|
|
Post by dalekbuster523finish on Jun 1, 2017 9:23:17 GMT
|
|
|
|
Post by omega on Jun 1, 2017 9:40:06 GMT
As long as the creators don't dial down the darker tone if they reach the later books. One of the major themes of the series is that being a teen spy isn't as cool as you think it is. Some of the antagonist fates are very dark, and there's not much levity at all in the final book.
The spy genre will definitely appeal to people, but the creators shouldn't shy from what the books became.
Another spy story I would love to see adapted for TV is the DC title Grayson. It features Dick Grayson, there's the Batman connection.
|
|
Deleted
Deleted Member
Likes:
|
Post by Deleted on Jun 1, 2017 10:10:53 GMT
Well, it is a series I remember best from my childhood by the line: "You're never too young to die."
I have very vivid memories of motorcyclists stringing cheese wire up between them to cut Rider to ribbons, a bloodied gauntlet through a physical replication of a lethal video game level (including acid pits and a deadly "monster") and Alex himself being sent in by SCORPIA to kill a woman on his own side who is essentially Moneypenny. The novels have the glamour of Bond (a love interest called Sabina Pleasure) mixed in with the cruel reality of something like Danger Man (Alex's school is hit by a sharpshooter). It gets darker and darker as the series goes on.
I really need to go back and reread them again. I hope they do it more justice than that terrible film churned out a few years back.
|
|
|
|
Post by dalekbuster523finish on Jun 1, 2017 10:11:11 GMT
As long as the creators don't dial down the darker tone if they reach the later books. One of the major themes of the series is that being a teen spy isn't as cool as you think it is. Some of the antagonist fates are very dark, and there's not much levity at all in the final book. The spy genre will definitely appeal to people, but the creators shouldn't shy from what the books became. Another spy story I would love to see adapted for TV is the DC title Grayson. It features Dick Grayson, there's the Batman connection. I was surprised by how dark the books get actually. By the end Alex is essentially traumatised, which makes me wonder how Anthony Horowitz has brought him back for Never Say Die. It's a really neat idea to show the consequences of a teenage spy though. |
|
|
|
Post by dalekbuster523finish on Jun 1, 2017 10:15:01 GMT
Well, it is a series I remember best from my childhood by the line: "You're never too young to die." I have very vivid memories of motorcyclists stringing cheese wire up between them to cut Rider to ribbons, a bloodied gauntlet through a physical replication of a lethal video game level (including acid pits and a deadly "monster") and Alex himself being sent in by SCORPIA to kill a woman on his own side who is essentially Moneypenny. The novels have the glamour of Bond (a love interest called Sabina Pleasure) mixed in with the cruel reality of something like Danger Man (Alex's school is hit by a sharpshooter). It gets darker and darker as the series goes on. I really need to go back and reread them again. I hope they do it more justice than that terrible film churned out a few years back. What surprised me was how Mr Blunt orchestrated the whole school shooting to drag Alex back into the field. That was such a wonderfully dark place for the books to go, and it made sense for Blunt's character given we know how much of a manipulative man he is. |
|
|
|
Post by omega on Jun 1, 2017 10:17:05 GMT
Well, it is a series I remember best from my childhood by the line: "You're never too young to die." I have very vivid memories of motorcyclists stringing cheese wire up between them to cut Rider to ribbons, a bloodied gauntlet through a physical replication of a lethal video game level (including acid pits and a deadly "monster") and Alex himself being sent in by SCORPIA to kill a woman on his own side who is essentially Moneypenny. The novels have the glamour of Bond (a love interest called Sabina Pleasure) mixed in with the cruel reality of something like Danger Man (Alex's school is hit by a sharpshooter). It gets darker and darker as the series goes on. I really need to go back and reread them again. I hope they do it more justice than that terrible film churned out a few years back. In the last book he's waterboarded. By the CIA. And he's struck the biggest blow that changes him entirely. Scorpia Rising is not something to read if you want a feel good. One of the books has an illegal organ transplant clinic, with Alex nearly under the knife. Stormbreaker is a straight action adventure, but the darkness and the degree of the harsh reality keeps creeping in. It's no wonder that Alex keeps having to be blackmailed into doing the operations. |
|
|
|
Post by dalekbuster523finish on Jun 1, 2017 10:18:45 GMT
Well, it is a series I remember best from my childhood by the line: "You're never too young to die." I have very vivid memories of motorcyclists stringing cheese wire up between them to cut Rider to ribbons, a bloodied gauntlet through a physical replication of a lethal video game level (including acid pits and a deadly "monster") and Alex himself being sent in by SCORPIA to kill a woman on his own side who is essentially Moneypenny. The novels have the glamour of Bond (a love interest called Sabina Pleasure) mixed in with the cruel reality of something like Danger Man (Alex's school is hit by a sharpshooter). It gets darker and darker as the series goes on. I really need to go back and reread them again. I hope they do it more justice than that terrible film churned out a few years back. In the last book he's waterboarded. By the CIA. And he's struck the biggest blow that changes him entirely. Scorpia Rising is not something to read if you want a feel good. One of the books has an illegal organ transplant clinic, with Alex nearly under the knife. Stormbreaker is a straight action adventure, but the darkness and the degree of the harsh reality keeps creeping in. It's no wonder that Alex keeps having to be blackmailed into doing the operations. It reminds me of Harry Potter in that regard. Starts off light and fun, and increasingly the fun is replaced with the darker aspects of the world the main character lives in. |
|
Deleted
Deleted Member
Likes:
|
Post by Deleted on Jun 1, 2017 10:25:00 GMT
What surprised me was how Mr Blunt orchestrated the whole school shooting to drag Alex back into the field. That was such a wonderfully dark place for the books to go, and it made sense for Blunt's character given we know how much of a manipulative man he is. And very much in keeping with the Dangerous Game principle of spy fiction. You're not a person to be valued, but a commodity to be spent. It's very rare that there's a Control or Jeff Tracy that agents are answerable to who don't view them as such (even then, they have their moments). Well, from the looks of things Horowitz is already well on his way to start Never Say Die. In the last book he's waterboarded. By the CIA. And he's struck the biggest blow that changes him entirely. Scorpia Rising is not something to read if you want a feel good. One of the books has an illegal organ transplant clinic, with Alex nearly under the knife. Stormbreaker is a straight action adventure, but the darkness and the degree of the harsh reality keeps creeping in. It's no wonder that Alex keeps having to be blackmailed into doing the operations. I think I stopped reading after Ark Angel because life took a hold. I remember the ending -- it's in a similar vein to the final pages of From Russia with Love. Alex isn't okay. |
|
|
|
Post by omega on Jun 1, 2017 10:27:33 GMT
As long as the creators don't dial down the darker tone if they reach the later books. One of the major themes of the series is that being a teen spy isn't as cool as you think it is. Some of the antagonist fates are very dark, and there's not much levity at all in the final book. The spy genre will definitely appeal to people, but the creators shouldn't shy from what the books became. Another spy story I would love to see adapted for TV is the DC title Grayson. It features Dick Grayson, there's the Batman connection. I was surprised by how dark the books get actually. By the end Alex is essentially traumatised, which makes me wonder how Anthony Horowitz has brought him back for Never Say Die. It's a really neat idea to show the consequences of a teenage spy though. At least for me that's how the series stood out. It wasn't action, adventure and excitement, with a happy ending and everything being peachy for Alex, he had to deal with being away from school for conspicuous periods of time and the trauma from the various missions. It's worth noting that while Alex had been trained, albeit without knowing what it was for, he never had any ambitions to become a spy and had to be blackmailed (Blunt threatening to deport Alex's legal guardian) or circumstances forced it (a target of the Triads, being in Australia for reasons of context), and the only times he struck out on his own were for personal reasons (Sabina's father being attacked on the order of a world famous media personality, seeking the truth about his parents) Another thing that is memorable is that even though the books were published over a period of ten years or so, the internal timeframe was that it was a year at most from Stormbreaker to Scorpia Rising. Noticable with how Anthony Horowitz incorporated pop culture, like the GameBoy gadget in the first book (upgraded to a DS in the movie) or how one of the gadgets in the second book is stated to be a copy of Harry Potter and the Chamber of Secrets with a tranq dart in the spine to the second to last book referencing the Assassin's Creed videogame. Contemporary pop culture and topical references age poorly, especially in an internal chronology like this. |
|
|
|
Post by jasonward on Jun 1, 2017 10:32:10 GMT
I don't think ITV has tried or wants to try and have an answer to Doctor Who. By that I don't mean that they don't want to compete, I'm sure they do, but I think they gave up decades ago looking at Doctor Who and saying "How do we do that?".
|
|
|
|
Post by omega on Jun 1, 2017 10:35:01 GMT
I don't think ITV has tried or wants to try and have an answer to Doctor Who. By that I don't mean that they don't want to compete, I'm sure they do, but I think they gave up decades ago looking at Doctor Who and saying "How do we do that?". The BBC seems to have given up on another Saturday night family drama, after Atlantis sunk. |
|
|
|
Post by mark687 on Jun 1, 2017 10:42:35 GMT
I don't think ITV has tried or wants to try and have an answer to Doctor Who. By that I don't mean that they don't want to compete, I'm sure they do, but I think they gave up decades ago looking at Doctor Who and saying "How do we do that?". The BBC seems to have given up on another Saturday night family drama, after Atlantis sunk. And there's still a rumour going round there's still funding out there specifically for a DW Spin off.
Regards
mark687
|
|
Deleted
Deleted Member
Likes:
|
Post by Deleted on Jun 1, 2017 10:43:03 GMT
I don't think ITV has tried or wants to try and have an answer to Doctor Who. By that I don't mean that they don't want to compete, I'm sure they do, but I think they gave up decades ago looking at Doctor Who and saying "How do we do that?". After Sapphire & Steel most probably. |
|
|
|
Post by sherlock on Jun 1, 2017 10:47:43 GMT
I hope they maintain the darker aspects of the series, but I imagine that depends on what audience they're going for.
Guess it's time to re-read them.
|
|
|
|
Post by omega on Jun 1, 2017 10:50:31 GMT
The BBC seems to have given up on another Saturday night family drama, after Atlantis sunk. And there's still a rumour going round there's still funding out there specifically for a DW Spin off.
Regards
mark687
They sunk Class big time, even if it was like Firefly in quality they stuffed up on the airing and distribution. By the time it got to America the home video releases were already out. The rumored new spin-off will need a concept and characters who are loved from the moment of announcement and not to get the same treatment Class did just to survive. |
|
|
|
Post by omega on Jun 1, 2017 10:55:59 GMT
I hope they maintain the darker aspects of the series, but I imagine that depends on what audience they're going for. Guess it's time to re-read them. The film adaptation of The Golden Compass failed because it strayed too far from the original material in terms of tone. The series isn't kind about the church, so avoiding religious complaints is neutering it. Then there's the second book where one of the protagonists spends at least a third of the book with two fingers cut off and it being a severe hindrance due to the bleeding until the end of the book. Can't see any way to make that family friendly without excising the continuous bleeding entirely (which is part of the cost of earning the Subtle Knife). If you're going to adapt something and change it tonally, you need the intended fanbase to be on board. Josh Trank turned Fantastic Four into a dark and gritty film, and it's held up as one of the world superhero films out there. |
|
|
|
Post by omega on Jun 1, 2017 11:01:34 GMT
I wonder how the books will be adapted. The model Netflix did with A Series of Unfortunate Events where each book got adapted into two fifty minute episodes?
EDIT: Looks like it'll be a season for each book, starting with Point Blanc. If each season is more than four or five forty minute episodes, there'll be either extra material from Horowitz, new material like with A Series of Unfortunate Events or simply padding. My best guess the the second option.
|
|
|
|
Post by dalekbuster523finish on Jun 1, 2017 11:06:08 GMT
I was surprised by how dark the books get actually. By the end Alex is essentially traumatised, which makes me wonder how Anthony Horowitz has brought him back for Never Say Die. It's a really neat idea to show the consequences of a teenage spy though. At least for me that's how the series stood out. It wasn't action, adventure and excitement, with a happy ending and everything being peachy for Alex, he had to deal with being away from school for conspicuous periods of time and the trauma from the various missions. It's worth noting that while Alex had been trained, albeit without knowing what it was for, he never had any ambitions to become a spy and had to be blackmailed (Blunt threatening to deport Alex's legal guardian) or circumstances forced it (a target of the Triads, being in Australia for reasons of context), and the only times he struck out on his own were for personal reasons (Sabina's father being attacked on the order of a world famous media personality, seeking the truth about his parents) Another thing that is memorable is that even though the books were published over a period of ten years or so, the internal timeframe was that it was a year at most from Stormbreaker to Scorpia Rising. Noticable with how Anthony Horowitz incorporated pop culture, like the GameBoy gadget in the first book (upgraded to a DS in the movie) or how one of the gadgets in the second book is stated to be a copy of Harry Potter and the Chamber of Secrets with a tranq dart in the spine to the second to last book referencing the Assassin's Creed videogame. Contemporary pop culture and topical references age poorly, especially in an internal chronology like this. I can see them changing it so each book is a year in Alex Rider's life. I can't see every mission taking place within the same year working when the lead actor will visibly age between series. There will almost certainly be more contemporary references. A Switch instead of a Gameboy. |
|
|
|
Post by dalekbuster523finish on Jun 1, 2017 11:07:03 GMT
I hope they maintain the darker aspects of the series, but I imagine that depends on what audience they're going for. Guess it's time to re-read them. Digital Spy say an older family audience. |
|
|
|
Post by sherlock on Jun 1, 2017 11:09:35 GMT
I hope they maintain the darker aspects of the series, but I imagine that depends on what audience they're going for. Guess it's time to re-read them. Digital Spy say an older family audience. Hopefully that means the darker bits stay. Those bits are iconic and what separate the series from stereotypical 'spy kids' stuff. |
|
