleasure to me to see this story adapted to different forms," Pullman said.
"It's been a radio play, a stage play, a film, an audiobook, a graphic novel - and now comes this version for television.
"In recent years we've seen how long stories on television, whether adaptations [Game of Thrones] or original [The Sopranos, The Wire], can reach depths of characterisation and heights of suspense by taking the time for events to make their proper impact and for consequences to unravel.
"And the sheer talent now working in the world of long-form television is formidable. For all those reasons I'm delighted at the prospect of a television version of His Dark Materials."

'Huge influence'
His Dark Materials - which consists of the novels Northern Lights, The Subtle Knife and The Amber Spyglass - has been published in more than 40 languages and has sold nearly 17.5 million copies worldwide.
The story centres on Lyra, a girl who lives at an Oxford college, who embarks on a quest to understand a mysterious phenomenon called Dust.
In the second book she is joined on her journey by Will, a boy who possesses a knife that can cut windows between alternative worlds.
The TV adaptation will be shot in Wales and is produced by Bad Wolf - a production company founded by former BBC executives Jane Tranter and Julie Gardner - and New Line Cinema, which is making its first move into TV production.
New Line had also produced The Golden Compass film, which featured Dakota Blue Richards as Lyra.
"Ever since they were first published these books have been a huge influence on so much of my thinking and imagination and it is enormously inspiring to be now working on them for television adaptation," said Tranter.
"The broad horizons of television suggests itself as the best of vehicles to capture the expansiveness of the story and worlds of Lyra and Will."

**BobtheInquisitor**

But will it be better than the previous movie? Only time will tell.

Spoiler:

**toasteroven**

I thought the person who played Lyra in the movie was decent, at least.

But yes, this could be exciting!

**Paradigm**

Well, if they can make it to the actual end of the first book at any point then that would do it.

I didn't mind the film as it stood, it wasn't as bad as some book-to-film travesties (Dragon, Percy Jackson and arguably Narnia spring to mind) but it left the last 5 chapters, and thus the whole bloody point of the story up to that point, out entirely. Which would have been alright if they'd actually made a sequel, but no.

A high budget TV series is definitely the place for this story, though. Too much to cover in films unless each was a 4-hour LotR-alike epic... Which would be fine, but could never really happen.

**Kilkrazy**

There was a lot of good stuff in the film, but obviously it can't have been a commercial success as they didn't make the sequels. The structure of the whole series of novels probably will work better in a TV series, spread over two or three years. British TV has a lot of heritage of making children's fantastic fiction into successful TV.

**Easy E**

The books were over-rated.

**notprop**

I liked the film and was disappointed that they didn't have a sequel.

I'm looking forward to this getting the Beeb treatment.

**streamdragon**

I thought Sam Elliot fit his role perfectly, but it's Sam Elliot being essentially an American cowboy so duh.

Still, greatly enjoyed the books. Looking forward to this!

**Kilkrazy**

The other recent cross-over fiction series I think would benefit from a big BBC production would be Mortal Engines. IDK if they were published in the US. (I say recent but actually it was published in 2001.)

**Paradigm**

Kilkrazy wrote:
The other recent cross-over fiction series I think would benefit from a big BBC production would be Mortal Engines. IDK if they were published in the US. (I say recent but actually it was published in 2001.)

If the BBC could approach Mortal Engines with the same production values and faithfulness to the concept as Strange and Norrel, I think I might just have a heart attack from sheer happiness! His Dark Materials is top of the list of stuff I want to see a good adaptation of, but Mortal Engines is only a fraction behind, to get both adapted as decent TV series would be just spectacular. It would need one heck of a budget, but again is definitely more suited to a long-running, well paced TV series rather than a film series, there's so much to cover and not a great deal that can be cut. Peter Jackson was apparently interested a few years ago, but then went with The Hobbit as his next big project instead.

Third on the list is Skulduggery Pleasant, but that's definitely more movie than TV material, I think.

**Peter Wiggin**

I have always meant to read that series, but always forget and end up reading Eisenhorn for the eleventybillionth time.

**Jimsolo**

Peter Wiggin wrote:
I have always meant to read that series, but always forget and end up reading Eisenhorn for the eleventybillionth time.

Then you made the correct decision.

As Dexter and True Blood have shown us, they like to dramatically alter stories between the books and the televised version. So there's always hope it could be good. I hold the same skeptical hope for Preacher (although in neither case do I hold my breath).