"Shannara" series coming to MTV

[BAYLOR]

Brian, for now it seems to be. Have had others say the same. Even in Canada. I'll see if it's on YouTube..I'll also inquire on the forum.

EDIT: It is on YouTube here. Let me know if you still can't see it.

Impressive.

 

[Reivax26]

I think the Running with the Demon trilogy that starts all of the saga would make a great trilogy of movies actually. As far as the original books are concerned, I have always loved his writing. The people that bash him as a Tolkien rip off are a bit full of it in my opinion. If having fantasy races in your novels makes you a rip off then about 95% of all the fantasy novels written after LoTR are as well.

My 2 cents

 

[Wo7f]

The release date is January 5th. Time has yet to be announced. Here is the new trailer from this month from NYCC...

 

[David Doherty-Jebb]

I think the Running with the Demon trilogy that starts all of the saga would make a great trilogy of movies actually. As far as the original books are concerned, I have always loved his writing. The people that bash him as a Tolkien rip off are a bit full of it in my opinion. If having fantasy races in your novels makes you a rip off then about 95% of all the fantasy novels written after LoTR are as well.

My 2 cents

But that's exactly the problem with, as you put it, 95% of post-Tolkien fantasy. LOTR both created a genre and instigated decades of overly derivative rehashes. It's part of the reason fantasy looks mostly white, European and early medieval. For a genre where anything can happen, it sure is stilted.

 

[biodroid]

This looks quite cinematic more than just a TV show, hope it's better than Legend of the Seeker which was based on Terry Goodkinds Sword of Truth books.

 

[Wo7f]

Seeker wasn't too bad, but I do hope its much better.

 

[Wo7f]

The time for The Shannara Chronicles has been announced! 10pm eastern /9pm central

 

[Wo7f]

5 New THE SHANNARA CHRONICLES Character Videos
By Shawn Speakman
– Posted on November 17, 2015
The Shannara Chronicles premieres on January 5th!

The first season of the TV show will adapt The Elfstones of Shannara by Terry Brooks, one of the masterpieces in the fantasy genre. What is it about?

Thousands of years after the destruction of the age of man and science, new races and magic now rule the world, but an imminent danger threatens. A horde of evil Demons is beginning to escape and bring death upon the land. Only Wil Ohmsford, the last of the Shannara bloodline, has the power to guard the Elven Princess Amberle on a perilous quest to the save the world, while the leader of the Demon force aims to stop their mission at any cost.

The Shannara Chronicles has released five new videos, each one focusing on one of the major characters in the forthcoming TV series!

Here they are, for your enjoyment! And they are pretty great. There is some new footage here and glimpses of both major and minor scenes.

Where’s your popcorn?

ALLANON

Meet Allanon, played by Manu Bennett. As the last remaining Druid, he knows something incredibly important has begun when the Ellcrys Tree begins to die. Can he help save the Ellcrys and livelihood of the Four Lands?

AMBERLE

Meet Amberle, played by Poppy Drayton. After becoming a member of The Chosen, she must accept a responsibility to protect the legendary Ellcrys Tree. But when the Ellcrys begins to die, she realizes her latest induction is only the beginning of a dangerous journey. Can she handle what lies ahead?

ERETRIA

Meet Eretria, played by Ivana Baquero. A member of the thieving Rover clan, Eretria is a delicate balance of strength and sensitivity… but can the others trust her?
https://youtu.be/vAyRx-I1X8Q?list=PLBPLVvU_jvGureU1oGhyrgd7zGc1vLVBH

KING EVENTINE

Meet King Eventine, played by John Rhys-Davies. Flanked by his sons Arion and Ander, played by Daniel MacPherson and Aaron Jakubenko, Eventine has ruled over the Elven kingdom of Arborlon for decades… but can he keep the Elven people safe from emerging dark forces?
https://youtu.be/pmW0MfBbFrc?list=PLBPLVvU_jvGureU1oGhyrgd7zGc1vLVBH

WIL

Meet Wil Ohmsford, played by Austin Butler. Wil is a half-human, half-elf, and the last survivor of the Shannara bloodline. Can he live up to the weight of his family name when the Four Lands needs him most?
https://youtu.be/g1RCwV1lrII?list=PLBPLVvU_jvGureU1oGhyrgd7zGc1vLVBH

 

[BAYLOR]

Post apocalyptic fantasy , should make for good television drama.

 

[Cathbad]

I am excited, but though Elfstones is my favorite too, that's just not where the series started.

 

[Wo7f]

International Information For THE SHANNARA CHRONICLES
Posted by Shawn Speakman




The Shannara Chronicles premieres in the United States on January 5th at 10/9c on MTV!

The United States is not the only place where the new epic fantasy TV series will air though. There are Shannarafans all over the world and the show will be featured in many international markets.

Below is a list of those countries and dates/times. This is only a preliminary list, as there are more countries carrying the show. As an example, the United Kingdom is carrying the show but the channel hasn’t announced it yet. When they have, I can post it.

View details below:

UNITED STATES
January 5, 2016 | MTV


FINLAND, DENMARK, SWEDEN, NORWAY
January 6, 2016 | HBO Nordic

NEW ZEALAND
January 6, 2016 | Sky TV

GERMANY
January 6, 2016 | Amazon

KOREA
January 6, 2016 | AXN

MIDDLE EAST
January 6, 2016 | Playco Starz

BULGARIA
January 6, 2016 | BTV

PORTUGAL
January 11, 2016 | Mov

FRANCE
January 12, 2016 | Syfy

SPAIN
January 14, 2016 | TNT

ITALY
January 15, 2016 | Sky Atlantic

AUSTRALIA
January 16, 2016 | Syfy

POLAND, HUNGARY, ROMANIA, SLOVENIA, CROATIA, BOSNIA-HERCEGOVINA, SERBIA, MACEDONIA, MONTENEGRO, KOSOVO, ALBANIA
February 1, 2016 | AXN

UKRAINE
April 1, 2016 | NovyTV

The most current information available for international releases of The Shannara Chronicles is above! There are more international announcments coming soon.

For those of you without cable TV, you will be able to buy season passes to the show on various online platforms. Here are a few: iTunes, Amazon, Vudu. No word on Netflix or Hulu yet.

Keep your eyes on this post, as it will be udpated when new countries and dates/times are announced!

In the meantime, get ready for The Shannara Chronicles! And be sure to tell your friends and family about it!

More details soon!

 

[Jaxx]

That does look better than I had feared it would. I am now quite eager to see this series.

This

I'm getting very excited for this series now. I had a horrible feeling we'd get a D&D Movie type television series, that made my eyes bleed and heart sink around the time Fellowship landed with it being an MTV vehicle.

Yet the epic trailers, Brooks' enthusiastic involvement and Jon Favreau (The fanboy who likes to get it right) on board, we could be looking at something special.

I reserve judgement on Manu Bennet as Allanon mind, I don't quite see that yet. He's becoming a bit like a male Summer Glau, for being the go to guy, for this type of genre. I love him in Arrow and Spartacus so we shall see.

 

[Stephen Palmer]

The first two books wear their origins far too much on their sleeve, in my opinion. Let's face it, Brooks was writing his own Lord of the Rings saga. However, I did enjoy the Talismans of Shannara series, particularly the Elf Queen, so maybe jump to those if you're keen for a try. Also, try the Magic Kingdom For Sale Sold series, which I feel has a lot more energy and character to it. Later Shannara volumes became exercises in rehashing earlier material: a quest begins, someone from Shannara family called, throw in a badly fleshed-out cast that involves a lot of elven Hunters (most of which have no names) and off we go.

I still think David Langford got Brooks' Shannara the most accurately: 'an author who can turn the most magical archetypes of fantasy into rotting hulks of cardboard.'

 

[ctg]

I watching the series but there's not enough of dwarves for my liking.

 

[Cathbad]

Well, I certainly enjoyed the first episode! Of course, they changed certain things from the book, but none that affect the storyline. It was all done well, especially visually! Shannara will certainly win some awards for visual effects! Allanon was different from what I'd imagined, but he was still a bada@@! Can't wait for more!

 

[Yog-Sothoth]

I'm really enjoying the show, much better than expected. I watch all 5 episodes during the weekend, and it has everything you want in a fantasy tv-show.

All of the characters are likeable too, and faithful to the books. Nothing seems forced, the Dagda Mor is a much more convincing enemy than anything in the Hobbit Trilogy, and the Druid is a 300 year old man who looks like he's in his late thirties rather than a long bearded Elder, which is refreshing.

I was very impressed with the sets, cgi and landscapes considering its a MTV production, but they went all out.

I think the Shannara Chronicles will get a big cult following if it doesn't acquire monster hit status. This show gives me hope for an ElfQuest adaption in the future.

 

[BAYLOR]

I'm really enjoying the show, much better than expected. I watch all 5 episodes during the weekend, and it has everything you want in a fantasy tv-show.

All of the characters are likeable too, and faithful to the books. Nothing seems forced, the Dagda Mor is a much more convincing enemy than anything in the Hobbit Trilogy, and the Druid is a 300 year old man who looks like he's in his late thirties rather than a long bearded Elder, which is refreshing.

I was very impressed with the sets, cgi and landscapes considering its a MTV production, but they went all out.

I think the Shannara Chronicles will get a big cult following if it doesn't acquire monster hit status. This show gives me hope for an ElfQuest adaption in the future.

It's a hit, no question

 

[millymollymo]

I caught the first in the series, and admittedly its been an eon since I read Elfstones with High Druid's Blade being a more recent read. Still there's some interesting YA modernisation happening, so I can see how it's been worked for that audience, and the key elements I recall, still feature.
When the rest of it becomes available here on our island I can see it being good "girlly night" material for watching with my eldest. Though I still reserve my right to shout at the tv here and there.

 

[Brian G Turner]

Is this going to be available in the UK on terrestrial channels, or is it staying only on MTV?

 

[SilentRoamer]

All of the characters are likeable too, and faithful to the books.

Let me start by saying I am really enjoying Shannara Chronicles. The production quality is great - the visuals are really stunning and the show is generally of a really high standard.

I have to disagree though - the characters are not a great deal like the books:

Amberlie
Not sure why Amberlie needs to be a "kickass" heroine and I hope they don't keep going down that path with her. Amberlies strength comes from within herself, her eventual deeds:

Spoiler: Amberlie Elfstones Spoilers

Sacrificing herself and becoming the Ellcrys

Are ultimately worth more than her being able to kick ass.

Slanter
Also Slanter is not in Elfstones he is actually in Wishsong - however if they treat his storyline carefully I think it could be a great addition and flesh out the idea of the "Four Lands".

Allanon
I actually really like Manu Bennets Allanon, he adds a sense of gravitas to the role - he is not at all like the mysterious 7ft tall brooding Allanon we are used to from the books however.

All of these are fairly minor changes that I can put up with, the change that really bothered me the most is:

The Reaper
Described in terms such as stalking and silent "ease and grace of the best elven hunters", the Reaper is literally a Grim Reaper type figure who you never really see beyond the hood - its sole existence is to kill. The Reaper doesn't kill for fun (although it does enjoy killing) but kills because it must kill, it is the Reapers nature. We ended up with a huge Chaos Knight reminiscent of Warhammer instead of a deadly and insidious opponent. In the novels the Reaper serves the Dagda Mor out of whim and not out of fear or respect. It would be nice to see some of that - in the novels even the Dagda Mor is eary of the reaper.

Anyway thats my minor gripe over with the character changes.

Also odd that they showed the whole descendant of modern day revelation already - even showing the Bloodline splitting into the races.

Overall I'm really impressed.