MTV has finally premiered its adaptation of Terry Brooks' post-apocalyptic and magical epic fantasy adventure "Shannara Chronicles" with a two-hour long first episode on Jan. 5. It may just be something fans of the fantasy genre can look forward to.
You may want to give the series a chance because even if MTV is a haven for reality television shows, it actually did a good job in producing a scripted show that is not cringe-worthy. Just don't expect "Shannara Chronicles" to play out like HBO's "Game of Thrones" (GoT) because the books both series were adapted from belong to different genres. To be more specific, "Shannara Chronicles" is a Young Adult (YA) fiction along the lines of J.K. Rowling's "Harry Potter" septology and Rick Riordan's "Percy Jackson and the Olympians" series.
It's No 'Game of Thrones??!'
It's not just the bloodshed and nudity we're talking about here but the entire universe. While GoT is also a fantasy drama the plot is entirely different and the hero's cause is nobler.
What Will Draw You In
For one, the computer-generated imagery (CGI) is fantastic. You see a post-apocalyptic world where nature and destroyed man-made structures mesh together. In some parts, you'll feel as though you're playing a post-apocalyptic game.
What Is "Shannara Chronicles" All About?
As mentioned above, the series is a post-apocalyptic story, however, any time period could be post-apocalyptic, right? Well, Terry Brooks' series is set in the distant future when the Earth has already been devastated and has somehow recovered from a nuclear war. Magic and elves are making an appearance again and a young half-elf is pulled into a mission to save The Four Lands (which is basically the world) from a demon horde planning to take over it.
The story follows Wil, the young half-elf, with his companions Amberle, King Eventine's granddaughter, and Eretria, a skilled thief. Their mission is to look for the Safehold and find a way for the magical tree called "Ellcrys" to be reborn. On the way, they will have to deal with the powerful demon, the Dagda Mor, who escaped from the Forbidding when Ellcrys began to die.
The Four Lands
No, you won't get any fancy names like "The Shire," "Rivendell," "Azkaban" or "Camp Half-Blood." Instead, what you get are names of lands based on where they are in the map. The Northland belongs to trolls and gnomes, the Southland is populated by humans, the Eastland is what gnomes and dwarves are fighting over and the Westland is where the elves reside. Got that?
Where Did Those Creatures Come From?
Among the creatures in The Four Lands, the elves have been around and were just in hiding after the Faeries began to die out and humans took over the lands. However, when humans ended up destroying themselves and the world, the elves emerged again and became the leaders of the world. So basically, it is the elves that have a pure bloodline from way back when the world began. Demons were around too but they have been locked up in the Forbidding and kept there by the power of Ellcrys.
Dwarves, Gnomes and Trolls all descended or evolved from humans after the nuclear holocaust. Basically, dwarves were humans that hid underground out of fear during the holocaust. Of course, descendants of those humans would adapt to their surroundings and they ended up becoming, well, dwarfish. The descendants were short and they hated the fact that men survived above ground and were not as vertically challenged as they are. Thus, they decided to live in forests instead.
Gnomes were once humans who survived the holocaust by hiding out in dense forests. According to the scholars in the Shannara universe, their life in the forest, as well as exposure to nuclear radiation, caused mental retardation and genetic mutation, which explains why they look and think the way they do.
Trolls were directly descended from humans who may have thought that they were invincible. Hence, they decided to remain above ground and not let exposure to dangerous radiation stop them from doing so.
Should You Watch It?
Give the series a chance and see if it will draw you in completely. However, take it with a grain of salt. Yes, it is a fantasy adventure and, yes, Brooks admitted he was influenced by J.R.R. Tolkien. But let's admit it, there's only one Tolkien and using him as a standard for comparison just isn't fair.
Just take a look at the official trailer and see for yourself.
