Rac80
The Belle of the Ball
The Shannara Chronicles aired on MTv on Tuesday night as a 2 hour movie. They made the next two episodes available today to watch as well. Overall it is a visually stunning show. The production values are very high.
Here is my take on the aspects of the show:
The casting is very good. I wasn’t sure about John Rhys-Davis as King Eventine, (too old and short) but he has the voice and magnetism to carry it off. I was very impressed with the casting of Manu Bennett as Allanon – he isn’t as large or as old but he has PRESENCE on the screen and made a very convincing Allanon. Austin Butler is very good as Wil Ohmsford- much less whiney than the book’s version of Wil is. Poppy Drayton is well cast as Amberle. She is feisty and yet vulnerable. Ivana Baquero isn’t nearly as gorgeous or seductive as Ereteria is described in the book. But she is an adequate actress. The rest of the casting is pretty well done.
The sets are gorgeous, but they have conflated the time line terribly. The setting is post-apocalyptic; the “Great Wars” were only 30 years OR 300 years in the past. They were not consistent with that at all. The post apocalyptic look would be more appropriate for the books of the Genesis of Shannara series– set 2 to 3 thousand years earlier. (Also after watching Life without People – I understand that most of our structures and “stuff” will last less than 200 years.) I liked the look of Arborlon (Elven capital city) and the Ellcrys is majestic. The countryside is okay….but as I said too post-apocalyptic for the story timeline.
The special effects are amazing. Yep a couple of the scenes were a bit too gooey for me- but then I don’t like ewwie-gooey stuff! I loved the special effects of the Elfstones and the leaves falling from the Ellcrys. The demons are convincing and the changeling was excellent. They make Arborlon look like an “alien” city – it is not “human”. The costuming is good, the elves clothing doesn’t look like basic materials - has an exotic look.
They have taken a lot of liberties with the storyline. They had the author involved with the rewrites so I am not as “outraged” as I would be had they willy-nilly taken over his work. They combined the character of the Dagda Mor (a demon) with the former Druid, Brona (also known as the Warlock Lord in the Sword of Shannara)- thus also shortening the timeline. It got a bit confusing if you listened to Allanon explain that the Dagda Mor had been trapped by the Ellcrys for thousands of year, but they fought Brona 30 years ago. Yep a nitpicker I know. They have added new characters- from Eventine’s sister- Pyria- Allanon’s old flame (uh no!) to Bandon – a seer. They are not too irritating and help the storyline along. Also as part of the shortened time-line Wil is not Shea’s grandson but his son. Flick and Shea had a falling out and the magic drove Shea crazy- very different from the books – because Shea was a larger percentage of elf the use of the elfstones did not affect him at all- but does affect Wil. They did steal the “Magic always comes with a Price” from Once Upon a Time- that is no where in any of the books. They have changed some of the mythology – the Ellcrys leaves are not trapped demons, the trolls do not wear old gas masks, and the Ellcrys chooses the chosen – it’s not a race.
Overall, it is an interesting and fun fantasy series I feel. There is enough “familiar” to me that I found myself really enjoying it! Because it has been changed from the books, I find myself interested in what other changes they have made. MTv has done a wonderful job translating it to the small screen. I don’t feel they have added “angst” to the storyline at all. I am looking forward to the rest of the season.
Rac80
Here is my take on the aspects of the show:
The casting is very good. I wasn’t sure about John Rhys-Davis as King Eventine, (too old and short) but he has the voice and magnetism to carry it off. I was very impressed with the casting of Manu Bennett as Allanon – he isn’t as large or as old but he has PRESENCE on the screen and made a very convincing Allanon. Austin Butler is very good as Wil Ohmsford- much less whiney than the book’s version of Wil is. Poppy Drayton is well cast as Amberle. She is feisty and yet vulnerable. Ivana Baquero isn’t nearly as gorgeous or seductive as Ereteria is described in the book. But she is an adequate actress. The rest of the casting is pretty well done.
The sets are gorgeous, but they have conflated the time line terribly. The setting is post-apocalyptic; the “Great Wars” were only 30 years OR 300 years in the past. They were not consistent with that at all. The post apocalyptic look would be more appropriate for the books of the Genesis of Shannara series– set 2 to 3 thousand years earlier. (Also after watching Life without People – I understand that most of our structures and “stuff” will last less than 200 years.) I liked the look of Arborlon (Elven capital city) and the Ellcrys is majestic. The countryside is okay….but as I said too post-apocalyptic for the story timeline.
The special effects are amazing. Yep a couple of the scenes were a bit too gooey for me- but then I don’t like ewwie-gooey stuff! I loved the special effects of the Elfstones and the leaves falling from the Ellcrys. The demons are convincing and the changeling was excellent. They make Arborlon look like an “alien” city – it is not “human”. The costuming is good, the elves clothing doesn’t look like basic materials - has an exotic look.
They have taken a lot of liberties with the storyline. They had the author involved with the rewrites so I am not as “outraged” as I would be had they willy-nilly taken over his work. They combined the character of the Dagda Mor (a demon) with the former Druid, Brona (also known as the Warlock Lord in the Sword of Shannara)- thus also shortening the timeline. It got a bit confusing if you listened to Allanon explain that the Dagda Mor had been trapped by the Ellcrys for thousands of year, but they fought Brona 30 years ago. Yep a nitpicker I know. They have added new characters- from Eventine’s sister- Pyria- Allanon’s old flame (uh no!) to Bandon – a seer. They are not too irritating and help the storyline along. Also as part of the shortened time-line Wil is not Shea’s grandson but his son. Flick and Shea had a falling out and the magic drove Shea crazy- very different from the books – because Shea was a larger percentage of elf the use of the elfstones did not affect him at all- but does affect Wil. They did steal the “Magic always comes with a Price” from Once Upon a Time- that is no where in any of the books. They have changed some of the mythology – the Ellcrys leaves are not trapped demons, the trolls do not wear old gas masks, and the Ellcrys chooses the chosen – it’s not a race.
Overall, it is an interesting and fun fantasy series I feel. There is enough “familiar” to me that I found myself really enjoying it! Because it has been changed from the books, I find myself interested in what other changes they have made. MTv has done a wonderful job translating it to the small screen. I don’t feel they have added “angst” to the storyline at all. I am looking forward to the rest of the season.
Rac80
