Mar 02
And so begins what I’ll call “Spamming the ever-loving hell out of you with Secret Circle covers so you remember it was a goddamn Batman book series before CW ‘adapted’ it into a TV show that is basically Another Teen Show But With Witches”.
Yes, I’m bitter. I’m at one with my bitterness. We get along fabulously.
First up: The original German cover of SC1: The Secret Circle: The Initiation. My German is too rusty to reliably translate the cover, so I’ll leave you do that yourselves.
First thoughts: Who let the cult members in the photo studio?
Second thoughts: Why does Deborah look like she’s channelling her inner Jim Morrison? Oh, wait. That’s a guy. (Unless Germany is far more progressive about showing women’s breasts on YA book covers.) So who the hell is Mr. Hippie supposed to be? If we’re going off hair colour, my best guess is Nick. Yeah. Certainly not how I ever pictured Nick.
On to the ladies. White lacy bras and see-through toga-like dresses? This looks like either a frat party or a bad horror movie. White backdrop, white candles. Maybe the photo was sponsored by a laundry detergent. Get your white magic whiter! Okay, okay. I guess the girl on the right is meant to be Diana, since she’s blondish and has the arm cuff and “diadem”. So maybe that’s meant to be Faye holding the book? And droll Melanie at the end, wondering how the hell she got caught up in these shenanigans? (With Nick looking down, thinking “Yeah, you’re jealous. These are my bitches! Witches. Whatevs.”)
Oh, Germany. Your book covers are so fun. Maybe not as cracky as Italy’s, but you outscore them in the earnestness column.
Cover courtesy of the LJS Cover Resource; click to enlarge.
Feb 28
I can’t remember where I found this image, unfortunately, but it made me smile. Since not a lot about LJSdom is happy-making these days, I figured this would be worth a smile.
(Coming… whenever I get around to it: I’ll focus on Secret Circle covers before the TV show comes out, bastardizes the story, and people “forget” there was ever a book series to begin with.)
Feb 18
Tentative details on the Secret Circle TV show
“The Secret Circle scoop”, or how CW butchers yet another book series.
Fair disclosure: Some of my commentary may sound overly snarky. I’m not apologizing for that. I’m tired of books being turned into TV shows and movies in name only, because all the stuff I loved about the source material (neat secondary characters, “small moments”, etc.) inevitably get tossed aside for “dramatic elements”, which end up being cliche crap.
Highlights or, given the situations, LOWS:
- Doug is a football player. I don’t know about you, but I see the Hendersons (yes, PLURAL) more as the type to bomb the locker room than to hang out in it.
- Cassie is “forced to move to New Salem to live with her grandmother when her mother dies in a tragic accident”. Anyone else tired of the orphan trope?
- New Salem is now in Maine, not Massachusetts. Because apparently Massachusetts would put them over their quota for cliches.
- “Melissa”: “17 years-old and African-American, Melissa is close with Faye and a member of the coven. She is steely and disinterested… at least in the school’s hallway.” What’s that? You don’t remember a Melissa in SC? That’s because there wasn’t one. They axed four of the girls and this is their answer.
The Nick situation getting worse: “We also really liked a cute moment between Nick and Cassie where they both are in their bedrooms (they are neighbors whose bedrooms face each other) and he holds up a sign asking “R U OK?” We swooned a little bit. Yes, we’re aware it comes straight out of a Taylor Swift music video and we’re okay with that. Clearly, they are making Nick much more accessible in the series.”
From 12 to 7: “Fans of the Henderson twins, look away! In the books the coven is compromised of 12 members, which has been reduced to seven in the TV series. We expected this to happen as it would be pretty hard to introduce and fully develop 12 different characters — in the coven alone. The coven members in the book who didn’t make the cut? Chris Henderson, Deborah Armstrong, Sean Dulany, Suzan Whittier, Laurel Quincey and Melanie Glaser. It’s still unclear if these characters will show up in a different capacity on the show.”
Why do they continue to option things and then basically strip everything away but the general premise and a few character names?
The Melissa factor: “Melissa is a new coven member created for the series who we’re assuming might have some of the qualities from Deboarh [sic], Suzan, Laurel and Melanie.”
Oct 21
Secret Circle TV show in the works
First of all (and unrelated to the subject at hand), I apologize for the long delay in posts. I sprained my ankle in September and … yeah.
Onward, CW is adapting The Secret Circle for TV.
I’m not hopeful. I don’t like CW’s “vision” for The Vampire Diaries and, unlike seemingly every other fan of vampires and werewolves, I’m not a member of Cult Joss, so the combination of CW and Whedonverse effectively killed what few hopes I might have had for this project.
I suppose it might encourage more people to read the books, though that hasn’t really been the case with TVD. Sure, some people have picked up the books after watching the show, but given The Matter of Meredith (i.e., she was promised before the show began and now, in season 2, the powers that be still haven’t delivered), canon clearly means very little to CW.
Maybe I’m wrong. Maybe it’ll be good, or at least a decent way to waste an hour a week. I’m not holding my breath, though.
