Legend of the Seeker: Reckoning
I try to be fair with shows and on of them that I feel I have been more than fair with this season was “Legend of the Seeker” but after a full season I just can’t deal with it any more. The problem is that this is a show based on a book that is excellent and yet has avoided using any of the most interesting part of the book in the TV series.
If you haven’t read Wizard’s First Rule I’m going to give away a few things.
The problem is that they have changed so many little things that the big one begin to be problematic. One of the minor things in this episode was that Richard had all three boxes of Orden and had to put them together in a sort of small puzzle to gain the power.
The thing is that the boxes of order in the book were seperate and each had a differnt number of shadows. This is why the book was called the book of counted shadows. So, why is it called the book of counted shadows on the show? I have no idea.
Then you get to the more major plot points. The wizards first rule is “People are stupid, they believe what they want or what they are afraid of.” This is humorous but it is also of vital importance in the end of the book. it is how Richard outsmarts Darken Rahl to beat him.
Instead in the show he simply kills him with the power of Orden.
And then there are all the secrets. Richard is a seeker of Truth. In the book this means that there are numerous secrets that he uncovers. One of the first is that Zed is his grandfather, but there are dozens of small secrets throughout the book until the final reveal at the end.
Darken Rahl had captured Zed’s daughter at the end of the last war and Richard is actually Darken Rahl’s son, which means that he becomes the new lord Rahl. This is vital to the later stories. And while I suppose there is nothing to stop that from happening later they didn’t do that.
Then there is Kalah and Richard. The idea has always been that Kalahn’s power would change Richard if she used it on him, which is why at the end when Darken Rahl captures him and forces her to confess him it has so much power. But what you discover is that Richard already loves her that much so the power does nothing to him. Instead in the TV series the power of Orden protects him from the confessors power. This takes out a hugh amount of the weight of the conclusion.
There are so many great points in Wizard’s First Rule. Richard discovers secrets from every character as he becomes the Seeker of Truth. None of that was important in the series so again I ask, why bother paying for the rights to a book that has nothing to do with the show you want to make?
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I tried to get into this show, but I couldn’t get past the pilot. Your review sums up the severe problems with it. It’s a shame. The books had a lot of potential.
The part that was the saddest to me was that when they made episodes that were based on things that actually happened in the book they were really good. I’d even suggest you watch the episode where Richard is captured by the Mord Sith. It’s not great but it’s worth watching.
i hate to be an apologist, but screen adaptations of books always have changes made, and usually important ones. i’m sure they considered the full story for the television show, and my guess is that they had to change it because they only get about 45 minutes for an episode. we would all like for them to get the little details from the book right, but we would also be surprised at how much time per episode that would require, ultimately watering it down. the possible result of that is a boring show to watch, and nobody wants that. it is a fine line to balance the details with the main plot points in a one hour show.
i think what they failed at most was illustrating how tightly the book of counted shadows and power of orden are tied together, in fact you don’t get the sense that they are tied together at all, so it all feels rather coincidental. i think the function of the boxes from the book would have been too complicated to portray on screen, but they definitely could have made it more meaningful. the confession of richard was definitely a major fail, because not only was it relevant to the way they portrayed the romance, but it would have been so simple to write into the show.
as a musician, when i cover a song, i almost always have to deviate from the original music to make it work for me. when i watch shows or movies based on books, rather than get upset about the inconsistencies, i try to think of it as a cover song. a reinterpretation, different, but the spirit of the original is still there when it counts.
One of the things this series has proven to me is just how well plotted “Wizard’s First Rule” Is. Several of the small changes they made early in the series made the end of the book impossible. Had they just said that Richard had memorized the book as a child it would have made several things far easier.
the thing is that they changed and mangled the story so bad i cant watch it. i’m a big fan of the series i’ve read all the books some more than once. i know they have to change the story to make it fit but this is to much. horrible horrible show.
The problem is that it is impossible to forget that it is wizards first rule because they keep bringing in ideas from the books and using them in ways that are no where near as cool as what was done in the book.
Reckonong was big – and a little rushed feeling. The climax seemed too convenient.
The show’s first season was interesting, at times exciting but not always fun.
Here is my take on it with a little humor and lots o’ pics if you are interested.
http://fortresstakes.wordpress.com/2009/08/03/legend-of-the-seeker-2008-2009-season-1-22-episodes/
What is the song at the start of the Legend of the Seeker show?
I like the Film AND the Books …. the books have so much intense deepth that you often has to read some parts over to understand the whole picture.
The Film especially with those two Actors seem to catch the story between kahlan and richard best. I have never seen a series where the first episode was SO intensive and caught me instinctly. I love the gameplay of b. regan.
But even if you only see the Film you have big questions , which are only revealed in the books.
Speaking of the second Season of LOTS I got the impression from the first 2 Episodes that the Story gets weaker and weaker and the special Effects and the “dark” Scary things take over …. too bad
Regards
Oh quit being such babies. Of course it’s going to be different from the books, otherwise the episodes would be too long and boring. Plus, I don’t know if anyone would really want it to be exactly the same. Then it would take away the awesomeness of the books. I try to think of the show as different from the books, and not even think about them the same way, cause I know that they are going to be different. If all you can think about is little (okay sometimes big) differences from the books, then you are really missing out on a great show.