It's not just Joss...

[elisi]

Reading through the Sunday Times Culture magazine, I came across this review of Lloyd Webber's 'Love Never Dies' - his new sequel to The Phantom of the Opera... A few choice snippets for those of my flist who're feeling down:

The Phantom of the Opera is the biggest entertainment phenomenon in history [...] Now comes the non-awaited, sorry, long-awaited sequel, Love Never Dies, and its legions of passionate "phans" are incensed, seeing this as a cynical add-on to a timeless masterpiece.
[...]
Yes Christine really did love the Phantom, and Raoul turned out to be a cad. [cue examples] None of this villainy was remotely hinted at in Phantom. It's one of the many excruciating ways in which the original characters have had to be deformed to fit this childish and cheesy melodrama. (Babybelodrama, possibly.)
[...]
It's not only that this is implausible. The original Phantom, after all, featured a deformed genius who lived on a secret candlelit lake under the Paris Opera House, which hardly suggested the stern realism of Emile Zola. The trouble is, you have two completely different stories, ineptly yoked together and still audibly kicking and screaming in the traces.

Apparently it's been dubbed 'Paint Never Dries' by disgruntled fans. *g* At least we've only got badly drawn comic books to deal with, not some big screen abomination.

Comments

[flake-sake.livejournal.com]

*snorts*

[elisi]

::whistles innocently::

(And OMG your icon says exactly what I would have written if I could be bothered writing anything deep. I keep telling myself to laugh in order not to get squicked out.)

[powerofthebook.livejournal.com]

Bwah! Oh, that's perfect! To take the menacing majesty of the Phantom and reduce him to this...

And yet, I can summon up sympathy for ALW. Not so much for JW.

[elisi]

Bwah! Oh, that's perfect! To take the menacing majesty of the Phantom and reduce him to this...
The parallels were pretty glaring...

And yet, I can summon up sympathy for ALW. Not so much for JW.
Yeah, I'm with you there. :)

[enisy.livejournal.com]

I'm one of the aforementioned "phans". We shall speak of this no more. :|

[elisi]

Ouch. I'm sorry. We'll pretend this never happened.

[yourlibrarian]

Then again, I'm not sure anything that can match the disappointment of the first Star Wars trilogy being released. It makes one look at unfinished WIPs in a completely different way ;)

[elisi]

I'm pretty sure I've described Joss as suffering from George Lucas Syndrome in the past! :)

[shipperx.livejournal.com]

Hello, Joss, is that you?

OR

Hello, George Lucas, is that you?

It reminds me of the South Park cartoon where, having given up on George Lucas, the kids make a plea to Steven Speilberg to please not destroy Indiana Jones.

[elisi]

It reminds me of the South Park cartoon where, having given up on George Lucas, the kids make a plea to Steven Speilberg to please not destroy Indiana Jones.
Ooooh, I remember that one! *laughs*

[chloris67.livejournal.com]

It's really amazing just how many creators of something awesome really should be hit over the head and forced to NEVER EVER work in that universe again. Stop writing sequels people! Just step away.

[elisi]

*nods* (Maybe that's one reason DW is still going strong - it doesn't belong to any one person, and both actors and showrunners keep changing.)

[infinitewhale.livejournal.com]

Ha! I almost wish I were back in high school just so I could listen to my music teacher rant about this for a whole period. :)

mikeygs

[elisi]

Fun, isn't it? And hello! *waves* Good to see you around! :)