BBC One has ordered a TV series based on Philip Pullman’s His Dark Materials.
Here’s why TV should fare better than previous adaptations…
In 2007 New Line Cinema producedThe Golden Compass.
Instead, it nearly killed the studio.
Now New Line has returned to the source material, and this time hopes are high.
Its much repeated that since 2007, long-form TV drama has become more cinematic in scope and style.
Its also long been acknowledged (albeit grumpily) that adaptations have to lose something between mediums.
The only reasonThe Golden Compassavoids this is because hardly anyone talks about it.
That said, the radio version was made in 2003 when the BBC wasnt under as much pressure.
The BBC broadcastsSongs Of Praiseand Christmas Day services, but alsoWonders Of The UniverseorChildren Of Earth.
Said producer and storyline were both fully backed by the BBC).
No one involved should be writing to avoid upset, no one involved should be preparing to apologise.
First and foremost, it has to be entertaining, and the fallout can be dealt with later.
Making something entertaining is, of course, the eternal problem.
No-one sets out to make something rubbish, after all.
Yes, their lion is less realistic than the Liam Neeson one, but thats not the point.
The point is that even on one viewing something caught peoples imagination, and persists to this day.
Thats what an adaptation ofHis Dark Materialsshould seek to do.
Yes, its a big ask, but people want this to be seismic.
Pressure is going to be necessary.
