Compare & Contrast: Book vs Movie vs Show

[Scarlett45]

A place to discuss the 2003 novel by Audrey Niffenegger, the 2009 film staring Eric Bana & Rachel McAdams, and the 2022 series on HBOMax. This topic may contain spoilers. 

[Anela]

That ending of the first episode: I remember how he died in the book, and it didn't involve his feet being severed. 

[nomodrama]

16 hours ago, Anela said:

That ending of the first episode: I remember how he died in the book, and it didn't involve his feet being severed. 

Before he dies he has another incident that the feet in the snow is referring to.

Edited May 17, 2022 by nomodrama
Don't want to spoil to much

[Scarlett45]

19 hours ago, Anela said:

That ending of the first episode: I remember how he died in the book, and it didn't involve his feet being severed. 

His feet are amputated in the book due to frost bite. And without his feet, he cannot run and then dies of exposure. 

[Anela]

2 hours ago, Scarlett45 said:

His feet are amputated in the book due to frost bite. And without his feet, he cannot run and then dies of exposure. 

I don't remember that. I read it in 2006, and only remember that he got shot. 

[Anela]

I have the book out of the library, so I hope I can relax enough to read it again.

[Scarlett45]

3 hours ago, Anela said:

I don't remember that. I read it in 2006, and only remember that he got shot. 

You are right. So sorry! He is shot, he looses his feet because of frost bite due to exposure. 

[Scarlett45]

Quote

I appreciated the injection of levity, however brief, in the scene with 16-year old Henry going down on himself. I don't know if that was in the book or not; it almost suggests he can control his time travel to just be able to go back a few hours or a few days like that, which contradicts the premise.

To expand on the quote from episode 2 (not tagging the poster in case they don’t want to be spoiled)- that scene was in the book.

No Henry can’t control his time travel, but emotions often pull him back to certain events/places, it was pretty funny but it’s likely that 16yrs old Henry was horny and sexually experimenting with himself, and thus got pulled BACK to that point from a few days/months in the future.

In this universe time is a loop, whatever happened was always going to happen and can’t be changed, so even though in the book he was fucking embarrassed that his Dad caught him, future him knew it would happen. 

[LadyIrony]

I haven't read the book so can only compare the film to the series so far. They both started off much in the same way, the actors in the film are both better looking than the ones in the TV show. Rose Leslie doesn't have the same vulnerability that Rachel McAdams brought. I feel at times they are going for a bit of a humorous angle with the interview style, when EP 1 started with the interviews I though they were going to make it a comedy.

I feel like having so many Henry's from different times/ages in the one time period seems a bit much. If I am understanding correctly in one scene where they show the mothers death there is like 8 or more Henry's of different ages there almost watching the event. That implies to me they do have some control of when they can travel to and obviously their mother's death would be a critical point in their lives (life)?

Like all TV shows I do wonder how long they can make this last before it gets super stupid. I feel like overall the concept is better suited to a movie. 

[Scarlett45]

@LadyIrony- it’s a mini series, 6 episodes. 

1 hour ago, LadyIrony said:

That implies to me they do have some control of when they can travel to and obviously their mother's death would be a critical point in their lives (life)?

No Henry doesn’t have control- but this was a traumatic event for him that’s left an emotional mark on his heart/brain (like it would anyone). Think of it like having a nightmare or a dream- you don’t have control over that, but your emotional centers effect what you dream about. Strong emotions cause you to form long lasting memories. Survivors of PTSD might dream the same traumatic event over and over, but they aren’t “in control” of their dreams. 

[LadyIrony]

4 hours ago, Scarlett45 said:

@LadyIrony- it’s a mini series, 6 episodes. 

No Henry doesn’t have control- but this was a traumatic event for him that’s left an emotional mark on his heart/brain (like it would anyone). Think of it like having a nightmare or a dream- you don’t have control over that, but your emotional centers effect what you dream about. Strong emotions cause you to form long lasting memories. Survivors of PTSD might dream the same traumatic event over and over, but they aren’t “in control” of their dreams. 

Looking at it that way it makes some sense but given some of the stuff going on I think they could have made it that he at least has some control but sometimes it doesn't work etc. I didn't realize it was a mini series that is good as it would be sad to see it devolve into crap a few seasons in. At least they have some kind of goal in mind.

[methodwriter85]

It's funny how old they made James look as a 43-year old aka Final Year. Lol

[Scarlett45]

19 hours ago, methodwriter85 said:

It's funny how old they made James look as a 43-year old aka Final Year. Lol

I don’t like it. 
 

Theo is 37. No need to “age him” for 36 yrs old Henry. The long hair can be 28yrs old Henry, short hair can be 36yrs old Henry, and more Grey hair can be 43yrs old Henry. 

[PurpleTentacle]

On 5/23/2022 at 5:43 PM, Scarlett45 said:

In this universe time is a loop, whatever happened was always going to happen and can’t be changed, so even though in the book he was fucking embarrassed that his Dad caught him, future him knew it would happen. 

I know you are right, from what the show and the author tell us, but that doesn't make much sense. Would you still suck a dick if you knew your dad was going to come in and see it?

Time travel stories often have causality problems, but this seems to just throw logic to the wind.

[Scarlett45]

11 minutes ago, PurpleTentacle said:

I know you are right, from what the show and the author tell us, but that doesn't make much sense. Would you still suck a dick if you knew your dad was going to come in and see it?

Time travel stories often have causality problems, but this seems to just throw logic to the wind.

It kind of goes to the theory that everything is predestined. We just don’t KNOW the outcome. Our decisions only matter in that we feel we are making one. 
 

Not saying I agree it’s just an interesting bit of philosophical thought. 

[nomodrama]

On 5/23/2022 at 2:29 PM, LadyIrony said:

I feel like having so many Henry's from different times/ages in the one time period seems a bit much. If I am understanding correctly in one scene where they show the mothers death there is like 8 or more Henry's of different ages there almost watching the event. That implies to me they do have some control of when they can travel to and obviously their mother's death would be a critical point in their lives (life)?

I remember in the book Henry says he has seen the accident from every possible angle, so I think that scene on the show was very effective in showing how often he had been drawn back to it. 

21 hours ago, methodwriter85 said:

It's funny how old they made James look as a 43-year old aka Final Year. Lol

Yeah I feel like they made him look WAY older, he looks like he could be in his 60s which made me very confused. 

1 hour ago, PurpleTentacle said:

Time travel stories often have causality problems, but this seems to just throw logic to the wind.

This was one of those books where you had to give in to it and not think about things too hard. I let myself go down a bit of a rabbit hole thinking about Henry training himself and the first night he has with his younger version at the museum and it just made my brain hurt. You just have to try and enjoy the ride and not analyze things too much. 

[methodwriter85]

It's weird. I saw the movie, and I feel like I read the book, but I have no actual memories of reading the book, so everything's murky. LOL

[blueray]

I randomly stumbled on this show yesterday, I didn't know it was even a thing. At first I thought it was the movie but I seen it (and read the book) and it seemed different then I remembered it lol. Now I realized it was the second episode of the show. Is it just me or the "HBO'ed" it. I was watching it with my husband and parents-in-law. I was kind of shocked on what they showed. But I was a kid when I read the book and a teen  when the movie when it came out. So maybe it was just me...  

[wallflower75]

On 5/25/2022 at 3:23 PM, nomodrama said:

Yeah I feel like they made him look WAY older, he looks like he could be in his 60s which made me very confused. 

The way I interpret that is that even though his character was only 43, he'd been through so much that he prematurely aged.  He'd been time traveling since he was five, did a lot of drugs and alcohol throughout his 20s, and then subjected himself to experimental treatments in his 30s to try and cure his problem.  I don't remember exactly, but I think the book mentioned that he looked rather old at the end.

[joanne3482]

If this is only a 6 episode show at 45 minutes each episode, am I the only one thinking this last episode is going to be a mess? If they keep with the book we have them actually getting married, the miscarriages, Alba, the frostbite and then his ultimate death. They've spent 5 episodes building up to this but it just seems like they don't have enough time to handle the rest. 

[Anela]

5 hours ago, joanne3482 said:

If this is only a 6 episode show at 45 minutes each episode, am I the only one thinking this last episode is going to be a mess? If they keep with the book we have them actually getting married, the miscarriages, Alba, the frostbite and then his ultimate death. They've spent 5 episodes building up to this but it just seems like they don't have enough time to handle the rest. 

I was wondering how they're going to cover the rest, in one episode. Their getting married, trying for a baby, everything involved with that, her being upset when he keeps disappearing, her trying again for a baby, etc. 

[Snow Fairy]

I was wondering the same 

It os definite that there will be only one season?

[Anela]

I've had the movie running. She is aggressive on their first date, they sleep together, but it's more like a natural occurrence after a date. She tells him that she knows him, but I don't think she told him that they were married. She finds lipstick in his cupboard, but he said that's long over, so there was no fight out of jealousy, and he wasn't an arsehole. 

He proposes in their bedroom, after visiting his dad. I'd forgotten how their marriage brings him back together with his dad, and I watched it last year, when I was making a cheesecake for my birthday. She says "no" just to see what it feels like. The different Henrys showing up, help out in a couple of different ways. 

[Enigma X]

I read the book and saw the movie but for the life of me can't remember details. This makes it hard for me to comment. I think I was just as confused in the book as I am for the last episode. 

So, Henry leaves Gomez a message to be where he is to save him because he knew it would happen. To me, that is changing an outcome because Gomez would not have known to do it on his own. This is my trouble with time travel. I like the stories until I add logic.

[Anela]

3 hours ago, Enigma X said:

I read the book and saw the movie but for the life of me can't remember details. This makes it hard for me to comment. I think I was just as confused in the book as I am for the last episode. 

So, Henry leaves Gomez a message to be where he is to save him because he knew it would happen. To me, that is changing an outcome because Gomez would not have known to do it on his own. This is my trouble with time travel. I like the stories until I add logic.

I was also wondering how he really first met Claire, if he had was travelling back to her childhood home, well into adulthood, where she says they first met. The first time he meets her in person (at his youngest), she tells him that they've already met. So, how can he be drawn to her house when she time travels, in the first place? I was waiting for another connection to come up. 

He gets the winning lottery numbers, when she needs more space, and she's pissed at him, because he disappeared over Christmas and New Year's. She says that's cheating, he says that's a perk of his condition.

Edited June 15, 2022 by Anela

[wallflower75]

On 6/14/2022 at 4:04 PM, Snow Fairy said:

I was wondering the same 

It os definite that there will be only one season?

I could've sworn I saw somewhere that they were getting a second season, which makes no damned sense to me.  This all could've been covered by one season.

[dbklmt]

4 hours ago, wallflower75 said:

  On 6/14/2022 at 2:04 PM, Snow Fairy said:

I was wondering the same 

It os definite that there will be only one season?

I could've sworn I saw somewhere that they were getting a second season, which makes no damned sense to me.  This all could've been covered by one season.

Not according to this HBO ad which says it is a SERIES FINALE.

The Time Traveler's Wife - Series Finale This Sunday  The Time Traveler's Wife - Series Finale This Sunday Ad· https://www.hbo.com/ An adaptation of Audrey Niffenegger’s literary classic. A romance for the ages. Rose Leslie and Theo James Star in The Time Traveler’s Wife. Streaming now on HBO. Commercial Fre

[wallflower75]

On 6/16/2022 at 8:55 PM, dbklmt said:

I could've sworn I saw somewhere that they were getting a second season, which makes no damned sense to me.  This all could've been covered by one season.

Not according to this HBO ad which says it is a SERIES FINALE.

The Time Traveler's Wife - Series Finale This Sunday  The Time Traveler's Wife - Series Finale This Sunday Ad· https://www.hbo.com/ An adaptation of Audrey Niffenegger’s literary classic. A romance for the ages. Rose Leslie and Theo James Star in The Time Traveler’s Wife. Streaming now on HBO. Commercial Fre

So...they get married and live happily ever after, boom, the end?  What the hell?  I figured the reason they were taking this long was because there would be two seasons--this one covering Clare's childhood and their courtship, so to speak, and then the second one would be their marriage.  Argh.

[LadyIrony]

16 hours ago, wallflower75 said:

So...they get married and live happily ever after, boom, the end?  What the hell?  I figured the reason they were taking this long was because there would be two seasons--this one covering Clare's childhood and their courtship, so to speak, and then the second one would be their marriage.  Ardoubt.gh.

I can't see it being a satisfying ending. They have wasted so much time thus far and will rush to the end no doubt.

Edited June 19, 2022 by LadyIrony

[dbklmt]

On 6/18/2022 at 7:16 AM, wallflower75 said:

So...they get married and live happily ever after, boom, the end?  What the hell?  I figured the reason they were taking this long was because there would be two seasons--this one covering Clare's childhood and their courtship, so to speak, and then the second one would be their marriage.  Argh.

19 hours ago, LadyIrony said:

I can't see it being a satisfying ending. They have wasted so much time thus far and will rush to the end no doubt.

On 6/16/2022 at 6:55 PM, dbklmt said:

I could've sworn I saw somewhere that they were getting a second season, which makes no damned sense to me.  This all could've been covered by one season.

Not according to this HBO ad which says it is a SERIES FINALE.

The Time Traveler's Wife - Series Finale This Sunday  The Time Traveler's Wife - Series Finale This Sunday Ad· https://www.hbo.com/ An adaptation of Audrey Niffenegger’s literary classic. A romance for the ages. Rose Leslie and Theo James Star in The Time Traveler’s Wife. Streaming now on HBO. Commercial Fre

I was wrong and it was obvious within 10 minutes into the episode that HBO was not going to finish the story.  It would become a multi season show although it has not been renewed by HBO MAX yet.  I predict that will happen tomorrow.  For details from the EP/Writer this just appeared at https://tvline.com/2022/06/19/the-time-travelers-wife-recap-season-1-finale-renewed-cancelled/#more-1234842659 

For someone that has read the book does it jump all over the place with the stories as it did here? 

[Enigma X]

In the episode 6 thread, I wrote that I wanted to like this more than I did but didn't. I read the book and am starting to think that this is one of those things that works very well on paper where I can visualize it with my imagination rather than on my screen. Overall, I was underwhelmed, and the time travel plotholes were evident.

Theo James did a great job, and Rose Leslie was okay, but something was off for me throughout.

[LadyIrony]

9 minutes ago, Enigma X said:

In the episode 6 thread, I wrote that I wanted to like this more than I did but didn't. I read the book and am starting to think that this is one of those things that works very well on paper where I can visualize it with my imagination rather than on my screen. Overall, I was underwhelmed, and the time travel plotholes were evident.

Theo James did a great job, and Rose Leslie was okay, but something was off for me throughout.

I think the movie worked well. It suits a contained and focused plot/execution. To try and make it an ongoing series it will end up becoming increasingly silly. I am finding Rose Leslie to be a bit harsh in regards to being a romantic lead. Theo is doing fine with his role. 

I feel the comedic moments they throw in at times to be jarring, Gomez turning up to save the day for example. Even if he did that, I think the Bikers at the least would follow them home. The scene where the two Theo's engage in oral sex. The stupid amount of Henry's running around in time and yet at other times there appears to only be one or two. Yet he can't control what he does but it seems he has some control etc. 

If it gets a second season it will be interesting to see what they can do with it. 

[wallflower75]

14 hours ago, dbklmt said:

I was wrong and it was obvious within 10 minutes into the episode that HBO was not going to finish the story.  It would become a multi season show although it has not been renewed by HBO MAX yet.  I predict that will happen tomorrow.  For details from the EP/Writer this just appeared at https://tvline.com/2022/06/19/the-time-travelers-wife-recap-season-1-finale-renewed-cancelled/#more-1234842659 

For someone that has read the book does it jump all over the place with the stories as it did here? 

Spoiler

Kind of, yeah.  IIRC, the book becomes a lot more linear after they're married.

[Enigma X]

In the book and the show, I am amazed at how everyone seems relatively calm and relaxed about time travel. You get a bit more of the "what?" reaction in the book, but the show appears to be like, "and what do you want a cookie?" I realize that the story is more about an "epic" romance than a time traveler, though.

[Scarlett45]

I enjoyed the performances in this version- Theo James and Rose Leslie brought a lot of nuance to their roles, and a mini series allowed us to explore more of the metaphysical themes of time travel, the meaning of loss etc. but the pacing was just OFF. So off. 
 

Naked Theo on my screen is always a good thing though. 

[dbklmt]

On 6/20/2022 at 3:56 PM, Scarlett45 said:

I enjoyed the performances in this version- Theo James and Rose Leslie brought a lot of nuance to their roles, and a mini series allowed us to explore more of the metaphysical themes of time travel, the meaning of loss etc. but the pacing was just OFF. So off. 
 

Naked Theo on my screen is always a good thing though. 

You might enjoy this article on Why Theo James' butt was essential to the storytelling.

https://ew.com/tv/screen-after-reading-why-theo-james-butt-was-essential-time-travelers-wife/?did=797665-20220622&utm_campaign=ewk-tv_newsletter&utm_source=ew.com&utm_medium=email&utm_content=062222&cid=797665&mid=90359233463

[Libby]

I just finished the book. I thought it was fantastic.

At the end of the kindle version of the book, there's an excerpt from the sequel about Alba. I can't wait for the sequel to come out. It also seems like it will be very good.

[methodwriter85]

I haven't seen the show but did they move up the timeline, aka Henry was born in 1985 instead of 1963 etc etc etc? I feel like they also kinda did that with the movie, but of course the movie was much closer to the publication of the book.

[Scarlett45]

On 6/30/2022 at 10:30 PM, methodwriter85 said:

I haven't seen the show but did they move up the timeline, aka Henry was born in 1985 instead of 1963 etc etc etc? I feel like they also kinda did that with the movie, but of course the movie was much closer to the publication of the book.

Yes they did. Henry was 28 in 2008 so they had him born in 1980, Claire born in 1988. 

[nomodrama]

Did I understand correctly that this episode implied that Henry's dad is not alive when Claire is having all the miscarriages? I don't like that at all. It's incredibly depressing. One of the great things about the book and the movie were that Henry's dad was around to be there for Alba and he had such a great connection with her. It was almost like redemption for his father that their relationship was so different from the one he had with Henry and that he got in a sense, a do over. Piss off show for changing that.

[Scarlett45]

On 7/10/2022 at 12:09 AM, nomodrama said:

Did I understand correctly that this episode implied that Henry's dad is not alive when Claire is having all the miscarriages? I don't like that at all. It's incredibly depressing. One of the great things about the book and the movie were that Henry's dad was around to be there for Alba and he had such a great connection with her. It was almost like redemption for his father that their relationship was so different from the one he had with Henry and that he got in a sense, a do over. Piss off show for changing that.

Yes you understood that correctly. 

[Ms Blue Jay]

When I first saw the movie, I was really really really let down after loving the book so much.  But now, I can watch it from a more removed place.  I kind of enjoyed it this time around.