Legend of the Seeker
Over the last several nights I have been watching episodes of the ABC series Legend of the Seeker. I am not sure where I first heard of it, since I don't watch much TV. It is based on the book series Sword of Truth by Terry Goodkind which, according to Amazon.com, has 10+ books in the series. Online reviews of the series relative to the books have not been kind. Since I am starting with the TV series I am pretty well pleased. ABC is owned by Disney, and the DVD set is from Buena Vista, which is no surprise. The series was recently canceled for 2010-2011. Season 2 is just ending, so there are 22 Season 2 episodes which I hope will make it to DVD.
The Seeker series is filmed in New Zealand, so the mountain vista scenery is stunning. Years ago (1997) there was a series with the name of Roar that starred the late Heath Ledger that was shot in Queensland, OZ, that had a similar rustic, pre-history feel. It only survived for one season, but it explains why Heath Ledger was so comfortable on horseback in Brokeback Mountain. Luckily Roar became available on DVD, so Conor lives on forever.
Seeker also reminds me of the current BBC series Merlin, where a young Merlin is the manservant to Prince Arthur in a place where magic is banned, so Merlin (Colin Morgan) has to keep Arthur (Bradley James) safe while keeping his powers undercover. And then there is the matter of the dragon chained up in the basement (voiced by John Hurt). For the castle sequences, Merlin is filmed in France at the Camelot-like Château de Pierrefonds, Oise, with the rest shot in England (Kent) and Wales. Since Colin Morgan/Merlin is Welsh, and there is a lot of Arthurian legend associated with Wales, and BBC Wales is producing the series, it seems fitting. At least Merlin has made it to Season 3.
There is a bit of Lord of the Rings to The Legend of the Seeker, too. The documents in Seeker all seem to be in a rune-ish script. And, of course, the Seeker is on a quest.
From IMdb.com:
Roar (1997): Conor [Ledger] is the orphaned heir of one of the many tribal leaders of hopelessly divided Hibernia (ancient Ireland). With his faithful but unenthusiastic servant and protector Fergus he wanders trough the island, fighting injustice and aspiring to unite the druidic, yet internecine Celts in order to free the country from Roman rule. Most dangers and opponents he faces are largely or completely mythical, the most remarkable being Longinus, the eternally cursed but immortal, cruel and vindictive Roman centurion at Christ's crucifixion who forges evil alliances.
Legend of the Seeker (2008): Millions of readers the world over have been held spellbound by this valiant tale vividly told. Now, enter Terry Goodkind's world, the world of The Sword of Truth. In the aftermath of the brutal murder of his father, a mysterious woman, Kahlan Amnell, appears in Richard Cypher's forest sanctuary seeking help ... and more. His world, his very beliefs, are shattered when ancient debts come due with thundering violence. In their darkest hour, hunted relentlessly, tormented by treachery and loss, Kahlan calls upon Richard to reach beyond his sword-to invoke within himself something more noble [his destiny as The Seeker, the first for a thousand years]. Neither knows that the rules of battle have just changed ... or that their time has run out.
I guess I just need some escapism these days, to take my mind off the fact that I am not teaching. I have been reading a lot and watching DVDs, Blu-ray discs, and HD DVDs that I have collected but never had the time to view.
In any case, back to The Legend of the Seeker: to say that the series is multi-ethnic is selling it short. The lead characters, Richard Cypher (Craig Horner), Kahlan Amnell (Bridget Regan), and the wizard, Zeddicus Zu'l Zorander (Bruce Spence), are all white, but many supporting characters are Maori or Indian, or exotic in some way. Bruce Spence seems familiar. He was in Peter Pan (2003), and Australia (2008) and will be in the next Chronicles of Narnia.
Craig Horner, as Richard, is an Australian from Brisbane, and seems compact, but is incredibly chiseled in terms of muscle definition, so he is often shirtless while sword fighting. Mr. Horner seems to have spent his adult life in Australian TV series since he has been in six of them over the last ten years. Bridget Regan as Kahlan the Confessor is an American from San Diego who attended the North Carolina School for the Arts. Her hair is reportedly naturally red and curly, but it is black and straight in Seeker. Too bad, I really like redheads! So now she looks like a black-Irish colleen. Gorgeous eyes! And she is 5'8", and looks tall standing near Mr. Horner. Guesses online for Mr. Horner range from 5'9" to 5'10". But I'd guess 5'8". Since Bruce Spence, the wizard, is 6'7" they both are dwarfed by him.
The series starts with Richard learning that he is not the son of the man who has raised him, but the Seeker, a truth-seeker, the first of his kind in a thousand years, who was taken from his mother as a new-born, when all the other male babies were slain, by the wizard Zeddicus Zu'l Zorander who gave up his wizard ways to live near the boy as a protector. Now the time has come for brash, young Richard to become the Seeker, whom the prophecies have said would slay the tyrant overlord Darken Rahl with the Sword of Truth. (Zeddicus has kept the sword hidden for many years.) Richard does not have much time to learn what the Seeker should know, so on their journey to find Darken Rahl, Zeddicus Zu'l Zorander gives "Seeker lessons" to Richard, many of which seem made up on the spot. (One sword-fighting lesson is remarkably like Luke Skywalker's lesson in using his lightsaber in Star Wars IV. ("Use the Force, Luke.")) Along the way there are various diversions. With 22 episodes in Season 1 there are many diversions. The characters are all easy to like. The special effects are laudatory. The scenery is gorgeous. What's not to like?
But I'd rather be working than escaping!
And if I had the Sword of Truth I would not use it to slay dragons! I do have several targets in mind.
