What to watch on Netflix | Criticism of the first season of ‘The Sandman’ on Netflix: From the pull

Of the pull This is how you have to see the first season of ‘The Sandman’. What comes to be called binge-watching, now that Anglicisms are so popular among the new generations. Devouring a series in one go, binge eating, chapter after chapter, nesting, read staying at home without going out and nesting on the sofa in front of the television, a noble art in the 21st century. Neil Gaiman himself, the renowned writer of the comics on which this new Netflix bet is based, has said it, or rather has asked it with conviction on his social networks, which is pleasing critics and the public, exceeding expectations.

It was not easy to transfer the vignettes of this cult cartoon to a real image. There was already a previous project that failed in its attempt. They say that Michael Jackson himself wanted to play Morpheus in a film that was never shot. The Dream King is the attractive character, played with charisma and eccentricity by a very skinny Tom Sturridge (‘The Empty Crown’), around whom the various passages that intersect myths of yesterday and today revolve, with overflowing fantastic imagery and a captivating sinister side. Between light and darkness move the peculiar roles that make up a choral story rich in nuances, somber in its aesthetics. Surrounded by symbolism, they interact moving between good and evil as they see fit. Between the world of dreams and the world of waking life, the action takes place, with twists and surprises. Watch out for wakefulness.

involved in production

Gaiman, unlike his colleague by profession Alan Moore, another highly applauded letter board in the ninth art, has been involved in the production of his creature’s leap from paper to screen. His hand is noticeable, because the final result is very close to the spirit of the comics, maintains composure and respects its essence, unlike other proposals with a similar starting point. However, despite having come to fruition and being the talk in various series circles, reaping more compliments than outbursts, it is rumored that the numbers are not enough for Netflix, tarnishing success.

The renewal of a second season is in danger because times are constantly changing and now it is not enough to be the most watched on the list of the best of the moment. The hours of viewing are extremely important and that the audience sees the session without respite: the ten episodes one after the other, as soon as possible, with little rest. It penalizes staff stopping in the middle of a delivery or leaving the story parked for several days, as if there was nothing else to do in life. Hence, the renowned writer, of which we have already been able to see other series in live action, such as ‘American Gods’ or ‘Good Omens’ -we are left with the second-, has taken advantage of his undoubted ability to call to invite his acolytes to that they spread the word and relentlessly recommend, to the four winds, the viewing of ‘The Sandman’ on an ongoing basis. There are those who have asked on his Twitter profile that we hit play and leave television in the background, even if we are not interested in the series, so that it can be counted in the global figures and not be cancelled.

Dreams and nightmares

Netflix has been left alone in defending binge-watching. Release a full season no longer takes. The premiere is working one chapter per week, periodically, as in the past on linear TV, because it generates more loyal audiences in the long run: it feeds the fan phenomenon more, it does not remain in a fleeting fever, it gives something to talk about and is seen with more tranquility, giving rise to a good rest. ‘The Sandman’, the comic created by Neil Gaiman, Mike Dringenberg and Sam Kieth for the Vertigo line of DC Comics, has opened Pandora’s box, proposing a new state of things that invites us to reflect on the bubble of the revolution of the streaming. Focusing on the series, the change in the race and gender of some characters has also caused some discord among netizens. Taking into account that the comic goes on one side and the series on the other, there are some mutations in pursuit of diversity that are interesting findings. Without going any further, Johanna Costantine gives a lot of play. The casting is very careful, in general, and the interpretations permeate the viewer, an essential characteristic for them to be hooked relentlessly. There is a break in the interest in fiction in the middle of its development, one of the obstacles that can lead to the abandonment of viewing. Fortunately, it goes back shortly after, but ten deliveries is a lot and the irregularity makes an appearance inevitably.

‘The Sandman’ can be consumed without knowing the starting comic that marked several generations, since the first publication of the initial installment of the saga in 1989 (the gothic movement owes it a lot). As a scholar on the subject, he can enjoy himself more, or on the contrary, it can mean a handicap: comparisons are odious (and inevitable). There are abundant visual effects that hit and a worked environment whose only ballast is to enter the already famous and recurring look of Netflix. It seems that one of the biggest concerns of the popular platform is that all its original series seem the same, that they take place in the same universe, not always working the same. There are pictorial references and some reinforced aesthetics with respect to the comic, softened to facilitate digestion by the profane public. It is not a modest production, quite the opposite, one of the alarms that sound, without a doubt, when renewing for another season. Hopefully it’s like this so that the nightmares of the ineffable Gaiman end.