How (and Why) Neil Gaiman Finally Adapted ‘The Sandman’ for TV

Re:How (and Why) Neil Gaiman Finally Adapted ‘The Sandman’ f... by probably_wrong on Sunday August 07, 2022 @03:09PM (#32378926)

I don't like writing about things I haven't seen (not a Netflix subscriber), but since this is the Internet after all I'd like to discuss the "Morpheus vs Lucifer" scene that was uploaded yesterday [1] and that no one should watch unless they like their episodes spoiled.

The setting is less creative/weird than the comic (a night club in the original), a demon character is gone (probably to simplify the story), and the battle is shortened from the comic books while, simultaneously, stretched with a pep talk from Morpheus' raven that's only there to add drama.

I accept that maybe the episode is better due to these changes - as I said, haven't seen it yet and I could very well be wrong. But when I saw the trailer I got the exact same impression than the OP: formulaic, conventional, and dumbed down.

I feel that Sandman makes such good use of the medium that it may very well be impossible to faithfully adapt to live action. And maybe this is the best version anyone could realistically make. I just wish someone would once in a while say "let's keep this exactly as weird and nonsensical as it was in the original".

[1] https://youtube.com/watch?v=iZOwaeAEIw0

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Re:How (and Why) Neil Gaiman Finally Adapted ‘The Sandman’ f... by tptacek on Sunday August 07, 2022 @04:48PM (#32379746)

The demons are gone because they weren't actually Gaiman's; they were DC IP. The show is going out of its way to cut ties with the rest of DC IP; there are things (like Johanna Constantine) done I think solely for the purpose of disentangling Morpheus from the DCU.

Later

Also, can we as adults with the books in far in the rear-view mirror (I mean, for those of us who'd say that) all not agree that the demon "contest" in the original books is cringey and deus ex machina? What the fuck is an "anti-life"?

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Re:How (and Why) Neil Gaiman Finally Adapted ‘The Sandman’ f... by jimmux on Sunday August 07, 2022 @11:52PM (#32382255)

I think the anti-life bit was about entropy, but avoided the word for some reason. Could be for simplicity, poetic reasons, who could say.

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Re:How (and Why) Neil Gaiman Finally Adapted ‘The Sandman’ f... by Mindwipe on Monday August 08, 2022 @06:18AM (#32383919)

> I think the anti-life bit was about entropy, but avoided the word for some reason

But it wasn't, it was about the anti-life equation, a reference to DC's Darkseid.

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Re:How (and Why) Neil Gaiman Finally Adapted ‘The Sandman’ f... by tptacek on Monday August 08, 2022 @12:51PM (#32387944)

Weirdly, if that's true, it's a DC reference that actually improves the story, because I always wondered "if the demon can just play anti-life, why can't it play anti-hope or whatever too, or Morpheus play anti-anti-life". It's still not good, but at least it's not inexplicable.

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Re:How (and Why) Neil Gaiman Finally Adapted ‘The Sandman’ f... by dogma1138 on Sunday August 07, 2022 @05:13PM (#32379963)

There were quite a few Demons in the show tho playing mostly minor roles.

I was actually surprised they didn’t changed it even further considering how it conflicts with Fox/Netflix’s Lucifer which according to the blogosphere departs quite a bit from the source material but it was quite a fun show, and despite things getting a bit old at some point especially when it moved away from its monster of the week format it’s clear that the entire production and cast loved working on it which is why it constantly got extended.

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Re:How (and Why) Neil Gaiman Finally Adapted ‘The Sandman’ f... by 988747 on Sunday August 07, 2022 @06:05PM (#32380369)

>>Fox/Netflix’s Lucifer which according to the blogosphere departs quite a bit from the source material

That's the understatement of the century :) "Lucifer" was a fun show to watch but it has NOTHING to do with the comic books except that it reuses few main character names, and the fact that Lucifer runs a bar/club in LA. It was created by Tom Kapinos, the same guy who made "Californication", and is one part that, one part "Analyze This", and one part "Miami Vice".

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Re:How (and Why) Neil Gaiman Finally Adapted ‘The Sandman’ f... by cgrealy on Sunday August 07, 2022 @05:02PM (#32379864)

Just to be pedantic: the demon is actually there, he just chooses Lucifer as his champion, which makes sense from a show perspective as it gives Lucifer (a major character later) more to do in that episode.

I don't believe the battle is much shorter (having recently re-read the comics), but I agree the pep talk from Matthew was unnecessary.

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