Legend of the Seeker Season 1
A hero called the Seeker of Truth will rise to fight Darken Rahl with help from a powerful wizard and a woman with the power of love called a confessor.
Film making 23/25
Video 21/25
Audio 20/25
Bonus Features 15/25
Total 78/100
Legend of the Seeker is an adaptation based on The Sword of Truth novels written by Terry Goodkind and not a direct screenplay. Sam Raimi and Robert Tapert wrote Xena: Warrior Princess and Hercules: The Legendary Journeys and now put their talents to work on Legend of the Seeker.
Legend of the Seeker stars Craig Horner as Richard Cypher the Seeker, Bridget Regan as Kahlan Amnell the Confessor and Bruce Spence as Zeddicus Zu’l Zorander. The three fight injustice and the main enemy of Darken Rahl but find plenty of side adventures along the way.
Legend of the Seeker is a fun and entertaining adventure tale that has all the right ingredients for a good fantasy show. The main theme of fighting an all powerful enemy and having small single episode adventures that follow the main theme make the show enjoyable whether you see each episode or not.
The show has a more serious theme than the previous series written by Raimi and Tapert without the quick humor but there are some good jokes and funny themes at times. The main serious nature of the adventure gives a good basis for the adventure story and the series has some good actors to steer the show along.
The main story follows the three fighting the Darken Rahl and his armies with plenty of magic and good sword fighting. There are quite a few great things about the show but also a few things that bug me at times but overall the show is worth watching.
Zeddicus is a comic relief for the show who plays an old man who talks to chickens at the beginning of the show to hide his true magician self. His character is done a bit too well as the two sides of his personality conflict a bit too much at times to make him a bit unbelievable.
The show does well with the story but at times it seems to follow a bit too closely to the fantasy staple story that becomes too predictable. There are quite a few positive things about the show including the great scenery of New Zealand where they filmed, the great costumes that are very authentic and the good writing.
I noticed several times the costumes and props used in the show and was quite impressed with things like the Confessor’s costume with her very long leather boots and dress that ties up the entire front. Other items on costumes are the men’s knickers with the ties on the front instead of some hidden fasteners like zippers.
Legend of the Seeker Season 1 has 22 episodes in standard definition video with Dolby Digital 5.1 Surround Sound audio. The shows video is very good without any technical problems with well done color but some of the special effects are a bit lower budget.
The audio is very good with some decent surround sound but the show is a bit front heavy with effects and sound but the fights do have some good surround. The audio and video look and sound good and are quite typical for a first season show with a pretty good budget that is quite enjoyable.
A few things of note on Legend of the Seeker aside from he costumes and the story is the fighting and talents of the actors. The show features some great sword fighting but the Confessor uses long knives and the fighting as she tackles enemies with her two long knives looks very authentic and impressive.
Another surprise to the shows main theme is the ending battle between Darken Rahl and the Seeker in the first season. While there are plenty of enemies in magical lands it is kind of odd for a show to get rid of the main enemy of a story in the first season.
I think this works in the favor of the show to change things up and do a bit of the unexpected and it does make the show stand out. Legend of the Seeker is a well done show and well worth watching, I can’t wait to see the second season and will not wait till the show comes out on video, thank you Hulu.
Legend of the Seeker: Season 1 contains some bonus content in a making of feature, a conversation with Terry Goodkind and couple of other extras. The deleted scenes are alright to watch once but the several commentary features are pretty good with the usual additions by the shows producer and co-producer as well as the two main stars Craig Parker and Bridget Regan.
The bonus content is another of those watch once and probably never turn to again but they do add some good comparisons of the books the show is based on and other fun information. Legend of the Seeker has plenty of entertaining value with a few good extras but not a lot of bonus content.
Legend of the Seeker is a pretty good show and well worth purchasing the DVD of Season 1 for the great fantasy adventure. The two main actors of Craig Parker and Bridget Regan really put their best efforts into their parts and make the show well worth owning.