Dusting off this again for a new little project. So I have this month paid my membership dues to the BFI again. As a champion member I get first dibs on all tickets, and I've been using it to get tickets to some TV previews in the coming months. So I thought, since many aren't on Letterboxd and I can't talk about them there, I'd do some little reviews of them. Now as the title suggests, it's only a first impression, as obviously I can only talk about the episodes I actually see. Still, I think in most of these that will be a good indicator of if it's worth catching and sticking with these shows when it’s time for their full releases. Also, I'll be keeping things as spoiler-light as I can, however in order to get deep into if/why something works/doesn't work, I might have to hint at a few things, so I'll always give fair warning of that.
So, to kick us off, let's look at something that has been in the pipeline for a live-action adaptation for a VERY long time, Neil Gaiman's The Sandman. It's funny how many of Gaiman's works have shifted from medium to medium, from Neverwhere to Good Omens, and now the series that really made his name and cemented his reputation is coming to Netflix. Well, now it’s coming after A LOT of attempts of making a film exploded before getting to the launchpad… and given the stories of some of these, probably for the best they did. (One was by producer Jon Peters… yes he did try to put a giant spider in there.) Now it’s being done in a very faithful form by Netflix, developed by Gaiman himself, David S. Goyer, and Allan Heinberg, and I was one of the lucky ones to get to see the first two episodes on the big screen. So, was this a dream come true? (Sorry, couldn’t resist!)
Well pretty much… yeah! The first two episodes are pretty much the first two issues of the comic, Sleep of the Just and Imperfect Hosts, with a few little tweaks for a TV format that I’ll explain a bit later. If you’re already a fan of the comic, you’ll really appreciate how well the story has been translated to screen, it follows the main beats very closely and even some of the dialogue directly. Now visually it’s not going for an aesthetic precisely like the comics, it’s a look all its own, but it’s one that works for this interpretation. For example, Dream himself isn’t as pale as in the comic, and doesn’t have his “space eyes”, but there are some good subtle choices with him to make him seem otherworldly, mostly in some lighting choices at key moments. So whilst it looks quite different, I’d say the spirit of the original version is firmly in here.
As for if you’re not already a fan, well as a close adaptation of the introductory arc, it should still be just the thing to hook you on this world, and these concepts. It’s a strong ride, slowly introducing various characters and concepts, like The Dreaming, The Endless, and so forth, at first giving a mostly outsider perspective in Sleep of the Just, before letting us follow Dream properly in Imperfect Hosts. One thing Gaiman said in the Q&A following this was that every episode is very different, and you can see this in just the opening two, which I think can help with the slight issue with the release of it all in one block that Netflix is doing; the individual stories should stand out more. They teased that in the ten-episode season, number five will be the story 24 Hours, and I can’t wait to see how people react to that one. Also, this series will cover the collection The Doll’s House before the end too.
That brings me on to what’s different, and this is the mildest of points that might be considered spoilers; one or two characters have been given a bit more to do, more significance in this version, to add little subplots to the episodes bringing issue-length stories to episode length, and it’s a good move. One addition, giving a character who turns up a lot later on a part in the early stages of the story, I thought was particularly neat, including making one little bit of plotting a bit more clear, and should make the moment they take centre stage have more impact.
Performances here are very strong, Tom Sturridge makes for a really interesting Dream, playing it as someone with a lot of empathy, but putting a lot of effort into holding the emotions of everyone he’s carrying with him in check. Other standouts include Asim Chaudhry and Sanjeev Bhaskar as Abel and Cain, bringing across well their… rather unique character dynamic, and Vivienne Acheampong as Lucienne, doing well as the voice of reason to Dream (incidentally, full points for going a lot more diverse with the casting in this). The cast overall are great, and we’ve still yet to see Jemma Coleman, Gwendoline Christie, Kirby Howell-Baptiste, Stephen Fry, and many more in their roles, it’s a true embarrassment of riches.
So, as a first impression, The Sandman is a real success, it’s clear that the story is in very safe hands, ones who trust the strengths of the source material, but aren’t afraid at all to do the sort of little snips here and there which are necessary. (I feel confident in saying there’ll be a lot less DC comics stuff in the rest of the episodes). If you like the original comics, I don’t think you could ever have asked for a better adaptation, and if the whole thing is new to you, it will pull you in. For those of you still with Netflix (which I know might be asking a lot of you these days), definitely give the season as a whole a go, I can say with confidence that at least this opening is worth your time, and if it keeps things at this quality, the whole thing should be a real treat.
The Sandman is due for release on Netflix in its entirety from Friday the 5th of August worldwide.
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