Episode 1 aired on UK Freeview last night and I must admit to being disappointed, but I was probably expecting too much. What I was expecting was a film/TV version of the original Shannara Trilogy, not a mishmash of all the Shannara books ever written. References to the pre-Shannara (i.e. 'our') world presumably appear in the "Heritage" series which was written well after the first book of the first trilogy was written in 1977 so I was very surprised to see a Troll wearing Vibram-soled boots. Also the Elfstones only appear in the second book of the trilogy (unsurprisingly called The Elfstones of Shannara), not right at the beginning of the saga. Add in the wooden acting and gratuitous (or maybe just cheaper and easier) overuse of CGI to the overwhelming sense of cognitive dissonance that I was feeling and I switched off before the end of the episode.
I watched it last night as well, and it was pretty much as I Expected: trashy, fun, and 100% better than Beowulf. To address your points:
1) They always said they where adapting the second book; 2) although Shea has the elfstones in the first - you need to reread it; 3) Post-apocalyptic setting was hinted at as far back as the first book, and gets stronger as the series progresses; 4) it's was hardly great literature in the first place, deviating from the books isn't much of a sin; 5) i like the exotic landscapes - on a TV budget they where never going to be convincing, but it's better than looking at dreary Northumbria.
@Shandyr - as far as episode 7, I assume that is down to 'Evil Boss' overconfidence. He never figured that anyone would live to make use of the information. Or something...
As far as episode 8, meh. No one ever said this was HIGH art. I suppose that someone somewhere could have made sense of it.
@Nonnahswriter Hey, just wanted to say thanks for pointing out this show to me. I was so excited when I read your post that I went out and watched it immediately.
I read all the books as a kid. I have read them multiple times since, as well. Terry Brooks was one of my favorite authors of all time. He even sent me a letter of congratulations when I had achieved something monumental in my life.
That being said, I am not necessarily a purist. I don't really care if the shows do exactly stick to the story or not, but if anyone here is wondering, from what I saw (the first 40 minutes of episode 1) they have done as great job sticking to the feel of the stories as they could. The elves were exactly how described and portrayed (like proud, isolationist humans with pointy ears--and yes, they do have beards in the books, so stop complaining), and the story seemed to get off to a good start. It is a fantasy setting placed after a post-apocalyptic civilization, with technology far more advanced than our own, which destroyed itself. There were no records kept, but it is implied that it took place in America.
Unfortunately, a huge criticism of mine is the lack of family-friendliness; by that I mean blood/gore, and nudity/sensuality. The books were incredibly family friendly, and I had planned on reading them with my kids when they got old enough to start having stories read to them. I was so excited when these shows came out, only to be immediately crushed by the fact that they have tried to turn these books into a hormone-rager. I had to stop after the undershot of the Changeling's ass, while she stood there with her titties hanging out all over the place and making out all over that other demon. I also found the scene with the bloody, tortured child during Amberle's vision to be very disturbing and not at all in keeping with the feel of the books. That scene was followed immediately by a demon ripping guts out of a dead elf's throat.
There was zero nudity or sex, and there was not any graphic descriptions of blood and gore (just basic combat and magic action, less violent than any fiction that I have read), in any of the books. Although the "love triangle" between the 3 protagonists was hinted at in the 2nd book, it was by no means any sort of driving plot, like they have tried to make it out to be. I didn't even notice it the first time I read them until I read the books later.
Overall, I am incredibly disappointed that MTV has tried to turn this wonderful series into a teenage soap opera of gore and sensuality. I would not want my children watching them until they are teenagers.
I'm not even sure that I feel comfortable watching them. I haven't got the guts to finish the first episode yet, although I have read a few reviews.
I am worried that most traidional fans of the books will be put off by this attempt to introduce too much adult content into the shows. The stories, despite my total love for them, are incredibly cliche. That also makes me worried that it will be unable to attract enough newer viewers. (For those of you who never read the books, just wait until you see the end...very cliche.) I fear that it may be doomed (I am Xan).
Can anyone confirm for me if they continue with the same tone and feel in regards to this as in the first episode?
@Shandyr I love the stories, don't get me wrong. But they are super predictable and cliche. I think part of that is because the books are kind of old, but also immensely popular, so a lot of current writers in pop-culture (media as well as novels) have borrowed a lot from the series. They definitely fall into the standard mold for fantasy settings.
That is unfortunate about the character development in the shows... The characters are actually very well developed in the books. Will is a graduated healer and sure leader from the beginning, Amber is a quiet, withdrawn and haunted woman, and Eretreia (sp?) is a capable and cocky but good hearted woman who wants to marry Will from the moment she meets him (because she wants to escape the rover life and her father). Totally cheesy and cliche, but still developed and probably new(er) when the books first came out.
The fanservice and gore is very disappointing. I could have got past the lousy implementation of the character developement, and been ok with the veer from the plot. But introducing adult themes into these books is on the same level as doing it with C.S. Lewis' The Lion, The Witch, and he Wardrobe, or Mark Twain's Huckleburry Fin. It's just wrong.
I don't care if they do it in game of thrones, or other shows of that genre, because they were designed and written for adults. But this feels to me like a perversion of something warm and good in the name of the almighty dollar. I don't watch game of thrones or any thing else on that genre because I don't prefer it, but this is different than that. It's like Sesame Street goes to Las Vegas to promote gambling in the strip-clubs. Definitely not as blatant as game of thrones, but somehow worse.
So the season just wrapped up last night. I won't spoil anything, but by the way they left it, we'll definitely see a season 2. Or at least, if we don't, there will be many riots and bonfires set to MTV's workplace.
I haven't read the books, but I can tell you how they ended the show in spoilers brackets:
The head-honcho demon was killed, Amberlee became the tree after she and Will consummated their love, Eretria stayed behind in Safehold to fight the orc hordes and let them get away (and Will rightly left the elf city to go rescue her at the end of the episode), Ander lost his lady but stays king, Allanon is still Allanon, and it's looking like Bandon is going to be the next villain in the new season.
TL;DR: they finished the main conflict of the first season, but there's still plenty left to resolve in season 2.
Attention! Do not read if you don't want spoilers to the end of the series!!!!!!!!!
That is the end of the book, but I don't remember everything that you are referring to. It feels like they added some more stuff. For example, Eretria and Will didn't consummate their love before Amberle became the tree. Will was actually more attracted to Amberle than Eretria, but she decided to become the tree to save her people before any sort of romantic relationship had started between any of them. Despite how convinced Eretria was that she was going to marry Will one day, and her repeated comments to Will that, "I was made for you, WIll Ohmsford" (yes, actual cheesy line from the book), her attraction/love for him was unrequited.
Only read if you want a potential spoiler of the next show!!!!! (although I don't know what they are planning on doing with the show because if seems that they may not have stayed exactly to the book, so this may be wrong.)
After the battle, Eretria nursed Will back to health and it is implied that they got married and started a family once WIll realized that he was not going to be able to be with Amberle. Eretria was Will's second choice, but I guess she was fine with that as long as she got her man. That is the end of the 2nd book. The events of the 3rd book happen to the children of Will and Eretria.
The enemies of the elves are orcs, not demons??? WTF! Also, I don't remember the name Bandon in the books. Could you please tell me what he does in the show? And last but not least, did they include Stee Jans, the leader of border legion conscript/criminal army? He was one of my favorite characters. Hmm... maybe I should just watch the freaking show. Despite the cheese, I love the books so much!
Haven't seen the last episode yet, but I remembered how the book ended, and have been trying very hard not to say.
They have several options for series 2. They could flash back and do Sword. Since the eponymous weapon returns in book four they aught to explain what it does.
Doing Wishsong without alteration would mean an almost completly new cast (apart from YKW). So they might prefer to deviate from the books in order to retain the cast.
Attention! Do not read if you don't want spoilers to the end of the series!!!!!!!!!
That is the end of the book, but I don't remember everything that you are referring to. It feels like they added some more stuff. For example, Eretria and Will didn't consummate their love before Amberle became the tree. Will was actually more attracted to Amberle than Eretria, but she decided to become the tree to save her people before any sort of romantic relationship had started between any of them. Despite how convinced Eretria was that she was going to marry Will one day, and her repeated comments to Will that, "I was made for you, WIll Ohmsford" (yes, actual cheesy line from the book), her attraction/love for him was unrequited.
Only read if you want a potential spoiler of the next show!!!!! (although I don't know what they are planning on doing with the show because if seems that they may not have stayed exactly to the book, so this may be wrong.)
After the battle, Eretria nursed Will back to health and it is implied that they got married and started a family once WIll realized that he was not going to be able to be with Amberle. Eretria was Will's second choice, but I guess she was fine with that as long as she got her man. That is the end of the 2nd book. The events of the 3rd book happen to the children of Will and Eretria.
Question for Nonnahswriter:
The enemies of the elves are orcs, not demons??? WTF! Also, I don't remember the name Bandon in the books. Could you please tell me what he does in the show? And last but not least, did they include Stee Jans, the leader of border legion conscript/criminal army? He was one of my favorite characters. Hmm... maybe I should just watch the freaking show. Despite the cheese, I love the books so much!
I said Will and Amberlee consummated, not Will and Eretria. I think you read something wrong.
But I meant demons, and typed orcs because they reminded me a lot of the orcs in the Lord of the Rings. That was my mistake. Sorry!
Bandon is a seer that Will and company rescued on their journey. He was brought back to Arborlon to be trained under Allanon, but things went bad when the Dagdamor got inside Bandon's head, and now he's gone possessed-psycho-murder-crazy. Who's the villain of the next Shannara book? Could they have brought Bandon in earlier to build him up into whatever we expect in the sequel?
Sorry, I did read something wrong about what you said. I thought you meant that Wil and Eretria slept together, implying that Amberle became the tree out of a broken heart or jealousy or something. That would have been cheesier than the books.
Thanks for the clarification about the orcs/demons.
I take it that they didn't use Stee Jans from your lack of comment on him. Pity.
I did some research on Bandon, and found out that he is a character that MTV created. He did not exist in the books... I was wondering how I forgot something like that! I never forgot, because it didn't exist.
There was no one that could use magic to effectively fight the demons except for Allanon (trained as a Druid) and Wil (via the use of the elfstones due to his Shannara heritage). That was the whole reason why Allanon had to use Wil... he actually made the point to Wil, when trying to convince him to help, that he would use someone else if he could, one of the reasons being that he didn't like the Ohmsfords, but there was absolutely no one else who could fight the demons with magic. The only two people in the nation that could use magic at the time were Wil and Allanon. So... this character Bandon, rescued by Wil, who is capable of using magic as Allanon's apprentice, is kind of a wild card. I don't know what plans they have for him.
Contains massive spoilers about the next book/show and from the first book. Contains hypothesis about the guy you asked about.
The villain of the 3rd novel is actually a book of evil magic, called the Ildatch, that the villain of the first book, Brona the fallen Druid, used to gain his power. A group of Brona's former followers got a hold of the Ildatch after the death of Brona and studied the book in an effort to bring themselves to power. (I think they also wanted to resurrect Brona, but my memory is a little foggy on that.) This group of people, after being exposed to the evil magic of the book, became enslaved to the power of the magic in the book and lost most of their physical form, in exchange for power. They are called the Mord Wraiths. Perhaps Bandon is going to be leader of the Mord Wraiths...? I don't know, they didn't have a leader. It was more of a hive mind that was being controlled by the book. Maybe Bandon is a way to give a face to what was specifically written as a faceless enemy. Allanon comes to Wil and Eretria's children with the goal of defeating the Mord Wraiths and destroying the book. It plays out very nicely.
General information about aspects of the book, not necessarily spoilers:
The interesting thing about magic in these stories is that it has kind of an addictive quality to it, like a drug. It causes some pretty insane character dynamics that are difficult to predict once the story progresses past the first 3 novels. I always really liked that addictive aspect. Another aspect of magic is that it only exists because it is believed to exist... so as the story progresses, you see times when there is greater magic and lesser magic, all based on the beliefs of the nations and individuals in the stories. In a way, magic is powered by belief. This actually plays out nicely in the Elfstones of Shannara when Wil realizes that the only reason he had difficulty using the elfstones was not because he was only partially elvish, but because he had developed a mental block from using them out of fear of their power over and effect on him.
@Nonnahswriter No problem. Like I said, Terry Brooks is one of my favorite authors. He has written a lot of great books. I like his Magic Kingdom For Sale books, as well. They are certainly written for a more adult audience. He is best known for the Shannara books. The first few were pretty cliche, but I really think that is because so many authors in recent years have borrowed from him. I haven't read the Shannara books that he has written in the last 10 years. Just haven't had the motivation or time. But I've heard that they are good as well. Maybe I will pick them up.
So, for those who have seen the season finale, what was your thoughts on it?
For me, it was a bit weak. Without being spoilerish, it felt like they had written themselves into a place that didn't allow forward movement and so they just reversed direction on several key plot points. Anyone else see something different?
To me, it felt rushed, and there were a lot of details that they just sorta glossed over. For example:
Ander's brother killing his beloved right in front of him. Ander paid more attention to the fact he had to kill his brother a second time to put him at peace, which would make sense, but after that they never bothered to go back to his commander and mourn her death. She was just dead and gone, no mention of it when Ander spoke with Allanon. That felt incredibly shallow to me.
The Dagdamor's death felt really anticlimactic too. Allanon just cuts off his head while he's distracted with Will. Really? You expect your audience to believe the Dagdamor is that stupid, that he didn't think to watch the druid in the room? Really?
(Then again, your audience is willingly watching MTV, so...)
Don't really know what you mean by the idea that they didn't allow forward movement. With
Bandon's release, Will off to rescue Eretria, and the hooded figure Eretria recognized
there's still plenty left for them to go from in the start of the second season.
Amberlee gets consumed by the bloodfire where she encounters (her future self/alternate self) the other chick. Gets told that she is the seed and that she can't go back to be with Wil. Then she does. ???
So I get it that Eretreia had to go, and that they were setting up season 2 with her just being left. That just felt kind of rushed. They go to all the trouble of rescuing her over and over again. Then she just drops the gate and is gone?
I get for the purposes of the story the trip back from Safe Hold needed to be short-ish. But really? It takes a whole season to get there. They ride back in what looks like an afternoon? Really?
The elves set up for this great siege of demons. The king says they outnumber the elves by 1,000 to 1? WTF? Even if there were 100,000, the elves only have 1,000 defenders? Sorry, the Elves AND the Gnomes? Okay, small potatoes, but it sets up my next complaint. They are besieged by this nebulous hoard yet they are still able to break the enemy lines enough for Allanon and the king and a hand full of gnomes to go out and rescue Wil and Amberlee. Really?
So they have the obligatory sex seen between Wil and Amberlee, which itself felt quite forced. Okay, maybe just poor actors? But still.
Then there's the stuff you mentioned. The "Final Battle" did seem quite rushed, like it should have been an episode (or two) all to itself.
I agree that they set up season 2 quite well with various threads. Just saying that the final episode of season 1 just felt not as good as the episodes leading up to it. Still enjoyed it.
I agree that they set up season 2 quite well with various threads. Just saying that the final episode of season 1 just felt not as good as the episodes leading up to it. Still enjoyed it.
Wow...they really butchered the story and...somehow...against all odds...made it even more cliche and cheesy than the books. My cheesy...is overwhelmed.
Contains info on the 2nd book.
Let me just say that Allanon's battle with Dagda Mor is much more epic in the book. It takes place in the sky on a flying demon and a giant eagle. They battle each other with magic, because Dagda Mor cannot be killed with a sword. Allanon ages significantly because of how much magic he had to use (magic in the books takes from a character's age and/or lifeforce), so it is made out to be a significant sacrifice that Allanon made, one which is realized in the next book. Ander's beloved was such a trivial character in the book that I don't remember what happened to her. I think she died in the battle...or maybe she survived? Ander's brother, Arion, was an arrogant brat who was killed in the battle due to a tactical mistake that he made. Unsure what purpose adding this extra drama in the show served when there was plenty of drama to be found elsewhere. The conversation that Amberlee had in the bloodfire is not really portrayed. She realizes though that she can't be with Wil because of what she has to do. And there's no sex (have I said that yet?). Eretria doesn't need to get rescued after the tree is made. They just end the book. Sounds like they are going to add some extra stuff to the stories there. Same with this guy Bandon. The trip back from safe hold was short because they flew back on Giant Eagles that were trained by the sky elves. A kid sky elf found Wil and Amberlee...nevermind, it's a long story, but it makes sense and is actually a not cheesy part of the book, even if it borrowed from Tolkien. I take it there were no flying Eagles in the show... The demons did significantly outnumber the elves (no ratio is given), but they were aided by the conscript border legion army, the rock trolls, and the dwarves. They held out for a few days by using specific battle tactics in two walled gorges to limit the amount of demons that could come at them at a time. They survived those few days due to their own intelligence in how they developed their strategy, which is pretty interesting imo. Also, Allanon's magic made a difference. No one broke out from the demon lines to rescue Wil and Amberlee. They were completely alone because the Reaper killed their escort within he first few days after setting out from Arbolorn... that is until they met up with Eretria and that kid sky elf. Eretria was not even really apart of the story until that point, and even then she was kind of out of place (that was intentionally designed by the writer, not an out of place like a mistake...more like she didn't really belong with them and she knew it). There was no way for Allanon and company to even know the progress of Wil and Amberlee until they showed up to turn Amberlee into the tree. Which (obviously) is at the last minute.
I don't know how they did it...I didn't even know that it was possible...props to you, MTV. You accomplished what I thought was the impossible: you increased the cliche-ness.
Unless I missed them there weren't any Dwarves at all in the show. I kept waiting for them to show up. I also would have liked more background about the Gnomes. Also what are the 4 lands that they kept referring to?
the following are spoilers that are found out in the first book. Some of it is gone over at the beginning. Some of it is discovered as you progress. Reading may pique your interest enough to pick up the books. But if you are already planning on reading them, don't read the following.
The four lands are the following.
The northlands: Mostly barren mountainous rugged terrain inhabited by the rock trolls. The rock trolls had been enslaved by Brona, the Warlock Lord, during the first book. The westlands: Mostly mountainous forests, with some swamps. Inhabited by the elves. The northern edge of the westlands was disputed violently between the trolls and the elves. Although there is not any real hatred between them, it's more of a tense truce. The eastlands: Also mountainous forest, but more rugged and much more dangerous than the west. Also has lots of swamps and ruins of the old civilization. Homeland of both the dwarves and the gnomes, who are bitter, hated enemies. The gnomes are evil, barbaric, black magic worshipping and superstitious clansman that war amongst themselves. The dwarves are more civilized, similar to humans, but are terrified of underground. The southlands: Inhabited by the humans. The southlands are interesting because at the beginning of the story, they are a loosely organized feudal society that is barely able to keep themselves fed with a few city-state exceptions, such as those on the borderlands (northern southlands) which had the most dealing with the other races and tthe Druids. Shady Vale is just south-west of the borderlands in the southlands. As the story progresses, they become different. Tell me if you want spoiler to the later books. If you plan on reading the books, I don't want to spoil anything. It is integral to the plot.
Brief history of the four lands (from memory)
After the fallout at the end of the apocalyptic war that destroyed the old world, the races started to emerge from their respective hiding places and began to war like animals amongst themselves. The Druids were formed (by the elves I think) to try to find peace between the races. They served as mediators. They divided the land into four segments, with the Druid fortress, Paranor, in the center. Each of the races were then allowed to inhabit their homelands in peace. Whenever they say "the four lands" they are referring to those four nations. The gnomes could not ever organize themselves to be anything more than slaves of a higher power or something akin to terrorists.
Brief introductory history of the races
Each of the five races has a specific history as to how and why they ended up the way that they did. Most of them are descended from humans, with the exception of the elves. The other four races turned out the way they did due to their time during the apocalypse. The trolls stayed up in the mountains, exposed to the fallout and terrible conditions of post-war. That is why their skins is so tough and they are so strong. They took on the character of the mountains and rocks where they lived. They are a sort of loosely organized family-tribal society that holds honor in high esteem. The gnomes lived in the forests, and were directly exposed to the elements as well. Instead of adapting physically, it seems that their minds were affected with a sort of hereditary fanatic insanity. Some of them are so savage that they resemble predatory animals that live in packs. There are exceptions, such as the Stors, who have sworn off violence and dedicated their life to healing, pacifism, peaceful silence, and meditation. The dwarves spent the time underground, which caused them to become short but wide in strength. They inherited a racial claustrophobia and fear of undergound as a result. They hate the gnomes, but have always been allies of the elves. They organize themselves well and build well-defended cities above ground. The humans are descended from those people who were able to find shelter in bunkers during the Great War. They are the most numerous, but also the most xenophobic and the most evolving plot-line in the books. The elves are a different matter altogether. They existed before the Great War, but were hidden, sort of like real life fairies that stay away from people. They were primarily protected during the apocalypse, but the resulting time afterwards in dealing with the Druids and the four races made them forget who they were and evolve to be more like humans. They still posses magic, but during the time of the 2nd book it's more like an old but unused and forgotten tradition. I think they were primary leaders of the Druids and the four lands as the world came out of the apocalypse.
Comments
1) They always said they where adapting the second book;
2) although Shea has the elfstones in the first - you need to reread it;
3) Post-apocalyptic setting was hinted at as far back as the first book, and gets stronger as the series progresses;
4) it's was hardly great literature in the first place, deviating from the books isn't much of a sin;
5) i like the exotic landscapes - on a TV budget they where never going to be convincing, but it's better than looking at dreary Northumbria.
As far as episode 8, meh. No one ever said this was HIGH art. I suppose that someone somewhere could have made sense of it.
Hey, just wanted to say thanks for pointing out this show to me. I was so excited when I read your post that I went out and watched it immediately.
I read all the books as a kid. I have read them multiple times since, as well. Terry Brooks was one of my favorite authors of all time. He even sent me a letter of congratulations when I had achieved something monumental in my life.
That being said, I am not necessarily a purist. I don't really care if the shows do exactly stick to the story or not, but if anyone here is wondering, from what I saw (the first 40 minutes of episode 1) they have done as great job sticking to the feel of the stories as they could. The elves were exactly how described and portrayed (like proud, isolationist humans with pointy ears--and yes, they do have beards in the books, so stop complaining), and the story seemed to get off to a good start. It is a fantasy setting placed after a post-apocalyptic civilization, with technology far more advanced than our own, which destroyed itself. There were no records kept, but it is implied that it took place in America.
Unfortunately, a huge criticism of mine is the lack of family-friendliness; by that I mean blood/gore, and nudity/sensuality. The books were incredibly family friendly, and I had planned on reading them with my kids when they got old enough to start having stories read to them. I was so excited when these shows came out, only to be immediately crushed by the fact that they have tried to turn these books into a hormone-rager. I had to stop after the undershot of the Changeling's ass, while she stood there with her titties hanging out all over the place and making out all over that other demon. I also found the scene with the bloody, tortured child during Amberle's vision to be very disturbing and not at all in keeping with the feel of the books. That scene was followed immediately by a demon ripping guts out of a dead elf's throat.
There was zero nudity or sex, and there was not any graphic descriptions of blood and gore (just basic combat and magic action, less violent than any fiction that I have read), in any of the books. Although the "love triangle" between the 3 protagonists was hinted at in the 2nd book, it was by no means any sort of driving plot, like they have tried to make it out to be. I didn't even notice it the first time I read them until I read the books later.
Overall, I am incredibly disappointed that MTV has tried to turn this wonderful series into a teenage soap opera of gore and sensuality. I would not want my children watching them until they are teenagers.
I'm not even sure that I feel comfortable watching them. I haven't got the guts to finish the first episode yet, although I have read a few reviews.
I am worried that most traidional fans of the books will be put off by this attempt to introduce too much adult content into the shows. The stories, despite my total love for them, are incredibly cliche. That also makes me worried that it will be unable to attract enough newer viewers. (For those of you who never read the books, just wait until you see the end...very cliche.) I fear that it may be doomed (I am Xan).
Can anyone confirm for me if they continue with the same tone and feel in regards to this as in the first episode?
I love the stories, don't get me wrong. But they are super predictable and cliche. I think part of that is because the books are kind of old, but also immensely popular, so a lot of current writers in pop-culture (media as well as novels) have borrowed a lot from the series. They definitely fall into the standard mold for fantasy settings.
That is unfortunate about the character development in the shows... The characters are actually very well developed in the books. Will is a graduated healer and sure leader from the beginning, Amber is a quiet, withdrawn and haunted woman, and Eretreia (sp?) is a capable and cocky but good hearted woman who wants to marry Will from the moment she meets him (because she wants to escape the rover life and her father). Totally cheesy and cliche, but still developed and probably new(er) when the books first came out.
The fanservice and gore is very disappointing. I could have got past the lousy implementation of the character developement, and been ok with the veer from the plot. But introducing adult themes into these books is on the same level as doing it with C.S. Lewis' The Lion, The Witch, and he Wardrobe, or Mark Twain's Huckleburry Fin. It's just wrong.
I don't care if they do it in game of thrones, or other shows of that genre, because they were designed and written for adults. But this feels to me like a perversion of something warm and good in the name of the almighty dollar. I don't watch game of thrones or any thing else on that genre because I don't prefer it, but this is different than that. It's like Sesame Street goes to Las Vegas to promote gambling in the strip-clubs. Definitely not as blatant as game of thrones, but somehow worse.
I reckon Beowulf wouldn't have been cancelled so quickly if it had more gratuitous nudity.
Did they finish up the book?
TL;DR: they finished the main conflict of the first season, but there's still plenty left to resolve in season 2.
That is the end of the book, but I don't remember everything that you are referring to. It feels like they added some more stuff. For example, Eretria and Will didn't consummate their love before Amberle became the tree. Will was actually more attracted to Amberle than Eretria, but she decided to become the tree to save her people before any sort of romantic relationship had started between any of them. Despite how convinced Eretria was that she was going to marry Will one day, and her repeated comments to Will that, "I was made for you, WIll Ohmsford" (yes, actual cheesy line from the book), her attraction/love for him was unrequited.
Only read if you want a potential spoiler of the next show!!!!! (although I don't know what they are planning on doing with the show because if seems that they may not have stayed exactly to the book, so this may be wrong.)
Question for @Nonnahswriter:
They have several options for series 2. They could flash back and do Sword. Since the eponymous weapon returns in book four they aught to explain what it does.
Doing Wishsong without alteration would mean an almost completly new cast (apart from YKW). So they might prefer to deviate from the books in order to retain the cast.
But I meant demons, and typed orcs because they reminded me a lot of the orcs in the Lord of the Rings. That was my mistake. Sorry!
Bandon is a seer that Will and company rescued on their journey. He was brought back to Arborlon to be trained under Allanon, but things went bad when the Dagdamor got inside Bandon's head, and now he's gone possessed-psycho-murder-crazy. Who's the villain of the next Shannara book? Could they have brought Bandon in earlier to build him up into whatever we expect in the sequel?
Response to your post.
Sorry, I did read something wrong about what you said. I thought you meant that Wil and Eretria slept together, implying that Amberle became the tree out of a broken heart or jealousy or something. That would have been cheesier than the books.
Thanks for the clarification about the orcs/demons.
I take it that they didn't use Stee Jans from your lack of comment on him. Pity.
I did some research on Bandon, and found out that he is a character that MTV created. He did not exist in the books... I was wondering how I forgot something like that! I never forgot, because it didn't exist.
There was no one that could use magic to effectively fight the demons except for Allanon (trained as a Druid) and Wil (via the use of the elfstones due to his Shannara heritage). That was the whole reason why Allanon had to use Wil... he actually made the point to Wil, when trying to convince him to help, that he would use someone else if he could, one of the reasons being that he didn't like the Ohmsfords, but there was absolutely no one else who could fight the demons with magic. The only two people in the nation that could use magic at the time were Wil and Allanon. So... this character Bandon, rescued by Wil, who is capable of using magic as Allanon's apprentice, is kind of a wild card. I don't know what plans they have for him.
Contains massive spoilers about the next book/show and from the first book. Contains hypothesis about the guy you asked about.
The villain of the 3rd novel is actually a book of evil magic, called the Ildatch, that the villain of the first book, Brona the fallen Druid, used to gain his power. A group of Brona's former followers got a hold of the Ildatch after the death of Brona and studied the book in an effort to bring themselves to power. (I think they also wanted to resurrect Brona, but my memory is a little foggy on that.) This group of people, after being exposed to the evil magic of the book, became enslaved to the power of the magic in the book and lost most of their physical form, in exchange for power. They are called the Mord Wraiths. Perhaps Bandon is going to be leader of the Mord Wraiths...? I don't know, they didn't have a leader. It was more of a hive mind that was being controlled by the book. Maybe Bandon is a way to give a face to what was specifically written as a faceless enemy.
Allanon comes to Wil and Eretria's children with the goal of defeating the Mord Wraiths and destroying the book. It plays out very nicely.
General information about aspects of the book, not necessarily spoilers:
The interesting thing about magic in these stories is that it has kind of an addictive quality to it, like a drug. It causes some pretty insane character dynamics that are difficult to predict once the story progresses past the first 3 novels. I always really liked that addictive aspect. Another aspect of magic is that it only exists because it is believed to exist... so as the story progresses, you see times when there is greater magic and lesser magic, all based on the beliefs of the nations and individuals in the stories. In a way, magic is powered by belief. This actually plays out nicely in the Elfstones of Shannara when Wil realizes that the only reason he had difficulty using the elfstones was not because he was only partially elvish, but because he had developed a mental block from using them out of fear of their power over and effect on him.
No problem. Like I said, Terry Brooks is one of my favorite authors. He has written a lot of great books. I like his Magic Kingdom For Sale books, as well. They are certainly written for a more adult audience. He is best known for the Shannara books. The first few were pretty cliche, but I really think that is because so many authors in recent years have borrowed from him.
I haven't read the Shannara books that he has written in the last 10 years. Just haven't had the motivation or time. But I've heard that they are good as well. Maybe I will pick them up.
For me, it was a bit weak. Without being spoilerish, it felt like they had written themselves into a place that didn't allow forward movement and so they just reversed direction on several key plot points. Anyone else see something different?
The Dagdamor's death felt really anticlimactic too. Allanon just cuts off his head while he's distracted with Will. Really? You expect your audience to believe the Dagdamor is that stupid, that he didn't think to watch the druid in the room? Really?
(Then again, your audience is willingly watching MTV, so...)
Don't really know what you mean by the idea that they didn't allow forward movement. With
there's still plenty left for them to go from in the start of the second season.
So I get it that Eretreia had to go, and that they were setting up season 2 with her just being left. That just felt kind of rushed. They go to all the trouble of rescuing her over and over again. Then she just drops the gate and is gone?
I get for the purposes of the story the trip back from Safe Hold needed to be short-ish. But really? It takes a whole season to get there. They ride back in what looks like an afternoon? Really?
The elves set up for this great siege of demons. The king says they outnumber the elves by 1,000 to 1? WTF? Even if there were 100,000, the elves only have 1,000 defenders? Sorry, the Elves AND the Gnomes? Okay, small potatoes, but it sets up my next complaint. They are besieged by this nebulous hoard yet they are still able to break the enemy lines enough for Allanon and the king and a hand full of gnomes to go out and rescue Wil and Amberlee. Really?
So they have the obligatory sex seen between Wil and Amberlee, which itself felt quite forced. Okay, maybe just poor actors? But still.
Then there's the stuff you mentioned. The "Final Battle" did seem quite rushed, like it should have been an episode (or two) all to itself.
I agree that they set up season 2 quite well with various threads. Just saying that the final episode of season 1 just felt not as good as the episodes leading up to it. Still enjoyed it.
Contains info on the 2nd book.
Let me just say that Allanon's battle with Dagda Mor is much more epic in the book. It takes place in the sky on a flying demon and a giant eagle. They battle each other with magic, because Dagda Mor cannot be killed with a sword. Allanon ages significantly because of how much magic he had to use (magic in the books takes from a character's age and/or lifeforce), so it is made out to be a significant sacrifice that Allanon made, one which is realized in the next book.
Ander's beloved was such a trivial character in the book that I don't remember what happened to her. I think she died in the battle...or maybe she survived? Ander's brother, Arion, was an arrogant brat who was killed in the battle due to a tactical mistake that he made. Unsure what purpose adding this extra drama in the show served when there was plenty of drama to be found elsewhere.
The conversation that Amberlee had in the bloodfire is not really portrayed. She realizes though that she can't be with Wil because of what she has to do. And there's no sex (have I said that yet?).
Eretria doesn't need to get rescued after the tree is made. They just end the book. Sounds like they are going to add some extra stuff to the stories there. Same with this guy Bandon.
The trip back from safe hold was short because they flew back on Giant Eagles that were trained by the sky elves. A kid sky elf found Wil and Amberlee...nevermind, it's a long story, but it makes sense and is actually a not cheesy part of the book, even if it borrowed from Tolkien. I take it there were no flying Eagles in the show...
The demons did significantly outnumber the elves (no ratio is given), but they were aided by the conscript border legion army, the rock trolls, and the dwarves. They held out for a few days by using specific battle tactics in two walled gorges to limit the amount of demons that could come at them at a time. They survived those few days due to their own intelligence in how they developed their strategy, which is pretty interesting imo. Also, Allanon's magic made a difference.
No one broke out from the demon lines to rescue Wil and Amberlee. They were completely alone because the Reaper killed their escort within he first few days after setting out from Arbolorn... that is until they met up with Eretria and that kid sky elf. Eretria was not even really apart of the story until that point, and even then she was kind of out of place (that was intentionally designed by the writer, not an out of place like a mistake...more like she didn't really belong with them and she knew it). There was no way for Allanon and company to even know the progress of Wil and Amberlee until they showed up to turn Amberlee into the tree. Which (obviously) is at the last minute.
I don't know how they did it...I didn't even know that it was possible...props to you, MTV. You accomplished what I thought was the impossible: you increased the cliche-ness.
The four lands are the following.
The northlands:
Mostly barren mountainous rugged terrain inhabited by the rock trolls. The rock trolls had been enslaved by Brona, the Warlock Lord, during the first book.
The westlands:
Mostly mountainous forests, with some swamps. Inhabited by the elves. The northern edge of the westlands was disputed violently between the trolls and the elves. Although there is not any real hatred between them, it's more of a tense truce.
The eastlands:
Also mountainous forest, but more rugged and much more dangerous than the west. Also has lots of swamps and ruins of the old civilization. Homeland of both the dwarves and the gnomes, who are bitter, hated enemies. The gnomes are evil, barbaric, black magic worshipping and superstitious clansman that war amongst themselves. The dwarves are more civilized, similar to humans, but are terrified of underground.
The southlands:
Inhabited by the humans. The southlands are interesting because at the beginning of the story, they are a loosely organized feudal society that is barely able to keep themselves fed with a few city-state exceptions, such as those on the borderlands (northern southlands) which had the most dealing with the other races and tthe Druids. Shady Vale is just south-west of the borderlands in the southlands. As the story progresses, they become different. Tell me if you want spoiler to the later books. If you plan on reading the books, I don't want to spoil anything. It is integral to the plot.
Brief history of the four lands (from memory)
After the fallout at the end of the apocalyptic war that destroyed the old world, the races started to emerge from their respective hiding places and began to war like animals amongst themselves. The Druids were formed (by the elves I think) to try to find peace between the races. They served as mediators. They divided the land into four segments, with the Druid fortress, Paranor, in the center. Each of the races were then allowed to inhabit their homelands in peace. Whenever they say "the four lands" they are referring to those four nations. The gnomes could not ever organize themselves to be anything more than slaves of a higher power or something akin to terrorists.
Brief introductory history of the races
Each of the five races has a specific history as to how and why they ended up the way that they did. Most of them are descended from humans, with the exception of the elves. The other four races turned out the way they did due to their time during the apocalypse.
The trolls stayed up in the mountains, exposed to the fallout and terrible conditions of post-war. That is why their skins is so tough and they are so strong. They took on the character of the mountains and rocks where they lived. They are a sort of loosely organized family-tribal society that holds honor in high esteem.
The gnomes lived in the forests, and were directly exposed to the elements as well. Instead of adapting physically, it seems that their minds were affected with a sort of hereditary fanatic insanity. Some of them are so savage that they resemble predatory animals that live in packs. There are exceptions, such as the Stors, who have sworn off violence and dedicated their life to healing, pacifism, peaceful silence, and meditation.
The dwarves spent the time underground, which caused them to become short but wide in strength. They inherited a racial claustrophobia and fear of undergound as a result. They hate the gnomes, but have always been allies of the elves. They organize themselves well and build well-defended cities above ground.
The humans are descended from those people who were able to find shelter in bunkers during the Great War. They are the most numerous, but also the most xenophobic and the most evolving plot-line in the books.
The elves are a different matter altogether. They existed before the Great War, but were hidden, sort of like real life fairies that stay away from people. They were primarily protected during the apocalypse, but the resulting time afterwards in dealing with the Druids and the four races made them forget who they were and evolve to be more like humans. They still posses magic, but during the time of the 2nd book it's more like an old but unused and forgotten tradition. I think they were primary leaders of the Druids and the four lands as the world came out of the apocalypse.