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I just watched the pilot of The Legend of the Seeker. It was really good. It is based on the books by Terry Goodkind and has Stephen Tolkin and Sam Raimi heading things up. I am really looking forward to following this series, which is confirmed for at least 22 episodes. It is a real gamers show. What did the rest of you think?
RPG Superstar 2008 Top 32, 2011 Top 16
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I liked the first half better than the second half. I'll probably keep watching it, since there realy isn't a lot (or any) fantasy shows out there, and it is well made. My biggest issues are with some of the plot/story, which I'm pretty sure is from the source material as opposed to the adaptation for TV.
I also wish they'd stop their every now and then bizare slow motion 2 seconds that they put in roughly half of the fight scenes. And also stop having the main character make a big jump to get into another part of the fight with his sword coming down in an overhand swing...especially when they then cut to him actually attacking someone next using a horizontal slash. Just show him running across the scene and get where he needs to be in the nick of time.
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I agree with your assessment of some of the technical aspects and the one glaring plot hole you mentioned. I personally didn't like the part when they name him the Seeker and then lightning starts striking his sword ala He-Man. I assume some of the other things will be explained with time. I would have liked to see Jay Laga'aia stick around, since including him would have given a better explination of some of the things that happened. Based on the way the rest of the show went I'm going to go out on a limb and say
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RPG Superstar 2008 Top 32, 2011 Top 16
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** spoiler omitted **
And I missed the premier (and forgot to dvr it)(stupid Longhorns making me watch them break my heart...), are they showing it again any time soon?
For your spoiler, If that's the case, the show missed a chance to have 2 lines of dialoge that explained that.
As for if episodes are being repeated, that depends on where it's showing locally. Since it's a syndicated show, each TV market has a different channel airing it, and it would be up to them how much to re-play it. I know that in the Chicago area, it was on WGN and is being re-played at least once before next week's episode.
I would have liked to see Jay Laga'aia stick around, since including him would have given a better explination of some of the things that happened. Based on the way the rest of the show went I'm going to go out on a limb and say
Spoiler:Richard gain some skill as a swordsman by drilling with Chase, and the Darken Rahl is Richard's real father.
According to IMDb, Jay Laga'aia is a series regular, so presumably they come up with an explanation for him to go adventuring.
As for Richard's part 2
As for the second bit,
I like Raimi & Tapert, and the production values are top-shelf, but the "super-(white)-boy saves the world" premise is getting a little stale. But, I'm an epic fantasy fan, and this is the only(?!) fantasy TV show on right now, and it has the potential to become more emotionally complex. The actors for Richard & Kahlen have to loosen up a bit though, they seem to take it a bit more seriously than everybody else, and it makes them come across as a bit stiff.
Enjoyable. I'd say it is much better than your typical TV fantasy, including most sci-fi channel originals. Although, I'd agree that part I came off better than part II. I'm guessing the difficulty here was cutting material down to the time limit.
Was it just me, or where there some odd scene cuts at commercials? I know I didn't miss anything, because it was DVR'd.
Between this, Crusoe, and Heroes, there is more on TV than I have watched in a long time.
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Special effects were pretty good for a TV fantasy series, certainly better than XENA or HERCULES.
They pretty well stripped all the meat from the original plot and left a bare-bones skeleton of generic fantasy.
I'll probably still watch it, and just pretend that it has nothing to do with the book series, sort of like Starship Troopers.
I wish they'd given Zedd the same kind of funny/mischievous personality he has in the books. Bruce Spence would be perfect for the role...why are they forcing him to be a bland Explication Wizard?
They need to get the same fight choreographers they had on "Xena." One of the best things about that show was that the actors (and their stunt doubles) really looked good fighting, and could do it in real time without having to rely on slo-mo effects all the time.
Given what they did with the Book of Counted Shadows, it looks like the uber-plot involving Darken Rahl and his goals is going to be different than in the novel. Interesting to see where they go with it, and I hope they don't screw it up.
I eagerly await feasting my eyes on some Mord-Sith. Hope they don't screw them up, either.
I completely forgot that this was coming out and just stumbled on it this weekend by accident. In a fit if coincidence I also just finished reading the book series on Friday.
My first impression was a bit of disappointment since it was all fresh in my mind from the books, but on reflection I realize that there's no way to really effectively convey everything from the books over to TV.
So for what it is I'm interested to see where it goes. It's already strayed significantly from the books, so I'm looking at it as a series based loosely on the world and characters, but that's about it.
And I agree with whoever said it earlier...I'm looking forward to how the Mord Sith are portrayed.
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"Oh, yes, that makes perfect sense," says Quinn as he rolls his eyes.
"I'll take first watch with Splug. The sunrod should last long enough, and if not, I got a pair of me own."
With that, he'll sit down on his bedroll and lean back against a wall.
"Splug, I'll be needin' to know what you plan on doin' once ye're out of here. You just admitted to bein' a snitch, and if what ye say was true, then it was for a good enough reason. However, if ye were to snitch on us it would truly ruin me day. I'll be needin' you to try really hard to convince me to let you go before we're done here."
Looks around...I be thinking ye posted in the wrong spot, sir dwarf.
Looks around...I be thinking ye posted in the wrong spot, sir dwarf."Oh, yes, that makes perfect sense," says Quinn as he rolls his eyes.
"I'll take first watch with Splug. The sunrod should last long enough, and if not, I got a pair of me own."
With that, he'll sit down on his bedroll and lean back against a wall.
"Splug, I'll be needin' to know what you plan on doin' once ye're out of here. You just admitted to bein' a snitch, and if what ye say was true, then it was for a good enough reason. However, if ye were to snitch on us it would truly ruin me day. I'll be needin' you to try really hard to convince me to let you go before we're done here."
Deleted, tabbed browsing gets confusing. :)
And I missed the premier (and forgot to dvr it)(stupid Longhorns making me watch them break my heart...), are they showing it again any time soon?
Try here .
I missed Saturday's episode :(
Anyone know of a place to watch it online?
Try here
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Try hereI missed Saturday's episode :(
Anyone know of a place to watch it online?
Thank you, Franz. Much apprecited this is.
It may be me, but every time I hear them mention "The Seeker", I always hear The Who's song.
Well, I understand that in an upcoming episode, Richard encounters Bobby Dylan and the Beatles and asks for their help in defeating Darken Rahl. They are unable to render any, however.
Timothy Leary's appearance had to be cut due to the special effects expense.
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RPG Superstar 2008 Top 32, 2011 Top 16
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Every time Zed uses his "wizard's fire" I think " don't they think we know burning hands when we see it? They must figure us for having low spellcraft skills."Did anyone else catch the blatant D&D reference by the map maker in the latest episode?
I don't see it as burning hands actually, but more like a scorching ray. It seems to be single target and do decent damage.
Wizard's Life Fire is even awesomer. Too bad you can only do it once.
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I thought the story with Brenan was really good. The idea that the town that had suffered the worst tragey under Darken Rahl would react by becoming rabid supporters, at least on the surface, is an interesting twist.
I think the series is generally trending upward.
@ David
** spoiler omitted **
OK, I went back and watched it, and you are right. While I might be right, I was over-interpreting.
Trying hard to like the series, despite the horrible slo-mo fight scenes and the shaky-cam even when filming two people sitting and talking. Zedd is gradually starting to act a little bit more Zedd-ish. (Come on, people, you've got Bruce Spence...use him!)
But sweet dancing zombie Jesus, why would Kahlan go riding up to the gates of a D'Haran-occupied town wearing her white Confessor dress?
Regarding Richard's parentage:
Richard never seems to wonder why, if he was born in the Midlands, he wound up living in Westland on the other side of an impassable-for-centuries magical barrier. Not very inquisitive for a Seeker of Truth.
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Ah, came here this morning to see if anyone was discussing this or not.
Got a big budget from ABC Family but apparently not very much advertising; we only heard about it through word of mouth of a player in my Pathfinder campaign.
The pilot was "hero's journey", sure, that's fine but literally replaced characters and situations directly from Star Wars' A New Hope, which had us all cringing. After that, the 3 regularly aired episodes have been really super.
I was skeptical at first, but then heard that Raimi and Tapert were behind it and so I sat up straight. Great fantasy stuff, and yes we all caught the D&D reference. :-)
-DM Jeff
Missed the pilot but watched the most recent episode with the psychic kid. I wanted to like it. I'm usually a big fan of Raimi and Tapert's stuff (especially if they get Bruce involved), but it just didn't grab me. I don't know, maybe I've gotten spoiled with some of the good shows the last few years. I don't think this show is going to cut it for me.
Now, if they get Bruce Campbell on board for a story arc, I'll be right back with them...
Edit: My apologies if this shows up more than once. I've been playing with the PostMonster, who seems to not like anything resembling criticism of this show :)
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Missed the pilot but watched the most recent episode with the psychic kid. I wanted to like it. I'm usually a big fan of Raimi and Tapert's stuff (especially if they get Bruce involved), but it just didn't grab me. I don't know, maybe I've gotten spoiled with some of the good shows the last few years. I don't think this show is going to cut it for me.
I actually liked the pschic kid episode. Not only did we get some new insight into Richard and the confessor, but he was not the normal good hearted and exploited psychic kid. He was was le infante terrible and was more than willing to exploit others with his gift as much as they exploited him.
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RPG Superstar 2008 Top 32, 2011 Top 16
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I was a bit annoyed with the psychic kid episode in some minor ways. Mainly at the end - I wanted to just scream at the TV that it was dumb, dumb, dumb that they had to have a rushed goodbye scene, because, the door was closing. They can open the door on their own. For that matter, they could have all gone through the door, and then left when their goodbyes were done.
I also wish there was just a bit more continuity between episodes. At the end of this episode, it was mentioned that there was trouble somewhere else (I forget the name), but the scenes from next week's episode didn't seem to have anything to do with that. Either don't make the reference, or make the reference match the following episdoe - that shouldn't be too hard.
The good news was that there were no sudden slow-mo bits to the fight scenes - I hope that we're done with those!
This is starting up again this weekend with "Denna."
From the preview images I've seen, Denna herself looks great and they've got the Mord-Sith look down pat. But Denna has a long blonde braid, which makes me suspect they may be planning to combine her character with Cara.
If so, that's a decision that will make fans of the books cringe, but it's really not surprising considering the liberties they've taken so far.
I thought this show was complete trash. I didn't read the books, but my friend who did was equally disgusted when he saw this.
The acting is sub-par at best, the plot is boring, predictable, and unoriginal, and the special effects are cheesy.
I just hope they don't do this to the Song of Ice and Fire tv show when it comes out.
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Never read the books so I am not expecting anything except entertainment. I like this show and so does my dad.
Lots of people have bagged it because of the books... books not equal good tv and visa versa.
Denna was AWESOME! She is one mistress of pain... not that I like pain mind you... I like Denna. :)
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I thought this show was complete trash. I didn't read the books, but my friend who did was equally disgusted when he saw this.
The acting is sub-par at best, the plot is boring, predictable, and unoriginal, and the special effects are cheesy.
I just hope they don't do this to the Song of Ice and Fire tv show when it comes out.
I thought HBO was doing Song of Ice and Fire. If so, you have nothing to worry about, me thinks. They did an excellent job with "Rome", so I think they have the chops to pull of Martin's books.
I thought HBO was doing Song of Ice and Fire. If so, you have nothing to worry about, me thinks. They did an excellent job with "Rome", so I think they have the chops to pull of Martin's books.
"Rome" was phenomenal. I just finished watching "John Adams" as well; I was prepared to be a very tough critic, but as it turns out I was VERY pleasantly surprised; much of the dialogue is right out of his letters, so it's not like they were just pulling history out of random orifices (I would have liked it better if James Madison had at least had a cameo, or just had his name mentioned once, but you can't win 'em all). As a fan of "Ice and Fire," I think HBO would do a very fine job indeed with it.
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The Sopranos, Deadwood, Oz, Generation: Kill, Carnival (which I didn't like, seemed like a "Twin Peaks - The Great Depression Years" knock-off, but it was well produced). HBO does well with episodic programming. Throw in Entourage, Larry David and Flight of the Conchords, and HBO almost seems like the last bastion of decent television.
John Adams rocked!
** spoiler omitted **
And I missed the premier (and forgot to dvr it)(stupid Longhorns making me watch them break my heart...), are they showing it again any time soon?
For your spoiler, If that's the case, the show missed a chance to have 2 lines of dialoge that explained that.
As for if episodes are being repeated, that depends on where it's showing locally. Since it's a syndicated show, each TV market has a different channel airing it, and it would be up to them how much to re-play it. I know that in the Chicago area, it was on WGN and is being re-played at least once before next week's episode.
They haven't stressed it at all, but they have said in the series that Richard has gotten the skill of the previous Seekers. It's just easy to miss.
