Le livre perdu des sortilèges: A Discovery of Witches

I made my account because I feel like this really desereves a positive review.

As someone who has seen lots, and lots of films & series, but also having my own fair share of knowledge of video editing. I can really appreciate the cinematography of this series. Beautiful scenes and film work with overall great acting and a story that shows a lot of opportunities for this becoming an amazing series.

Three episodes in so far, and after every episode I keep on wanting more. I'm mostly writing this review because honestly, I want more! I truly hope they can keep up this quality for the rest of the season, and be renewed for a second season. As it's something that I'm already looking forward to.

TLDR: Great, and beautifully produced.

At first you will think you are watching a fantasy drama for adults, but not far into season one you will realize this was written for 12 to 13 year old girls. Sexual attraction is handled very chastely, no one drinks in excess if at all, and our main character is struggling with issues usually experienced by teens, not twenty-somethings. She is the best, the brightest, most courageous person anyone has ever seen, plus very innocent, but that whole package is overdone so much so, it becomes obvious this is a tween girl's fantasy. She is going to be given a full professorship in the history dept at Oxford University at 23 or so years old because she's so brilliant. Really? She simply doesn't have enough life experience, and proves it each episode. That said, this is not a lighthearted silly show like many written for younger viewers.

I understand from other reviews here that it follows closely to the books, so I can only assume they are probably written for the tween fan group. As an experienced adult, it becomes hard to watch adults a thousand years or more old struggle to handle life, and it necomes harder and harder to sispend reality for the sake of enjoying the show.

All that said, the sets, most of the actors and production quality are good. I will continue to watch unless it jumps the shark even further.

...but I think the lead actress was terribly miscast. Teresa Palmer is lovely to look at and seems sweet and earnest in the role, but she doesn't have the gravitas to pull off a PhD-educated woman, let alone convey the complexity of a supernatural being who has been denying her powers. It is particularly evident in her scenes with Matthew Goode, who is excellent and seems puzzled as to how he got paired with such a youthful lightweight. The other actors are of varying capabilities, with the adults being clearly stronger.

The writing is bland, with little sparkle. I struggled to pay attention. I haven't read the books but got the impression that Diana and Matthew fall in love slowly; in the series it happens immediately with no lead time - it doesn't feel earned.

The good in the series? It is visually breathtaking, with pretty people and rich, elegant sets, and it takes advantage of the lovely European architecture of the various countries it visits. The music was beautiful, and matched both the storyline and the look and feel of the setting.

I wanted to like it - in the hands of the right writers and casting director, it could have been a powerful series. As it is, it seemed like a fantastic dessert that I couldn't wait to bite into, but turned out to be tasteless and dry.

What a pity that we are unable to leave separate review scores for each season. My score for season 2 would have been a 7, with the first three episodes only scoring a 5/6 each, as they were slow, boring and generally incomprehensible. Thankfully the pace and storytelling picked up from episode 4 onwards, however this second season is sadly lacking when compared to season one. I was initially pleased to see Tom Hughes appearing, but alas his character is woefully underwritten and ultimately quite silly and implausible. Loved him in Victoria and here he plays in identical character with an identical voice and even haircut. Am hoping he's better than than this, so will put this down to script issues. James Purefoy's performance is impressive and lifts the whole thing out of the doldrums at mid-point so let's give a cheer for him. I would love to know what went so wrong with this production, particularly in the early episodes, as it was hugely promising at the end of the first season. Suddenly we got cartoon caricatures of villains, implausible and ridiculous storylines and poor quality CGI of Elizabethan England. The pacing went totally to pot as well - new writers? Script editors? Anyway, by the end of series two it had picked up and is more or less back on course albeit with far less credibility than before. The whole s2 is available to download on Sky in the Uk. Interesting that it seemed to attract only review scores of 9/10 before it became available to view. Cast and crew perhaps?

I just read the books so they are so fresh in my mind and the series is different; examples characters are very different Ysabeau in the book although Matthew's mother was made a vampire when she was younger not an elderly woman like in the tv series. The story line is loosely based on the books but is also very different. I like the books better but the series on its own is enjoyable if I keep reminding myself it's just based on the book series it's not the same. Worth a watch