As mentioned before, reviewing television series can be very rewarding since I don’t watch as much television as I used too. I’ve found series that I never knew existed until the discs showed up in my mailbox. One of these great series is named Legend of the Seeker. I was fortunate enough to review the first season and it got great marks. So, I was even more delighted to see the second season hit my hands as well. This might be the final season for the show but let’s hope they saved the best for last.
So boys and girls, do you remember what happened in the first season? Well the Seeker, Richard Cypher (played by Craig Horner) defeated the evil Darken Rahl (played by Craig Parker) and sent him to the underworld. There will be much rejoicing and celebrating now that the lands are free and maybe finally the people can live in peace. Or will they? *insert dramatic music here*.
Back to the story, we start the first episode of the second season, Darken Rahl is sent to the underworld. We find out that he serves a greater master in the form of the Keeper. Darken’s death was planned all along without his knowledge for he has a greater purpose. See, with every death that the Seeker creates with his blade, he creates more soldiers for the underworld. MUHAHAHAHA.
*clear throat*, sorry I went all maniacal ruler of the world on the readers. Anyway, I mentioned that people were also celebrating. The Seeker, Kahlan (played by Bridget Regan) and Zedd (played by Bruce Spence) are sharing some mead and carrying on when they hear a monster scream. A head rolls on the floor and soon after flies in a screeling, an undead creature. The Seeker does his best to re-direct the creature away from the people but can not defeat the creature before it flees.
Soon after, Richard learns from the D’Haran army (who no longer serves under Darken Rahl) that he is not a Cypher but a Rahl. He is in fact the brother to the fallen evil overlord. Therefore, by rite of passage he can assume the throne if he so chooses. The Seeker does not choose immediately but uses the soldiers to hopefully find the location of the underworld creature.
Meanwhile, the Sisters of the Agiel no longer have Darken Rahl to lead them. Cara (played by Tabrett Bethell) assumes the role of Queen despite protests from other members of the group. Later, Darken Rahl in the form of a spirit appears to the others and he tells them that Cara was involved in his death. He goes on further to tell them to beat her and leave her for dead. The group does so by knocking her out when her back was turned. The Sisters cut off her ponytail and leave her there, beaten and disgraced.
The Sisters invade the town and capture seven girls from the people. The heroes go after them and soon find Cara. Despite some early reluctance from Kahlan, she joins the heroes when Richard remembers her deeds that helped him defeat Darken Rahl. The group goes after the Sisters as well as the screeling. Elsewhere, Zedd accepts a grave task concerning the prophecy from Shota (played by Danielle Cormack ) the witch. Can the heroes defeat the Sisters and the screeling so they can save the children?
The main plot of Season Two consists around finding the Stone of Tears to repair the veil between the Underworld and the world of the living. The story for the first season was fairly straight-forward whereas the second season takes some interesting twists and turns. As mentioned, we find out from the outset that Richard and Darken Rahl are actually brothers. But, unfortunately that is only the start of the changes that will keep you glued to your seat.
We also learn a lot about Kahlan this season and learn that her title is much rarer than even she thought. Cara is a welcome addition to the side of good (well as good as she can be) and provides a nice counterpart to the virginal Kahlan. Richard really assumes a leader role by the second season and is longer second fiddle to his hero friends. The cast of characters become stronger and more entertaining as they drive to an explosive finish to the series.
The only negative I can say to the series is that it ended. The fault to the show is that it was probably produced about 10-15 years too late. Had this show been around when Hercules and Xena were starting to tail off, it could have certainly lasted a few more seasons. As such we get forty-four episodes total (Season 1 & 2) of a show that got a big budget (1.5 million an episode) but never got the audience it so richly deserved.
Video
The video is in 1.78:1 widescreen presentation. As mentioned in the first season, this series is shot entirely in New Zealand. As one could guess, the scenery is breathtaking and while some of it is in a studio (still in New Zealand), it is alive with color and lush surroundings. The mountains, the water, and anything else you can think of make this a presentation worth watching.
Audio
For the audio portion, we get a 5.1 English Dolby Digital track. The same could be said for the beautiful music which actually won a Primetime Emmy Award back in 2009 for Outstanding Music Composition for a Series. It is so rich and it will fill your speakers. Though I doubt it would see the light of day, I wonder if there is a Blu-ray quality track out there. Dialog is clear and there is little to be negative about here. Subtitles are provided for English, French and Spanish.
Special Features
- Automatic Trailers: ABC on DVD, Scrubs 9th Season, and Tron Legacy
- Redemption of a Mord’Sith: Meet Cara 10:13: I think I have a new favorite character in the series (sorry Zedd). This featurette shows us Cara or Tabrett Bethell up close and personal. They go through her training and how quickly she had to move in order to be ready for the episodes. Apparently, she had no difficulty fitting in and quickly became close friends with Bridget Regan. She worked the role quite well and hopefully we see her in other television spots in years to come.
- Under the Underworld 8:41: Shows how they created the set for their depiction of the the Underworld. Some nice technical information here and it is amazing how creepy they made it seem with minimal effort.
- Extended Scenes 10:13: There are six scenes provided here. All of them are pretty good and would have been welcome to the particular episode. But unfortunately, they only get so much time in television.
- Sneak Peeks: Castle: 2nd Season, Flash Forward: 1st Season, Lost: Final Season, Desperate Housewives: Sixth Season and ABC
Final Thoughts
As mentioned above, The Legend of the Seeker was not renewed for a third season. It simply did not get enough buzz which is unfortunate given the great writing of the show. The show actually improved in value for the second season giving us a whole new series of twists and turns and taking on an even darker theme. I’m honestly sad to see it go, because the potential was not even fully realized as of yet.
The discs are excellent in video and audio and the extras while a little thin were still a fun to watch. This is one of my easiest recommendations and if you like fantasy at all, you’ll get a boatload here. Good luck to the Seeker, may he always slay the evil that frequents the lands. (and can you get me Cara’s number? I’m just saying *whistle*)
Episodes
Disc One
Marked
Baneling
Broken
Touched
Disc Two
Wizard
Fury
Resurrection
Light
Disc Three
Dark
Perdition
Torn
Hunger
Princess
Disc Four
Bound
Creator
Desecrated
Vengeance
Walter
Disc Five
Extinction
Eternity
Unbroken
Tears
