User Reviews

I've always been a fan of the distinctively quintessential eccentricity imbued within Neil Gaiman's writing & therefore had previously acquainted myself with his prior TV adaptations "Good Omens" & "American Gods" but admittedly, I had never yet had the pleasure of reading "The Sandman" graphic novels (of which this series is based upon) before. Hence, I personally went in to this season with no preconceived expectations & thus, it's fair to say the opening episode completely blows me away.

Within the first hour, a rich, layered, wonderful world of pure imagination is borne & the sheer scope & scale captured from beginning to end is honestly mesmerising. Credit to all of the cast & crew involved, bringing such a breathtaking universe to life & I'm hopeful the quality established here will continue throughout... Because I'm floored. It is utterly remarkable & unlike anything I've seen before.

There's a palpable sense of history & mythology to it which immediately draws you in & I cannot wait to see more.

Going to start off with a the prologue of the episode and that was a bit of a stretch in the visuals department, the rest of the episode was prefect but that was so odd. The green screens just didn't seem right. But honestly that was the only distraction from this episode. The rest was set perfectly well.

The comic panels that were pulled straight from the book itself were great, the moment that we see Dream brought into the waking world that was awesome, 100% accurate! I have to say that Tom Sturridge is awesome for the role. Voice and appearance spot on, movements just on point. Charles Dance as Burgess another prefect casting in the series. The same role as Tywin Lannister was made for him to play for the rest of his life, the begrudging father of a second son that dreams of his first. I am interested that the Corinthian has been introduced this early in the series but again the casting seems as though this has been nailed.

I cant fault the first episode of the series, its just taking a while to get round to this as I love the comics and this has definitely stood up to the wonder of those.

I haven't read the comics and I didn't watch any trailers. I went into this blind. And I liked the first episode. It's very interesting and intriguing. I like the concept of having a god of dreams. I like fantasy tv. I loved shadow and bone. And this episode gave me good vibes like that. Sturridge is excellent as the dream god. I was surprised to see the person who played Tywin Lannister in GOT in here and he is excellent as always. The plot is interesting, storytelling is at a good pace. Special effects are phenomenal and the atmosphere is magical. What more do you want from fantasy tv? People giving this bad reviews don't know what good fantasy is. Must watch for fantasy fans. Great first episode. 9.2/10.

I am not over exaggerating when I say this episode was probably the best 1 hour of Televesion I have watched this year. Firstly the CGI looks like a high budget movie and the story,the acting, the screenwriting, everything is so on point, just can't wait to binge the rest of the season.

Episode 1 of The Sandman starts with narration from Dream and a fantastical visual treat. As the King of Dreams talks about the living and dreaming world, we see his raven flapping through the air and arriving at his Castle. Dream is in pursuit of a rogue Nightmare, something that Lucienne (the librarian from the comics for those keeping tabs on characters) reminds her master is a dangerous ordeal. Donning his mask, Dream heads off to find Corinthian, using his powers to get rid of his creation. The Sandman gets off to a great start here, staying true to the comics minus the obvious change for Lucien (who is now Lucienne). It's a minor change though and to be honest, you can tell this project has been crafted with love for the source material. The story is largely true to that first volume, right down to the security guard dreaming about Majorca. Some of the greenscreen work is a little distracting, especially that in Dream's Kingdom right at the very start but they're minor quibbles in what's otherwise a pretty alluring watch. The music is also another understated quality here, sounding pretty similar to the orchestral score from 2002's The Time Machine. We begin our first tale in 1916 England. Dr John Hathaway arrives at a massive mansion looking for Roderick Burgess aka. Magus. He greets Hathaway warmly, and the pair find solace in one another's grief. After some chitchat, Hatahway presents the Grimoire; a book full of spells that can bring back the dead. And, also, imprison the Angel of Darkness. As the Order begin chanting and conducting their ritual, Dream fades from view before he can dispatch Corinthian. And as he appears at the mansion with Magus and the others, they imprison him, removing his mask and his clothes. Powerless and trapped in the waking domain, Dream's capture causes devastation across London. The "sleepy sickness" affects nearly one million men, women and children in every town across the world. And that is, of course, as a result of capturing Dream. Dream has a score to settle and eventually gives Alex a gift. The gift of eternal sleep. With Dreams and Nightmares running wild after all this time, Dream's awakening means he's back in business. And part of that comes from tracking down Corinthian, who is still out there. Unfortunately, all that time in the cage has caused Dream to be weakened, so naturally Lucienne encourages him to head back into his castle. The trouble is, the realm is not how he left it. A desolate wasteland awaits Dream in place of a once-thriving Kingdom. He promises to bring them all back and remake his world as he sees fit.

I knew the concept of the Sandman, but I had not read the comics or seen the trailer. And I'm glad I did, cause this experience was phenomenal. Even from the start with Morpheus narrating, the visuals...it hooked me. Tom Sturridge did an exellent job not inly capturing the deep, Endless voice of Dream that had suck a quiet authority that gave me goosebumps, but also articulating so perfectly, without words, Dream's suffering in his years of captivity. Not only Sturridge, but all actors (which I can't name all) were exellent in their performancies. As if theo roles were tailored from them.

As for the plot, it was interesting. I love fantasy, but the storytelling kept me entertained more than usual, along with the amazing special effects.

In all, I absolutely loved this first episode. 10/10.

Sandman Season 1, Episode 1.

10/10.

The king of dreams is here.

I hope they can keep up with this quality.

Moving to the next episode, let's find out if it will be good or better than this.

🤝🤝🤝🤝

I expected a very good story and it gave me it I absolutely loved this I can't wait for the other 10 episodes hope everyone enjoys it this is my opinion so yea I loved the story the horror and dark elements.

First rate stuff without a doubt.

The cast alone suggests that this will be a total winner and it is. Superbly played out and beautifully manipulated through time and joyous conclusion.

Bravo.

Despite some cliche and predictable lines, Tom Sturridge does an excellent job portraying Dream of the Endless. The visuals are incredible, and Tom's narration keeps you hooked. I look forward to what the rest of the series has in store.

Alright so ive never read the original comics but i have decided to give this a shot because i have seen a lot of people praising it. Here is my review of the first ep

the good: the world is very intresting and the opening is very well done the visuals are really good and this episode got me invested to watch more

the bad: i felt some of the performances were off and the line delivery wasnt amazing i dont see a reason why they felt the need to focus on alex love life. I felt they wasted charles dance.

Verdict: i am investesd and want to see more of the world and the main character 8/10.

An intriguing though slow start, sets up some characters but leaves the objective open ended. Cinematography is dark and acting is decent. Invested enough to keep going.

From the first moment, I was hooked on the visuals. The themes of the episode kept me watching raptly. I have never read The Sandman, so this was entirely new to me, and there was certainly a lot happening in this episode. But I thought the acting -- particularly Sturridge's part -- was beautiful. This felt somewhat like an exploration of some of the darker parts of humanity -- some of the things humans are willing to do for power -- and I think it was a beautiful introduction to Dream.

Episode 1, pilot: Impressiveness and unimpressiveness mixing around, concocting a semi magical potion for viewers, immersing them in a world of madness and fantasy alike.

The acting, atmosphere, setting, design, vibe and flow are more than good and above average at the same time.

It's a little too convoluted for my liking, too unrealistic and fuzzy and too illogical. With that sort of human creature, you don't put humans to guard him, you don't go near him, you put him in complete darkness with rows of human soldiers to watch him. You don't do in sort so he can release himself and sets himself free.

So In that position, the pilot is just eye candy, symbolism and fantasy story telling. It's well made and beautiful and the rating goes to that.

Lacks depth in storytelling. Pacing is unbalanced: too quick on important facts so it can't get the viewer to care about the world around the story. Dialogs are too dumbed down and cliche, gets cringey at times. Lacks suspense and mystery of introduction of the main character. Too much focus on unnecessary details such as Alex being gay adds nothing to the story. A big miss with the "eternal waking" concept being replaced by eternal sleep. I was so excited to watch this with my family and SO. 15 minutes in I felt like an idiot for suggesting this show. I even renewed my netflix sub just for this, will be canceling it for good after this.

As a fan of the comic-book, it is very difficult for all your expectations to be fulfilled... because the graphic style of the work in its first issues, where these characters were created, were the work of Sam Kieth, whose style is between cartoon and gothic, gave Sandman an identity out of the ordinary in the eighties comic scene.

Well, that touch, in addition to the almost inescapable punk tone of the comics era, is not very common now, and for now, in this first chapter, the work has been more like an inevitable Sandman "à la Burton mixed with elements HBO / Netflix "which are already so common that they are not worth mentioning.

The best moment has been a shot "a la Sin City" where an unforgettable vignette from Sandman 1 is captured.

In general, the chapter is distracting, and with spectacular effects at times and a screenshot imitating the comic, it makes you learn about the world of Sandman, yes, a world that is much more affordable for everyone and flatter than in the comics.

It. Is just. That good.

I went ballistic after the first one minute and fourth seconds. I could already tell I wouldn't be the same person after this show and I was RIGHT.

You get pulled into the universe from the very first second and it doesn't let go. Tom Sturridge's voice and storytelling, and acting without a single spoken word to the other characters is absolutely BRILLIANT. The facial expressions. And the way everything builds up towards the culmination of the episode is insane.

The universe is intriguing, mysterious, different from any other fantasy universe. I immediately wanted to learn more about this world, and it's stories.

All the shots are friggin brilliant.

I never noticed it was an hour long, which will be a reoccurring theme in these reviews because the episodes are just that frigging good. I usually do but here I have ABSOLUTELY NO REGRETS for the screen time I invested and will continue investing in this show.

I usually have the attention span of a squirrel but in this show I did not skip a single, second.

And every single one, was worth it.

The CGI works, the transitions are beautiful and the narration is on point. The actors served the character's purposes very well.

Huge props to Tom Sturridge and Boyd Holbrook on this. And as for the novels/series statements, i don't have a say as this is my first interaction with the series.

The only problem with the episode itself are the expositive dialogues, which took me off it, therefore making my personal experience less enjoyable, but, if you embrace the little bit of corny the episode has, you will be simply delighted with it. A show i recommend, it's good.

And props to the direction as well, beautiful artistic shots and a good work not focusing a 100% on the CGI made objects, it made for a more realistic environment, some TV shows don't balance the direction and expose the flaws in the CGI completely and... it's not what you want.

Great episode.

Overreaction everywhere about this one. Boring to death from the very beginning. I won't even bother watching the rest. It's what happens when hype is created and a couple of twitter stars start accomplishing the show to earn a few likes.

The first episode didn't give me anything to get excited about. Didn't connect with any of the characters who just seem to be dutifully delivering their lines. Lines that are as dry as desert sand. Although artistically satisfying, visually compelling and beautifully shot, there's no 'soul' animating the clockwork. There's not a compelling hook that makes me want to see what happens next.

Amizing!! Neil's mind is impressive. So much criative and amazing in all the things. The mistery, actores, history. I"m impressionated in the first look. Very expectetions right now.

Read the comics, or put on a blindfold and listen to the audiobook dramatization, which is true to Gaiman's spirit. Like most recent Goyer, this replaces intellect with pointless but big-budget violence.