His Dark Materials: Audience and Industries blog tasks

 Audience

1) Read this audience rating guide for His Dark Materials. Based on the screening and this article, who do you think the target audience is for His Dark Materials and why? What about psychographic groups? You can revise Psychographics' here.

I think the target audience is fantasy fans and teens to early 20s as the characters are young and lyra and her mum (mrs coulter) are completely different and have the characteristics of a normal teen going against her mum in a way.

2) What audience pleasures are offered by His Dark Materials - The City of Magpies? Apply Blumler and Katz's Uses and Gratifications theory to the episode. Make sure you provide specific examples from the episode to support your ideas.

Personal Identity: relatable scenes - family

Personal Relationships: famous actors

Diversion (Escapism): chase scene with lyra and will

 3) Thinking of the 3 Vs audience pleasures (Visceral, Vicarious and Voyeuristic pleasures), which of these can be applied to His Dark Materials? Refer to specific scenes or moments in the episode to explain your answer. 

vicarious pleasures- fantasy worlds / exotic locations

4)How did fans react to Season 2 of His Dark Materials? What about critic reviews? You can find some possible answers for this in this BBC website article on the critical reception for His Dark Materials and watch the fan reaction video above.

many described it as amazing and that it it fills them with excitement

5) What might be some of the preferred and oppositional readings for His Dark Materials? Why did some fans love it? Why have other people criticised it? 

Some may argue that the show was religiously offensive and so caused controversy as God himself doesn't come out of the story unscathed, either, as He is rendered as a cold, controlling tyrant. This anti-religious -- particularly anti-Christian -- rhetoric garnered the series an unsavory reputation among the faithful.

Industries

1) Which companies produced this His Dark Materials series?

it was co-commissioned for an international audience by the BBC and the American television network HBO however the media creators were the company Bad Wolf.

2) What were the UK viewing figures for A City of Magpies? How did this compare to season 1 of His Dark Materials?

The first episode of the first series of His Dark Materials series was watched by audiences of 7.2 million in the UK and 423,000 on HBO. The first broadcasts of the CSP episode had audiences of 4.4 million on BBC1 and 227,000 on HBO.

3) What was American network HBO's role in making His Dark Materials and why is this important? 

As a co-commission with the BBC, His Dark Materials had two hugely respected media giants behind it - and in HBO's case a huge amount of money. HBO has over 40 million subscribers and brings in around $7 BILLION in subscription revenue each year.

4) What famous stars are in His Dark Materials and why do you think they were selected for the show? 

As His Dark Materials was aimed at an international audience, the show features both British and American star names such as Brits Ruth Wilson and James McAvoy and American Lin-Manuel Miranda who wrote the smash hit musical Hamilton. There was also a range of videos and promotional events designed to create a buzz around the new season of His Dark Materials:

5) Who are Bad Wolf and what do they produce?

Bad Wolf was founded in 2015 to create ambitious, imaginative and relevant drama for the global TV marketplace.  From its headquarters in South Wales the company has built up an international reputation as one of the foremost independent production companies in the UK, producing over 50 hours of high-end drama for broadcasters and networks including HBO, BBC, AMC and Sky.

Comparison: Doctor Who - An Unearthly Child and His Dark Materials - The City of Magpies

1) How are the technical conventions different between 1963 Doctor Who and 2020 His Dark Materials (e.g. camerawork, editing, sound and mise-en-scene)?

in my opinion, His dark materials is very diverse whereas Doctor who isn't really as it is only white actors (up until recent years) and you can see the gender stereotypes being shown a little bit but in the 60s no one would have been bothered by it.

2) What similarities and differences are there between Doctor Who and His Dark Materials in terms of genre and narrative? 

They both have the theme/genre of sci-fi and adventure, however, his dark materials is diverse in many ways and the main character is a female but Doctor who isn't as much and the main character is a male.

3) How are representations of people, places and groups similar or different in the two shows?

Its pretty much the what i said in the previous 2 questions before this one.