So I just finished watching the two hour premiere of Legend of the Seeker that aired last night and I have to tell you that it was awesome. Seriously, I loved every minute of it. It had some of the most incredible fight sequences I’ve seen on television, with sword fights better than The Lord of the Rings movies. They were that good. They did this thing where they would cut in these amazing slow motion shots that just blew me away. And I was so impressed with the production values. I know they usually throw a bit more money into the first few episodes to draw people in, but it was well worth it. Great fights, incredible horse chases, and even catapults! I hope they can keep it up. The story was pretty basic, simple guy (who looks good shirtless) turned warrior, evil warlords, wizards, beautiful damsels (who probably also look good shirtless, but this is The CW, not Showtime) in distress who aren’t really in distress because they’re also kickass warriors. But it was definitely interesting enough to keep me intrigued beyond the fight sequences. Did I mention the fight sequences? Because they were awesome. I got chills a few times because they were so good. People have complained that it deviates too much from the source material (It’s based on The Sword of Truth series by Terry Goodkind.) but I’ve never read them, so I don’t care about that. Plus, turning a series of books into a weekly television series has to come with a few sacrifices. One slight complaint I have is that the evil bad guy is discussed as being the culmination of all evil, and yet he looks like just a regular man. I think it would have been more interesting if he was cloaked and hidden in shadow like a Nazgûl or the Emperor from Star Wars, but that’s just a minor quibble, and they hinted that he may be disguising his true appearance, so we’ll see what comes. Anyway, you should definitely check it out! It was awesome! Go to the official site to learn more and see when it’s playing by you.
Here’s a clip of the first ten minutes, and yes, it includes our hero’s shirtless chopping wood scene (LOL…wood):
Damn, missed it. You’re going to have to start giving us warnings about these shows so I can plan my life.
Wait I searched and we have it on some obscure digital channel this afternoon at 3:00. I’ll try and remember.
Ai-ya! More stuff I never saw! haha.
Sorry. i am a reader and just started re-reading the series last wk before i heard that this was coming out.. Yes it does depart from the book but that is to be expected. But the acting is so poor. The wizard is cast good and kahlan but richard is supposed to be a large broad shoulder woodsman, not a little nerdy guy that can not act. Richard is supposed to be smart but the series has him as a idiot and everyone else does the thinking for him… Sorry to the uninformed it may seem good, but the book series is Awesome and there is no comparision..
I’ve read the first five and a half books of the series, and although the first four are good, after that it rather loses itself. In some ways it reminds me of Robert Jordan’s Wheel of Time series, where rather than resolve any plot threads more keep getting added, until he wrote an 800 page that covered approximately 3 days in total because of the sheer number of characters to cover.
The trailer looks like fun, but really… a guy sees a woman being pursued by four armed men and thinks they’re lying when they say she’s dangerous? How dim?
As someone who has read the sword of truth series multiple times, I really wanted the show to do well. I hate to say it though, they did a couple things wrong. First off, I think I may be a better actor than the scrub they found on the side of the street in Australia (Maybe not as good looking though). Second I was not a fan of the “300″ style fighting. Just because you slow something down doesn’t make it better. This seems to be a pretty general consensus amongst critics at the moment. I hope that they make some changes, and I plan to watch every episode for as long as it is running.
I forced myself to sit through the first half of the show, but I can’t go on anymore. It deviates so far from the first Goodkind book in such a short space of time that I can’t bear to see the rest of the first book and the other books slashed to ribbons like this.
I should have known better – look what they did to Philip Jose Farmer’s Riverworld book, and the Mists of Avalon. If Goodkind was a party to this travesty, it just shows how far he’s fallen – I agree with the earlier comment about his work resembles the Wheel of Time series too.
For fans of the book, avoid this show.
The show is not the books and vice versa. For those that have followed the official avenues of information during the development we had been warned that multiple times. They are keeping the general story arcs across the book while adding and changing quite a bit. A visual show is a very different medium than a book, a book can contain thought narration to explain quite a bit. On top of that they want each hour episode to follow the greater arc while have it’s own beginning middle and end (so you can be satisfied even if you miss some episodes). All in all it seems they did a pretty good job at keeping consistent with the intentions of the book even if they changed quite a bit.
Darken has a lot of depth to him that I’m sure we will learn. In the book he purposely has himself appear much nicer and peaceful than he really is… it’s a tactic that adds to his ferocity in the end.
Sorry Craiggers, I neither read the books nor watched the show. I got nothing. And since Dave S. has my first season DVDs of Torchwood, I really got nothing.
HUGS…
Hmm, I kind of agree with the naysayers, and I haven’t even read the book. Yes, I do love the production values and the slow-mo action. Plus, the fighting in the beginning and end are awesome (i don’t think they’re LOTR awesome), but kickass nonetheless. On the other hand, I find the hero to be a bit dumb. If he’s the seeker, shouldn’t he have more marbles in the can? On another note, I think the lead actors all have talent (OK, maybe not the Seeker), but the writing is possibly slowing them down and I don’t know if that’s due to the source material or the actual script. The Confessor character seemed kick butt in the beginning, but afterwards all she did was complain about the seeker or appropriate the ‘helpless damsel’ position. It’s clear they’re setting up the love interest duo already, but I feel it’s forced. The show has promise, but I wouldn’t mind more humor, acting lessons for Horner, and a bit of the old Draco in Lag’aia
Hm sounds interesting I think I may try downloading this show but I’m already so behind on Dexter, but you’ve been great with recommending BSG before!
On a sidenote, I have to wonder why no one has made any mention of Dr. Horrible’s Sing along Blog, Joss Whedon’s online musical that was released over the summer, I think. It’s about 42 minutes long and it’s absolutely amazing. If you loved the musical buffy episode you’ll love this. Here’s the link to see it with some ads http://www.hulu.com/watch/28343/dr-horribles-sing-along-blog
I’m sorry, I hate this show already…It’s a complete travesty of the books and watching those 2 episodes made me want to go outside and murder kittens. I have more respect for the movie Starship Troopers than I do for this television series. Raimi should be shot in the face for what he’s done. While there is a need to shift gears for TV as opposed to a book, this went way too far. I even went back and tried to watch it again just to be sure, but no, the acting sucked and the fight scenes would’ve looked SOOOO much cooler if Richard’s sword would have blasted through enemy parries and armor like a chainsaw through matchsticks like it should be doing. Not only that, it would’ve been better still if those slow motion scenes did the right thing and made the enemy go into slow motion while Richard was moving through them regularly, slicing them down, which is the way the fighting knowledge actually works in the books. As far as the acting went…it was like they took a bunch of rookie nascar drivers and put them in Yugo’s. The acting was about what I expect from a B rated production…no wait, I take that back, Wing Commander had much better acting. The acting sucked and the script sucked more. Raimi, go die in a fire.
I have read every book and am a committed fan of this series. The show exceeded my expectations completely. It was amazingly written and casted. Believe me those of you who are new to the story, follow along, it is the greatest story I have ever read. For those of you who do not know, this story has is a 12 book series with about 10,000 pages of intensity, creativity, love, romance, passion, fear, violence, hatred, devastation and redemption. Watch this series and it will be rewarding to say the least. Legend of the seeker went a bit off track from the book but kept the overall direction. Due to the length of this book, the story will have to be altered bit, but the changes were necessary and captivating. Kudos to all the creators of this show I am a huge fan.
I have read the Sword of Truth series a number of times and I am very pleased with Legend of the Seeker. I think it is important to remember that LotS is based off of the first book, and so will not be able to live up to the awesome ending of Confessor, the final book. NOTHING can top that book. Sure, there are a few moments in the series that are boring (pillars of creation was rather dull) but the entire last book is so incredibly intense and perfect that no TV series could ever dream of contending with it. That said, the first book was very good, and so this series has potential to be very good.
AAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAA!!!!!! WOW, WOW, WOW! I cannot believe how terrible this show was! I mean it was almost like watching a $3 indie! It’s one thing that producers are unable duplicate the books in their entirety because of time constraints and other good reasons, but I’m getting the feeling that Raimi forgott to read the books COMPLETELY! What was he thinking when he picked some of the characters like Craig Horner and Craig Parker who greatly undermine the characters they’re supposed to represent? And what in the world was Goodkind thinking when he sold his beautiful and breathtaking series to Disney???
The acting was poorly executed with obvious low expectations from Raimi. For instance, it seems like Zedd is playing Dungeons and Dragons and is poorly trying to act out a role of some wise sage. And Richard was actually supposed to be intelligent! And what in the world did they do to Addie? She looks like they just picked her up from bum-alley and topped her off with Elvira’s wig and a dinosaur bone!!!
Raimi didn’t even try to render the culture of the D’Harans as it was meant to be. Instead of portraying them as big and tough men with dominant blond hair, blue eyes, and semi-French accents, Raimi decided to go with the, very original, medieval English theme. Total disappointment!
Guys, if you haven’t read the books yet, please DON’T watch the show because it will ruin your entire experience and you’ll think that this series is just another one of those stupid fantasy novels that are about nothing other than wizards and dragons with amateur plot lines. The books are actually wonderful!!! In fact, they encompass so much more than magic and wizardry. Some points in the books made me cry, and I’m a guy whose tear canals have become defective from a lack of use. Goodkind can portray emotions so well that you will feel as if the events in the book have personally affected your life. This movie series will never be able to do that. What it will do is turn prospective readers away and diminish the brilliance of this author’s creation.
Thanks for reading!
Frankly, I don’t understand people who are so upset about changes from the book. As an avid reader and movie watcher, I honestly don’t mind when they change stuff and I usually understand why they did it. So much has to change to get something from the page to the screen. Harry Potter and the Prisoner of Azkaban is by far my favorite Harry Potter movie, regardless of how much changed from the book. On the other hand The Da Vinci Code movie turned an interesting page turner into a complete bore by being too concerned with staying close to the book.
And if you’ve read the books, you’re obviously a fan of the fantasy genre, why not just watch the show anyway and forget about it’s connection to the books? Just try and enjoy it for it’s fantasy. We hardly ever get shows like this on TV, and if you stop watching it or tell people to stop watching it, we might not get another.
Yes, the hero’s acting isn’t as good as it could be, but I’m sure he’ll get better as time goes on and he gets more comfortable in the role. Remember how awful Boomer, Starbuck, and Six’s acting was in the beginning of Battlestar Galactica? It was horrendous! But it’s so much better these days! Give the guy a break.
Well, I sort of watched it. I got home 10 min. late (damn busy grocery store), then my ex was there watching football with my daughter (I finally claimed the remote 20 min. in) but I had to make polite conversation (while watching out of one eye) till he left 30 min. in, then at about the 1 hour 15 mark, my Mom called and I had to talk to her (long distance), so I never really got to focus on it, but I get the point. Maybe next weekend I will pay better attention. I have never read the books so can’t compare and while the acting wasn’t great, its not worse than some other shows out there, I can live with that. The clip didn’t want to load on my little netbook
so I’ll have to kick my daughter off the computer later to watch the first 10 min. that I missed.
I thought we did talk about Dr Horrible? Maybe not. As a lover of all things Joss, i… well loved it. I also love Felicia Day and her work on The Guild (her own creation).
Craig – were you a Buffy fan?
GoKitty: I think you meant to post that on my other post. But no, I’ve watched up to the Inca Mummy Girl episode of Season 2 and was annoyed at how lame it was I gave up on it. I still have Season 2 that I borrowed from my cousin and never gave back.
Actually I posted on this one because Digkv posted above about Dr Horrible which you really should watch. It was a dork phenomenon, I’m surprised you never heard of it.
And like I told my roomie, Buffy gets SO MUCH better after season 2 when Angel LEAVES for his own show. For the love of all that is dorky, give Buffy another chance!
Oh right, sorry about that! They were talking about Dr. Horrible on the Torchwood post also. I’ve heard about it, but just haven’t gotten around to watching it yet.
I’m sure I’ll ge back to Buffy eventually. Everyone says Season 3 is where it picks up, so I just need to get through Season 2 and I’ll be okay.
I’ve only seen about 2 episodes of Buffy. Never got hooked and its not on up here anymore.
Richard seems stupid because… He was stupid when the series started. He knew
nothing, and learns from there.
Just finished watching the premier. It was utter garbage. The acting is awful. The special effects range from good to terrible (the boundary was pretty good, but the ‘christening scene with the fake lightning? please). It heavily deviates. It makes the bad-ass Chase look like a, pardon my language, sissy bitch. Did I mention the acting was awful?
I can understand some changes need to be made to translate book to screen, but they pretty much changed everything, just have characters with the same name.
And the ending? Its setting you up for endless filler episodes of helping the poor people from Rahl’s “emissaries” with the last 5 minutes of the show having the only plot advancement.
This could have been one of the best fantasy tv shows in a long while, but judging from this pilot, it’s gonna be terrible. Unless anything changes, I see it getting the axe before season one even ends.
Richard was definitely not stupid!!! He WAS ignorant, but wise. That’s the whole point. He is the seeker (of Truth) because he asks the right questions at the right time, because he sees through the BS and finds what’s important.
Don’t ya remember the scene right after he became seeker and deduced there must be a way through the boundary. He knew that the Book of Counted Sorrows couldn’t have been in Westland when the boundary went up; otherwise the boundary couldn’t have been created (no magic in Westland – part of the magic of the boundary). Yet he knows that the book came there (incidentally, um, Kahlan didn’t bring him the book for all you non-readers, but I don’t intend to quibble over that one… there were too many such small differences to be counted). So, obviously (to Truth Seekers and graduates of Logic 101), there must be a way to cross the boundary. But it does take a bit of intelligence to figure that out.
Okay, that’s just one example of literally thousands. He’s no dummy. Please don’t tell me about how books have to be adapted for TV blah, blah… how there have to be a few changes to make it original blah, blah. This is crucial! It is definitive! It IS Richard Cypher. It ISN’t compromiseable. It is no longer based on the Sword of Truth!!!!!
So, here’s my proposal: if he continues to be an idiot in LotS, let’s just forget it has anything to do with SoT. As another poster said earlier, I’m just glad there’s epic fantasy on television. It really is a decent show. It really is NOT a decent portrayal of SoT. I think I can get past that. You?
overall i give it a 7/10. everything is not perfect but i am glad to see someones vision of sword of truth
I think there were some changes from the book but im not sure because id
have to listen to wizards 1st rule again.
Variations:
1. kalans pursuers are not a quad just regular troops and a leader named Fane
2. darken rahl attempts to bring down the boundary with catapults and magic
and succeeds in breaking a small part.
3. the journey through the boundary is missing.
4. there is no concussive force when kalhn uses here magic.
i would give a 9/10 if they did not make the changes they made.
there is no reason for the changes because the show is a series not a movie. I think if they needed to rush certain parts they should summarize the events in some creative way instead of changing them.
i don’t like the CG at all. there is a CG gar. it looks cheap. i understand that they have a budget but…no
minor but not minor picky things about the actors chosen. they don’t fully fit the part.
Richard – a skinny dude slightly cut. When reading the books I imagined Richard to be bigger than that guy.
Kalan – a random plane looking girl. not to be shallow but kalan is supposed to be amazingly beautiful. this woman here is not and her acting skills do not make up for it. I could see using a woman that is not so beautiful but totally convincing or a beautiful woman who is not really convincing. but this woman is not beautiful and not convincing. Id prefer the first case.
The problem here is that these are the main characters. Maybe these actors will grow into their parts but they are not what I would have chosen. The budget probably didn’t allow for established A list actors – which doesn’t necessarily mean a bad thing if you get a good actor that fits the part.
But what ever you do you have to get a good actor that fits the part.
i just wonder how they are going to deal with the MordSith – Denna. with the tight leather and sexual overtones of richards torture.
As a matter of fact there is a lot of sex in this story.
o yeah Zedd kills a gar with fire and says its wizards fire but that was not wizards fire. its like a fir1 spell
and given that CG gar theyve got some obstacles to over come for the Dragaons, the Myrswyth, and all the other nonhuman creatures.
Hi, I read the whole series, was really looking forward to the show. Was not thrilled when I saw who they picked for Richard, but was willing to get past that. To me, like others on this posting, felt that Richard was a bit older, taller, broader, field guide/ woodsman. The actor they picked, no offense, I’m sure he would be great in something else, looks too young, and is made to look like an idiot when things come up in the show.
I couldn’t even get past the first show, I stopped watching when he got named the seeker. Kahlan looks fine, I think it’s a good fit. She is what I pictured. Zedd, I’m not convinced, but think he would have turned out fine in the end.
What made me unhappy about the show, which I was willing to over look the Richard actor, to watch, was the fact that the deviated so far from key elements of the book. Whatever, they need to change things to make it for tv. I get that, but when they go so far as to say that Zedd isn’t his grandfather, that zedd found him in his mothers arms, and took him across the boundry, and found people to raise him, whereas, it was actually zedds daughter, who was the mother, because she was raped by darken rahl, i would have to say that’s a freakin key element that shouldn’t have been changed, because it has so much to do with the rest of the story. Also, Another thing, The book of counted shadows, richards dad went across the boundry when he was a baby, took the book, worked with richard to memorize it, and then they destroyed it. Another key element, seeing as richard is supposed to use that fact to defeat Darken Rahl, so how do they fix that? Have him get the book and read it while he, zedd and kahlan fight there way to darken rahl, don’t think so. that will just make it a choppy story.
I didn’t expect too much for the filming, but it wasn’t bad. Sure some of the special effects could have been saved, but not bad in all. Didn’t expect it to be movie perfect.
I can get past who they cast as richard, even chase, because i pictured someone completely different for chase, but no biggy, but when you change key elements of the story to fit your vision, please don’t piss off the fans of the book. They are your key demographic, and you should have considered that. Especially when it wasn’t widely known about the show coming out.
You piss someone off, or make them mad about something, they tell 10 people. You make someone happy, they tell more. What were you thinking? Honestly, was it just about the money? I thought it was supposed to be about the story. Try reading the story, and then figure out where you’re at. Rearrange a few things, and advertise a few changes, and you might win back some viewers. At the moment, I can’t stand the show, and that’s a shame. I was looking forward to it. Bummer for us.
oh, and i get that this blog isn’t the creator of the show, what i wrote before, is mainly for the creator, if they so happen to come across this blog. sorry for that! haha!
Are you people retarded, of course they are going to deviate from the story, its for TV. Its people like you that will be the reason there is going to be nothing to watch. Who cares if its not as good as the book, it never is. If you want the book, go read the book again. People like me would love to see the story unfold on screen even if its not perfect. People like you piss me off. Stop being so critical, just sit down and watch the show with an open mind. BOTTOM LINE, its better than nothing. I happened to like it alot! Richard will grow into his character over time. He was alot like this in the first book, the problem for people like you and me is that we know what he becomes, so its hard to envision the early him. My only issue with him is not his acting or his looks, its just his age, he could have been older, but, the story is very long. If the series goes through the whole book it could last 10 seasons and he will grow. Its VERY hard to live up to Richard, let him grow into the role. The casting is solid; if you stop being so cynical, you will learn to enjoy the show, then people like ME will be able to watch it without people like YOU getting it cancelled. The special effects are terrific for a series, they are much better than hercules or xena. Everybody!! I know the book was wonderful and its alot to live up to but HEY they are trying right. I am just glad to have something, to give a visual representation of this terrific story.
I just spent awhile looking around the legend of the seeker website. There isn’t a single mention of Goodkind anywhere on the site. This leads me to believe that it was their intention to deviate from the books quite a bit. In fact, I wouldn’t be surprised if they only planned to use the books as a guide line, rather than actually trying to follow the story. I truly hope that the actors grow into their rolls. I agree with what was mentioned above. I am just glad to have a show like this on the air, and I hope they have time to improve on their weaker aspects before the show is canceled.
I really think that people are being a little too harsh, maybe the books were too good to put to a tv series… maybe it was more movie material… Honestly, I love the show, I’m not so wrapped up in it being exactly like the books. See, I already read the books, so why do I want to watch exactly what I read? I didn’t much like LotR because it followed a little too well to the books, I got bored of just watching the special effects and people dressed up acting out. I get to relive the story again when I watch the series, I know what’s going to happen in the end, but how it happens changed, the words changed, it gives me an interesting pull, the same one that I get with another show that pulls me back every season… The only two shows good enough for me to spend my free time watching them… But honestly, this is new ground. Stop being such a whiny viewer and think of Legend of the Seeker having absolutely nothing to do with the series of books by Goodkind, and see if you like it when you forget it has anything to do with an amazing book series. Because maybe you might realize that you actually like the show, and it’s just because you’re a perfectionist that you can’t enjoy the good watchin.
Look, I’m completely ok with the series deviating from the books just like any other motion picture would. It’s expected! LOTR did it. Harry Potter did it. So we shouldn’t criticize this series based on that. But how can any of you enjoy a show that is so underfunded and has such undeveloped acting???
I think the best part of the movie was the opening scene where Kahlan and her sister are being chased by the quad of the D’Haran soldiers. The shots were amazing. The slow motion effect with the flying hair and the horses was just superb. The terrain was breathtaking! And the boundary, although it had a slight Stargate look, seemed quite realistic. I was actually taken aback by the first scenes because it surpassed my expectations.
But what happened after that? Did they go over budget after the first 5 minutes of the show? We can’t just close our eyes and ignore the amateur acting and low budget visual effects. Perhaps this could have passed in the 1990′s, but for anyone to proclaim that it meets the criteria for this day and age, in which we use stellar technology to create life-like effects, is absurd. When I saw what poor job they did on the garr, some of the magic spells cast, and the worst fire scene at the end of the movie just made me really upset and I barely got through the end.
And maybe ya’ll are right that the acting will get better as they get a feel for the role, I just don’t think that that’s what the public expects from any new show, especially one that is supposed to live up to the high standards of the masterfully written books.
SO, in conclusion, what I’m going to do is recommend to those that haven’t read the books to do that first before you watch the show (OR) watch the show if you like BUT DON’T relate it to the books because in my honest opinion, no movie ever made, especially this one, (may be other than LOTR) could ever match up to such an ingénues plot, elaboration, and masterwork created by Terry Goodkind. It’s a shame that such a beautiful and magnificent story got in the hands of such careless producers. I am very sad… But, I hope that one day, with improving technology, we will be able to recreate this story in a well funded motion picture.
I am always glad to hear your point of view on this post. Thanks for reading.
You are obviously mislead into thinking this was a movie. It is a TV series, its not fair to compare a major motion picture to a TV series with special effects. Compare this to OTHER tv series, it is far above average. And yes, the acting will get better, it was the first episode, and it really wasnt all that bad, you just didnt buy it because these characters are hard to live up to the first time you see them on screen. REMEMBER!!!! This show will be good, just have a littttlleee bit of patience. NAME 1 TV SERIES WITH BETTER SPECIAL EFFECTS! It will not be easy.
Well, the first ten minutes or so, I was very exited. After all, these are my favorite books alongside WoT, and they’re both in the “Dark Fantasy” genre. WoT more so than SoT, but anyway.
Ofcourse, as a true reader, I started comparing things and it deviates so much from the books that I wanted to cry. There are so many things that could’ve fit a TV series just as well or even better if they kept to the original story. Yes, some things has to be changed, but only a few really.
The thing that scares me the most is how they’ll portray the very intense content of violence and sex – not because I want nothing but violence and sex, but because it makes the story into what it is – a dark fantasy masterpiece. Other than that, yes it’s nothing original.
Yet, I will continue to watch it and see where the producers takes it, but I can’t see how they could even come close to any original story.
So to mark things… this is NOT The Sword of Truth, this is something completely different – a TV series vaguely based on something that looks like The Sword of Truth.
I think a lot of people who have read the books have an image of the characters in their heads. I’ve read all the books, and my image of Richard and Kahlan is not even close to the actors portraying them. However, you have to remember, in the first book, Richard was a little clueless. He knew about the woods but in comparison with Zedd and Kahlan, who have lived in the midlands, Richard is like a kid. He knows nothing of magic, or anything outside of this town. Richard grows throughout the books into a smart, strong fighter. He was never a great sword fighter until way later in the series, so you can’t expect him to be like that in the first few episodes. Reread the first book, and i think you’d be surprised how close the show comes to portraying Richard accurately. Take the show for what it is, and don’t compare it too closely to the books because it’s impossible to match any tv show to a book.
I also hope Terry Goodkind didn’t get a look at this tv series. Either that or he will be able to sue Disney.
Yes, a story changes when it goes from written word to tv/movie production. It’s normal to omit some things and rewrite the storyline to accommodate. But changing the point of the story???
Richard is the Seeker of *Justice*? The purpose of the sword is to kill people? The sword gives someone great powers? Ugh. That’s terrible. Oh, I loved that crazy ceremony with the Naming Of The Seeker, and lightning comes out of the sword…. so poignant. (I thought my head would explode.)
The Book of Counted Shadows to an all-important book that the Confessors just had in their library but had never read? Nobody, really? All these ages of time, nobody read it? Quickly, NOW bring it to missing-in-action wizard living on the other side of an impenetrable barrier! Then he never reads it and impulsively destoys it in a fire. I can’t wait to see how the last episode turns out. Darken Rahl probably does a magic show in the Garden of Life, then trips and falls on Richard’s sword.
Final objection: Richard’s attitude is that of a reluctant adolescent unwilling to accept responsibility. Does that even make sense? It’s horrible! Is this a coming of age story??? Should Richard be 14 years old?
Unrelated to the book at all: the special effects of this series is ludicrous. The budget for technology that Disney obviously gave them is being directed by a middle school student. Sparks. Lightning. Fire coming from hands. The sword (which is covered in symbols, by the way. why? Is it elven?) glows. And the acting! How many times does Richard put both hands over his head and jump down on someone leaving his whole body exposed? Horrible. Who wrote this garbage?
Richard built a small bridge over a shallow creek, and it was previously impossible to cross? This would deter anyone on horseback not to just wade through the water? He would travel miles north out of the way?? Sure. Pretty awful.
I’m going to watch the rest of the tv series because it’s like watching MST3K with my husband. I just wish I had a crow-shaped robot & a gumball machine.
I have no problem with deviations from the original. What i do have a problem with is when the deviations suck. This show had potential, but there are some seriously flaws that keep it from being TV worthy. Most notable are the terrible animation and the terrible acting. I also don’t understand why people think slow motion sword fighting is more impressive than regular speed sword fighting. It was cool in 300 because you got to see head/limbs/blood flying everywhere. The action in Legend of the Seeker involves a guy swinging a sword in slow motion, and then a guy falling over. Its not intense, its just boring.
The Gar looks fake too….. really fake.
The characters from the books are very multidimensional. The chosen actors are not. It is very disappointing.
I have no complaints about the D’harans, about Darken Rahl, about the boundary, or about the plot in general, but those poorly done elements ruin the show for me.
Adaptations, deviations, tv show blah blah blah. I get it.
The Legend of the Seeker draws crowds from fan of the books and fantasy fans alike, but to use that title and say it is based on the first book you have to stay a little more true to the story. Or just abandon the orignial because to sit somewhere in the middle is what kills this show for most people. It tries to tie in good memories with new stuff but the good memories are all that people can think of when watching the show and that is hard to cope with. I really tried to keep an open mind because I new it wasn’t going to be perfect but it was honestly painful to watch. The sad thing is I will probably catch an episode here and there because I am hoping against hope that something good will happen. Unlike some people I would love to see the exact same plot televised because it is such a good story. I am reading the books again because I enjoyed the heart-warming feelings that I came away from the books with. Anyway some of my pros and cons.
Pros:
-zedd wasn’t a bad cast in terms of look alike
-the boudary looked pretty sweet (although a bit thin haha)
Cons:
-fairly certain Kalhan would have cleavage hanging out of her dress like that and come on its disney that just not cool, if the show is that bad that this is your only way to draw people that is sad
-like most people say I saw richard older, even from the first book I never saw him as that young even when he was undeveloped.
-Book Richard’s intelligence and headstrongness is crucial to the character and this was lacking.
-Zedd is taller than Richard, this is not cool. I think of Richard as larger and more impressive even from the first book
- I could beat up those D’Harans. They need to be bigger better faster stronger. If not stay in westland and chill out cause there is nothing to worry about.
-Darken Rahl looked like too much of a pansy. He would have killed the dude who missed killing the seeker child on the spot thats just the way he is, ruthless. I would like some blonde hair please.
-Another con: I could do this all night
anyone who likes this show is an idiot, it’s just more hollywood product to keep the slaves glued to their idiot boxes absorbing the mind numbing advertising that is subliminally bombarded against our psyches daily. It says nothing! We have just ousted one of this countries most oppressive leaders and its time to take a stand a say something about the world we live in. Instead we get Hannah Montana, and other disney crap.(can you believe the spell checker wants disney capitalized!? IT SHOULDN’T EVEN BE IN THE DICTIONARY!) God I hated this show, the books weren’t half bad but still tame and meandering, but it least it made people question their own beliefs. SUBVERT! SUBVERT! SUBVERT!
IT”S YOUR LIFE. RISE UP! AND LIVE IT!
was it me or was the gar claymation ? ROFL!! The creators said the reason it was changed to a tv series and not the proposed movie was they didn’t feel a movie could properly portray the story of the first book! Well hmm did they read the first book?
Keep the names throw everything else away?
Someones getting arsenic for christmas!
I’ve read through a ton of reviews on several sites, and the conclusion I have
reached is that the more you love the books the more you will hate the TV
series! Those who have either not read the books or have read them but are not particularly fanatical about them, seem to not mind the TV series nearly as much as those of us who have never read anything better than Goodkind’s Sword of Truth series. I began reading them some months ago and am now on book ten. I’ve read hundreds upon hundreds of books, but this has been by far the most enjoyable reading experience of my life. So of course I am disappointed by the TV series. When you love a book or series of books that much, nothing will ever compare to the experience of reading them for the first time. I think that those of us who love the books so much are disappointed because we wanted that feeling of first reading the books to be recreated for us in this TV series, (to become “Goodkind virgins” again if you will) and that’s just not possible. The TV version may be ok, (bad acting and poor character representation aside), but it will never be the Sword of Truth. I’m just as dissatisfied as many of you are. But honestly, what did we expect? It’s Disney on the CW station for crying out loud! However, I have decided to follow the series regardless, and have vowed to no longer compare it to the books. There is no comparison, and with that thought in mind when next week’s episode airs, maybe I won’t want to beat my head against the wall at the injustice of such a literary masterpiece being shamelessly twisted and warped into something unrecognizable? I guess we’ll find out..
Hehe I will keep comparing them to the books because thats the only way I can get some amusement out off them. Based on the books is a gross overstatement or the reader was intelectual a infant. Positive point is that they keep changing so much comparing it 2 the books is a chalenge and watching how they keep putting in all kind off cliches is funny 2.
Negative the acting and dialogues and the very unrealistic/faulty scripting.
E1: The chase after Kahlan folowed by time to have a death scene.
E2: The big fight at the boundary we assemble all kind of force and magic users to force a entry and we send in fighters alone no magic users to back them up.
E3: The he hunts by sound I run in screaming and lets folow that girl inside the cave.
A lot of the time, I feel like I’m watching Hercules, Xena or Beastmaster.
In other words, I would have loved this show when I was 10. Now…not so much…
I’ll still watch it though, because I like the books so much. I’m just gonna wait and hope it gets awesome. Also, I kinda like the actor who plays Zedd. I think he’s done a pretty good job so far.
hmm in EP 3 I got also a highlander hint some bagpipe music
All references to the books are gone from the official site, as far as I good see.
Probally afraid people actual read the books
In a letter on Terry Goodkind’s home page addressed to the fans he writes, “The nature of TV syndication requires that each week’s episode be a story in itself, meaning that while the TV series will follow the background story of the book, it will not be able to follow the book exactly because there would be parts that would make an incomplete episode.” and later confirms “Sam Raimi and his team want to keep the TV series true to my vision, so rest assured that I am going to be intimately involved in the writing of each of the episodes. If you love the book just the way it is, then enjoy the book for what it is and come to the TV series prepared to enjoy the show for what it is.”
Logar I heard and believe through the same site tharTerry is to busy with writing a new book so he has no hand in this crap, doubt we really will mind that the murdering it as long as he gets money out of it. His basis interest are himself and others who are close to him, which is logical and is also the basic thinking in his books. Richard is the hero and he is rather selfinterested often missing the bigger picture that way but thats probally not wat you should notice as intended by Goodkind
Thats why Nathan is still my hero in the books he mixes altruisme with selfinterest.
Richard takes responsibility when self interest forces him.
I have been readin the Sword of Truth series for quite some time now. I also am a fan of the Wheel of Time series, Lord of the Rings, etc etc.
I heard about Legend of the Seeker when I went to the book store and noticed they changed the cover of Wizards First Rule. I was excited and made sure that I saved it on my DVR.
After watching the 1st 2 episodes I have this to say…
I don’t think that I need to even remotly go into the discrepencies from the novels. Yes I know that this is an adaptation and they even said there would be deviances from the books. However this was indeed a travesty.
For those who talk about the drastic differences between written and video, let me point a few things out.
When you transfer a story which did indeed have some lacking dialog, or even a great literary work of art, you CAN indeed make it video. Yes things will have to be changed or edited or downright left out. (1 of many possible examples is the exclusion of Tom Bombadil in the Movie of Fellowship of the Ring)
With 22 hour long (well about 45 minutes with commercials) episodes, there is a lot that could be covered. I originally expected them to throw in a few points of backstory as a lot of movies have done and have done well.
A few snipets that could have been put in…
Start with a pan in of the Westlands. Show Richard walking through the woods, but obviously thinking…..fade into some obvious flashbacks. Fade to Richard learning of his fathers Murder, the fight between Richard and Michael, Richard finding the vine, that would show viewers why he was there. 1 thing that should never have been altered is the relationships and character personalities. There is absolutly no excuse for those types of things to change.
There was no need to change the fact that Zedd cast the wizards webb to hide his identy from everyone. There was no reason to add the idiocy of a map that shows Richards location. The fact that any of the quad (of 5 men?) lived was bad. The vile nature of Darken Rahl and his reading the entrails and what not. No you dont have to show them on TV, but mentioning them in some way would have been a better start.
I could sit here and go on and on more than I have but the point is simple. There deviances from a book to go into a film version, however then there are Travesties on the scale of this, Battlefield Earth, Eragon, etc. The movies where they either made a movie from a 1 paragraph summary or they just heard rumor of the book and thought it sounded awesome.
The books were great! My favorite books of all time! No one is a bigger fan of the books then me, and I must say that I am soooooooooooooooooooooooo dissapointed in terry goodkind for letting such a horrible production be put out, ruining his books! What a disgrace to everything those books stood for, TRUTH!
To all those people who are “satisfied” or “think its better than nothing” or “are glad they get to see somones vision of SOT”, You need to read the book and if you have already you are a liberal hippy douche bag!
I COULD HAVE PERSONALLY CREATED A TELEVISION SERIES MUCH CLOSER TO THE BOOKS THAT WOULD HAVE BEEN GREAT!!!!! THIS IS A WASTE OF TIME.
You know, I could accept changes to the storyline as long as they follow the overall arc. Richard’s dad dies in the first episode? It’s all gravy. Kahlan dual wielding daggers? Yes, please. A quad is suddenly 5 men? A bit weird, but whatever.
What I can’t stand is that they make the Seeker to be more important than he is. Granted, it was important in the books, but not in the Chosen-One-With-Great-Powers way that the show makes it seem. Instead of being a position of power through one’s own abilities(which Richard very much lived up to in the books), it’s one that gives automatic power just by being being labeled the Seeker. People trip over themselves to make a big deal Richard is the Seeker. Simply awful.
What that does is make the series into just generic fantasy. We’ve seen this Chosen One story a million times before and that is why people who haven’t read the book are okay with it. They’ve seen it a million times and don’t expect anything else. To those who read the book, this show is mind-numbing because it doesn’t carry any of the weight of the book’s story. Sure at it’s base it was the same story we’ve all seen a million times, but the journey to the end was very much different and wonderful.
You can easily compare LotS with Hercules and Xena story-wise and that is *NOT* a good thing. The Chosen One Richard through brute force will kill Darken Rahl by impaling him with a glowing white sword that’s a result of his love for Kahlan. Enjoy your run-of-the-mill story, viewers, because you can be comfortable in knowing you won’t see anything new.
I watched the first episode and it was not good. Even if they kept to the book, the acting, action scenes, graphics and actors were bad. It is a sad ending to go with Goodkinds pathetic conclusion to this series. I think everyone who read the books and is a fan of this genre agrees that they went way downhill after book 5 or 6 (I really don’t care to remember). If you want to see read a great fantasy series read George RR Martin’s Ice and Fire series. And if you want to see the way it should be put to film watch it on HBO (hopefully) when they produce the first book Game of thrones.