Now I am not a fan of movies or tv adaptations of my favorite books. In fact, I dread them - simply because they leave out so much of the story and the people that they cast are never the people that are in my head.
But there are two shows out now that are adaptations of two fantastic book series. One is based on the Game of Thrones series. This is a series that I just recently( i.e. a couple of years ago) read and thoroughly enjoyed. I was very excited when HBO picked it up to make it into a series. HBO is known for their quality - The Tudors and the Sopranos, are among some of the great shows they have produced. So I wasn't worried there, I knew it would be fantastic.
Then I heard that they were making a series out of Outlander. And it had been picked up by Starz. And I sighed, and worried and fretted. I have been reading Outlander for 20 years. I am now in the eighth book in the series and I have a LOT invested in Jamie and Claire. A LOT. I knew the author wouldn't let it go to a complete ruin but after TRYING to watch The White Queen on Starz and failing, I was very worried.
I feel in these adaptations that casting is crucial. The reader has a certain vision in their mind of the character and if you don't nail that character in the tv show or movie then you aren't going to keep the reader.
I think that GOT and Outlander have done a fantastic job in their casting of the main characters. They have made a few mistakes and it took me awhile to get used to Jamie and Claire in Outlander - moreso than it did the characters in GOT, simply because I don't have as many hours of my life invested in GOT as I do in Outlander.
I highly recommend both of these series if you haven't watched them - or read the books, if you prefer. If you do watch, I warn you, they aren't for the faint of heart.
