Shannara Chronicles
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The new fantasy series on MTV began this week. It's pretty good. The first episode (of 10 weeks in all) is based on Terry Brooks novel The Elfstones of Shannara, which I first read in the early 1980s. It's actually the second book in the series (The Sword of Shannara was first), and was my favorite of the early Shannara novels (there are about 20 now).
What I liked most about this novel was the characters. Terry Brooks was a pale imitator of Tolkien, with much more pedestrian prose. But his plots and characters were always enjoyable.
The MTV series (I've only seen the two hour opening so far) mucks with the characters' personalities in ways I didn't care for, but I still found the story enjoyable. MTV, catering to a largely teen-age audience, has made Amberle sexier and a lot more of a fighter than she was in the books, and made Wil Ohmsford dumber and less experienced. Eritrea they got about right. Allanon isn't tall enough, but King Eventine is close to perfect.
Like the Lord of the Rings and the Hobbit, the series was filmed in New Zealand so the scenery is fantastic. The production values and CGI are also pretty high, about comparable to Game of Thrones, which I bet has a much higher budget. It's a good start so far. I recommend it especially to those of you who remember the novels. Just don't get turned off by the teenage angst and Hunger Games stuff and give it a chance to grow on you.
AubreyMaturin
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…it was horrible...I had to stop watching it as I kept turning it into a MST3K session...
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There finally is some news about Season 2 of the Shannara Chronicles. Production has begun. MTV has not set a release date yet, but industry speculation is that it will be in the summer of 2017. The first season aired (in the USA) during Jan-Mar 2016.
In a recent interview, Shannara author Terry Brooks revealed the result of the big debate over whether Season 2 would continue where Season 1 left off or cover the next novel in the series: The Wishsong of Shannara, which begins about 20 years after the end of the narrative in the Elfstones of Shannoara and has a mostly new cast. Brooks said he lobbied for the latter, but MTV wanted to keep the current cast because fans have invested so much in them. Consequently, Season 2 will cover new ground not in the novels, though Brooks believes some parts of the Wishsong might be added.
AubreyMaturin
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MTV finally announced on April 20th that Shannara Chronicles has been renewed for a second season. That's all the announcement said. No word yet on when they will begin filming, which cast members are returning, whether it will follow Terry Brooks next novel in the sequence (The Wishsong of Shannara) or when we will see it. But the fans are excited.
AubreyMaturin
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So I downloaded the first 2-4 episodes of this show, but then I kind of forgot about it. Was a huge fan of the Shannara series when I was a kid. I think I read all of them (at the time). I mean, my first and main Narfell character was/is named "Allanon" after all. Mostly because I was a dumb unoriginal teenager when I started Narfing.
I found the TV show to be OK. The acting is kind of poor and melodramatic, very much aimed at teenagers. Reminds me of Game of Thrones meets Twilight or something. That being said, it's not terrible, and I enjoyed seeing Terry Brooks' world brought to life. Will probably go look for more episodes now that this thread reminded me of it.
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The DVD of the Shannara Chronicles Season 1 will be released on 7 June. The price will be $30.00 US. It will include all 10 episodes (about 450 minutes) plus 30 minutes of special commentary. There has been no word yet on Season 2 as MTV has not announced the cast, the start of filming, or what it will cover, if the story goes on.
AubreyMaturin
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I promised a final review of The Shannara Chronicles Season 1 after the final episode, so here it is. I will try hard not to let on any spoilers. I was pleased with MTV's effort and cannot emphasize enough how high the production values, costumes, and scenery were. Many who have seen the show and commented online heartily disliked it, especially some who knew the books well and were looking for a replay. It didn't happen. The show departed significantly from the narrative in the books.
I was not one of those mad at the show. In fact, I found myself counting the days and hours left before each episode in a way I haven't done since Star Trek The Next Generation 25 years ago. It was that impressive. Yes, it's different than the book. I think one reason they called it The Shannara Chronicles rather than The Elfstones of Shannara is because they departed so much from the text. Terry Brooks was an executive consultant on the series and must have approved the changes. The show also incorporates some material that appeared in his novel Armageddon's Children, published 25 years after the original.
As I mentioned in my first review, the personalities and motivations of the three main characters are all different. For the most part, I approved of the changes. Amberle in the book was a very meek young woman, barely older than a girl, and totally helpless. In the show, they made her a fierce feminist and fighter. She's still rather naïve, and not that competent a fighter, but she wasn't such a dead weight. Wil Ohmsford in the book was competent, world-wise, and appropriately heroic, despite some self doubts. In the MTV show he is much less worldly, somewhat goofy and bumbling at times, but charming and appropriately heroic when needed. Eretria in the book was a sweetheart whose primary motivation was to win Wil's heart and get away from her rover family. The show made her cynical, seductive, bisexual, and a really bad-ass fighter. She plays a larger role in the quest than in the book, where she was very brave and helpful. In the end I cared more about what happened to her than to the others.
When I first read the book in 1983, I hated the ending. After rereading it later once the shock and surprise had worn off, I came to appreciate it. I was worried that the MTV show would change it. They did not. They kept the original ending, though some of the details are different. But after the scene that ends the book, they tacked on two brief cliff-hangers that suggest they will not begin the second season with the next book, The Wishsong of Shannara, but will continue with the surviving characters from this one and totally new scripts that aren't in the books. Or perhaps they will just add a few episodes as a bridge before beginning the next story, which takes place 20 years later in a different part of the world with an (almost) totally new cast. Whichever it is, I will be looking forward to it.
AubreyMaturin
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Well, I've now seen eight (of 10) episodes of the Shannara Chronicles. The MTV television series continues to depart more and more from the narrative in the books, bending more towards a post-apocalyptic world than a true fantasy world. The last two episodes reminded me more of Wasteland than the Shannara series.
In fact, nothing that happened in either episode 7 or 8 occurred that way in the books. That's not necessarily detrimental. After all, much of the action in Peter Jackson's three Hobbit movies wasn't from the book.
The Shannara Chronicles remains an above average fantasy narrative with relatively high production values and good CGI. I am fully invested in the three main characters: Wil, Amberle, and Eretria. I look forward to each time they appear on screen, eager to see what they will do next.
The show-runners also have included some cleverly placed Easter Eggs paying homage to modern geek icons like D&D, Steampunk, and Star Trek.There are only two episodes left in this season, and a lot of ground still to cover (unless they change the ending). MTV has not yet announced whether there will be a Season Two, but I suspect that they will. With new characters introduced that aren't in the originals, the next season may or may not pick up with the beginning of the next novel The Wishsong of Shannara, which takes place twenty years later in another part of the world.
I will wait until the first series finishes in two weeks to offer my final review.
AubreyMaturin
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For those of you still on the fence over this MTV adaptation, here is my review of the fourth episode. My first reaction on seeing it was similar to my first reaction after seeing the movie versions of the Lord of the Rings: Two Towers and Harry Potter: The Prisoner of Askaban. Those were my favorite books in the series and at first I was mad that they changed the characters' personalities and motivations. Some of these were better (Aragorn, Legolas, and Gimli are all more interesting than they were in the books), but I really disliked how they changed Faramir, Treebeard, Ron, and Hermoine.
But I got over the changes when I saw the movies again, now knowing what was different. Eventually, Peter Jackson's Two Towers and Alfonso Cuaron's Prisoner of Askaban became my favorite movies in the series and I have watched those versions more times than any other.
The same thing happened after I watched The Shannara Chronicles Episode 4 for a second time. OK, they changed the characters personalities and stuff happens that's not in the book. But now it made sense and fit the narrative they were trying to tell. I'm all in! I can't wait for Episode Five and all the rest. It's not going to be the same as the books, at least not exactly.
AubreyMaturin
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I saw episode Three last night. I think it's getting better. It was actually scary. Yes, it's aimed at an 17-28 audience and I couldn't stand the MTV commercials, but I thought the story moved along well and stuck reasonably close to the book plot. One new character that's not in the book was introduced in this episode, so I wonder what other changes they have in mind. I say, give it some time and appreciate it for what it is.
AubreyMaturin
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@e58e3fefef=Lagermane:
Sadly IMHO this show doesn't run with his strengths, relying on admittedly lovely visuals to try an cover poorly-cast actors who deliver unconvincing performances with a badly-adapted script.
Sounds like "Legend of the Seeker" (couldn't stomach past the pilot episode). I'll still try Shannara regardless.
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Tried it. Couldn't shake the feeling that I was watching Beverly Hills 90210 with elves. Stopped trying it.
Terry Brooks' early stuff is unashamedly brazen Tolkien ripoff (to give him credit, while he never gets noticeably better as a writer he does develop originality and fresher plots) but it's well-executed ripoff. I loved his stuff when I was in elementary school and even now I will occasionally give it a read when I'm ill and don't want to think too hard (Raymond Feist is also good for this). Sadly IMHO this show doesn't run with his strengths, relying on admittedly lovely visuals to try an cover poorly-cast actors who deliver unconvincing performances with a badly-adapted script.
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The trailer looked really good. I'll have to wait for DvD release though.
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I give credit to the ambition for making an attempt! I will be following this regardless
