The Sandman – Season 1

Here’s my quick review of “The Sandman” (the 2022 Netflix series)…

I recently finished watching “The Sandman.” The series is named after its protagonist, also known as “Morpheus," “The King of Dreams,” or simply “Dream.” Morpheus is one of “The Eternals” (others that we meet in the series include “Death” and “Desire”). He’s the ruler of “The Dreaming,” the realm experienced by mortals when they sleep. Alas, he was captured by a mortal sorcerer in 1916 (the intended target was Death, but mistakes were made). The series follows his escape from captivity a century later, and his subsequent experiences.

 

Back in the 1990s I loved Neil Gaiman’s Sandman comics. But I haven’t read them in over twenty years, so watching this series still seemed fresh and surprising. Nonetheless, there were a few things that I remembered quite well (in particular, the “The Sound of Her Wings” episode).

 

The first season is interesting because it consists of two multi-episode stories (episodes 1-5, which concern Morpheus’s capture, century-long imprisonment, escape, and recovery of his artifacts; episodes 7-10, which focus on the “Dream Vortex” Rose Walker, and the renegade nightmare “The Corinthian”), and three self-standing short stories (episode six, “The Sound of Her Wings,” and episode eleven’s two stories, “Dream of a Thousand Cats,” and “Calliope”).

 

Overall, I think “Calliope” and “The Sound of Her Wings” are the strongest of the season’s five stories (but “Dream of a Thousand Cats” is quite fun). The former could’ve been written by Rod Sterling, and the latter is simply wondrous (the story that I still remembered quite well, give its impact on me when I read it in my twenties). What I liked the most about “The Sound of Her Wings” is that it cleverly mocks the view that, if given unending life, humans would come to yearn for death.

 

Of the multi-episode stories, the second is definitely the weaker in my view, although The Corinthian is an impressively creepy character. One problem I had with the second story is that Desire's motivation was never really explained. Specifically, I didn’t understand why that character was trying to mess with Morpheus. (I can't remember now if it was clearer in the comic version.)

 

Finally, I should mention that the casting and acting is quite good overall. Tom Sturridge in particular was apparently cultivated in a vat specifically to play this role.

 

Overall score: 8.5/10.

Kudos to the Watchmen

HBO's 2019 mini-series, The Watchmen, won the Emmy for best limited series (along with 10 other awards) tonight. 

I don't watch award shows (I think it's been at least 30 years since I watched one all the way through) and generally don't care about them as they typically do not track genuine excellence (always remember: the execrable "Forrest Gump" beat out "Pulp Fiction" for best picture in 1995). But I'm delighted that this excellent series, one of the best ever created, received this recognition and consequently will enjoy a wider audience.

No second season for the Watchmen

As I noted a couple of weeks ago, HBO's series The Watchmen is superb, almost a perfect sequel to the original comic series.

Alas, it looks like there will be no second season. While the first season presents a complete story and ends very well, I must confess that I'm a little disappointed. Among other things, I wanted to learn the fate of Nite Owl. But if Damon Lindelof isn't interested in returning to the world then there's no point in HBO putting out some inferior product.



Nothing ever ends? Looks like Watchmen did... But it least it ended well.

(Thanks to C. Robichaud for the tip.)

The Watchmen HBO series is excellent

I wanted to mention this before being completely overwhelmed by the holidays and then forgetting to do so in the new year: HBO’s recent series The Watchmen is excellent and well worth your time.

As I’ve mentioned before here, the original Watchmen is my favourite ‘superhero’ comic series of all time. But I was quite sceptical when HBO announced that it would be producing a series set in the same universe (to take place 34 years after the original story). Unsurprisingly, Alan Moore refused to be associated with it (although Watchmen co-creator Dave Gibbons was heavily involved). And the promotions for it that I watched over the summer were not terribly inspiring.

I am pleased to report that my misgivings were entirely misplaced. Not only is The Watchmen the best superhero television series that I’ve ever watched, it’s one of the best television series I’ve ever watched simpliciter. Every episode is superb—with episodes 3 (“She Was Killed by Space Junk”), 5 (“Little Fear of Lightning”), 6 (“The Extraordinary Being”) and 8 (“A God Walks into Abar”)—worthy of special mention in terms of innovation and vision.

The whole series ties together extremely well. The ending is refreshingly satisfying: it resolves the main storylines while leaving enough open to permit a second series. Thankfully, the ‘twists’—of which there are many—all make sense. The overall story and Watchmen universe is highly coherent and compelling. And the soundtrack (by Trent Reznor and Atticus Ross) is magnificent.

Apparently, there may not be a second season. As a successful self-contained story, though, The Watchmen doesn’t need one. But I hope that the story continues nonetheless: I want to know the fate of poor Nite Owl!

Cthulhu, utilitarian

Only Existential Comics could portray the great old one Cthulhu as a rational utilitarian:

EC’s series on ‘Philosophers and Dungeons & Dragons’ is simply wonderful. If you haven’t read them yet, I highly recommend doing so! (I previously posted on parts I, II, IV, V, VI, and VIII—hmmm, not sure why I didn’t mention parts III or VII here.)

Dungeons and Dragons and Philosophers: The Sci-Fi Debate

It’s been a while, but there is a new installment (number VIII) of “Dungeons & Dragons & Philosophers” at Existential Comics!

Read the whole thing here.

Kudos to Dungeon Master de Beauvoir for adhering to the old school D&D philosophy of permitting ‘science fiction’ elements into her campaign.

(A pity, though, that the comic doesn’t mention the ‘classic’ role-playing game Cyborg Commando!)

Alan Moore retires

More than any other author, Alan Moore transformed the comic book genre from something (generally perceived to be) for ‘kids’ and ‘teens’ to a medium capable of telling adult stories (often quite dark, disturbing, and thought-provoking).

Now, it seems, he is done.

I’ve only read a fraction of Moore’s work—I’m not exactly a ‘comics’ guy, though I do enjoy them occasionally, and read many of the ‘greats’ (Moore, Gaiman, Miller, etc.) during the 1980s and 1990s. But I’ve probably read more of Moore’s work than that of any other ‘graphic novel’ author.

And I vividly recall reading The Watchmen series when it was first released in 1987—I was in high-school at the time—and being completely blown away by it. The Watchmen remains, in my view, the greatest single superheroes story ever told.