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| I know this is not an image from the new HBO series, but I like it....sue me. |
I am enjoying an immersion in all things Philip Pullman.
I just re-read The Book of Dust vol.1 - La Belle Sauvage, so that I may move on to (and I have) volume two, The Secret Commonwealth.
The Book of Dust series continues the story of the His Dark Materials series -- The Golden Compass (or The Northern Lights), The Subtle Knife, and The Amber Spyglass -- which are some of my favorite books of all time (and considered by many, taken as one novel, one of the best 100 books of all time).
I was holding off re-reading His Dark Materials, and I still am, and so I have copied two different plot summaries of it here -- one from THE DEN OF GEEK site in discussing the new HBO series and the other from WIKIPEDIA.
La Belle Sauvage was less dependent on His Dark Materials, as it takes place when Lyra is an infant, but then Pullman jumps ahead the narrative to when Lyra is 20 years old, ten years after His Dark Materials, and now I am feeling the need to at least refresh my memory of the first three books if not just for reading The Secret Commonwealth but also the new HBO series due November 4th.
Mainly, this entry exists to share the new trailer.
But I added a great deal more.
I have a good feeling about this HBO series.
The Book of Dust is great! The Secret Commonwealth is especially harrowing.
HBO and BBC present His Dark Materials, a new original series based on the global bestsellers, premiering this fall. Like on Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/HisDarkMater... Follow on Twitter: https://twitter/daemonsanddust #HBO #HisDarkMaterials Subscribe to HBO on YouTube: https://goo.gl/wtFYd7 His Dark Materials stars Dafne Keen, James McAvoy, Ruth Wilson and Lin-Manuel Miranda. Adapting Philip Pullman’s award-winning trilogy of the same name, which is considered a modern masterpiece of imaginative fiction, the first season follows Lyra, a seemingly ordinary but brave young woman from another world. Her search for a kidnapped friend uncovers a sinister plot involving stolen children, and becomes a quest to understand a mysterious phenomenon called Dust. As she journeys through the worlds, including our own, Lyra meets Will, a determined and courageous boy. Together, they encounter extraordinary beings and dangerous secrets, with the fate of both the living — and the dead — in their hands. Don’t have HBO? Order Now: https://itsh.bo/GetHBONow Get More HBO: Get HBO GO: https://play.hbogo.com Like on Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/HBO Follow on Twitter: https://twitter.com/HBO Like on Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/hbo Official Site: http://www.hbo.com His Dark Materials: Season 1 | San Diego Comic-Con Trailer | HBO
https://www.denofgeek.com/us/tv/his-dark-materials/250234/his-dark-materials-release-date-trailer-hbo
BBC One teamed with HBO, New Line and former Doctor Who producers Julie Gardner and Jane Tranter to make an initial 8-episode adaptation of Philip Pullman's His Dark Materials Trilogy, perhaps better known as The Golden Compass (Northern Lights, in the U.K.), The Subtle Knife and the Amber Spyglass.
The His Dark Materials TV show will see its first two episodes directed by Les Miserables' Tom Hooper from scripts by The Cursed Child writer Jack Thorne. Also directing for Season 1 are Dawn Shadforth (Episode 3), Otto Bathhurst (Episodes 4 & 5), Euros Lyn (Episode 6) and Jamie Childs (Episodes 7 & 8).
The series already landed a renewal for Season 2, which was no big surprise, since Wales online had reported about a multi-season deal, shaping the series to comprehensively cover the entirety of Pullman's story, explaining, "The deal will see forty episodes shot across five series." Sounds great to us.
The cast includes James McAvoy, Ruth Wilson, and Lin-Manuel Miranda, as well as Logan's Dafne Keene starring in the central role of Lyra Belacqua.
His Dark Materials TV Show Cast
James McAvoy will play Lord Asriel, the cutthroat explorer and uncle to Lyra, with The Affair's Ruth Wilson as Marisa Coulter, Asriel's former lover and a glamorous adventurer who invites Lyra along on her adventures. The Wire's Clarke Peters has been cast as the master who raised Lyra at Oxford's Jordan College.
Dafne Keen (Logan) stars as Lyra in the TV adaptation, with Lin-Manuel Miranda (Hamilton) cast as Texan aeronaut Lee Scoresby.
Ariyon Bakare (Life, Rogue One: A Star Wars Story) will play Lord Boreal, the character who serves as an antagonist in the novels. In his claim to infamy, Boreal inveigles Lyra (Dafne Keen) with the illusion of safety from pursuers, subsequently stealing her alethiometer (a compass-type device used to discern the truth). Tellingly, his daemon is a lavishly decorated serpent with an emerald head and black eyes surrounded by gold rims.
Georgina Campbell will play journalist Adele Starminster. Campbell, who co-stars on Syfy’s renewed DC prequel TV series Krypton as Lyta-Zod, has also notably appeared on Netflix's Black Mirror in the episode, “Hang the DJ,” and on the third and final season of ITV’s Broadchurch. She was also recently seen on the big screen in director Guy Ritchie’s King Arthur: Legend of the Sword.
Ian Gelder will play Librarian Scholar Charles. Gelder is best known for his role on HBO Game of Thrones as Kevan Lannister, having also banked a recent run on Crackle’s Snatch TV series, as well as EastEnders and Ripper Street. He also fielded a notable run back in 2009 on Doctor Who spinoff Torchwood, as well as a film role in the 2009 Vatican drama, Pope Joan. Ruta Gedmintas has been cast (The Strain) as Serafina Pekkala.
Rounding out the cast are actors set to play the nomadic boat-dwelling Gyptians, who take Lyra (Ruth Wilson) into the North…
Anne-Marie Duff (Shameless) as Ma Costa.
James Cosmo (Game of Thrones – Jeor f***ing Mormont!) as Farder Coram.
Lucien Msamati (Game of Thrones – Salladhor Saan) as John Faa.
Geoff Bell (Kingsman: The Secret Service) as Jack Verhoeven.
Simon Manyonda (Neil Gaiman’s Likely Stories) as Benjamin de Ruyter.
Mat Fraser (American Horror Story) as Raymond van Geritt.
The voice cast for the series is just as impressive as the rest of the crew.
Helen McCrory (Harry Potter) will voice Stelmaria, Lord Asriel's daemon. David Suchet (Poirot) is Kaisa, gyrfalcon daemon to the witch Serafina Pekkala. American comedian Cristela Alonzo will voice arctic hare Hester, aka Lee Scoresby's daemon. Lyra's daemon, Pan, will be voiced by Kit Connor (Rocketman). Joe Tandberg (The Innocents) will be voicing main character Iorek Byrnison, a bear or panserbjørne Lyra meets on her journey.
Mrs Coulter's Golden Monkey daemon doesn't speak, but his animal noises and vocal characteristics will be created by Brian Fisher (Detective Pikachu). Fisher is also serving as the lead puppeteer and CFX Coordinator on the series.
His Dark Materials Plot
Here's the official His Dark Materials synopsis from the BBC...
His Dark Materials is one of the supreme works of imaginative fiction for both children and adults published in the 20th century. Northern Lights [The Golden Compass, in the U.S.] introduces Lyra, an orphan, who lives in a parallel universe in which science, theology and magic are entwined. Lyra's search for a kidnapped friend uncovers a sinister plot involving stolen children, and turns into a quest to understand a mysterious phenomenon called Dust.In The Subtle Knife she is joined on her journey by Will, a boy who possesses a knife that can cut windows between worlds. As Lyra learns the truth about her parents and her prophesied destiny, the two young people are caught up in a war against celestial powers that ranges across many worlds and leads to a thrilling conclusion in The Amber Spyglass.
His Dark Materials writer Jack Thorne spoke to Radio Times in April 2017 about whether or not there will be major changes from the book, saying this is "not something I can tell you about yet." The narrative room a TV show gives the story as compared to the feature film would allow more of the source material to be presented. (Notably, the feature film changed the ending of the first book. It was a terrible decision, completely gutting the thematic power of the book.)
Thorne elaborated:
"I mean, the most important thing is being loyal to the books, and trying to tell those books as well as we possibly can,” he said ... The advantage of television is we can slow down. In the film and on stage they had so much plot to get through, so much plot to churn through, whereas we’ve got the luxury of having time to get to know [lead character] Lyra, and spend time in her world."
@PhilipPullman loved the Trilogy. Really nice to happen upon you on Twitter. Any date for the BBC drama of the Dark Materials?
Not yet, I'm afraid. Things are moving steadily and well, but it's a very big project and needs a great deal of planning.
See Philip Pullman's other Tweets
Thorne released a statement on what drew him to the adaptation that certainly gives fans of the book hope that the trilogy will be adapted in a way that capture the imagination and darkness of the stories better than the 2007 New Line effort did:
"It is such an honor and a privilege to be given this opportunity to delve into Philip Pullman's world. What I always loved about Bad Wolf's intentions with this project was the notion of sounding every note. The His Dark Materials trilogy are vast and glorious books full of beautiful characters and I'm going to work as hard as I can to try and do justice to them."
Pullman's trilogy, comprising The Golden Compass, The Subtle Knife, and The Amber Spyglass, takes place in a universe of "daemons," polar-bear warriors, witches, magical instruments, and theological philosophy. It's previously been adapted for film, radio and theatre, but this will be the first TV version of the world of its singular hero, Lyra Belacqua.
Philip Pullman had this to say:
"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 characterization 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. I’m especially pleased at the involvement of Jane Tranter, whose experience, imagination, and drive are second to none. As for the BBC, it has no stronger supporter than me. I couldn't be more pleased with this news."
https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/His_Dark_Materials
Plot[edit]
Northern Lights (or The Golden Compass)[edit]
In Jordan College, Oxford, 11-year-old Lyra Belacqua and her dæmon Pantalaimon witness the Master attempt to poison Lord Asriel, Lyra's rebellious and adventuring uncle. She warns Asriel, then spies on his lecture about Dust, mysterious elementary particles. Lyra's friend Roger is kidnapped by child abductors known as the "Gobblers". Lyra is adopted by a charming socialite, Mrs Coulter. The Master secretly entrusts her with an alethiometer, a truth-telling device. Lyra discovers that Coulter is the leader of the Gobblers, a secret Church-funded project, which is abducting children. Lyra flees to the Gyptians, canal-faring nomads, whose children have also been abducted. They reveal to Lyra that Asriel and Coulter are actually her parents.
The Gyptians form an expedition to the Arctic with Lyra to rescue the children. Lyra recruits Iorek Byrnison, an armoured bear, and his human aeronaut friend, Lee Scoresby. She also learns that Lord Asriel has been exiled, guarded by the bears on Svalbard. Near Bolvangar, the Gobbler research station, Lyra discovers an abandoned child who has been cut from his dæmon; the Gobblers are experimenting on children by severing the bond between human and dæmon. Lyra is captured and taken to Bolvangar, where she is reunited with Roger. Coulter tells Lyra that the intercision prevents the onset of troubling adult emotions. Lyra and the children are rescued by Scoresby, Iorek, the Gyptians, and Serafina Pekkala's flying witch clan. Lyra falls out of Scoresby's balloon and is taken by the panserbjørne to the castle of their usurping king, Iofur Raknison. She tricks Iofur into fighting Iorek, who arrives with the others to rescue Lyra. Iorek kills Iofur and takes his place as the rightful king.
Lyra, Iorek, and Roger travel to Svalbard, where Asriel has continued his Dust research in exile. He tells Lyra that the Church believes Dust is the basis of sin, and plans to visit the other universes and destroy its source. He severs Roger from his dæmon, killing him and releasing enough energy to create an opening to a parallel universe. Lyra determines to stop Asriel and discover the source of Dust for herself.
The Subtle Knife[edit]
Lyra journeys through Asriel's opening between worlds to Cittàgazze, an otherworldly city whose denizens have discovered a clean path between worlds at a far earlier point in time than others in the storyline. Cittàgazze's reckless use of the technology has released soul-eating Spectres, to which children are immune, rendering much of the world incapable of transit by adults. Here Lyra meets Will Parry, a twelve-year-old boy from our world. Will, who recently killed a man to protect his ailing mother, has stumbled into Cittàgazze in an effort to locate his long-lost father. Venturing into Will's (our) world, Lyra meets Dr. Mary Malone, a physicist who is researching what she calls Shadow Particles, which are the same as Lyra's Dust. Lyra encourages Dr. Malone to attempt to communicate with the particles, and when she does they tell her to travel into the Cittàgazze world.
Will becomes the bearer of the eponymous Subtle Knife, a tool forged 300 years ago by Cittàgazze's scientists from the same materials used to make Bolvangar's silver guillotine. One edge of the knife can divide even subatomic particles and form subtle divisions in space, creating portals between worlds; the other edge easily cuts through any form of matter. After meeting with witches from Lyra's world, they journey on.
Meanwhile, back in Lyra's world, Lee Scoresby seeks out Stanislaus Grumman. When Scoresby finds him, Grumman insists on being taken through the opening into the Cittàgazze world in Scoresby's balloon. Scoresby dies defending Grumman from the forces of the Church. Grumman turns out to be Will's long-lost father and he succeeds in reuniting with his son before he is murdered by a witch who loved him but was turned down. After his father's death, Will discovers that Lyra has been kidnapped and he is approached by two angels requesting his aid.
The Amber Spyglass[edit]
The Amber Spyglass tells of Lyra's kidnapping by her mother, Mrs. Coulter, an agent of the Magisterium who has learned of the prophecy identifying Lyra as the next Eve. A pair of angels, Balthamos and Baruch, inform Will that he must travel with them to give the Subtle Knife to Lyra's father, Lord Asriel, as a weapon against The Authority. Will ignores the angels; with the help of a local girl named Ama, the Bear King Iorek Byrnison, and Lord Asriel's Gallivespian spies, the Chevalier Tialys and the Lady Salmakia, he rescues Lyra from the cave where her mother has hidden her from the Magisterium, which has become determined to kill her before she yields to temptation and sin like the original Eve.
Will, Lyra, Tialys and Salmakia journey to the Land of the Dead, temporarily parting with their dæmons to release the ghosts from their captivity. Mary Malone, a scientist from Will's world interested in "shadows" (or Dust in Lyra's world), travels to a land populated by strange sentient creatures called Mulefa. There she comes to understand the true nature of Dust, which is both created by and nourishes life which has become self-aware. Lord Asriel and the reformed Mrs. Coulter work to destroy the Authority's Regent Metatron. They succeed, but themselves suffer annihilation in the process by pulling Metatron into the abyss. The Authority himself dies of his own frailty when Will and Lyra free him from the crystal prison wherein Metatron had trapped him, able to do so because an attack by cliff-ghasts kills or drives away the prison's protectors. When Will and Lyra emerge from the land of the dead, they find their dæmons. The book ends with Will and Lyra falling in love but realising they cannot live together in the same world, because all windows — except one from the underworld to the world of the Mulefa — must be closed to prevent the loss of Dust, because with every window opening, a Spectre would be created and that meant Will must never use the knife again. Also because each of them can only live full lives in their native worlds. This is the temptation that Mary was meant to give them; to help them fall in love and then choose whether they should stay together or not. During the return, Mary learns how to see her own dæmon, who takes the form of a black Alpine chough. Lyra loses her ability to intuitively read the alethiometer and determines to learn how to use her conscious mind to achieve the same effect.
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- Bloggery committed by chris tower - 1910.22 - 10:10
- Days ago = 1571 days ago
- New note - On 1807.06, I ceased daily transmission of my Hey Mom feature after three years of daily conversations. I plan to continue Hey Mom posts at least twice per week but will continue to post the days since ("Days Ago") count on my blog each day. The blog entry numbering in the title has changed to reflect total Sense of Doubt posts since I began the blog on 0705.04, which include Hey Mom posts, Daily Bowie posts, and Sense of Doubt posts. Hey Mom posts will still be numbered sequentially. New Hey Mom posts will use the same format as all the other Hey Mom posts; all other posts will feature this format seen here.
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