So I'm reading last wish. Was going to read blood of elves next or should I read sword of destiny next?

having not read the books nor played the games, i enjoyed the first season very much. any issues i have are pretty minor. the CGI for things like the dragons were pretty week for example, and i could have done with more character development for peeps like Cahir and Fringilla. that said, i appreciate them not spoon feeding me the story line.i think they could have held off even longer and made the multiple timeline reveal later as more of a "oh ****" moment.

Season of Storms (short story, not related to the saga) Sword of Destiny, Blood of Elves, Time of Contempt, Baptism of Fire, The Tower of the Swallow, Lady of the Lake

The Witcher 'Saga' is the Blood of Elves-Lady of the Lake

Micah97 said:

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So I'm reading last wish. Was going to read blood of elves next or should I read sword of destiny next?

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Read sword of destiny. It is short stories like last wish but several are referred to in the full length novels.

Just finished. Thought it was done very, very well. I'm definitely pissed I have to wait so long for more.

But man, between Witcher, Mandalorian, Watchmen, Westworld, all the Marvel shows that are about to start up, and surely I'm missing a couple.. high quality sci fi and fantasy tv are going to be well represented long into the future. Gone are the days of having to rely on campy B quality sci fi channel crap.

Still holding out hope for Starcraft series. That's my favorite universe that has yet to be attempted as a movie or show. It has so much potential, arguably more than Witcher.

I've never thought about Starcraft. Blizzard gave us Warcraft, finally, so maybe they will on Starcraft.

I feel like funding for SC would be the biggest issue. There is no way to tell those stories without large scale battles of some sort.

I could definitely see diablo being done on a smaller scale but unfortunately SC and Warcraft would have some very expensive battles to create.

I think that is ultimately what holds back a lot of sci-fi and fantasy series from being made. Things like Red Rising and Stormlight would require a lot of money. I think Dresden files will also be hindered by the 3rd and 4th books the scope of some of the fights.

Also Warcraft has a lot of support from China viewers and I know SC is big in Korea so maybe the overseas market could make it happen.

tv1113 said:

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I feel like funding for SC would be the biggest issue. There is no way to tell those stories without large scale battles of some sort.

I could definitely see diablo being done on a smaller scale but unfortunately SC and Warcraft would have some very expensive battles to create.

I think that is ultimately what holds back a lot of sci-fi and fantasy series from being made. Things like Red Rising and Stormlight would require a lot of money. I think Dresden files will also be hindered by the 3rd and 4th books the scope of some of the fights.

Also Warcraft has a lot of support from China viewers and I know SC is big in Korea so maybe the overseas market could make it happen.

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They already made a Dresden files series. And it was terrible (and didn't track with the books)

Likely accurate.

But man, an intro series that focuses on Jim Raynor's backstory, infighting between the different terran factions, with some detective style episodes, some hint at "alien opposition", and ending with the terran base being overrun with Zerg and Kerrigan being "killed" / going missing. Setting up a second season with the zerg as the main villian that ends with the Protoss being revealed leading to a third and fourth season of full scale war between the 3 factions. Making the viewer feel a connection at times with all 3 races.

It could be epic.

It would be so amazing...

But all of that CGI for both people and scenery would be pricey.

If series like this continue to do well, you'll see networks be more and more willing to put in that kind of money.

I believe read an article that the CGI of this shows level has come down a lot in terms of cost compared to even 10 years ago. Could be wrong of course

I finished it last night. Probably give it a B- overall. It was enjoyable enough but couldn't shake the feeling of a JV Game of Thrones.

Keeping my fingers crossed.

We saw how in early GoT they did some amazing battle scenes, then they fell off, back up and then back down.

I'm sure it is cheaper, but I'm not holding my breath. I don't think it would have the allure that Witcher has.l sadly. Who knows.

It's like waiting for Half-Life 3 sometimes

Jim01 said:

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I finished it last night. Probably give it a B- overall. It was enjoyable enough but couldn't shake the feeling of a JV Game of Thrones.

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I feel like it's not very similar to GoT at all, interesting.

PatAg said:

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Jim01 said:

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I finished it last night. Probably give it a B- overall. It was enjoyable enough but couldn't shake the feeling of a JV Game of Thrones.

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I feel like it's not very similar to GoT at all, interesting.

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Yep. GoT has fantasy elements but dragons and ice zombies are not the same flavour as the Europe/Near Eastern "Grimm Brothers" type monster fantasy that Witcher has

canadiaggie said:

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PatAg said:

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Jim01 said:

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I finished it last night. Probably give it a B- overall. It was enjoyable enough but couldn't shake the feeling of a JV Game of Thrones.

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I feel like it's not very similar to GoT at all, interesting.

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Yep. GoT has fantasy elements but dragons and ice zombies are not the same flavour as the Europe/Near Eastern "Grimm Brothers" type monster fantasy that Witcher has

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Plus the show runners of GOT admitted that they intentionally toned down the fantasy elements because they thought it would expand the appeal of the show and also because they did not totally understand them... Which explains a lot about the fiasco that was the last season

I don't think that is fair to the word "fiasco"

TheVarian said:

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I don't think that is fair to the word "fiasco"

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You rang?

Jim01 said:

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I finished it last night. Probably give it a B- overall. It was enjoyable enough but couldn't shake the feeling of a JV Game of Thrones.

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Interesting. Felt completely different from GoT to me.

finished the season last night. i'll say it was not as bad as the initial reviews portrayed it. but, it wasn't great either. it was a decent fantasy show that i'll probably watch another season of if i remember when it comes out.

Watched this over the break and thought it was really good. Thought the various timelines wasn't handled great, but liked the short story format.

Haven't read this whole thread but this show had some of the best fight choreography I've seen in a LONG time. Really great swordplay.

Season 2 being like two years away is a pretty serious bummer.

I think down the road we will look back at the season and applaud it heavily for the job it did setting up the timeline, characters, and universe.

mazag08 said:

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I think down the road we will look back at the season and applaud it heavily for the job it did setting up the timeline, characters, and universe.

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I really like that it used a "Dunkirk" timeline to get the audience to use their brains rather than a generic CBS weekly storyline. Kept everything from the short stories from getting stale.

wtf did i just watch?

I'm not saying you have a low IQ if you like this show, but it's dumb and made for dumb people.

M.C. Swag said:

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wtf did i just watch?

I'm not saying you have a low IQ if you like this show, but it's dumb and made for dumb people.

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Look at this badass

M.C. Swag said:

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wtf did i just watch?

I'm not saying you have a low IQ if you like this show, but it's dumb and made for dumb people.

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someone couldnt follow the timeline

Sorry, I was too distracted by Cavill's wig and whichever drug induced cut scene the editor decided to plop on to screen.

I've got some thoughts. Before the show aired, I'd only read books 1 and 2. Since then I've read books 3 and 4. I'll also admit to erring on the side of being a book purist when it comes to things like GoT, but some changes are absolutely for the best to match the format.

That said, I thought the quality dipped a lot when the show deviated from the source material. The rest of my gripes are mostly due to limitations in budget or time.

As a courtesy, I marked S1 show spoilers, but I'm not spoiling anything from future seasons.


I thought the Geralt stuff was all pretty good. It was also mostly straight from the books. I had a few minor complaints. I didn't really think it was clear that the reason Geralt butchered all those goons in episode 1 wasn't to side with the wizard, but because they were going to start killing civilians until the wizard came out. Renfri says something to that effect when fighting Geralt but he's already killed a bunch of guys by then. Maybe I missed a key line.

Episode 5 also shifted things around with the golden dragon, where Borch falls to his "death" but appears again later. In the books, Yennifer almost falls and Geralt dives after her to save her. It's what helps them to reconcile, for a time.

I thought the Yennifer stuff was hit or miss. I don't think this iteration of Yennifer is very accurate - at least so far. In the books and games, Yennifer is a boss *****. She's extremely competent, intuitive, always has a plan, is politically savvy. You see glimpses of that in the show but you also see her acting like a child at times, and not just when she's a hunchback in mage school. Episode 7 was weird as hell - she's aimless, shows up at Aretuza and gets a bunch of kids high, or whatever the hell that was supposed to be. As I understand it, she'd never just join a cause, just because. She's as determined and clear-headed as a character can be. Except, maybe, when it comes to Geralt.

I thought the Ciri stuff was all pretty bad / uninteresting. I get that they felt the need to tease her importance, and tie it into Geralt's story at every turn, but it mostly felt way too present for stories (Geralt and Yen's) that didn't have anything to do with her yet. It's also almost all new or modified material. Hanging out in Brokilon for 3 episodes, for example, when in the books, Geralt is involved in that story.

Overall, I'd give it a C+. I agree with the poster above that said that we'll appreciate this season later, since all the groundwork has already been laid. Things should be a lot more straightforward going forward - no need for weird timelines or anything, as far as I know. But I think they could have managed it better overall. They could have left Ciri out of a few episodes, and maybe had Geralt and Yennifer have more than two episodes together. If they'd stuck to the books a little closer, these problems would have been solved, coincidentally.

Interestingly, the books don't actually show the fall of Cintra or the battle of Sodden Hill. Those are explained after the fact. I get why the show needed to show-not-tell, but that also had to have been a big chunk of the show's budget!

Interesting stuff, eager for more. So I'll just get back to book 5 on my lunch break!

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I thought the Yennifer stuff was hit or miss. I don't think this iteration of Yennifer is very accurate - at least so far. In the books and games, Yennifer is a boss *****. She's extremely competent, intuitive, always has a plan, is politically savvy. You see glimpses of that in the show but you also see her acting like a child at times, and not just when she's a hunchback in mage school.

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I wasn't a fan of the encounter between her and the assassin wizard. Felt like she was completely overmatched that whole time, when her story suggested she was super powerful. Maybe she was supposed to be complacent bc she was bored with her role?

BassCowboy33 said:

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mazag08 said:

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I think down the road we will look back at the season and applaud it heavily for the job it did setting up the timeline, characters, and universe.

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I really like that it used a "Dunkirk" timeline to get the audience to use their brains rather than a generic CBS weekly storyline. Kept everything from the short stories from getting stale.

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I thought the timeline mix was interesting and suspenseful. I wish that Westworld season 2 had been more like this.

redline248 said:

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Quote:

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I thought the Yennifer stuff was hit or miss. I don't think this iteration of Yennifer is very accurate - at least so far. In the books and games, Yennifer is a boss *****. She's extremely competent, intuitive, always has a plan, is politically savvy. You see glimpses of that in the show but you also see her acting like a child at times, and not just when she's a hunchback in mage school.

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I wasn't a fan of the encounter between her and the assassin wizard. Felt like she was completely overmatched that whole time, when her story suggested she was super powerful. Maybe she was supposed to be complacent bc she was bored with her role?

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I figured the show was trying to set her up most the season as "lost" and without purpose or personal drive.. until the end where it seems she starts to figure herself out. No idea how that works in the books, but I think it worked here. The scene with her and getting the kids high was just another small stop on her endless purposeless journey until she started fighting for something more than herself

mazag08 said:

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redline248 said:

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Quote:

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I thought the Yennifer stuff was hit or miss. I don't think this iteration of Yennifer is very accurate - at least so far. In the books and games, Yennifer is a boss *****. She's extremely competent, intuitive, always has a plan, is politically savvy. You see glimpses of that in the show but you also see her acting like a child at times, and not just when she's a hunchback in mage school.

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I wasn't a fan of the encounter between her and the assassin wizard. Felt like she was completely overmatched that whole time, when her story suggested she was super powerful. Maybe she was supposed to be complacent bc she was bored with her role?

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I figured the show was trying to set her up most the season as "lost" and without purpose or personal drive.. until the end where it seems she starts to figure herself out. No idea how that works in the books, but I think it worked here. The scene with her and getting the kids high was just another small stop on her endless purposeless journey until she started fighting for something more than herself

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I think this is more-or-less correct. In the books, she softens quite a lot as she mentors and comes to love Ciri. I think in the show, they started her off "soft" so that her character isn't totally static for three seasons. I don't know if it was the best decision, but I think it's defensible.

My biggest complaint with season 1: in the original story, after Geralt and Jaskier/Dandelion fish the Djinn out of the river, Geralt attempts an exorcism that a priestess taught him long before. He is actually using his first wish, and his "exorcism" translates to, "go **** yourself," which is why the Djinn is so angry toward the end of the episode.That was too funny to leave out.

My biggest gripe for S1 is the way they handled the characters Cahir, to a lesser extent Vilgefortz and the magic "system". No way do they let mages destroy themselves to cast 1 spell