Octopus Overlords

Much of those connections and references, however, have either been significantly altered or stripped away entirely from the live-action adaptation of “The Sandman.” For example, in the graphic novel, the villain John Dee (David Thewlis) is living within Arkham Asylum, Gotham City’s infamous prison for the criminally insane, and his desiccated, skeletal appearance bears a strong resemblance to the DC villain Doctor Destiny — a major foe of the Justice League. On the show, however, John is living in a nondescript mental institution, and has the appearance of a normal man.

Meanwhile, the DC warlock and occult detective John Constantine, who has an extended interaction with Morpheus in the comics, has been gender-flipped to Johanna Constantine (Jenna Coleman), and has a similar (though tweaked) backstory from the legacy character.

“‘The Sandman’ itself started out in the DC Universe, the comic, and then it just sort of wound up wandering off into its own place,” the author tells Variety. “Its world joined up more and more with our world and became less and less a world in which costumed crime fighters fly around and so on, which meant that by the time ‘The Sandman’ finished, it had its own aesthetic which really wasn’t the DC Universe anymore.”

Gaiman was also eager to avoid stoking any unintended expectations that “The Sandman” would in fact link up in some meaningful way with other DC properties, especially since the graphic novel’s DC references date back to a much earlier (and largely defunct) comic book era.

“We didn’t want a TV show where you felt that you had to have read a whole bunch of comics published in 1988 and 1989 to understand what was going on,” he said. Having Doctor Destiny appeared on the show could lead fans to wonder (loudly on the internet), are the Justice League going to show up too?

Smoove_B wrote: ↑Sat Aug 06, 2022 12:54 pm
For example, in the graphic novel, the villain John Dee (David Thewlis)

ImLawBoy wrote: ↑Mon Aug 08, 2022 9:29 am I'm 2 episodes in and digging it so far. Going back to the DC link, in the first volume of the comic Martian Manhunter makes an appearance - I assume that's right out of the show.

Jaymann wrote: ↑Mon Aug 08, 2022 12:16 amThat episode in the diner was like something out of the Twilight Zone.

A nonny mouse wrote: ↑Sat Aug 06, 2022 4:07 pm
For me, David Thewlis is Hepcat’s Mads Mikkelsen.

Smoove_B wrote: ↑Mon Aug 08, 2022 1:18 pm No, it's definitely a cohesive story. It's actually really focused for this season because of the reasons I mentioned earlier - when he originally wrote it, there was no promise or guarantee of a future run. So it's quite self-contained for the ~16 issues (which is what S1 covers, mostly) with the thinking that was all he was getting. It's was only after the overwhelming response that he was able to expand it out into what he originally wanted, thankfully.

If you have even a casual knowledge of religion, mythology, literature, world history, etc... you're going to pick up on so many things that have been layered into the story telling. It's downright amazing, quite frankly. And that's why re-reading it has been so rewarding - things I missed or things I've learned in 25+ years, I'm still seeing for the first time being referenced in the original comic.

Regardless, what's happening in S1 is world building - you're learning about who the Sandman is and what has happened in the universe overall. There's conflict related to him and things that need to be done as a result of what happens in the first episode - that's pretty much the arc for this first season. While doing stuff, you get more world building and learn a bit more about bigger picture things happening, but mainly it's a way to introduce him as a character - to understand the basics of who he is and what his role is. It's not an origin story by any means either - you learn through his actions, attitudes, flashbacks, etc... the type of character he is...

Blackhawk wrote: ↑Mon Aug 08, 2022 6:46 pm

Smoove_B wrote: ↑Mon Aug 08, 2022 1:18 pm No, it's definitely a cohesive story. It's actually really focused for this season because of the reasons I mentioned earlier - when he originally wrote it, there was no promise or guarantee of a future run. So it's quite self-contained for the ~16 issues (which is what S1 covers, mostly) with the thinking that was all he was getting. It's was only after the overwhelming response that he was able to expand it out into what he originally wanted, thankfully.

If you have even a casual knowledge of religion, mythology, literature, world history, etc... you're going to pick up on so many things that have been layered into the story telling. It's downright amazing, quite frankly. And that's why re-reading it has been so rewarding - things I missed or things I've learned in 25+ years, I'm still seeing for the first time being referenced in the original comic.

Regardless, what's happening in S1 is world building - you're learning about who the Sandman is and what has happened in the universe overall. There's conflict related to him and things that need to be done as a result of what happens in the first episode - that's pretty much the arc for this first season. While doing stuff, you get more world building and learn a bit more about bigger picture things happening, but mainly it's a way to introduce him as a character - to understand the basics of who he is and what his role is. It's not an origin story by any means either - you learn through his actions, attitudes, flashbacks, etc... the type of character he is...

Thanks. When TV series have an episode that is a character's dream, or the character is in a coma, or the other characters 'go into' a characters head, or they're having visions or drug hallucinations - episodes often full of metaphor and symbolism - I usually end up completely lost and bored

Zaxxon wrote: ↑Mon Aug 08, 2022 6:49 pm Whelp, I ordered the book compilation of issues #1-20. Gonna crack that open before starting the show.

Blackhawk wrote: ↑Mon Aug 08, 2022 6:46 pm Thanks. When TV series have an episode that is a character's dream, or the character is in a coma, or the other characters 'go into' a characters head, or they're having visions or drug hallucinations - episodes often full of metaphor and symbolism - I usually end up completely lost and bored, with no idea what's going on. Hell, even if they're awake and are just hinting about things that are going on I'm usually oblivious. It's one of the joys of having an autistic brain that interprets everything in literal terms. A rose is a flower, not an emotion, dammit!

The trailer made it look like the entire show would play out that way.