There has always been a market for nostalgia. There are t-shirts for 80s bands and old Nintendo games. There are even emulators for the Commodore 64. But to do a prequel series for a movie that’s 37 years old?
My first clue was when Netflix started streaming The Dark Crystal. I hadn’t watched the movie all the way through in decades. When I did make the attempt, something else would come up about 30 minutes in. When I found out that Netflix was going to do a series about the Gelflings, I decided to set aside 90 minutes to watch the whole thing.
Both the movie and the series take place on the planet Thra. The series would appear to be set well before the events of the movie. There are seven tribes of Gelfling, all under the rule of the evil Skeksis. Gelfling view the Skeksis as benevolent, which is just a little ironic if you’ve seen the movie. The Skeksis have abused the planet for their own evil ends. They want to live forever and will drain the essence of the Gelfling to get their immortality.
The ten episodes start with the Skeksis draining the essence of one Gelfling, Mira, and blaming her death on another, Rian. Rian and two other Gelfling, Deet and Princess Brea, come to realize what the Skeksis really are. This is what starts the Gelfling resistance to the Skeksis.
My one question was how true the series would be to the movie. Stylistically, it would appear to be the same. CGI was kept to a minimum, making the visuals look almost identical. While many of the same characters are still present, very few of the actors have returned. This is understandable, considering how much time has passed. (IMDb has a tool to compare the cast and crew of any two productions.)
The story doesn’t drag as much as other series do. You expect a little bit of padding, since it is a ten-episode arc, but there were very few places where this was evident. A good deal of this is because we’re tuning in for the visuals. With the movie, only a small portion of the planet was explored. The series expands that quite a bit and gives each area a distinct look. One tribe lives underground. Another lives in a desert area. It’s a lot to take in, but it still leaves you hoping to see more if we get a second season.
And it is a somewhat complex narrative. There are three characters making their way to the same point to unite all seven tribes against a common enemy. Add to this the fact that they have to convince people that the Gelfling are an enemy. It’s not that easy. This is, after all, an epic undertaking on more than one level.
My first clue was when Netflix started streaming The Dark Crystal. I hadn’t watched the movie all the way through in decades. When I did make the attempt, something else would come up about 30 minutes in. When I found out that Netflix was going to do a series about the Gelflings, I decided to set aside 90 minutes to watch the whole thing.
Both the movie and the series take place on the planet Thra. The series would appear to be set well before the events of the movie. There are seven tribes of Gelfling, all under the rule of the evil Skeksis. Gelfling view the Skeksis as benevolent, which is just a little ironic if you’ve seen the movie. The Skeksis have abused the planet for their own evil ends. They want to live forever and will drain the essence of the Gelfling to get their immortality.
The ten episodes start with the Skeksis draining the essence of one Gelfling, Mira, and blaming her death on another, Rian. Rian and two other Gelfling, Deet and Princess Brea, come to realize what the Skeksis really are. This is what starts the Gelfling resistance to the Skeksis.
My one question was how true the series would be to the movie. Stylistically, it would appear to be the same. CGI was kept to a minimum, making the visuals look almost identical. While many of the same characters are still present, very few of the actors have returned. This is understandable, considering how much time has passed. (IMDb has a tool to compare the cast and crew of any two productions.)
The story doesn’t drag as much as other series do. You expect a little bit of padding, since it is a ten-episode arc, but there were very few places where this was evident. A good deal of this is because we’re tuning in for the visuals. With the movie, only a small portion of the planet was explored. The series expands that quite a bit and gives each area a distinct look. One tribe lives underground. Another lives in a desert area. It’s a lot to take in, but it still leaves you hoping to see more if we get a second season.
And it is a somewhat complex narrative. There are three characters making their way to the same point to unite all seven tribes against a common enemy. Add to this the fact that they have to convince people that the Gelfling are an enemy. It’s not that easy. This is, after all, an epic undertaking on more than one level.
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