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Dark Crystal

skip.knox

toujours gai, archie
Moderator
I am soooo stoked for this series to drop.

I have to admit the original underwhelmed me. But the reviews of the new series are so universally enthusiastic, I'm pretty much all in. Also, if it turns out well, it'll again verify that in story-telling terms, a movie is just a short story. Epic fantasy needs ten or more hours to be told well. And yes I'm including Star Wars and LotR, much as I enjoy both. Epic fantasy needs an epic arc, and that takes time.

And epic skill!
 

Devor

Fiery Keeper of the Hat
Moderator
I've been looking forward to it, but I'm not sure what to expect from it. Based on the trailer I think the puppetry might take a little getting used to. But the reviewers are definitely excited, and having something on this scale that isn't relying on CGI? That's amazing. If it's successful maybe we'll see directors lean more on some of these production qualities in addition to the CGI.

The original was so long ago that it's not really an indicator of anything.
 
Depending on your age at the time, the original had the potential to be life-altering.

There was nothing like it, or Labyrinth, and the fantasy elements inspired so many who went on to be writers, puppeteers, film-makers and artists. As kids we tried to make puppets for weeks after seeing it, we put on shows, wrote our first stories. And the puppets/characters and settings themselves. . . Henson was, and Brian and Wendy Froud (and now son Toby) remain, in my opinion, the very epitome of fantasy makers.

The Henson puppets made Farscape a favorite show of mine (well, them and Chiana, who was rather like a puppet in her own way.) and the two Storytellers series. I thought we'd never see this sort of production after Henson died.

As little kids, we didn't think about the quality of the story or it's execution but whenI rewatch the original I still get the feels. I'll likely take the same approach to watching this series. Just the preview stirs something in me that few films or shows today could. To see puppeteering take over the screen again is long overdue and I can't WAIT! :)
 

CupofJoe

Myth Weaver
Never saw any of the original material so I won't comment on that directly.
But I am sick and tired of 80s and 90s stuff being remade.
I fear it is because the commissioners are of that age now and there is a fond remembrance of childhood.
Did I hear that there was a He-Man reboot in the offing?
BTW loved Fraggle Rock, Farscape and still love the Muppets.
 

Devor

Fiery Keeper of the Hat
Moderator
Never saw any of the original material so I won't comment on that directly.
But I am sick and tired of 80s and 90s stuff being remade.
I fear it is because the commissioners are of that age now and there is a fond remembrance of childhood.
Did I hear that there was a He-Man reboot in the offing?
BTW loved Fraggle Rock, Farscape and still love the Muppets.

They're not exactly remakes. The new Dark Crystal show takes place centuries before the original movie. The He-Man reboot is supposed to follow right where the original left off. Not sure if that makes a difference for you but it does for me.
 

Devor

Fiery Keeper of the Hat
Moderator
Also, normally I do think this stuff is nostalgia driven, but I don't think it is with Dark Crystal. Jim Henson's studios doesn't own a lot of properties, and I think the puppetry probably does better when you have a framework to go by. Disney owns the Muppets, and Sesame Street went independent. I think this is just a studio using what little it has to reassert itself, and Netflix desperate to back anything with Disney, Universal, Amazon, CBS/Viacom, and did I hear Apple? streaming services crowding the market. I don't think anyone is banking on nostalgia driving this one.
 
They're not exactly remakes. The new Dark Crystal show takes place centuries before the original movie. The He-Man reboot is supposed to follow right where the original left off. Not sure if that makes a difference for you but it does for me.

Me too. I generally agree with the sentiments about many pure remakes. We all have our own original show, "holy grounds". For me it was Planet of the Apes. Still have not watched a minute of the new films. The originals were just too important to my childhood. But then I have to concede how much I loved the reimagined Battlestar Galactica. I know fans of the old show who still won't watch it because Starbuck's a woman etc, etc but the show was amazing. He-Man should be a kick!

I think Dark Crystal stands alone. The puppetry takes it out of the realm of comparison with any other show/movie for me. Henson, as I understand it, always wanted to do another. The cost, and his untimely death, prohibited that. I give Netflix full credit for taking it on.

My hope, still, is to leave the world a bit better than when I got here. - Jim Henson
 
Yes, most modern remakes are just quick cash grabs with little artistic merit. With Dark Crystal, I think it's far more creative, though, from the business side, it's probably as much about trying to capture as wide of an audience as they can. I know people in every age range who love the original movie, including many who weren't even born when it played in theaters, and are excited about the show. For many, there's the love for all of Jim Henson's creations, which are timeless. My grandmother was in her late 60's when I showed Dark Crystal to her on VHS years ago and she cried as we watched it. So to create a prequel that parents and kids (and today's grandparents) could all watch together, each with their own points of interest and nostalgic weight, and the novelty of full puppetry, it seems a good financial risk to take. If it works, and Netflix can lock down the Henson studios as a partner/property, it could be great for them going forward.

That said, I don't care at all about the business end of it. :) I'm excited to see a new production set in the Dark Crystal world for the first time in over 30 years! And I'm not a binger so I expect we'll drag our watching of it out over two months. I've never gotten used to the idea of watching an entire season of something in a few days. I think back to X-Files in the day and wonder if I would have had anywhere near the same emotional connection to Mulder and Scully if I had watched 8 seasons of it in just a few months instead of the week to week waiting and the break across summers, for the cliffhanger resolutions and new installments. That's being lost today I think.

Oh, can I add one more to the list of 80's reboots that I love? Cobra Kai. I thought it was joke when I first heard You Tube was doing it but it ended up being really quite interesting. If you grew up in the 80's, you absolutely know people today who turned out like either Daniel or Johnny.
 

skip.knox

toujours gai, archie
Moderator
Also, there has long been a sequel or other project in the works, going back twenty years and more. Doesn't mean the business folks aren't looking at the business angles, but there's room for the creative types to be genuine, too.

Heck, there's probably even room for the suits to be genuine.
 

J.W. Golan

Scribe
I'm also eager to see what they make out of this. The original was . . . different. I could appreciate the story telling, but the imagery was sometimes creepy. The puppetry hadn't quite reached the level of today's CGI. It wasn't live action, it wasn't animated, it was something different.

I'm eager to see what they might have made of it in the reboot.
 

skip.knox

toujours gai, archie
Moderator
I gave up on it after four episodes. The sets are great, but puppets simply cannot show much emotional range. The voice actors are working really hard, and the story is dramatic, but I can't get past the puppets. Also that all the Skeksis sound kind of silly. It's hard to think of them as scary bad guys when they appear so incompetent. I dunno. Hope others are enjoying it.
 

Demesnedenoir

Myth Weaver
I gave up on it after four episodes. The sets are great, but puppets simply cannot show much emotional range. The voice actors are working really hard, and the story is dramatic, but I can't get past the puppets. Also that all the Skeksis sound kind of silly. It's hard to think of them as scary bad guys when they appear so incompetent. I dunno. Hope others are enjoying it.

I didn’t make it past #1, and I liked the movie, saw it in the theater a couple times. I’ll end up seeing much of it because my daughter is more tolerant, heh heh.
 
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