“The Sandman” is a high-concept fantasy show with venerated source material — so the TV adaptation could easily have been disastrous.
Surprisingly, it isn’t.
The series admirably sets up this complex world in a way that doesn’t feel hard to follow, or like too much information, with made-up magical terms, is being thrown at us at once — a feat that escapes many other sci-fi and fantasy shows.
Now streaming on Netflix, “The Sandman” is based on the cult hit DC comics by Neil Gaiman, first published from 1989-1996. This is the story’s first time onscreen, although Hollywood has been trying to make it for decades, so it’s a long time coming.
(Various adaptations of the film have failed in development hell over time, including an abandoned film project with Joseph Gordon-Levitt. Although small-screen versions were in discussions at Fox and HBO, they never materialized.
The plot follows Dream, aka Morpheus (Tom Sturridge, “Sweetbitter”), who is one of the Endless, which are essentially deities (others members of the Endless, who he calls his “siblings,” include Death, Despair, and Desire; all human-looking figures who have a godlike control over these qualities among the larger populace). Dream controls the realm known as dreams. It is shown onscreen in lush green with an ornate palace. Dream is captured in an evil ritual in 1916 London shortly after the premiere episode.
Wealthy Londoner Roderick Burgess (Charles Dance, “Game of Thrones”) is grieving his dead son, and he’s trying to summon Death to demand his son’s return. He accidentally summons Dream instead, but traps him and refuses to let him go, convinced that Dream might be able to still return his son (and, Burgess is also afraid that Dream will kill him if he’s freed).
Dream remains imprisoned in Burgess’ mansion for 106 years, until he escapes. When he sees that his realm and castle have fallen to ruin in his absence, and its denizens — which include nightmares, who often resemble regular humans — have left, he sets out to return them and restore his “Kingdom of the dreaming,” as he calls it.
Along the way, he must beware the swaggering baddie Corinthian (Boyd Holbrook, “Logan”), one of his nightmares who resents being beholden to him, so he has a vested interest in stripping Dream of his powers. Gwendoline Christie plays Lucifer and Stephen Fry is also part of the star-studded cast.
It sounds like a lot to take in, but “The Sandman” neatly avoids many genre show pitfalls. While at times its premise and worldbuilding do feel a bit murky, for the most part, it’s even less confusing for a layman to get into than other sprawling similar shows such as “Westworld” or “The Witcher.”
Through a combination of voiceover, and a first episode that doesn’t rush the story, “The Sandman” lays out its premise and complicated world in a way that’s whimsical yet also straightforward.
The visuals are great, too. It’s urban fantasy more than epic fantasy — many scenes are set in the modern-day real world full of regular apartments and cityscapes — but there are also trippy interludes in more fantastical realms, similar to the FX series “Legion” or series including “Buffy the Vampire Slayer” and “Supernatural.”
Fans of the source material will doubtlessly find areas to nitpick, but for the average viewer, “The Sandman” is a dazzling and imaginative show.
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