Shogun (FX | Hulu)

[oaken1]

Watched the first episode last night and it was amazing. That was intense enough that I wanted to a break before e2 so I'll do it tonight. I don't think I could bring this series back to back at once.

It had me intensely focused...I was bummed I ran out of episodes

 

[Covert Rain]

Just finished Episode 3. This show is fantastic.

 

[oaken1]

I just finished 3 as well...show gets better every week

 

[Stout]

Ah, so that's why it's also running on Hulu...because Hulu is ahead of TV.

 

[Ronin]

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[Ronin]

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[Yuma]

The author wrote several other good books, too.

"Clavell eventually returned to the Shōgun sequel, writing Gai-Jin (1993). This was his last completed novel."

The name Asian Saga was first applied to the series after Shōgun had been published. The purpose of the Asian Saga was, according to Clavell—descendant of a family long in service to the British Empire, and who was a prisoner of war of the Japanese during the Second World War—to tell "the story of the Anglo-Saxon in Asia".[1]

Ordered by publication date:

1. King Rat (1962)
2. Tai-Pan (1966)
3. Shōgun (1975)
4. Noble House (1981)
5. Whirlwind (1986)
6. Gai-Jin (1993)

Ordered by internal chronology:

1. Shōgun: set in feudal Japan, 1600. 1152 pages.
2. Tai-Pan: set in Hong Kong, 1841. 727 pages.
3. Gai-Jin: set in Japan, 1862. 1126 pages.
4. King Rat: set in a Japanese POW camp, Singapore, 1945. 400 pages.
5. Noble House: set in Hong Kong, 1963. 1171 pages.
6. Whirlwind: set in Iran, 1979. 1147 pages (Abridged with some rewritten parts as Escape, 598 pages)

 

[Devilmaycare]

Whew on this latest episode. I won't say more until it seem like people have seen it.

I was thinking about future seasons. Since they're covering all of the source material in this season what I think I'd like is for them to take a Fargo approach if they do more seasons. Make each season a self contained story about a different period in Japan. There's a lot of history and material out there to work from.

 

[Yuma]

Whew on this latest episode. I won't say more until it seem like people have seen it.

I was thinking about future seasons. Since they're covering all of the source material in this season what I think I'd like is for them to take a Fargo approach if they do more seasons. Make each season a self contained story about a different period in Japan. There's a lot of history and material out there to work from.

Some of his books are different periods in Japan. They are pretty good.

 

[Chaplin]

Whew on this latest episode. I won't say more until it seem like people have seen it.

I was thinking about future seasons. Since they're covering all of the source material in this season what I think I'd like is for them to take a Fargo approach if they do more seasons. Make each season a self contained story about a different period in Japan. There's a lot of history and material out there to work from.

Already announced that this is a one off. No further seasons.

 

[Stout]

Already announced that this is a one off. No further seasons.

Much better this way, IMO.

Still knocking it out of the park.

 

[Devilmaycare]

Already announced that this is a one off. No further seasons.

Sure, they say that now. But with the success the show is having, the Brinks truck might be heard backing up. What I meant was that if they get enticed into further seasons that that's the route I'd like to see them go instead of trying to force a continuation of this story.

 

[Chaplin]

Sure, they say that now. But with the success the show is having, the Brinks truck might be heard backing up. What I meant was that if they get enticed into further seasons that that's the route I'd like to see them go instead of trying to force a continuation of this story.

I read it the other day and they said regardless of the success there was no plans to beyond the single book.

 

[oaken1]

Much better this way, IMO.

Still knocking it out of the park.

my only complaint is, the original mini series was 15 hours... these guys plan to tell the same story in 10... as good as this show is I would really appreciate having that extra five hours.

 

[Yuma]

my only complaint is, the original mini series was 15 hours... these guys plan to tell the same story in 10... as good as this show is I would really appreciate having that extra five hours.

If you read the book, what made it so good was the toughts of the characters in the book and how they interpret things. Even as good as these series are, they miss out on this part of the book.

 

[Stout]

If you read the book, what made it so good was the toughts of the characters in the book and how they interpret things. Even as good as these series are, they miss out on this part of the book.

I'm not going to lie, I just couldn't get into the book. I'm a huge fan of long, slow burn books, but the book was so micro focused for hundreds of pages, it just never caught. Some older works suffer in this way with their pacing, or lack thereof, for me.

 

[Yuma]

I'm not going to lie, I just couldn't get into the book. I'm a huge fan of long, slow burn books, but the book was so micro focused for hundreds of pages, it just never caught. Some older works suffer in this way with their pacing, or lack thereof, for me.

It was kind of like Fight Club. The whole thing comes together in the end. If you never make it that far, you don't get the payoff of the story. His other Asia series books did go a lot faster pace. Which is why I am kind of surprised Shogun is the one that keeps getting made and remade. The others seem like they would be better movies, because like you said, the pace is quicker.

Eric Van Lustbader made books about Asia that would make good movies.

 

[Stout]

It was kind of like Fight Club. The whole thing comes together in the end. If you never make it that far, you don't get the payoff of the story. His other Asia series books did go a lot faster pace. Which is why I am kind of surprised Shogun is the one that keeps getting made and remade. The others seem like they would be better movies, because like you said, the pace is quicker.

Eric Van Lustbader made books about Asia that would make good movies.

If you have a door stopper that only comes together at the end, it isn't a good book.

It's not even the pacing that is the problem. Again, I like a slow burn. It's the extreme focus on the macro for so long. I know it's supposed to be a sweeping epic, but, like, I'm hundreds of pages in and haven't left the fishing village yet, you know? Change it up, show the wider world. I get it was an exercise in expanding the world incrementally. It just wasn't done in a compelling way for me.

 

[Yuma]

If you have a door stopper that only comes together at the end, it isn't a good book.

It's not even the pacing that is the problem. Again, I like a slow burn. It's the extreme focus on the macro for so long. I know it's supposed to be a sweeping epic, but, like, I'm hundreds of pages in and haven't left the fishing village yet, you know? Change it up, show the wider world. I get it was an exercise in expanding the world incrementally. It just wasn't done in a compelling way for me.

Some of the Lord of The Rings books were like that. Pages and pages of slogging and trekking through areas where nothing happens. They could have condensed certain parts and made a better read. Same with Shogun. In the book though, it takes him that long to catch onto the Japanese way. In the series, they make it look like he just immediately starts figuring poo out. The story is more about his mind changing the whole way he thinks. I get you can't show that in 10 hours. This would need a couple seasons if done right. However, it would definitely lose you as a viewer. I read the book a 2-3 times because once I got through it the first time, I wanted to go back and enjoy that process.

Centennial was another book like that. They tried to mini series that. But that's a really thick book. You can't mini series that and get the whole picture of the book. I haven't read Dune, but I have a friend that tells me the same about that thick tome.

 

[Chaplin]

Some of the Lord of The Rings books were like that. Pages and pages of slogging and trekking through areas where nothing happens. They could have condensed certain parts and made a better read. Same with Shogun. In the book though, it takes him that long to catch onto the Japanese way. In the series, they make it look like he just immediately starts figuring poo out. The story is more about his mind changing the whole way he thinks. I get you can't show that in 10 hours. This would need a couple seasons if done right. However, it would definitely lose you as a viewer. I read the book a 2-3 times because once I got through it the first time, I wanted to go back and enjoy that process.

Centennial was another book like that. They tried to mini series that. But that's a really thick book. You can't mini series that and get the whole picture of the book. I haven't read Dune, but I have a friend that tells me the same about that thick tome.

Interesting where you cite Lord of the Rings here, when there is a more recent, very popular series where there will be entire chapters dedicated to what a character is eating.

 

[oaken1]

Interesting where you cite Lord of the Rings here, when there is a more recent, very popular series where there will be entire chapters dedicated to what a character is eating.

Robert Jordan often spent three pages describing the embroidery on a shirt in Wheel of Time

 

[Chaplin]

Robert Jordan often spent three pages describing the embroidery on a shirt in Wheel of Time

Yep that's another one, and why the middle 6 or 7 books in that series are a slog.

 

[Stout]

Interesting where you cite Lord of the Rings here, when there is a more recent, very popular series where there will be entire chapters dedicated to what a character is eating.

Lay off my buttered neeps lol

 

[Devilmaycare]

I'm still really liking this show. I know it's not happening but I'd love to see more seasons of it.

 

[Yuma]

I'm still really liking this show. I know it's not happening but I'd love to see more seasons of it.

I may be in the minority but I liked his other books. Tai-Pan would be cool.