Cool News
How Do Critics Find Raimi’s LEGEND OF THE SEEKER??
SPOILER ALERT !!
I am – Hercules!!
A new fantasy series from producer Sam Raimi (“Hercules,” “Xena”) and writer-producer Kenneth Biller (“The X-Files,” “Star Trek: Voyager,” “Smallville”), “Legend of the Seeker” is a new hourlong fantasy series based on the Terry Goodkind novel “Wizard’s First Rule.”
It’s about a woodsman-turned-magical-leader who joins a mysterious woman to stop a bloodthirsty tyrant. Bruce Spence, who played the pilot in the “Mad Max” movies, plays a wizard named Zedd.
The critics seem less than thrilled:
Newsday says:
… Raimi and Tapert have sleepwalked through the pilot. Viewers can only hope they awaken during the next 20 or so episodes. …
The Boston Herald says:
… the familiar rolling hills of New Zealand are back. And little else of interest. … Alas, you’ll be better entertained staring at a postcard.
The Los Angeles Times says:
… the series' two-hour opening is a bit of a goulash of "Star Wars," the Arthurian legends, "Superman" and the Bible. … It is, basically, good-looking fun, and if I say that much of this might have been written by a 12-year-old, you must understand that I mean that as a good thing. …
The Pittsburgh Post-Gazette says:
… may thrill some "LOTR" fans, but the content of the pilot is nothing original. Parents who think this fantasy series may be fine family fare should be warned: Some of the fight scenes are more violent than expected -- one match ends in a beheading.…
The Fresno Bee says:
… could not have been more dull if the creators had tried. The acting is amateurish. The action is sluggish. The story moves slower than a snail on a glacier. And it is just so bad there is really nothing funny about it. …
Variety says:
… There's nothing howlingly bad here (except perhaps for a few of the supporting performances), but nothing particularly distinctive, either. Rather, "Legend of the Seeker" feels like a hodgepodge of better sci-fi/fantasy fare, including slow-motion action sequences that looked way-cool in "300" and this time around merely feel like a cheap way of ensuring nobody gets clipped by an errant sword. …
The Hollywood Reporter says:
… Big on style but more challenged in terms of substance, "Seeker" demonstrates much production savvy but at the same time too little provocative/evocative interaction aside from the ultra-violent kind.
Most markets are airing this Saturday afternoons or early Saturday evenings. Check local listings.
Blu-Ray Players: $210.18!!
(They Play DVDs Too!!)
(Get Four Free WB Blu-Ray
Discs With Purchase!!)
Three-For-Two Blu-Ray Sale!!
Blu-Ray Players: $210.18!!
(They Play DVDs Too!!)
(Get Four Free WB Blu-Ray
Discs With Purchase!!)
Three-For-Two Blu-Ray Sale!!
-
+ Expand All
-
yeah i know it would be years for the first book
-
Always enjoyed all the random crap he's turned up in.. especially Hercules Returns.
-
I did try to read this series and it really did not do much for me...
-
not the best. Books 1 2 and 6 stand out for me. 6 especially because it reminds me of what Donaldson does to Thomas Covenant. So, I'll watch and hope to be entertained, meanwhile hoping for good adaptions of Jordan's Wheel and Zelazny's Amber. Both are massive series and would be thrilled with a great 2.5 - 3 hour film that covered the beginning of each series that then said, "this is all! go read the Great Hunt/Guns of Avalon! there'll be no more films! it's too big!"
-
the Prince of Darkness animation at the top. Cool.
-
on Comcast On Demand. Wow. Great stuff. How's that for indepth?
-
did you see the fan film "Rats" for Sin City? Miller liked it....
-
I've never read the books but the trailers looked pretty bad. At least it was filmed in NZ and not Canada though I suppose. And at least it's not the BBC's Merlin which I think is awful.P.S Jaybob - Midnight Meat Train is awesome. How it got buried I'll never know.
-
So this is no surprise.
-
...include the sadomasochistic female bodyguards clad in skintight red leather, I'll be fine. And yes, the books have those. No, you shouldn't rush to read them.
-
This is by far my favorite book series. I felt that it took some of the best ingredients in the average fantasy and spun them in completely different ways. I've heard they've changed up a lot of things from the book though and made it back into the more "generic" fantasy. Some of the things they supposedly have taken out were HUGE pieces of the later novels. I'll give the show a chance and view it as it is: a different story for a different media.
-
Nov 01, 2008 9:26:56 AM CDT
Hopefully they stretch out the first book all season long.
by stereotypical evil archer
That first book was awesome adolescent reading back in the day.There was violence,sexual tension, sadomasochism, creepy pedophile-like scenes, and a big FUCKING DRAGON.A lot of the magic was different than the crappy Dungeons & Dragons crap.
-
Nov 01, 2008 9:27:24 AM CDT
Dominatrixes in red leather called Mord-Sith
by stereotypical evil archer
Too hot for T.V.
-
Human sacrifice for magical divination. I wonder if they will show this stuff. After all that helped make Darken Rahl more dark.
-
Is in the book and on the cover art. How can they make that work on television?
-
Raimi will just dust off one of those Video-Toaster created monsters from the ol' Hercules+Xena shows, tint it red, and voila!!!! Dragons!
-
Didn't really inspire me to think they would pull these books off. Also, the 5pm timeslot has me worried the violence/torture/rape/ and sado-masichism will be largely underplayed taking away any tension from the series. Unfortunately, the book starts out slow and doesn't truly pick up till the middle for me. Not sure if they can wait for viewers to start getting invested till half-way through the season. My wife and I are fans of the book - so we'll watch it. I hope they find their pace later if the pilot doesn't capture it.
-
Let's see... the books were amateurish, generic, poorly written tripe. Big surprise that the show is the same. There are SO MANY other series more worthy of a good television treatment. I'll never finish reading that crap and I'll never watch this load of shit on television. What will I do? Patiently await HBO's treatment of the vastly superior George RR Martin books.
-
...for this sort of sprawling fantasy thing, but Terry Goodkind?Flimsy and superficial.
-
This really made me laugh: "...slow-motion action sequences that looked way-cool in "300" and this time around merely feel like a cheap way of ensuring nobody gets clipped by an errant sword..."Does this person not realise that slow motion sequences are actually acted at full speed; do they in fact think that slow motion is done by actors moving reaaallllyyyy ssslllllooooowwwwllllyyyyy and tttttaaaaaalllllkkkkkkiiiinnnngggg lllliiiikkkkkeeeee ttthhhhiiiiissssss.....
-
... even if the first season was the only really good one.
-
raw_bean, you've never done stage combat, have you? Most of the time you rehearse and work stage combat at half speed to be safe...
-
Bad Meat is wrong.
-
The first book WFR was fabulous. Loved the torture porn with the Mord-Sith. The next three books were very good too, but after that they weren't so great. I think the series looks great. I downloaded and watched the first 30 minutes from iTunes and I loved it.
-
Did they watch the first two hours or just the first hour?
Anyways, I really liked the first three books, and I thought the series had potential from seeing the previews. Not sure about the major change from the book, the reason Kahalan is escaping the Midlands, (they showed that in like the first 10 minutes on last week's preview), but I'm willing to give it a shot. -
Nov 01, 2008 3:29:26 PM CDT
To those that said the series went downhill after the first book
by dotren
Stone of Tears (book 2) gets better on each reading imo and Faith of the Fallen (book 6) is one of the best of the series. Of the last three: Chainfire was ok, Phantom was a lot better, and Confessor was really really good.. great way to finish the series.
-
Hercules and Xena were unwatchable shit. This will be more of the same New Zealand factory TV product crap. That country can make some amazing films and TV. This will not be the good stuff.
-
Here's proof:
http://www.g4tv.com/attackoftheshow/moviesandtv/65535/Bridget-Regan-Interview.html -
don't watch another *tweens Save The World* story
-
don't wanna watch...
-
I have read and loved the whole series.I agree that the Song of Fire and Ice is better and cannot wait for the HBO series. Given all that I still had high hopes for this series. Well after watching the first 2 hours I have decided never to watch it again and tell all the other fans I meet not to watch it. They changed way too much from the books and it just doesn't work. This makes me very sad. I hope the adaptations of WoT and Song of Fire and Ice are better.
-
It has no spark, no grab, no heart. It's just a lifeless carcass being kicked around to simulate fun and excitement. More miss than hit. Next...
-
just finished the first hour. Its not great, but okay for a tv show. I've seen worse. the dialogue is corny, the characters and the plot are cliche and predictable, but the action and special effects are okay. The sword of truth--o brother, but i'll keep watching it for now.
-
(stupid enter key). Um, characters aren't 'tweens', I forget their age but they are at least 18. Anyways, I just saw the first hour - here they are showing the main show on Sundays and repeating the previous one on Saturdays, so they only showed the first hour today. Yeah, some changes, but it's obvious they are trying to get the story moving as quickly as possible. The whole first hour seemed to be about giving as much info to the viewers as possible while still trying to make it all seem urgent. I'd bet the second hour is the same way. So you shouldn't really decide on the show until next week, where the show truly starts.
I am happy to finally see a fantasy series on TV, particularly one telling a continuous story, and not just totally episodic like Xena and Hercules. -
Glad to see a fantasy show on tv that at least attempts to take the story seriously, isn't over the top retarded like Xena or Hercules. I'll give it a shot.
-
Great to see him working. He's a favorite.
-
Love the dark hair blue eyes combo!! And the fantasy/sci-fi elements are cool!!
-
I enjoyed the books. The first 2 hours were the first 2 books minus a ton of information. Based on the editing they did I have no clue how they're going to carry on with the story. Books were far better as usual. the TV show wasn't bad...but it needs to pickup the pace.
-
Thats all this gets. I watched it and was bored to tears.
-
It's not brilliant, but it's got some lovely costumes, sets and music. That and it's a decent kids escapist fantasy show. Would be great if they get a bit more serious, but seems the only fantasy show to do that lately is Lord Of The Rings and everyone else seems to want to keep their fantasy for kids.
-
Nov 02, 2008 4:34:37 AM CST
Wizard's First Stool (as in poop) most miserable fantasy series
by slackattack
I want the handful of days back from when I tried to read the first Goodkind book. A Fire and Ice series on HBO would be a thing of beauty.
-
I heard one time that this ' Sword of Truth ' thing was rip-off of Robert Jordan's ' Wheel of Time '. Don't remember.
-
Nov 02, 2008 9:26:41 AM CST
PTSDPete, No,it's not a rip-off, vastly different stories.
by stereotypical evil archer
-
Nov 02, 2008 9:27:24 AM CST
Legend of the Seeker sucked. That was bad acting.
by stereotypical evil archer
-
oh god, no, please no
-
"you’ll be better entertained staring at a postcard." AHAHAHAHA!! That's hilarious.
-
http://tinyurl.com/5wkl9u
-
...pisses all over this shitty, shitty series. The "Mord Sith" can suck my cock.
-
Loved that Heartbow
-
now I know there's nothing worth staying home for on Saturdays. I have enjoyed the books, and was really excited to hear about the visual adaptation, but then the more I started to see/hear/read about it, the less I wanted to. First off the cast is shit, then most of the major plot points are dumped in favour of quick explinations and fast swordwork, and then it sets up for week-to-week adventures, instead of doing a broad story arc. This would have worked so much better as a 6 hour miniseries.
-
I don't think the cast is shit, but they certainly ejected almost all of the main plot points and subtlety of the books. The SFX are also pure crap as well.
-
...if it followed the books exactly. It have to have graphic amounts of hardcore sex and violence. It would have to be on HBO or Showtime. A basic cable TV show would have to be so cleaned up that it would suck, just like this "Legend of the Seeker" shit.
-
HBO has already used its option on ASOIAF. It remains to be seen if they actually go on with the series, but yeah, if it's going to air, it's going to be on HBO.
-
If you're going to make an adolescent sexually-charged fantasy epic for TV, you need to make THE WAR OF POWERS and get your writers onto WAR OF POWERS II: ISTU AWAKENED. Fantastic stuff, and which can probably only have been made in the last few years on a TV budget - floating sky cities, war eagles, ghosts ("Shades" in this) walking around with regular people...
These two books are awesome. Make them instead of this crap, please. -
I agree...George R R Martin is the shit and his series is soooooo much better. But he will never finish it before he dies of a heart attack.
-
I think I remember those books! Aliens with two cocks, wasn't it?
-
Jan 09, 2010 4:37:07 PM CST
this show is really more of Rob Tapert's creation than Sam Raimi
by bychance
Poor him. Ever since Spider-Man Sam Raimi has been overshadowing his partner. Even has taken credit for his wife in a few articles I've read.
"... even if the first season was the only really good one."
Actually, its gets far better after the first season up until season five.
"I am happy to finally see a fantasy series on TV, particularly one telling a continuous story, and not just totally episodic like Xena and Hercules."
I can't speak for Hercules, but Xena did have a continuous storyline, especially in season three and four.
Readers Talkback
User Login
Top Talkbacks
- AVENGERS enemy revealed as pink boardgame pieces... You might suffer some form of elation... SPOILERS!!! -- 151 total posts 140 posts
- There's a STAR TREK video game that is going to lead into JJ's STAR TREK 2 apparently... -- 128 total posts 94 posts
- Whitney Houston 1963 - 2012 -- 92 total posts 91 posts
- To Commemorate The 3D Release Of STAR WARS EPISODE I: THE PHANTOM MENACE, George Lucas Wants You To Know...Greedo Shoots First!! -- 474 total posts 70 posts
- Here's The Red Band Trailer For Drafthouse Films' THE FP! -- 64 total posts 64 posts
- New JUDGE DREDD post production footage pops up -- 51 total posts 51 posts
- Friday Brings SWEEPS DAY NINE!! Gab Here About Tonight’s FRINGE!! Plus Einstein on TIM, Wiig On PORTLANDIA, MAHER, CLONE, GIFTED, GRIMM, SPARTACUS, SUPERNATURAL, GOLD RUSH And More!! -- 116 total posts 41 posts
- Wanna smell like the Hulk? What about Cap? Consider yourself a Thunder God or a unisex God of Mischief? -- 71 total posts 40 posts
- HANNA's Saoirse Ronan to boss around seven little people -- 35 total posts 35 posts
- Does ‘SNL’ Rhyme With ‘Deschanel’?? Learn Which SATURDAY NIGHT LIVE Vet Hosts After Sexy Zooey!! -- 35 total posts 34 posts