# "The Shannara Chronicles" and "Colony"



## tomBitonti (Jan 4, 2016)

Hi,

These snuck up on me.

One episode of "Colony" has already aired.  Any reviews?

Episodes 1 and 2 of "The Shannara Chronicles" air on 05-Jan-2016.

See:

https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/The_Shannara_Chronicles

https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Colony_(TV_series)

Thx!

TomB


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## Umbran (Jan 4, 2016)

I have to admit that for Shanara, I thought, "A fantasy series... on MTV?  Do I care?"


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## Mallus (Jan 4, 2016)

The trailer that emphasized how Shannara is set in post-apocalyptic Earth made it look lovely. I'm in for a few episodes!


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## Istbor (Jan 4, 2016)

Umbran said:


> I have to admit that for Shanara, I thought, "A fantasy series... on MTV?  Do I care?"




I have to agree.  Why?  Why is MTV handling this? Why would they want to? WHAT HAPPENED TO MTV!?!


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## Mark CMG (Jan 4, 2016)

I'm looking forward to seeing how both turn out.  Honestly, I'm of a mind that the more fantasy and sci-fi (and superhero stuff) that gets produced, the better.  The good ones will stick around and the bad ones will be replaced by newer efforts.  The days of a bad show making those genres toxic to other attempts seem to be behind us.  Between Netflix, Amazon, cable, and network (and whatever else) we're getting tons of new shows and plenty of money behind them.  "Huzzah!" I say.


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## tomBitonti (Jan 4, 2016)

On reading the description of "Colony", the depiction seems to be very close to life in a concentration camp.  Interesting, but I wonder if I'm willing to accept it as entertainment.

Thx!

TomB


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## Sacrosanct (Jan 4, 2016)

Really looking forward to the Shannara Chronicles.  The reviews I've seen already have all been universally impressed, comparing it to a series that would air on HBO or Showtime, with the production quality.


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## Ryujin (Jan 4, 2016)

I can't put my finger on it, but something about "Colony" leaves me cold. I didn't find the characters engaging, but that's hardly unusual for a new series. I could say the same about ST:TNG, Babylon 5, or in fact may other series I ultimately grew to enjoy. Maybe it's the "unseen aliens with an evil purpose" trope that did it? I'll have to give it a several episodes before I can come to a conclusion.

The idea of "The Shannara Chronicles" is interesting and MTV hasn't really been a music channel for going on 20 years, so this might have something to it. While I've never read the novels it seems like all of my friends have, and they've universally liked them. We'll see.


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## Umbran (Jan 4, 2016)

Istbor said:


> WHAT HAPPENED TO MTV!?!




A long time ago, "MTV," came to stand for, "Miscellaneous Television".


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## Istbor (Jan 4, 2016)

Don't get me wrong.  I am in no small way excited about anything with the Shannara world. I genuinely hope that it does well, if for no other reason to maybe cause more media for that series to blossom.  

I want to see some Rimmer Dal and Shadowen pretty bad.  

I guess there is the Wishsong so... Music TV achieved?


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## Jhaelen (Jan 5, 2016)

If the Shannara show is anything like the novels, I'll pass.

Colony might be interesting.


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## Mishihari Lord (Jan 5, 2016)

I saw the previews for Shanarra a few days ago and they looked pretty good ... but I just can't get excited about it.  I enjoyed reading the Sword of Shannarra as a child when it first came out, but even as a teen, when I was much less picky about books than I am today, they seemed very blah, just the basic Tolkeinesque fantasy you find everywhere without any unique points to distinguish it.  Hopefully the show does it a bit better.


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## Sacrosanct (Jan 5, 2016)

Mishihari Lord said:


> I saw the previews for Shanarra a few days ago and they looked pretty good ... but I just can't get excited about it.  I enjoyed reading the Sword of Shannarra as a child when it first came out, but even as a teen, when I was much less picky about books than I am today, they seemed very blah, just the basic Tolkeinesque fantasy you find everywhere without any unique points to distinguish it.  Hopefully the show does it a bit better.




The show isn't about the Sword of Shannara, but the next book, the Elfstones (which is one of the best of his books, IMO).


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## Istbor (Jan 5, 2016)

I can see certain points for it being a bit like every other general fantasy story out there. It has it own unique flavors though too.

The way magic is handled for instance to me is very interesting.  It is like a living thing, growing, changing, corrupting.  The characters get a general high off of using it and that gnawing temptation to KEEP using it. Though, when the moment is past they are exhausted and drained.  And in several books it demonstrates how the magic is evolving and some characters fear to use that power, not only because of how it makes them feel but because of unintended consequences as the magic takes up a life of its own. 

They portrait that well enough and I will at least watch it. 

That sort of thing is hinted at in a Tolkien story but not stressed the same I feel. And not as frequent.


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## Ralif Redhammer (Jan 5, 2016)

I'll be curious to check out the Shannara Chronicles. Hopefully it shows up on Hulu.

The books were not great, but I dug them back in the day. I can definitely see it being a good fit for MTV, oddly, with the focus on young protagonists. There’s no lack of source material, but the changes from generation to generation as the tales progress could be a problem, with having to re-sell new main characters again and again.


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## Mark CMG (Jan 6, 2016)

I just checked the listings and The Shannara Chronicles is airing on MTV, MTV 2, Teen Nick, and TV Land simultaneously.  Interesting?


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## Ryujin (Jan 6, 2016)

"The Shannara Chronicles" starts in about 10 minutes for me, here in the Toronto area.


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## Mercurius (Jan 6, 2016)

I'm half an hour into Shannara and I find it to be pretty bad, more SyFy than HBO, more Eragon than LotR. Oh well.

I didn't know that elves, even Terry Brooks elves, wore 21st century designer athletic wear and spoke like they are on the OC.


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## Ryujin (Jan 6, 2016)

Mercurius said:


> I'm half an hour into Shannara and I find it to be pretty bad, more SyFy than HBO, more Eragon than LotR. Oh well.
> 
> I didn't know that elves, even Terry Brooks elves, wore 21st century designer athletic wear and spoke like they are on the OC.




I'd have called it more CW than Netflix 

Given that it's supposed to be, what, 31st century post-apocalypse stuff, the way they've imagined the world, I don't know that the clothing is all that outre. They already showed The Space Needle and a freighter as wrecks. I'll give it a shot.


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## Mark CMG (Jan 6, 2016)

Regarding Shannara, I think they've done just what they intended to do and it couldn't have happened to a nicer IP.   That is to say, they have a certain target audience at MTV (and associates) and this treatment might well be just the way to reach and keep them watching.  It's tweeny and twilighty and all of the things that will get it clobbered in reviews by more serious fantasy fans.  So, too, if they had to do this with a popular bit of IP from the past, choosing Shannara gets them both name recognition and a bit of Teflon coating since it was always said to be a Tolkien ripoff.  No one is ever seriously going to say that a great, original movie or series could have been made from this work.

On a personal note, I only ever read the first book from the Terry Brooks Shannara "chronicles" so this series picks up right where it fits my own knowledge.  While it isn't something I am going to sit and watch while glued to the screen, I am going to pop it on while doing other stuff (painting minis, making terrain, etc.) and will definitely enjoy the special effects and such.  I'll be able to follow the story, such as it is, closely enough in this manner to get what little I want from it.  The references so far hit me just right, since when I did read that first book it was many years ago when it first came out and the memories of it feel just hazy enough, as they would for the characters. 

The acting isn't bad though I see a lot of backlash over the various accents.  They don't really bother me.  I was more taken aback by the treads on the boots.  While I know this is meant to be in the future, a post-apocalyptic Earth of the 31st? Century, something about perfectly made boot treads just seemed jarring.  I like the other costume stuff and setting work they've done.  The CGI F/X flying creatures seem a little weak though the F/X work in scenes with the main villains and/or the druid were very enjoyable.

I hope it lasts at least a couple seasons.  Maybe it will even get better.


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## Ryujin (Jan 6, 2016)

It was OK TV bubblegum. I'll likely keep watching it.


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## Sacrosanct (Jan 6, 2016)

Mark CMG said:


> Regarding Shannara, I think they've done just what they intended to do and it couldn't have happened to a nicer IP.   That is to say, they have a certain target audience at MTV (and associates) and this treatment might well be just the way to reach and keep them watching.  It's tweeny and twilighty and all of the things that will get it clobbered in reviews by more serious fantasy fans.




It definitely felt like it was produced with a younger demographic in mind, which makes sense considering their audience.  As a man in my 40s, it wasn't made for me, that's for sure.  My biggest dissappointment was how they handled Paranor.  That keep was pretty much as much of a character as any of the protagonists, so to complete change it bothered me.



> So, too, if they had to do this with a popular bit of IP from the past, choosing Shannara gets them both name recognition and a bit of Teflon coating since it was always said to be a Tolkien ripoff.  No one is ever seriously going to say that a great, original movie or series could have been made from this work.




This is hardly fair.  Yeah, lots of people considered Sword of S to be a ripoff of Tolkien, but all Tolkien was, was a ripoff of existing myths and folklore.  The whole Smiegle fighting with his brother over the ring is pretty much word for word taken from a Norse myth.  You also forget that there are A LOT of other Shannara books after Sword that are completely as original as any other fantasy author has done.  Also, while in Tolkien, there were clear good guys (humans, hobbits, dwarves, and elves) and clear bad guys (orcs and goblins), there is no such distinction in Shannara.  The only really bad guys are demons.  There aren't any orcs or goblins present.  The humans, elves, dwarves, gnomes, and trolls all have various attitudes with each other that shift depending on which book it is, and those relationships are more complex than Tolkien's.


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## Mark CMG (Jan 6, 2016)

Sacrosanct said:


> This is hardly fair.





I don't know.  I think the impression one gets when reading Tolkien's work is that he borrowed liberally from history and mythology, and constructed languages, most of which had not been done before by anyone, thus creating something new in literature.  The overwhelming impression one gets from reading The Sword of Shannara is that he read Tolkien.  I do believe you that the subsequent Brooks work built on that and were better written as he became more seasoned as a writer.  Make no mistake, I enjoyed The Sword of Shannara for what is was, nonetheless.  I was an easy audience in the late 70s and still am, for the most part.


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## Dog Moon (Jan 7, 2016)

Colony didn't interest me at all, but I did watch Shannara Chronicles

Overall, I think I liked it.  The show wasn't quite what I was expecting and some of the dialogue and stuff just didn't quite sit right with me, though as I've seen other people comment, it could just be because of the target audience is a little different, and likely younger, than me.  I think this might be why some of the actors/actresses didn't feel right, but it does have other actors that I like.  It has Slade Wilson!  Rawr!  Plus the guy from Sliders and Dexter's dad!

I did like a lot of the imagery, though I don't remember things like rusted out planes and whatnot being quite so prevalent in the books.  But still, some of the building and the ship looked neat.  I felt kind of disappointed with the Druid's home though [it's been so long I barely remember these names, or not at all in this case; heck I can't even remember more recent actors' names, though admittedly a lot of them I just never learned] but I swore it was like a massive castle and if true that would have been a lot more grander and awesome than a big cylindrical stone.

So anyway, so far I like what I see well enough that I will continue watching and hope for the best.


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## Jan van Leyden (Jan 7, 2016)

I noticed today that "The Shannara Chronicles" is offered for Amazon Prime Instant Video in Germany. Too bad our free test drive for that service ended four days ago; I might actually have been able to watch it.


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## Ralif Redhammer (Jan 7, 2016)

Ooh, I wonder if that's true stateside. I'll have to check when I get home.



Jan van Leyden said:


> I noticed today that "The Shannara Chronicles" is offered for Amazon Prime Instant Video in Germany. Too bad our free test drive for that service ended four days ago; I might actually have been able to watch it.


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## Nellisir (Jan 13, 2016)

I saw a few promos for The Colony while watching The Expanse (which is REALLY grabbing me) but not enough to figure out what was going on or care. So, fail on the promo, people.


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## Richards (Jan 15, 2016)

No interest in "Shannara," but I did watch the "Colony" premiere last night.  I'm having a hard time seeing these as new characters, and not Sawyer from "Lost" suddenly married to Lori from "The Walking Dead" and working for one of Dr. House's doctor colleagues from "House."  It's making it rather difficult for me to immerse myself in the story line.

Johnathan


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## Dog Moon (Jan 18, 2016)

Richards said:


> suddenly married to Lori from "The Walking Dead"




Which is funny, cause I always thought of her as "Sexy Doctor Lady" which is what my roommate at the time called her character from Prison Break [He had a thing for her].  And that is how I think of her now.


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## horacethegrey (Jan 18, 2016)

Started watching _Shannara _recently. Now I'm going into this as a complete noob, as I never read the books it's based on. I've read how Terry Brooks plagiarized Tolkien heavily with _Sword of Shannara_ so I never really bothered with them because of that.

Watching the series though, I have to say I'm into it despite the standard fantasy trappings. The locations are beautifully shot and the setting being a post apocalyptic Earth makes for a nice change from an mythical ancient land from long ago. Among the cast I liked Manu Bennet as the druid Alannon the best. Nice to see that the resident wizard instead of looking old and feeble is a big and intimidating guy who can kick your butt both with and without magic.

But  Holy S**t did MTV overload on the pretty people on this show. Now the LOTR film trilogy wasn't lacking in the pretty department, but for every Orlando Bloom we had a rugged Viggo Mortensen or Sean Bean to balance everything out. Here it seems like a CW show on steroids.

I'm not really complaining though, only because Poppy Drayton as Amberle is cute as hell...


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## Dannyalcatraz (Mar 6, 2016)

Mallus said:


> The trailer that emphasized how Shannara is set in post-apocalyptic Earth made it look lovely. I'm in for a few episodes!




I just now- literally- started watching it.  The opening credits made absolutely clear what it took so long for Brooks to reveal with certainty what was hinted at.  While it diminishes the power of that particular plot point, I think it will help ease the "buy in" to those who don't know the series.


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## Dannyalcatraz (Mar 6, 2016)

Oh yeah: Colony lost me with episode 1.  Not even a shred of enjoyment there.


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## Ryujin (Mar 6, 2016)

Dannyalcatraz said:


> Oh yeah: Colony lost me with episode 1.  Not even a shred of enjoyment there.




Same here. I think that I made it to 4 with Shannara.


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## Elodan (Mar 7, 2016)

Dannyalcatraz said:


> Oh yeah: Colony lost me with episode 1.  Not even a shred of enjoyment there.




I almost gave up on Colony after the 1st episode but gave it one more shot.  I found the show got better (except for the acting of whoever plays the wife) as it went along; whereas, Shannara seemed to get worse and worse (gave up after episode 6).


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## Hand of Evil (Mar 8, 2016)

Gave up on Sword after three or four shows.  Hate to say it but was waiting for Alannon to yell; Spartacus!


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