literary adaptations (post 2 of 2)
Jan. 20th, 2014 08:15 pm![[personal profile]](https://www.dreamwidth.org/img/silk/identity/user.png){kind=small}
shallownessAnd both Dumas-related shows. But I have to make a disclaimer before I get into The Three Musketeers: all I know about this story I picked up from film and TV adaptations (from Dogtanian to the one with Kiefer Sutherland) and possibly the Ladybird version, not from reading the book proper. So, I admit I only vaguely know ‘the story.’
The Musketeers - Episode 1. I enjoyed it, I thought it was rollicking. The women got decent supporting parts (apart from Milady who is a force and admittedly Adele was fridged) within a setting where women are mostly wives and mistresses who nobody expects to be all that faithful. The three musketeers themselves were rock and roll. I saw a lot of The Princess Bride references, which amused me.
I like the take on our entry-point character. D’Artagnan is a hot hot-blooded boy, with plenty of swagger, driven by wanting to avenge his father’s death. He can’t handle Milady, oh little boy, no. What you know is she had sex with you and framed you for murder, she’s said she loves somebody else and may I suggest sword practice if you’re going to keep charging forth?
In some ways, I agreed with Constance about men and fighting, except there wouldn’t be a show if they didn’t. I liked Constance a lot, that she was down to earth and a bit mouthy. Yes, her husband isn’t worthy of her, but neither really is D’Artagnan. I would have liked some more clarity on her relationship with Athos – I was expecting him to be one of her three brothers. Unless it comes out that he saved her life or something, what she was willing to do for him didn’t make sense to me.
Ah, Athos, I’ve known the actor since State of Play (anyone in SoP gets a head start in my estimation) and it’s nice to see him have a lead part. (The guys with swords must have had so much fun making this.) Athos/Milady was pressing all my buttons until it went a bit sentimental at the end – and, really, even if you were culturally oblivious and didn’t know that they had a past, the whole ‘the man I love(d) tried to kill me’ and ‘I love(d) a man’ echoed by ‘I loved a woman and then I killed her’ was hardly subtle. I cannot wait until they meet! I don’t automatically go for foe!yay pairings, I usually want to believe that my ships could be functional, but when I do like good man/morally ambiguous or, all right then, evil woman pairing, I really do like it (Wesley/Lilah, Jack/Irina or arguably Bruce/Selina.) Hmm, it nearly always does fall that way genderwise too.
I enjoyed Porthos and Aramis is also easy on the eye. Speaking of, the PALACE LIBRARY. What a ceiling! (Where did they film the show?) I really liked Hugo Speer (I am probably imagining things and she’ll fall for one of the musketeers, but was there a little something between him and the Spanish-born queen?) and most of it, on the whole. Capaldi was fine, although for me, Milady was more interesting than Richelieu, possibly because in a show that’s all about the action, she’s his right hand and she insists on keeping her own counsel.
And then I caught up with Revenge 3.2
I’m still confused about where some characters are at since the end of series 2 (Charlotte, Aiden – characters I don’t care about, but also there has been a lot to keep up with.) While I think some of Nolan’s angst over Emily could have happened before - well, in fairness it has, and Jack knowing and setting a deadline changes things - I did like the way the episode highlighted the potential similarities between Emily and Conrad, of all people, all alone, leading up to their encounter.
The actor playing Patrick has a look of a young Jeremy Northam about him; this is no bad thing.
The Musketeers - Episode 1. I enjoyed it, I thought it was rollicking. The women got decent supporting parts (apart from Milady who is a force and admittedly Adele was fridged) within a setting where women are mostly wives and mistresses who nobody expects to be all that faithful. The three musketeers themselves were rock and roll. I saw a lot of The Princess Bride references, which amused me.
I like the take on our entry-point character. D’Artagnan is a hot hot-blooded boy, with plenty of swagger, driven by wanting to avenge his father’s death. He can’t handle Milady, oh little boy, no. What you know is she had sex with you and framed you for murder, she’s said she loves somebody else and may I suggest sword practice if you’re going to keep charging forth?
In some ways, I agreed with Constance about men and fighting, except there wouldn’t be a show if they didn’t. I liked Constance a lot, that she was down to earth and a bit mouthy. Yes, her husband isn’t worthy of her, but neither really is D’Artagnan. I would have liked some more clarity on her relationship with Athos – I was expecting him to be one of her three brothers. Unless it comes out that he saved her life or something, what she was willing to do for him didn’t make sense to me.
Ah, Athos, I’ve known the actor since State of Play (anyone in SoP gets a head start in my estimation) and it’s nice to see him have a lead part. (The guys with swords must have had so much fun making this.) Athos/Milady was pressing all my buttons until it went a bit sentimental at the end – and, really, even if you were culturally oblivious and didn’t know that they had a past, the whole ‘the man I love(d) tried to kill me’ and ‘I love(d) a man’ echoed by ‘I loved a woman and then I killed her’ was hardly subtle. I cannot wait until they meet! I don’t automatically go for foe!yay pairings, I usually want to believe that my ships could be functional, but when I do like good man/morally ambiguous or, all right then, evil woman pairing, I really do like it (Wesley/Lilah, Jack/Irina or arguably Bruce/Selina.) Hmm, it nearly always does fall that way genderwise too.
I enjoyed Porthos and Aramis is also easy on the eye. Speaking of, the PALACE LIBRARY. What a ceiling! (Where did they film the show?) I really liked Hugo Speer (I am probably imagining things and she’ll fall for one of the musketeers, but was there a little something between him and the Spanish-born queen?) and most of it, on the whole. Capaldi was fine, although for me, Milady was more interesting than Richelieu, possibly because in a show that’s all about the action, she’s his right hand and she insists on keeping her own counsel.
And then I caught up with Revenge 3.2
I’m still confused about where some characters are at since the end of series 2 (Charlotte, Aiden – characters I don’t care about, but also there has been a lot to keep up with.) While I think some of Nolan’s angst over Emily could have happened before - well, in fairness it has, and Jack knowing and setting a deadline changes things - I did like the way the episode highlighted the potential similarities between Emily and Conrad, of all people, all alone, leading up to their encounter.
The actor playing Patrick has a look of a young Jeremy Northam about him; this is no bad thing.
