[SyFy] The Magicians

tru1cy · Post by **tru1cy** » Tue Jan 26, 2016 8:47 am

Watched the first two episode this morning off my Tivo, and I like the premise of the show, but the male lead Quentin is just to painful to watch. His stuttering and emo ways just hurts my enjoyment. I actually like the female lead Julia much better and like her story more and I'll probably stick with it just to see where it goes

tgb · Post by **tgb** » Tue Jan 26, 2016 11:02 am

We watched the first episode and neither one of us cared for it very much. And tlr sat through two seasons of Under the Dome, so that ought to tell you something.

silverjon · Post by **silverjon** » Tue Jan 26, 2016 1:38 pm

The first two books were really good, and I've not read the third. Quentin is... you're not exactly supposed to like him.

Didn't know it was being made into a TV series, but I never know about stuff like that.

tru1cy · Post by **tru1cy** » Tue Jan 26, 2016 2:07 pm

silverjon wrote: Quentin is... you're not exactly supposed to like him.
.

Yeah, reading the book reviews it appears that was the author intention... and that sort of baffles me since he appears to be the hero/focus of the story

silverjon · Post by **silverjon** » Tue Jan 26, 2016 3:07 pm

In many ways, the books are a re-imagination of beloved childhood fantasies ("magic is real and you're a wizard!") starring un-heroic and un-glamorous people. Not exactly satire, and not criticism as Lev Grossman clearly loves fantasy, but where a lot of fantasies have an uncomplicated good/evil perspective, his is complex, and magic fucks people up, all the more so when they were fucked up to start.

rshetts2 · Post by **rshetts2** » Tue Jan 26, 2016 4:01 pm

None of the characters in the book were likeable. I found his outlook on man and life in general so depressing I never got the 2nd book. Ill see how this translates to video but I dont hold much hope that Ill stick with it. Its likely just not my cup o' tea.

Z-Corn · Post by **Z-Corn** » Tue Jan 26, 2016 8:31 pm

I loved all three books.

They are a dark version of common (now) plot points (think Harry Potter type stuff) but I think that makes the story very compelling. These are young adults and Hogwarts (the school in this story is "Brakebills College for Magical Pedagogy") is the equivalent of grad school. Relationships are mature and people have their own problems and don't necessarily care about your problems.

I was so excited for the show that we streamed the first episode Sunday and I watched it again last night while it TiVo'd. Might be the first thing I ever watched on Syfy...

Off to watch the second episode now!

Jaymann · Post by **Jaymann** » Sun Jan 31, 2016 11:33 pm

Ran out of Expanse episodes so gave this a shot. Much better than I expected. Did not expect to see Marcia Brady and Cutthroat Bitch.

Odin · Post by **Odin** » Mon Feb 01, 2016 7:24 am

I haven't read (or even heard about) the books, but I'm going to give the show a chance. The previews for it made it look better than I thought the first couple episodes were, but it's not uncommon for shows to take a little while to hit their stride.

Jeff V · Post by **Jeff V** » Mon Feb 01, 2016 11:48 am

rshetts2 wrote:None of the characters in the book were likeable. I found his outlook on man and life in general so depressing I never got the 2nd book. Ill see how this translates to video but I dont hold much hope that Ill stick with it. Its likely just not my cup o' tea.

I read the first book about a year ago, and here's the first paragraph of my review:

Harry Potter with vices and a book within a book sums up this novel. A cast of rather unlikeable characters, starring a mopey teen, Quentin, find themselves taking entrance exams for Breakbills Academy, a college for magicians. Quentin, along with Penny, Alice, and others, make the cut. The school is a 5 year program, and most of the book tells the story of their education (this is the start of a trilogy, so other adventures are to follow).

I'd be more interested in the TV show if it were done by a network that could include adult content.

Odin · Post by **Odin** » Mon Feb 01, 2016 12:01 pm

Jeff V wrote:I'd be more interested in the TV show if it were done by a network that could include adult content.

It did have some screwing while levitating, but all the naughty bits were covered. Not sure if that counts.

Jeff V · Post by **Jeff V** » Mon Feb 01, 2016 12:21 pm

Odin wrote:
Jeff V wrote:I'd be more interested in the TV show if it were done by a network that could include adult content.
It did have some screwing while levitating, but all the naughty bits were covered. Not sure if that counts.

Meh, HBO would do a more explicit job of it.

Odin · Post by **Odin** » Mon Feb 01, 2016 12:31 pm

Jeff V wrote:
Odin wrote:
Jeff V wrote:I'd be more interested in the TV show if it were done by a network that could include adult content.
It did have some screwing while levitating, but all the naughty bits were covered. Not sure if that counts.
Meh, HBO would do a more explicit job of it.

Well, yes, and the Pope is still Catholic. Given HBO's reputation for dialing the raunch to 11, I figured that went without saying. I just didn't realize that your definition of "adult content" was limited to "soft core porn." While I actually would have agreed when I was 12-22, I actually find it a little distracting now. My reaction lately tends to be, "Yes, yes, very nice fucking, thank you. Can we get back to the story, please?" I guess I'm old or just desensitized.

Scuzz · Post by **Scuzz** » Mon Feb 01, 2016 12:34 pm

Odin wrote:
Jeff V wrote:I'd be more interested in the TV show if it were done by a network that could include adult content.
It did have some screwing while levitating, but all the naughty bits were covered. Not sure if that counts.

I saw that in the ads for the show, and thought it curious that The Expanse featured the same scene almost. Of course in it there was low gravity.

geezer · Post by **geezer** » Mon Feb 01, 2016 12:40 pm

Both my wife and I very much enjoyed all three books, and we're both liking the SyFy adaptation, despite the changes. One thing in particular that we are enjoying is..

Spoiler:

The other interesting thing is that the actor playing Quentin is sort of a dead ringer for my wife's brother, which sort of brings their quest for their actor dopplegangers to a close.

Jeff V · Post by **Jeff V** » Mon Feb 01, 2016 12:53 pm

Odin wrote:
Well, yes, and the Pope is still Catholic. Given HBO's reputation for dialing the raunch to 11, I figured that went without saying. I just didn't realize that your definition of "adult content" was limited to "soft core porn." While I actually would have agreed when I was 12-22, I actually find it a little distracting now. My reaction lately tends to be, "Yes, yes, very nice fucking, thank you. Can we get back to the story, please?" I guess I'm old or just desensitized.

I read the book and don't particularly care for the story...so I need some other motivation. If ever I find such scenes distracting, it's time to nail down the lid on my coffin because I'm dead.

Smoove_B · Post by **Smoove_B** » Tue Mar 22, 2016 11:33 am

Haven't watched the episode from last night, but last week the show took a pretty dark turn. I'll never look at Mr. Sheffield the same way again.

Overall I'm still really liking the show. It does feel like maybe there are a few too many characters and a whole bunch of seemingly unimportant stories happening, but it's hard to tell as I'm not at all familiar with the novels. It's certainly making me want to read them, that's for sure.

Jaymann · Post by **Jaymann** » Tue Mar 22, 2016 12:03 pm

The Margo gollum concept was pretty sweet. You would think a lot of nerds would go that route.

pr0ner · Post by **pr0ner** » Tue Mar 22, 2016 12:22 pm

I'm a couple episodes behind, but I am really enjoying this. I get a kick out of all the muted f-bombs the characters drop.

rshetts2 · Post by **rshetts2** » Tue Mar 22, 2016 1:22 pm

The show is quite a bit better than I expected and way better than that steaming pile of Shanarra that MTV crapped out. The characters are not really that much more like-able than the book but the story seems to play better on film. Plus Alice has a rockin' bod. Sex does play a big role in the series so if it were on Showtime or Skinemax, it would probably be pretty R rated. It walks the line as it is.

Its nice to see this show succeed along with The Expanse. It seems as if Syfy is making a serious effort to introduce quality genre programming to its line up. It gives me hope for the stuff they have coming down the pipeline.

Odin · Post by **Odin** » Tue Mar 22, 2016 1:28 pm

I just bailed on this show. I wanted to like it, but I realized during the episode where they're wandering around the writer's haunted house that I just don't care about any of these characters or what happens to them. I'm actually having trouble keeping up with all the shows I'm currently watching, so it was a little bit of a relief to let one go.

Pyperkub · Post by **Pyperkub** » Mon Mar 28, 2016 4:54 pm

Just read books 2 and 3 - it becomes a really good fantasy series. Quentin and the others aren't nearly as unlikeable, and the finale of book 3 reminds me a lot of the finale of the first Chronicles of Amber. Really enjoyed these. The Narnia parallels get even more pronounced if you've read all of the Narnia books...

Smoove_B · Post by **Smoove_B** » Wed Apr 27, 2016 9:45 pm

I forgot to mention (it's been a week or so), but we finished watching the season finale and whoa...dark as hell. I kind of liked how they took this idea that you're going to be engaged with something like Narnia but they just totally go down a dark alley way. I wasn't expecting the whole Julia thing but man...I've absolutely added the books to my list. However, I do hope they finish the show. I like the characters and how they all interact. To be clear, by interact I mean "have sex".

Jaymann · Post by **Jaymann** » Fri Apr 29, 2016 11:29 am

I did not see that coming with the wizard knife. I wonder if you can sew hands back on...

Jag · Post by **Jag** » Fri Apr 29, 2016 11:37 am

The books ended well. I read the first two before the show and the 3rd after it ended.

I like how the books and show really go in different directions. It's like new stories with the same characters. The season finale was not what I expected given the similar scene in the book. Will be interested to see how they pick it up in S2

geezer · Post by **geezer** » Fri Apr 29, 2016 11:57 am

Smoove_B wrote:I forgot to mention (it's been a week or so), but we finished watching the season finale and whoa...dark as hell. I kind of liked how they took this idea that you're going to be engaged with something like Narnia but they just totally go down a dark alley way. I wasn't expecting the whole Julia thing but man...I've absolutely added the books to my list. However, I do hope they finish the show. I like the characters and how they all interact. To be clear, by interact I mean "have sex".

The books aren't quite as dark, really. And Penny is wholly different between the two. I've enjoyed both the books and the show quite a bit, though the pacing and the cuts in the show are really really weird.

Smoove_B · Post by **Smoove_B** » Fri Apr 29, 2016 11:59 am

That's interesting. I would have figured the books were darker and they were somehow trying to "lighten" things up (and failing). I still think it's a great show and an interesting interpretation of how magic might work in the modern world.

Moliere · Post by **Moliere** » Wed Dec 28, 2016 3:10 pm

Now I can watch it. Thanks Netflix!

hepcat · Post by **hepcat** » Sat Dec 31, 2016 12:18 am

Started watching it on Netflix. The show is much more adult than I expected. Swearing and some nudity surprised me. Really enjoying it though. I'm already half way through.

Z-Corn · Post by **Z-Corn** » Sat Dec 31, 2016 7:39 am

I gotta get back on this, I've got the whole season on the Tivo. Maybe we'll binge it this weekend...

hepcat · Post by **hepcat** » Mon Jan 02, 2017 11:37 pm

And I just finished the first season.

Wow, I did not see that coming. What a surprise this show was for me. I went in expecting to stop after the first episode, but it really sunk its hooks into me. The story was twisted and dark, but also well told. And the actors did a great job of selling their characters...especially the actor who played Elliot. I hope that guy gets some more work from his showing on The Magicians.

Now to wait for season 2.

Z-Corn · Post by **Z-Corn** » Tue Jan 03, 2017 4:33 am

hepcat wrote:Now to wait for season 2.

New season starts January 25th so we won't have to wait long!

Zaxxon · Post by **Zaxxon** » Fri Jan 06, 2017 5:47 pm

Damn, just finished this on Netflix today. Sheesh, what an ending.

$iljanus · Post by **$iljanus** » Fri Jan 06, 2017 9:22 pm

Powering through the episodes and the Plover house is a sad house of horror.

pr0ner · Post by **pr0ner** » Mon Jan 23, 2017 3:04 pm

Season 2 starts on Wednesday at 9PM Eastern!

Smoove_B · Post by **Smoove_B** » Thu Apr 13, 2017 1:12 pm

Not talking about it, but I've really been enjoying it, particularly how they're twisting classic fantasy tropes ever so slightly. Also, Margo is the best. Anyway, the reason I bumped is because it's been renewed for a third season:

To date, Season 2 — which wraps its run on Wednesday, April 19 at 9/8c — is up 15 percent year-to-year in the 18-49 demo.

Nightwish · Post by **Nightwish** » Thu Apr 13, 2017 2:33 pm

Margo is the Brittaest.

rshetts2 · Post by **rshetts2** » Thu Apr 13, 2017 9:34 pm

Honestly there are very few likable characters in The Magicians and out of the main crew its pretty much zero. At least Margo is self aware anyway. She knows exactly what she is. I think her own words were ( quote nsfw )

Spoiler:

geezer · Post by **geezer** » Thu Apr 13, 2017 9:45 pm

Maybe I'm just dumb, but I find it very, very difficult to follow this show for some reason. Also the cuts to commercials are horrid.

hepcat · Post by **hepcat** » Fri Apr 14, 2017 11:42 am

There's a whole bunch of story threads floating around in the show, I will admit.

Eliot still cracks me up. Quentin is occasionally fun...but mostly too emo for me. Margo just becomes more and more interesting as time goes by. I initially assumed she would be the 90210 type character that I could do without. It's nice to see she's got more going on in that pretty head than most people think.

Josh went from "Crap, do we need another stoner in this type of show?" to "Okay, he's funny enough". I'm curious to see where his road goes now.

So yeah...I'm still watching.