Debuting on a syndicated network near you this Saturday is a brand new fantasy series from the folks who brought you the cult TV hits Hercules and Xena: Warrior Princess,Legend of the Seeker.
The show stars Craig Horner as Cypher,a young woodsman who is tapped to fulfill a special destiny by Kahlan(Bridget Regan)a mysterious woman known as a "Confessor" and Zedd(Bruce Spence),a once powerful wizard who has gone the Ben Kenobi route.
What sets this sword and sorcery saga apart from the pack is that it's based on a series of books by Terry Goodkind known as The Sword of Truth.
The SOT titles have a strong following with fantasy fans and one of the more intriguing aspects of the series are the elements of political allegory influenced by the writings of Ayn Rand(Goodkind's a big supporter of her philosophy) that are blended into the main plot.
Granted,the show will be way more mainstream in content(along with the usual changes that come with adapting a book into visual media)but it seems like there may be some tasty food for thought slipped in with the special effects here.
Plus,I think the time is ripe for a good fantasy series to come along and give folks something to help them escape some of the harsh realities of life(for an hour or two, at least) that are cropping up big time these days. Not a total block out from the world(which is unhealthy)but a decent dose of emotional sugar to make the medicine go down.
I was never into Hercules or Xena,my otherworldly needs were fulfilled by Buffy and Angel at the time,but those shows did look like fun. Legend of the Seeker doesn't appear to be as campy as they were but,judging from this ten minute preview,LOTS shares the same spirit of entertaining adventure that it's pop culture godparents did:
Another great thing about having a show like this on the air is that most of the syndicated networks that have LOTS in their schedule will be playing it on Saturday night,in the heart of prime time viewing(check with your local stations for exact times and dates).
No one even bothers to program fresh TV shows for Saturdays any more and I think that's a shame. I remember the days when every night of the week was planned for by all of the networks,big and small,to be a complete lineup for it's viewers. True, a number of good shows have been killed by low ratings on Saturdays but that shouldn't mean that people should just give up on it,totally!
Not everyone goes out on Saturday nights,guys. Some of us stay home and would like more options,especially with money being extra tight at the moment,than re-runs and sports. Maybe LOTS will issue in a new era of spunky new Saturday night TV worth watching and talking about at the water cooler on Mondays. Here's hoping that it will be so!:
Lol. I used to watch Xena and Hercules as a kid but stopped years before they were cancelled. I never did miss a Buffy or Angel night though except the last season of Buffy but that's where I've been the past two weeks- rewatching all 7 seasons of Buffy and the 5th season of Angel lol. I miss Buffy so much and there is so much they can still do with the characters. I wish they would bring it back for just a little while....
ReplyDeleteI hope it shows here in NJ ! Looks like something I would watch, and gosh knows there's never anything good on on Saturday nights!
ReplyDeleteWhat I want to know is why no one in the UK is getting to see this. I only stumbled across this by mistake on the web, before then I didn't even know that a TV series had been made from the books!
ReplyDeleteHey,Anon,sorry to hear that folks in the UK aren't getting to watch LOTS-Hulu does have all the current episodes available at their website and there is an unofficial UK fansite for the show that you can check out at
ReplyDeletehttp://www.legendoftheseeker.org/
Good luck and I hope you enjoy it as much as the books:)