As mentioned while playing through Shannara, I liked Terry Brooks Shannara-series (or at least the ones I've read). So, I discovered there was a TV-show made after one of the books, and it's the Elfstones of Shannara, the best book in the series. And it got John-Rhys Davies as king Eventine and the guy that played Deathstroke in Arrow as Allanon. The others wasn't that interestingactually.
So the story follows Elfstones pretty much. The "world tree" Ellcrys in the lands of the elves are dying and it is the only thing that keeps demons trapped from the real world. As the tree gets weaker three demons are released, the leader of the demons and two lunderlings that are sent out to prepare for the invasion of the demons. You got the chameleon that can take any form and infiltrate the elven court and tells on the planes to demons. The other is the grim reaper that first is sent out to kill the chosen of the Ellcrys, but one is missing. Allanon have awaken from his druid sleep and first pick up Will Ohmsford, the last of the Shannaras and then get an elven princess that left the court and was a chosen and send them out to gather a seed and reinvigorate the tree while Allanon leads the defence of the invasion of the demons. Great story.
A bit of difference here. The changeling is sent to take out the chosen in the elven capital and kills Eventine pretty early, especially when they killed it already just an episode or so earlier, and takes his place instead of reveal that the dog spied on them until the end when it killed Eventine. The wanderer's aren't the same either since they in the books was pretty much romanticised gypsies with ideas like stealing children... like blond blue-eyed children with all the black-haired gypsies... yeah probably good they changed them. In the book they pretty much cheated Will out of the elfstones, but one girl decides to steal them back leaving them with painted elfstones that let's get them killed by the grim reaper as it can follow the stones. The grim reaper shows up fairly late and is more a black knight. And the place they need to find is in San Fransisco. The witches, I don't know what they are, but it isn't like the book. Or I never saw it like that as I quite missed all the modern stuff that existed in the book. Here we have subway systems and areas with radiation poisoning, working pistols... wait, would they still work after what, millenia? At least Allanon fought in the war of the four lands 300 years ago and god knows how many hundred years after Bremen (who makes a small cameo in the show) and the other hundred of years after the destruction of the earth.
Also, they added some conflicts within the elves like the sons of Eventine, the youngest being a drunk after letting gnomes infiltrate the palace and killing the oldest brother and the middle brother wanting to becoming king but constantly fights Allanon and don't believe the demons are coming. Also, they ditch the human legion and dwarfs that would be the only ones that would stand by the elves as the demons attacked. I mean, the leader of the humans was the real badass. So instead of conflict between the elves themselves, why not put that on the other races? Which is funny, since there isn't a single dwarf in the show. And I don't know if trolls and gnomes should look like that, I mean trolls is just wearing gas masks and gnomes disfigured humans with aviator googles. They also added a seer that gets possessed by the demons that wasn't in the book. Seems to be an important character in season 2 so that will be interesting to see.
It was fine, but I didn't get the horror feeling of the hunt by the grim reaper or the tear-inducing ending as all is revealed and the princess realises that she has to sacrifice herself to resurrect the Ellcrys and Will's love for her powers the elfstones while Will tries to plead with her that he loves her and all that. It's a sad ending. They also doesn't show the toll on Allanon since it's also telling how magic affects a person, everything had a price. And the wanderer girl isn't even there in the end but still in San Fransisco. Which sets up season two that I'm waiting for arriving in mail any day now. Will I watch it again? Probably not, I prefer reading the books actually and have a bit of craving for it now.
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