Terry Goodkind’s The Sword of Truth novels are considered by some as an equal to the better known Lord of the Rings novels. I cannot attest to that claim however, I’ve never read a Goodkind novel… but I do find it interesting that there’s a television series that is bringing the stories to your homes: Legend of the Seeker.
There are a couple of big names behind this production too, namely Sam Raimi (yes, that Sam Raimi) and his buddy Robert Tapert whom are listed amongst the executive producers of the show. With Raimi involved, it doesn’t surprise me that the show looks great (more on that later), I am guessing this show is getting good gobs of cash thrown at it.
I have watched the first two episodes now. It introduces our young hero Richard Cypher (played by Craig Horner), the beautiful Kahlan Amnell (played by Bridget Regan), a wizened Zeddicus Z’ul Zorander (played by Bruce Spence), along with a few other known faces. I believe the first two episodes were shown together as a two-hour special when it first aired, and to be honest, it felt more like a 2 hour episode than two separate episodes in a series.
And what did I think of Legend of the Seeker? It’s prompted me to add it to my list of shows to watch this year. The show looks fantastic; for the most part what makes the show beautiful to watch is the scenery. The land this tale is told in is sometimes lush with the greenery of open plains, and other times dark and claustrophobic in a deadened forest. We have men in full platemail, wizards in tattered robes, and common folk looking all too commony. Together the show just looks great, allowing you to suspend disbelief and allow yourself to be engrossed in the characters and story that unfolds.
I don’t really want to talk about the episode itself, especially if you have not read the novels before. I loved the opening sequence though; I was unsure of what to expect when I started watching it, but I was right into it as soon as it started. I can tell you that this world is one that is rife with magics, appears to have a deep lore (which I am sure comes from the stack of books in the series), a history of politics between neighboring nations, and it becomes quite apparent things are coming to a head… and Richard Cypher finds himself right in the middle of it all.
If you cannot tell, I really enjoyed the first two episodes. That is not to say that I don’t have a few issues with the show. I found that Richard was a tad too plain a man to be the hero he is destined to be - and perhaps that is the whole point; a simple regular guy becomes an epic world-saving warrior. I guess I’ll have to watch some more to see how this all pans out. The actor does do a great job in playing his character, I just felt that he is introduced a little too weakly… so it is more of a writing issue than an acting one methinks.
And Zedd… that dude really looks wacky. I couldn’t help feel that, while the actor does play the role well… I dunno… maybe his makeup made him look a little too freaky? Something about his look made me a little uneasy about the character, although his quips and humor makes him rather likable. I know he’s played by the awkward-looking Bruce Spence, so what can I expect… right? Heheheheh, he’s a great actor, so I’ll stop complaining. He just needs to look more, I dunno, alive?
I was really happy to find the campy Xena/Hercules-style of delivery was replaced with a more serious tone. I think the genre is now ready for the masses with movies like Lord of the Rings having made its great appeal to a wider audience. I think fantasy on television has grown up, and Legend of the Seeker might prove to be a show that can appeal to an adult audience without having to act silly just to keep the tone a little lighter. That’s not to say that Legend of the Seeker was without humor, there are some rather funny moments… but the tone is just more serious than the last generation of shows that came out a decade ago.
In digging up others’ feelings about the television series, I wanted to see what fans of the novels felt about the show; it didn’t take much searching though. The very first comment I read was from the main IMDB page for the show:
“… I have to say that so far I am rather disappointed with the tract that the show has taken. I was excited to see the WFR (Wizard’s First Rule) story. It seems the show I am watching is actually some unknown stories with some characters that have the same names of the beloved characters in the books. If give the chance I would love to ask Mr. Goodkind one question,”you wrote one of the greatest stories ever. You have millions upon millions of fans that read and loved that story. Why sir, would you not take the opportunity to show the story as you had written it?” Let your fans see the story as it appears in your mind.”
That saddens me when I read comments like this about something I found enjoyable - it is so hard to guage things. I am not an avid reader myself, so I don’t often encounter the “book is better than the movie” syndrome personally. I do know that it has afflicted many friends of mine in the past though, so I always keep their voice and opinions in-mind when I start to hear complaints about how different a movie is, or how far a movie strays from the original telling. These types of complaints always concern me because it leaves me wondering if what I am seeing is so watered down that I am robbing myself by watching it and not reading the book(s).
I’ll still watch this series though. I’ve liked what I’ve seen so far… and perhaps if I like it enough, I may entertain the idea of picking up the books and seeing for myself if the show truly deviated from the original.
As of right now there are 7 episodes that have aired. ABC is currently replaying them, and the (new) 8th episode is slated to be aired on January 10th. If you want to catch up with the new episodes, I see that Hulu has the first 7 episodes online for your viewing (cannot be seen from Canada, Grrr!) - don’t be confused with the listing of only 6 episodes on Hulu, the first two are combined… remember?
So in short (gah, how on Earth can I call this post short?) I think this show deserves a chance. Queue it up for some watching, get caught up and join me in watching it next week. Legend of the Seeker looks as though it’ll be a good ride, even if it might stray from the books… just try to keep your expectations in check when you are watching it as a fan of the books. This might not be the exact show you were expecting, but I am hoping that it’ll satiate the cravings of the Goodkind fans out there.
I know that I’ll be watching it.
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I have often found the best way to approach something that exists in two mediums (book and screen) is to view them as two different tales. Even with gobs of money being thrown at Legend of the Seeker, to make Wizard’s First Rule 100% accurate from the page to the screen would have taken an enormous budget (consider that the first season of the TV show Rome which was only 12 episodes cost over 100 million dollars to make). Instead, its better to take Jim Butcher’s advice on the TV version of his own Dresden novels, “The show is not the books. It is not meant to follow the same story. It is meant as an alternate world, where the overall background and story-world is similar, but not all the same things happen. The show is not attempting to recreate the books on a chapter-by-chapter or even story-by-story basis.”
I agree Jason - that is a good way of thinking about it, and is similar to how I try to think of it, only your words are better.
Stories should be told in the best way that reflects the distribution medium, and this case, as with most book adaptations, it required rejigging the story to fit the medium.
It sounds like you have read the books, what’s your assessment of the story told through Legend of the Seeker (so far)?
I have not read the books, so I don’t need to deal with comparisons. My wife and I had been watching it and enjoying it for what it is. Sadly, the long break they tossed in with all the reruns have caused us to lose interest. Hopefully we will regain that interest soon.
Heya Ethic - good to hear someone else is watching this show.
I watched episode 3 last night, and I felt it quite a bit weaker than the first two. I am hoping the series turns out the be stronger than that episode, and I expect to watch the next 5 this week so that I am all caught up.
Did you find that episode weak too? It is the one where the Seeker is approached by the barmaid to save her brother, who’s been captured by some demony thing in a cave. I dunno, something about the plot and writing felt weaker than the first two episodes that aired together - was it just me?
Hehheheheh
Oddly enough, I’ve not read Goodkind’s books. But I have had this discussion over a number of things, more often when it comes to comic books being made into movies and how they have to cram 20, 30 or 60 years of history into 2 hours making a good story while not losing the essence of the character even if they have to lose many of the specifics along the way. I was, however, a huge fan of the Dresden Files TV show and am a huge of the books. Those two are so different, and yet they both so clearly come from the same inspiration.
Goodkind’s books are on my list of things to read because of the TV show, though I am fully prepared to be faced with a new story and not just a text version of the show I’ve already seen.
The funny thing about stories presented in two mediums is that people usually defend which ever one they were exposed to first. People who were long time fans of Lord of the Rings in book form may feel the movies are good too, but they’ll defer to the book as being “better”, while people who saw the movies first often can’t sit through reading the books due to the change of pace (much slower) in the text version of the tale. Of course, this really only applies when it is good in both mediums. When a story is well told in one, while completely butchered in another, experiencing both will often let you understand why one worked and the other didn’t.
Episode 3 felt like a Xena episode compared to the other 6 episodes. I enjoyed the episode though because it highlighted Richard’s naivete which I’m hoping disappears or lessens after this weekend’s new episode.
I’ve read all the books but I don’t mind the changes. There are things I’m not happy with but I get over it fairly quickly. This show is addicting (multiple viewing of all 7 episodes) and I haven’t figured out why yet.
Well to me it seems that the over-arcing story is falling to the wayside as merely an excuse for these people to be together and wandering through the woods. They keep getting side-tracked with tasks that don’t always add to the plot. Thankfully, some of the later episodes did feel like they moved the main story along some. I just worry they will mostly get side-tracked.
@skritek does make a good point, they are very easy to watch multiple times. That’s got to be good for something right there.
My wife and I are HUGE fans of this series (book) and had absolutely no idea that a TV Series was ever considered, let alone that one exists! (The Wizard’s First Rule being my favorite of the series…)
I’m very interested in this….
Jason: I agree with you on all counts! I happen to have read the LoTR books before the movies came out (I made a point to ensure I did), and I loved both mediums… although I still felt the books were superior in story telling. I guess as people, we’re just funny that way, eh?
skritek: Exactly what I was thinking! I did not want to say “Xena”, because I think the map-guy was from Xena, no? (I never really watched Xena much, so it is a guess) But yah, totally reminded me of a Xena without a strong campy-feel to it.
I am also happy to head that upcoming episodes advance the story, I was a tad concerned after last night’s viewing.
Ethic: I can see myself buying this on Bluray, if most episodes are more like the opening 2 episodes… so it is good to hear you feel it is multi-watch-worthy.
RXZEPHYR: Ya! I am surprised that more people are not aware of this. I had not heard of it, personally.
I wonder if it has to do with having a completely different title from (any of) the books? I think an audience is being missed due to the title difference alone - which is too bad for the fans, and likely a poor decision for the show, its cast, and the television network.
as one who has read the series and watched the show i feel that they almost purposfully slacked off on the story. they deliver the story in the first two episodes quite well and in general follow the books. however when you change things and details and events that happen for a reason and you do it constantly to the point where the series is nothing like the books ( to the scale of the eragon movie) theres almost no excuse. you have 11 books to work off of. dedicate 15-20 episodes to a book and youve got a long series. it feels like they tried to at first but when that took a little bit of work they said (and pardon my french) fuck it well just do this. and karnatos anyone whos read the books would hit on the fact that its probably based on it as the title is legend of the seeker. richard rahl being the seeker. you are missing out on an amazing story by not reading the books because the show does them absolutely no justice. and to the fans that have read the books im still waiting on the episode where we get to see kahlan ride around on a horse naked.
I truly wish that they’d delivered for the fans of the books before they tried to appease either ABC or other financial backers - you’d think that they’d want to stay true to a story that is loved by so many… would that not be the reason for choosing this body of work in the first place?
I’m going to be honest here - I stopped watching the series around episode 10. I still have them sitting on the PVR (with that, Castle, and Dollhouse on it.. that PVR’s getting full!), and I do intend on watching them some time soon.
But it saddens me that they deviated so heavily from the books - from what I have been hearing, it is a shame.
Perhaps I’ll have to pick up the books - your comment prompted me to check and see if the local library has them… and they do. So I guess I have no excuse, other than I am an abysmally slow reader, I should give them a try.
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