Very important: Read the book. If you don't feel like reading, listen to the audiobook. Watch this as a last resort.
So much from the novel has been omitted or altered in this adaptation that I really couldn't enjoy it. The opening scene of the book is the most powerful in it and makes the novel impossible to put down. It's not in the opening of this series though it could have been. (There are fractured flashbacks to what happened, but it's ruined.)
Yes, the book is very long, but it could have supported a longer series. There is plenty of intrigue and suspense in every chapter to sustain interest, no risk of viewer boredom. There are terrible shows that run for many seasons. Why limit this amazing novel to an eight episode adaptation? The result is major omissions and oversimplifications, with much shallower plotting and characterization.
I watched mainly because I had read the novel a while ago and wanted to refresh my memory before plunging into a new Ken Follett novel in this series. The novels can be read independently, but I just thought I should remind myself of some of the story before continuing on. Now that I've done it, I'm sorry I spent the time watching this. What a lost opportunity for a great TV series!
So much from the novel has been omitted or altered in this adaptation that I really couldn't enjoy it. The opening scene of the book is the most powerful in it and makes the novel impossible to put down. It's not in the opening of this series though it could have been. (There are fractured flashbacks to what happened, but it's ruined.)
Yes, the book is very long, but it could have supported a longer series. There is plenty of intrigue and suspense in every chapter to sustain interest, no risk of viewer boredom. There are terrible shows that run for many seasons. Why limit this amazing novel to an eight episode adaptation? The result is major omissions and oversimplifications, with much shallower plotting and characterization.
I watched mainly because I had read the novel a while ago and wanted to refresh my memory before plunging into a new Ken Follett novel in this series. The novels can be read independently, but I just thought I should remind myself of some of the story before continuing on. Now that I've done it, I'm sorry I spent the time watching this. What a lost opportunity for a great TV series!