Review: The Legend of the Seeker
Wednesday, January 21st, 2009
When I heard that Sam Raimi and the producers of Xena and Hercules were going to adapt Terry Goodkind’s epic Sword of Truth series for television, I was at first both excited and skeptical. Of course after Spiderman 3 I was even more skeptical, but that’s another story for another day.
Now I have to admit, I’ve never watched an entire episode of Xena or Hercules. At the time they were on the air, I really just wasn’t interested. I’m sure I could enjoy them now, and perhaps one day when I have a little breathing room in my Netflix queue, I’ll give them a shot.
First let me say this: I am a die-hard fan of the novels. Wizard’s First Rule was the first fantasy novel I read. I was thoroughly hooked by Goodkind’s writing and characterizations. The story of Richard, Kahlan and Zedd immediately captured me and I was obsessed. It was the first novel I discussed with my husband in depth, and I think we both share an extra fondness for it because of that.
But I’m not here to talk about the novels. I’m here to talk about the television adaptation of the novels. Originally, the show was slated to be only the first novel. A twenty-two episode arc of Wizard’s First Rule. And I agreed that was the only way a visualization of that book could work. A two-hour movie or six-hour miniseries would never cut it. I kept up with the project by occasionally following the production website and keeping up with casting news, excited by what I was seeing come down the pipe.
Then in November 2008, after an excruciatingly long wait, The Legend of the Seeker aired. And as the first episode neared to a close, I was thinking, “Not too bad, the changes they made were necessary. I can live with this.” Then they literally and figuratively threw the book in the fire. And then, everything changed.
Ok, maybe not everything. But I now had to struggle with not to turning into a hysterical fan girl and saying, “but THAT’S not how it happened in the book!” Later, I learned in an interview with one of the show’s stars, Craig Horner (Richard), that the series is based on the characters from Goodkind’s book and the overall story arc, but with lots of episodic stops along the way.
And once I got over that disappointment and used to the episodic idea of it all, I did sit back and enjoy the show for what it is: a fairly predictable series, chock-full of eerily beautiful cinematography (the New Zealand landscape screams, “Epic!”), and an honorable attempt to bring those three beloved characters to life.
However, it doesn’t always succeed. Episode 5, “Listener,” is about as far away from portraying Goodkind’s story and characters as possible. I have to wonder if the writer, Stephen Tolkin, had ever bothered to crack open the source material. I’m assuming he has, since he was one of the three credited writers for the first episode, “Prophecy.” Apparently, at times, he just doesn’t care. And I was about to the point where I didn’t care either.
But I gave it another chance. And am I ever glad I did. Two weeks later, the episode “Identity” aired, and it brought back the essence of the characters and of the original story of the book. While it didn’t tell the story the same way that the novel did, it was done in an interesting way and I was excited again about the series.
I haven’t been disappointed by its return from the winter hiatus, either. The episode, “Denna,” and “Puppeteer” which followed, were everything I’d come to expect from the series, and a little more: faithful to the ideals of the original story and characters, with an interesting twist that makes me want to see where it is going.
So, will this series appeal to those who haven’t read the books? Perhaps. If you’re missing a sprawling fantasy epic of the likes of Xena or Hercules, you may like the show. Just don’t expect it to have that same campy tongue-in-cheek quality. The show does tend to take itself too seriously at times.
If you are a fan of the book series, I say give it a chance. We’ve all seen how things change when they go to film or screen (X-Men, Spiderman, Iron Man, etc.). For both camps however, new viewers and established fans, if you’re willing to be a little patient, I have a feeling the payoff is going to be worth some of the earlier, lesser quality episodes.
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Book of the Month
Y The Last Man Vol. 5In this final Deluxe Edition hardcover collecting Y #49-60, Yorick and Agent 355 prepare for their ultimate quest to reunite the last man with his lost love, while the person, people or thing behind the disaster that wiped out half of humanity is revealed. Then, Yorick Brown's long journey through an Earth populated only by women comes to its dramatic, unexpected conclusion.
The two most recent episodes have been my favorite so far. The series really is getting better and starting to find it’s footing. Zedd has easily become my most favorite character in the entire show, and I would love to see some more of Denna down the line. And Bridget Regan is such a hottie!!!
My only one complaint is the Richard and Kahlan romance, which just looks so forced to me. That’s definitely something that should be built up over time and not just thrown at us in the first few episodes. Of course, I’m saying this as a fantasy television fan whose never read any of the books, but that’s really how it should be done if they want to create a romance for a tv series.
Also, Xena and Hercules kick major ass, and I own the entire box set series of Xena as well. That’s what made me excited about this show in the first place. You should definitely check those two out. And you should also check out Jack of All Trades if you like those as well. Syndicated made in New Zealand tv shows are the best!
What channel is this airing on? I’m going to push ASoIaF hard if/when HBO greenlights the series, so I figure it’s only fair that I give this series a shot as well. I definitely feel for you though. If they can in and changed the core of how ASoIaF operates, I’m not sure I would be able to move past that. Adaptation is necessary. But change for the purpose of change isn’t, IMO.
The show is syndicated, so it’s on different channels in different markets. The official website has a thing where you can plug in your zip code to find what station is airing it in your area. Hulu might be a better bet.
fox is the mean one , that where the new eps are on .
I hope you like it better then i do.
Huh. I had no idea that this show was even on. I have read all tof this series except the very last book (Confessor) which i will read soon i think. My interest in the series has waned as it went along, but I will definitely check out the show.
Randy, I don’t know what channel it’s on, but I see that it is on Hulu.
Unfortunately I am living cable and broadcast tv free these days (too many damn comics to read) and will have to catch it on DVD … but it did look interesting and now I may just have to give that book a look over as well.
perhaps I should give it a second chance….I love the books and I’m one of those people who sit there and say “that didn’t happen” and things like that. But I have slowly come to realize they will never make anything based on a book/book series that is exactly like the books LOL. It suchs but that’s how it is. And sometimes it makes it more interesting. Thanks for the review. I’ll certainly have to give it another go!
As I was discussing with my hubby this weekend, the episodes that stay closer to the source material are by far better than the ones that are “other adventures we’ve never read about.” Of course, the book will always be superior, but is nice to see a visualization of what you’ve been reading for years.
I need read the books but from what i see so far on the TV show I dont want to , I hear the books are better , but I dont know , i’ll give the show a another chance but I dont think i will like it ,
If you don’t like the show, no need to watch it. But I would strongly suggest to still read the books. Don’t let the show keep you from the book series, because the novels are amazing and dark and compelling and everything a fantasy novel should be IMHO.
yeah that what i hear the they chnage so many things in the tV show and they make the books look bad .
I’m not really a big read so 17 or how ever many books there is , is alot for me but i think i will read the first one and see if i like it .
So, 7 months later, I actually started watching the show. It’s now available of Netflix instant streaming, so it was a great excuse to check it out.
So, my thoughts: I agree, a slow start. And even though I’ve never opened a page of the books, I knew that it wasn’t following them very closely. But, after a couple episodes, I was hooked. I finished the first season in roughly 2 days. Then, I was pleased to see that it actually got picked up for the second season.
My favorite character, for some reason, was Jennsen. So after finishing the first season, and only seeing her in two episodes, I really wanted to see if she would have a more active role in the second season. Turns out that she didn’t even come into the books until MUCH later and wasn’t even supposed to be in the first season of the show. So I’m pretty sure she won’t be a major character any time soon. A shame, since she is so charming. Just goes to prove how much they changed the show from the books.
However, looking into the season 2 stuff, I came across a wealth of information from ComicCon. Like the fact that Charisma Carpenter will be guest starring in season 2. In addition, I also found out that Aimee Teegarden (From Friday Night Lights. Love her. I cast her in my ASoIaF lineup.) will be guest staring in season 2 as well (in what seems like a really interesting role). So now I’m stoked about season 2 starting in November.
This is going to be one hella good season of TV. I don’t have the time for all these series at once anymore. This, Chuck, Heroes, Supernatural, V, Glee, the Lost finale, Flash Forward, etc. Gonna be packed tight this year. One thing I saw, but don’t know if it’s correct, is that Netflix picked up the rights to season 1 and 2 of Legend of the Seeker. So it’s possible that I’ll be able to stream the second season shortly after it airs ala Heroes, if that’s true.
Anyway, I’m very much pleased. Thanks for the review 7 months ago. After the show ends, I’m going to read the books. I don’t want to read them before hand, because I don’t want them to ruin my enjoyment of the show. :P