Shannara Chronicles

[robp]

This debuted on UK TV last night, has anyone else seen it?  I remember reading the first book or two as a teenager, was struck at the time how much like LotR it was plot-wise.  So the show confused me - I'd forgotten it was set post-apocalypse. Also they have started with one of the later books, Elf Stones of Shannara

All that aside - scenery and settings looked good in places. Characterwise it did nothing for me. I thought everyone looked like they had stepped out of a pop video, perfect teeth, buff bodies...and I found it hard to take Elves wearing t-shirts seriously. The acting and plot were ok, but I'm guessing this is maybe aimed as a US teen audience?

There's little to recommend it to anyone interested in gritty fantasy, or even "deep" high fantasy.  I feel again that despite the success of GoT in TV and the current crop of "real fantasy" authors such as Abercrombie, we are being served up a family-friendly, teen fantasy lite. I may watch the next epdisode just to see, but I don' think it's going to hold my interest

[Jason Aiken]

The pilot episode really won me over. They aired it here in the U.S. as basically a two hour movie with limited commercial interruptions. I felt like I was watching Lord of the Rings, that's how good the productions values looked. It really is a testament to the type of fantasy New Zealand can produce. True, it has a who's who of Hollywood uber producers funding it, but still, this is a good looking show from a visual standpoint. I watch every week right after Teen Wolf.

Both Teen Wolf and this are definitely cast with an eye towards young teenage viewers, but the stories are actually pretty good.

[andys]

Feb 26, 2016 7:04:37 GMT -5 robp said:

All that aside - scenery and settings looked good in places. Characterwise it did nothing for me. I thought everyone looked like they had stepped out of a pop video, perfect teeth, buff bodies...and I found it hard to take Elves wearing t-shirts seriously. The acting and plot were ok, but I'm guessing this is maybe aimed as a US teen audience?

Yes, it airs on MTV in the U.S. It's interesting in that they've basically taken Brooks's work and sort of retrofitted it in the aesthetic of current day YA-stories. There are parts of it that evoke the Hunger Games movies and their knock-offs more than epic fantasy works.

I keep meaning to watch it some more because it does have really good production values and it seems like the reviews get more positive as it goes along.

[Jason Aiken]

The season finale aired here last night in the U.S. Overall, I enjoyed the season. The "Utopia" episode was a dud, but the rest were pretty solid, some were even great.

I'm not sure where they're going to go from here. I became interested enough in the show to read up on some of the books, and it seems the tv series may diverge, or possibly fill in some story.

I'd watch another season. A solid cast, and some fantastic visuals, it at least makes a case for New Zealand to produce new fantasy television series. I miss the days of Hercules, Xena, and Highlander.

[finarvyn]

Just picked up the Shannara Chronicles on DVD and my wife and I watched the whole season. We thought it was pretty good overall. I agree that the end was a bit of a dud, but I think it matched the way the Elfstones book ended so I guess I shouldn't complain too much.

I did start reading the Wishsong book, which I assume is the next one to be filmed, and it has some character overlap. The main characters are children of main characters from Elfstones, so I assume that there will be some measure of crossover with the actors from the first season but overall will probably feature a new cast. Actually, one thing that turned me off to Brooks' series was that each time he seemed to start over with a new generation so just about the time I got to like a set of characters I had to start to learn a new group. I like a bit more continuity.