The Man in the High Castle

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Jait

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I assumed it was a fancy, white gloved handy.

The I Ching was an important element of the book (PKD said he used it to determine character's choices while writing the novel). Maybe the films are a modern I Ching and help guide the viewers choices.
Yeah, it was only *based* on the books though. That to me made it confusing, they changed way too much. They kept the original ending, but skipped the

spaceships and colonies

Either way one thing that needs to be pointed out is that PKD
didn't intend this to be an alternate version of our history, but an alternate-alternate version of our history. The original timeline is not just us winning WW2, but a world in which the British Empire conquers the planet and Roosevelt steps down. This is explained not through film but through a fiction within a fiction, it's a book not a filmreel

It's typical Dick stuff, he gives you a bunch of data and you need to turn it into information.

edit: Here's one pretty good interpretation of the book if anyone is interested. And I agree with 95% of it .

Meaning in The Man in the High Castle
 

Ender4212

Golden Knight of the Realm
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I enjoyed it. Hope there's another season. I really love the intro song. There's something about that version of Edelweiss.
 

Jimbolini

Semi-pro Monopoly player
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I enjoyed it. Hope there's another season. I really love the intro song. There's something about that version of Edelweiss.
I thought it sounded like John Herbert from Family Guy.

rrr_img_117339.png
 

Cybsled

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Binge watched it all. Looking forward for season 2. I can't imagine they would cancel it, since it is getting good critical acclaim andAmazonneeds a high profile drama like Netflix has in House of Cards.
 

Alex

Still a Music Elitist
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I'm three episodes in and I'm not digging it as much as some of you. The Marshall is a ridiculous character.
 

uncognito

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I hope the marshal sees a film of himself drinking wine from the skull of Jeor Mormont.

But ya i thought the marshal was by far the worst written/cast/acted on the show. only other one that comes close is maybe frank.
 

Bondurant

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If they greenlit a season 2 I bet we'd discover Heisenberg, in an attempt to create a nuclear bomb / reactor for the Germans, created instead some device that can allow transdimensional travel or something.
I liked it, I felt the ending was thought provoking
haha, the Resistance is working for Hitler
and nicely done. On the other hand the show has sometimes bad pacing (too slow) and some characters are dumb / useless like that Marshall out of fucking nowhere.
 

Cybsled

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Ya, the reveal at the end and the fact the codename is essentially literal was nice
wink.png
 

Blitz

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Loved it, even with some of the hokey moments I would strongly recommend it. The "world building" is intriguing, and the universe is fantastic.

Some questions for people who have read the book:
Director said he had to obviously add characters for the tv show, and numerous other engines to make it work. Without getting into too much detail, did the first season essentially cover the majority of the whole book? Debating on reading the book before a season 2, yet if there is still some major secrets that they haven't covered, I'd just rather wait and have it be covered while watching the series. Kinda getting a vibe from people who have seen both that it essentially covered the majority of source material they had from the book and future seasons would have to be created on the go.
 

ToeMissile

Pronouns: zie/zhem/zer
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I'm up to Ep 10 and really enjoying the show so far. The resistance being the weakest/least entertaining of the 'factions'.
 

Valderen

Space Pirate
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Anyone know where I can watch this, since it's not available in Canada.

Not really familiar with a good place to get tv shows since I never have to do it.

First time a tv show I want to watch is actually unavailable here.
 

Sulrn

Deuces
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Anyone know where I can watch this, since it's not available in Canada.

Not really familiar with a good place to get tv shows since I never have to do it.

First time a tv show I want to watch is actually unavailable here.
Just to clarify, you're sayingAmazonPrime has regionally restricted you from watching a Prime original series?

[edit]

I learned something new today. Wow. Fuck that business decision.

Anyway:Relevant
 

Cybsled

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Loved it, even with some of the hokey moments I would strongly recommend it. The "world building" is intriguing, and the universe is fantastic.

Some questions for people who have read the book:
Director said he had to obviously add characters for the tv show, and numerous other engines to make it work. Without getting into too much detail, did the first season essentially cover the majority of the whole book? Debating on reading the book before a season 2, yet if there is still some major secrets that they haven't covered, I'd just rather wait and have it be covered while watching the series. Kinda getting a vibe from people who have seen both that it essentially covered the majority of source material they had from the book and future seasons would have to be created on the go.
Well

Yes and no. The 1st season kind of covered some mysteries, but it still hasn't revealed the Grasshopper mystery (which is touches on) and ultimately who is producing the films (in the book, it is a novel...but since television is a visual medium, it makes sense to do it as film reels vs. a book). Ultimately that is the big mystery in the book. At the end, the Trade Minister visits/has a vision of our version of 1960s America, which does happen in the book as well. However, the show hasn't really gone into the why/how yet.

Ultimately, there is a fuckton of world building you can mine in a show like this.
 

Sulrn

Deuces
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Finished this last night and definitely enjoyed it and will probably pick up the book as a result when I finish with my current stack. Only issue I had was the events of episode 9/10 seemed pretty telegraphed or drama tropic even to the point that the closing scene I was thinking
'It's about time, Hiro."
 

TJT

Mr. Poopybutthole
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Really enjoying this.

My only complaint is that the resistance subplot is so utterly boring. The Japanese and Nazi power struggles are so much more interesting than anything our protagonists do.
 

DrLifetilt_sl

shitlord
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At the end, the Trade Minister visits/has a vision of our version of 1960s America, which does happen in the book as well.
This part gave me some serious chills when i first read the book about 20 years ago. Haven't watched the show yet, but i am surprised it took so long to adapt it to film/tv, it's one of the finest PKD novels.

One thing about PKD, i think his forte was writing short stories. In case you haven't read any of those, you should definitely pick a collection. Some of the best sci-fi ever written. Stories like "Precious Artifact", "The Faith of our Fathers", "Second Variety" etc. are amazing. There is enough material and inspiration there to expound to a number of movies - hell, i even think that The Matrix Trilogy is heavily inspired from a '53 story of his ("Adjustment Team").
 

Caliane

Golden Baronet of the Realm
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Well

Yes and no. The 1st season kind of covered some mysteries, but it still hasn't revealed the Grasshopper mystery (which is touches on) and ultimately who is producing the films (in the book, it is a novel...but since television is a visual medium, it makes sense to do it as film reels vs. a book). Ultimately that is the big mystery in the book. At the end, the Trade Minister visits/has a vision of our version of 1960s America, which does happen in the book as well. However, the show hasn't really gone into the why/how yet.

Ultimately, there is a fuckton of world building you can mine in a show like this.
how does it work as a novel? like, in this series, it makes sense where a film is clearly not just a work of fiction. I suppose its due to personal connections, like Frank seeing himself in that one tape? do people believe the novels are more then some whatif?
 

Cybsled

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It is more or less the same, although in the book the alternate reality portrayed isn't ours (in the book, it is basically an alternate history where Britain won WW2 and basically renewed the British Empire). It was changed to films in the show because TV is a visual medium and visual representations of the work are better, whereas a book within a book fits the confines of a novel better.