I was really looking forward to this show because I love the books, but I was sadly disappointed. The biggest problem is the main character of Lyra...She's supposed to be a really clever, smart, stand out, extraordinary, etc twelve year old girl. (kind of like Arya from Game of Thrones) But the combination of the actress and the writing make Lyra come across as just an annoying, stupid, bratty kid who thinks she's so smart. I really wasn't impressed with the rest of the casting and writing either, but just the fact that the main character is wrong pretty much ruins the whole show automatically. The Golden Compass movie based on the first book that was made years ago was way better. And the girl who played Lyra in that movie was perfect.