MNFS: Legend Of The Seeker

"People are stupid. Because they are stupid, they will believe a lie because they want to believe it's true, or because they are afraid it might be true."

This is the very first "rule" introduced in my most favoritest fantasy series of ever-time, The Sword of Truth. This line comes from the aptly named, Wizard's First Rule, the first of eleven in the series that made Terry Goodkind famous. I first started reading the books in 2000 as a naive high school freshman, impressionable and romantic. I instantly fell in love with the extremely developed characterizations, the sweeping world-building scale, and the epic themes which seemed both massive and yet individualist at the same time. Naturally, I just about crapped my pants when I saw the first commercial for Legend of the Seeker, a live-action adaptation of Wizard's First Rule (just ask my mom; I gasped so loudly she thought I had lost somewhere between 100 and 5000 dollars). My thought process was (unedited), "oh-em-jee, seeing this will make my life complete." That being merely slight hyperbole, I was very excited.

(Note: I'm not putting in links to the characters names, because they contain HUGE spoilers. If you actually want to get into the series, I would advise not Wikipedi-ing the fuck out of it and instead actually reading the books. Judd, that means you.)

For a little background on the series, the hero, Richard Cypher, basically gets chucked into a quest by a hot chick, the Mother Confessor, Kahlan Amnell, to kill the embodiment of evil, Darken Rahl (which has to be one of the best evil guy names ever. Just say it a couple times, "Darken Rahl..." "Darken Rahl..." It gets more evil the more times you say it). On his quest, he is aided by his old wizard friend, Zedd, who imparts to him little tidbits of knowledge (like the line at the top) along the way. Oh, and Richard uses a sword called The Sword of Truth... Talk about the lamest sword name ever.

Anywho, needless to say, I was as excited as a puppy that sees its reflection in the mirror for the first time. So, I went and did a little research on the series. It was then that my heart sank, as I realized who was the producer of my immaculate series: The bane of all fantasy series'...

Sam Raimi.

As flashbacks of Kevin Sorbo and Lucy Lawless ran through my mind like a tank running through a car, I began to attempt to convince myself that this series wasn't going to be terrible. "It's ok, the source material is good, the author is involved, and this is 2008, not 1998. There's no way Goodkind would allow such desecration of his magnum opus." As my brother has so adamantly professed, there would be no reason to adapt a book into a new medium if there were no changes made to accomodate it. I accept minor changes, such as certain descriptions being less vivid and more implied, and certain thought processes being exposed in dialogue, but I truly denounce any wholesale changes to plotline (unless they A.) simplify the plotline, or B.) enhance the characters).

So, I nervously watched the first episode and was well... happily surprised by the quality. The production level was obviously excellent (other than the fact that it was glaringly obvious that soldiers were getting sliced by swords and there was no blood anywhere), with fast-paced action scenes coupled with slow-motion features that really enhanced the battles. The characters were also well-chosen, with Bridget Regan becoming the perfect Kahlan, and Chase, Richard's BFF, looking exactly like I thought he did. However, I always dreamed of Ian McKellen portraying Zedd, so Bruce Spence's casting seemed a little off (although I have warmed to him as of late.) The only glaring weakness is perhaps Craig Horner, the actor playing Richard, whose acting ability leaves...something to be desired. He looks exactly as I imagined Richard, but he has none of Richard's striking characteristics (like his painstaking approach to truth and attention to detail). Otherwise, the music, pacing, cinematography, and landscaping of the first episode (a two-hour double feature) was excellent. And on that day, I was happy.

Well, at least until the second episode. That was where the story branched off from the book, leading Richard and Kahlan to have several "adventures" to right some random, arbitrary wrongs going on in the world. When the first thought of "wait, this wasn't in the book at all,"struck me, a little portion of my soul died. But, the visualizations were still excellent, despite the plot being utterly inexcusably insipid. And I'll probably continue to watch the series (uTorrent, you are my savior).

If you've already read the books, it depends on how conservative you are (or how much of an asshole you are) in terms of how much you'll like this television adaptation. Some diehards writhe and seethe about the fact that this series is different from the books, while others take Legend of the Seeker with a grain of salt, offering up as a new story, mostly unassociated with Wizard's First Rule. For anyone who likes fantasy, this is an excellent series to watch. The characters are excellently imagined (at least until you get to the acting), and the world-building done in New Zealand is second to none. And last but not least, for all you godless liberals, Terry Goodkind is a staunch objectivist philosopher, so you can enjoy lots of ranting and raving about truth and rationality and the stupidity of those who allow things other than rationality to lead them in life. When I was younger, I found objectivism and rationalism to be fascinating, but now I pretty much read the novels and watch this series in spite of the themes. Yet, the themes are not so overbearing that you can't enjoy a great fantasy story while you're reading.

It's a little too early to rate this series, because it hasn't gotten to the juicy parts (to give you a hint, there's a dominatrix as well as a near butt-rape scene in the book), but overall I don't have too high hopes. As long as they get back to the book's plotline at some point and don't go off into Sam Raimi-land, I'll be happy.

Rating: N/A

Oh by the way, if you still need reasons to watch the series, keep this in mind:

Bridget Regan is OMG-hot

My New Favorite Show: Burn Notice

Ah, that new school year smell...something between alcohol, perfume, textbooks, and dusty classrooms. Well, I had the best of intentions coming into this year to start great new things for my beautiful little blog here, but that seems to be derailed by the fact that I am going to be applying to somewhere between 20 and 30 jobs over the next month or so. However, as a start, I would like to introduce a new running column of mine: My New Favorite Show. As whoever reads this blog will know, I have a couple running columns already (Cannot Catharsize and Motion Picture Magic). Cannot Catharsize was always more about anime than anything else, considering the structure of Japanese television is such that one can actually engage in the storyline, as opposed to American television which are one-hour drama pills. And Motion Picture Magic is more about movies, which are a completely different art-form than television shows or anime. Thus, to fill the void, I have created My New Favorite Show, or MNFS, for short.

Title selection (and word selection) goes a long way for me, and to be honest, I went the exact opposite with this one and went with what first came to mind. However, I do believe that this title fulfills all the necessary objectives I want it to: it's simple, it's ambiguous, and it really showcases the fact that I have fickle television tastes that change every so very often. With that comes my first entry: Burn Notice.

Burn Notice seems like a fairly unassuming show at first: it's a spy drama/comedy about some guy who gets in trouble with the government and has to find his way out of it. However, the best part of the show is not the plot. It is the characters. As USA so blatantly writes/says in all of its commercials, "Characters Welcome." The first is Michael Westen, the main character played by Jeffrey Donovan, who plays an ex-spy who was "burned" by the government. The story goes that when a spy is fired, they can't just be let out into civilian life, not with all the skills/knowledge they possess. So instead, the government burns them, which basically amounts to taking away their spy privileges, freezing all their assets, and dumping them in a town that they're not allowed to leave. Luckily for Michael, he happens to be dumped in Miami (better than Detroit, right?). Michael has an extremely dry sense of humor, but also possesses Macgyver-like talents (he often uses duct tape and plastic ties instead of guns). He's really what makes the show tick, as everything revolves around him

Then there's Fiona, Michael's ex-IRA, ex-girlfriend, played by Gabrielle Anwar. She has a trigger-happy personality (she loves to start fights, as well as fire guns), but plays an excellent foil to Michael's non-violence oriented personality. Did I mention she's ridiculously hot? (check the pic above; that'd rate about a 4 on the Fiona's sexy clothing scale). Being a good actress doesn't hurt, as she makes her part both believable and engaging at the same time.

Supporting Michael in his effort to find those who burned him is Sam Axe, played by the immortal Bruce Campbell, (Anybody up for some Army of Darkness?), an ex-Navy Seal who survives as a playboy for rich, older women in Miami. Needless to say, Campbell is perfect for the part, since the character of Sam could easily be Ash Williams in his older years, minus the shotgun and chainsaw stump hand.

I've just finished catching up on season 1 and now am fully caught up on season 2. Burn Notice is great because its a show that you can just jump into, but one that is also extra-rewarding for being a loyal viewer. For anyone who likes House, MacGyver, or James Bond, this a great combination of all three. Even if you aren't interested in plot or characters, there is always the eye-candy (I'm talking about Fiona and the requisite bikini-butt shots that just so happen to pop into every episode). Trust me, it'll be worth your time, no matter who you are. Till next time...