Wolf359

I liked it for the most part. Nitpicking, but I really don't think you'd see husks of cars and such after 10,000? + years...

Eric F

I read quite a few of the Shannara books, albeit this one probably 20yrs back so I don't remember much of it. The first thing I thought when I saw the pilot is that this is probably one of the prettiest casts on TV. Also, the production values are extremely high, almost Game of Thrones level at times.

One thing that irks me is that I always pictured Allanon as an older man, late middle aged or in his 60s-70s. I guess it plays better to MTV's demographic to portray him as a buff fighter type.

There's other stuff about it which I find kind of odd, like putting modern phrases in the show.

Otherwise I thought it was alright for what it was. I'm sure Terry Brooks is ecstatic.

I bet you a lot of people are confused about why that Dwarf guy is playing an Elf.

davidh777

Just watched the first three episodes last night. While the MTV teen hipsterisms had me rolling my eyes, I liked the whole package (casting, effects, story) well enough to go on to episode 4. Yeah, much of it isn't original, but it didn't feel like a complete LOTR clone (as Sword did when I was reading it). And I'm OK with showcasing the lead female's hot body.

For the record, I read Sword at least twice as a kid, and I think Elfstones.

Eric F

There are so many of the Shannara books I don't even know where to start. I think a lot of viewers following the story will be lost when Allanon starts talking about people like Flick and Jair- I barely remember it and I read most of them.

I did tire of them after I got to my 10th book or so and gave up. I think Terry Brooks swears off them every so often and then realize he needs more cash.

davidh777

I always think of high-fantasy wizards as looking like Gandalf so I'm OK when they don't. This guy did throw me for a loop, but I adjusted.

I guess this is how he was portrayed in the first book, which does take me back.

MLBFan24

Dropped the show about halfway through the premiere. Oddly enough, I don't think the show was bad, and I was actually quite impressed with the production values. However, I guess I wasn't in a "fantasy epic" mood at the moment, and I tried watching the premiere over a course of a few days and just wasn't into it.

I guess I would still recommend it to people who are really into the fantasy genre, even if I didn't bother finishing the episode...

DJariya

It was a 2 hour premiere last week. Episode 3 airs this week.

randian

The first 4 episodes are on mtv.com if you have a cable tv subscription. It looks like streaming only people are sol.

DJariya

Just caught the premiere tonight. Very impressive production value for MTV. Almost feature film quality. This is a pretty ambitious show, especially for MTV's audience.

This isn't the type of show that you can only half pay attention to. They set up a lot of story. But I think you really need to be a fan of this genre.

Liked the 2 main characters along with Manu Bennett being the Druid/guardian of the group. I think I'll stick with it and see where it goes. Went by pretty fast since it was limited commercials.

davidh777

Yeah, Comcast on demand has the first four episodes. I just watched the fourth last night so I guess I have two weeks or so to wait for the next one.

This is nothing amazing, but I like it.

In some of my breaks, there was only a single commercial... for The Shannara Chronicles.

DJariya

Really liked the 3rd episode. Some good stuff. The special FX used to create the Fury demon were quite impressive. Also like the chemistry between Wil and Amberle.

Did anyone's DVR's pick up the Saturday re-air and it's listed as a 1st run episode? Well, the reason for that is it's a special "Unearthed" episode was text commentary on the behind the scenes aspects of the episode. I watched that version tonight instead of the Tuesday airing. I actually found it quite interesting with all the tid bits.

Excuse me for missing this because I was watching this really late, but what was that room/entrance that Amberle was entering at the end of episode 3?

PhantomStranger

Most DVRs are picking up that Saturday broadcast as a "new" episode.

davidh777

The tree.

funkyryno

I almost didn't get past the first 10 minutes of the first episode, but I stuck with it and ended up enjoying it. The casting seemed a little CW-ish, but the special effects were pretty decent.

Traxan

I finally plowed through the first two episodes last night. You guys weren't kidding about the dialog. It was almost jarring to hear 'Mean Girls'-like speech patterns. But that pretentious, Shakespearean with faux British accents style of speaking in every fantasy film gets tedious after a while, too.

I read the book in high school so I have to re-read it again. I don't recall Eretria and her father being such assholes.

Also, if you look through the cast on IMDb, a bunch of the actors were in The Hobbit.

Inhumans99

I caught up on the first four episodes, and am actually enjoying the heck out of this show. The special effects are pretty good, and each episode moves at a rapid enough pace to keep me from getting bored.

mnementh

Is this show in the dumps? MTV seems to have dropped repeat airings and new episodes of the Unearthed commentary.

PhantomStranger

That is actually pretty common with MTV. They don't like airing repeats much of the time. Given the serious financial commitment, this show is guaranteed to see a season two even if the ratings were terrible.

I've liked it so far as light teen fantasy with a few adult characters around.

DJariya

The Unearthed episode for episode 4 was recorded today at 11am PT/2pm ET. But I don't see one scheduled for episode 5. Is that what you're talking about?

Traxan

I've been reading the book in between episodes and man they changed everything, especially Eretria and the Rovers.

The casting of Amberle is probably the best I've seen so far. Not sure what to make of Allanon. And I'm bummed that Wil isn't the healer in training like in the book.

mdc3000

I've never read the books and admittedly there is a lot of "MTV" aspects to this show that I'm not loving but this is the show I look forward to the most each week at the moment. Just fun, really well done fantasy with a charismatic cast.

MScottM

Watched the first three episodes last night. It is interesting and I will continue to watch it. I do think that they are going overboard with all of the "ruins" that they are leaving from the past. I have seen dozens of building frames and ships and vehicles. We get it already. This is a long time after the crash of civilization.

Traxan

Starting to dislike the changes now. They irritate me more than dialog like "sloppy seconds." Things like changes with the Rovers, the seer, bringing in Slanter when he was not in this book. I don't object to the fan service for the female audience (Butler is shirtless in every episode) but how about something for the guys, eh?

Have to admit though, that The Reaper looked majorly bad ass.

Eric F

Dialogue is terrible. Who writes the scripts?

Traxan

Millennials.