Article originally published as THE SHANNARA CHRONICLES Review on Seat42F.
MTV
becomes a player in the modern television landscape with THE SHANNARA
CHRONICLES, premiering this week. Sure, the network has had some modest
hits, such as Teen Wolf, and some quality programming, such as the first
few seasons of Awkward. But THE SHANNARA CHRONICLES is a turning point
because it’s a big budget epic with complex characters (who aren’t all
teenagers) in a sweeping, fully developed world. Based on the trilogy by
Terry Brooks (well, mainly the middle volume), this is the first show
MTV has aired that I could easily see one of the higher quality networks
carrying.
THE SHANNARA CHRONICLES is set in a
geographically small area on a future Earth in which mankind has died
out. Elves control the height of civilization, with trolls and roamers
on the fringes, all living in the ruins of once-great cities and
technology, now nearly eroded away.
That’s where this main action begins,
but it’s not where this story does. There is a lot of backstory revealed
in bits throughout the two-hour pilot (from the first book) that set
the stage for this world, and plays into the crisis at hand. Magic,
thought to have died out with the Druids, is making its return as demons
seek to escape their imprisonment and conquer the planet for good. Can
they be stopped?
THE SHANNARA CHRONICLES introduces us to
a pair of heroes who may or may not be up to the task. Princess Amberle
Elessedil (Poppy Drayton, Downton Abbey) is a headstrong young woman
who refuses to accept her place in society, and is formidable enough to
make waves, earning a position in a male-dominated force. She is joined
by naïve Wil Ohmsford (Austin Butler, The Carrie Diaries), a half-elf
with heroism and magic in his blood, though Wil is ill-prepared to
follow in those footsteps at present.
Were those the only two principal
players, this would be a typical MTV series. Instead, there’s actually
quite a few others. Allanon (Manu Bennett, Arrow) is a druid awoken from
a multi-decade slumber who takes Wil on as his apprentice. King
Eventine (John Rhys-Davies, The Lord of the Rings) is the ruler who has
swept the horrors of the past under the rug, and now struggles to hold
onto his legacy. Heir-to-the-throne Ander (Aaron Jakubenko, Neighbours)
has a different idea on how to handle current events. Younger Arion
(Daniel MacPherson, Neighbours) enjoys the perks of royalty without the
responsibilities. And roamer Eretria (Ivana Baquero, Pan’s Labyrinth)
wants freedom from her clan’s leader (James Remar, Dexter).
Now, while this is not a top-tier cast,
it is a group of performers who hold their own in this Lord of the
Rings-type fantasy. Together, they make up a varied ensemble who’ll
likely face death nearly as often as those on Game of Thrones, though
being on basic cable, THE SHANNARA CHRONICLES pulls back slightly on
violence, disregards all profanity, and only flirts with nudity. Though
it does the latter quite often.
Filmed in New Zealand, THE SHANNARA
CHRONICLES feels epic and sweeping, and likely owes a lot of that to the
novels it is adapted from. There is no need for the show’s writers to
develop a world as they go because one has already been clearly laid out
ahead of time. That being said, the source material isn’t enough to
keep this show going for more than a couple of years, so the written
work is likely to be a jumping off point, rather than the sole
inspiration.
I liked THE SHANNARA CHRONICLES a lot.
It feels more sophisticated and well-made than the typical MTV fare. It
may not win any awards, but it signals that the network isn’t just going
to keep churning out sexy teens doing scandalous things as their only
programming, and I look forward to seeing if their viewers embrace it,
or maybe even earn the channel a new audience.
THE SHANNARA CHRONICLES premieres Tuesday at 10 p.m. on MTV.
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