The Shannara Chronicles

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Season 1
Season #: 2, 1
User Score
6.6

Generally favorable reviews- based on 319 Ratings

User score distribution:
  1. Positive: 195 out of 319
  2. Mixed: 49 out of 319
  3. Negative: 75 out of 319
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  1. Videshi
    Mar 5, 2016
    3
    This review contains spoilers, click expand to view. I'd like to enjoy this show, I really would. It has a lot of elements I would normally love, being a big fan of sci-fi and fantasy... but it's terrible.
    Mostly it's the cinematography and a lack of understanding of how to show time passing... because it makes no sense in this regard. Try this: watch up to episode 7. How long have they been traveling? Since there's NO reference, it seems like three days? You're given the impression they're traveling for a day, and they reappear half a world away. One episode has the druid telling Bandon that he's going to be the next druid and he has to learn about his powers, the next episode he's suddenly rivaling the druid in power. Huh? From my point of view, no days have passed, and we've seen no training at all. Has it been months? Years? Days? The druid dies once, the show tries to imply he's dead for good, then he wakes up somewhere else. That would be fine, except that again, no time passing, and the druid reappears in the castle in what seems like an hour's time, on a horse. So why bother with killing him if you're never going to show time passing in earnest? You just made him teleport away for what seemed like an hour, but was... I don't know, a week?
    If you watch this show, expect completely misleading or entirely missing plot information. Episode 6 has Diana complaining that the Ander she loves has disappeared, "lost in booze and anger and doubt. I wake up every morning praying that he'll return". Except they forgot to show ANY of that. Ander's been very, very reasonable and is working very hard, but that scene is shot like we're supposed to feel like he's failing. What??? If you'd shown me any of that I might agree. Producers: SHOW, DON'T TELL.
    Hell, at one point they meet up with a town Amish-sort-of people who are ALL in their 20s. Well, Amish if all of their clothing came from Mark's Work Wearhouse. Then they have a rave in a barn, which includes generators and an awesome light show. What???
    As you can see, I really want to like it, but it's like they just take events, shuffle them up in a bag, and then drop them onto the screen indiscriminately.    … Expand
  2. Mooncalfian
    Feb 3, 2016
    3
    I've changed my score from a 6 to a 3, because even though the second episode picked up a bit and felt more interesting, it goes so far downhill after that.

    The action scenes are vicious and well made, and the art department did a wonderful job, from the costumes to the set design. However, except for those two points I can't say anything redeeming about The Shannara Chronicles at all.    I've changed my score from a 6 to a 3, because even though the second episode picked up a bit and felt more interesting, it goes so far downhill after that.

    The action scenes are vicious and well made, and the art department did a wonderful job, from the costumes to the set design. However, except for those two points I can't say anything redeeming about The Shannara Chronicles at all.

    The script is fairly bad, even though I get why it was modernised slightly (it's post apocalyptic after all). The acting is mostly pretty mediocre, and at times fairly bad. But those two things are the tip of this great iceberg of awfulness. The story changes are 80% pointless, stupid, and added in to cater towards teens with poor attention span, and for absolutely zero other reason. Some of the story choices, such as everyone sleeping together (including the demons!), or making the Reaper into a big dumb slow hulk are downright idiotic. They've abandoned the heart of the show to make way for cliched corny tripe, and some of the absolute best scenes and plot lines from the book have been completely butchered, or in some places taken out entirely (and I'm not talking about small plot lines). The characters all act like horny bros and clubber teens, which feels so far out of place. Moreover, some of the decisions the characters make during the first 5 episodes are so head-numbingly unrealistic and idiotic that it makes me wince.

    But worst of all is the choppy and poorly paced directing. Sure, some of the scenery shots are very nice, but the actual plot directing is abysmal. Seriously, one of the worst directed things I've ever seen. It just jumps from half-baked scene to scene without allowing the audience a chance to feel immersed or even interested. I bet somewhere in the world Mulder and Scully are investigating a coffin that's spontaneously spinning around, and in 10 or 20 years it will hold Terry Brooks. Poor guy.

    Steer clear of this vacuous eye-candy unless you're 15 years old and kinda liked Eragon.    … Expand
  3. Unseenteeth
    Jan 16, 2016
    3
    I was a huge fan of the books growing up, hungrily devouring the series when I had finished with Tolkien.

    Wasn't sure exactly what to expect going in to the show, but I had heard mixed things. First episode has some nice enough scenery, strong set design and so above average CG. The only exception is the costume design which borders on laughable. Do female elven warriors really need    I was a huge fan of the books growing up, hungrily devouring the series when I had finished with Tolkien.

    Wasn't sure exactly what to expect going in to the show, but I had heard mixed things. First episode has some nice enough scenery, strong set design and so above average CG. The only exception is the costume design which borders on laughable. Do female elven warriors really need to wear skin tight armor? Why do all the men have top-knots ? It's bad.

    Then we come to the acting, and things get worse. I actually couldn't continue watching when Amberle has visions of killing her beau during an elf party, and decides that the best course of action is to,

    1. Take the visions as material fact, and decide that the best course of action is to run away.
    2. Threaten her beau with a sword, for no reason that I could see
    3. Knock him out with said sword
    4. Over dramatic apology.
    5. Runs away.

    It's so cheesy and overacted, and badly written, I just couldn't. I closed the window immediately. I don't even recall if the books had this kind of cheese in them or what. Maybe I'm remembering them with rose tinted glasses. The only thing I know for sure is I can't handle this show, and I will NOT be watching any more episodes.    … Expand
  4. FullStop
    Jan 6, 2016
    3
    The scenery is REALLY breathtaking. Its like movie quality! LOVE never seen anything in a series before.
    The story is even if u havent read the book predictable - and i mean PREDICTABLE!
    The MODEL(actors) are not utterly bad but not really good either. All this hip beautiful youngster actors take away the seriousness of the story. Should have gone for a more natural cast. But then mtv    The scenery is REALLY breathtaking. Its like movie quality! LOVE never seen anything in a series before.
    The story is even if u havent read the book predictable - and i mean PREDICTABLE!
    The MODEL(actors) are not utterly bad but not really good either. All this hip beautiful youngster actors take away the seriousness of the story. Should have gone for a more natural cast. But then mtv would have lost their image maybe!? ....I dont know.
    all this things like boy holding girls hands while running away is not just slower or just stupid but in a sence sexist. Let the girl be her own woman and run for herself AND FIGHT FOR HERSELF!
    the "fight" scenes at least with manu bennett in it are nice and bloody - I like!
    but the rest of the fights are like High School schoolyard fights without the nutkicks.
    So what you get is teendrama which can be good but isn`t really the case here.
    Some characters you instantly hate because they are profiled young eager and knowitalls - like the prince. #eyerolling
    or the women's rights fighting but then backing down in a real fight princess #eyerollingagain.
    (I really hate that writers dont give female protagonists more ...."balls").
    Its made for younger audiences ore people who read the book and are fans.
    The series will get really good scores I can see why but if you really go down into details and are not between 12 and 25 years old this series is not made for you. You want something deeper and better.    … Expand
  5. riczaj01
    Feb 9, 2016
    3
    Tried, really tried and wanted to like this show so much, but it's just off. Something isn't translating from the books to the screen and I don't know what it is. Acting is okay, but nothing great. The effects are solid really good for TV actually, but nothing comes together and most scenes feels trite.
  6. pushbuttons
    Feb 12, 2016
    3
    Well the screen writers have jettisoned most of the book so far, to its total detriment I may add, but I cannot imagine Brooks has sold out to the extent that he allows a completely different ending, but you never know. Anyway its utter garbage what has been delivered so far; basically it's as if they have visually skimmed over his series of books and compressed them all on too one page;Well the screen writers have jettisoned most of the book so far, to its total detriment I may add, but I cannot imagine Brooks has sold out to the extent that he allows a completely different ending, but you never know. Anyway its utter garbage what has been delivered so far; basically it's as if they have visually skimmed over his series of books and compressed them all on too one page; not only that these books were written in the manner that adults would appreciate and they have reduced them to the I.Q level that only pre-adolescent girls would enjoy. Sorry but I don't understand how Banks could disrespect his massive audience/followers (he has sold a mega amount of books) in such away, not unless he was total naive about what they intended the outcome would be, this should have been on a par with Game of Thrones.… Expand
  7. Martimus
    Mar 21, 2016
    3
    Manu Bennett is the thing good in the show. Between the feminist PC nonsense, purposeful and deliberate inclusion of lesbian situations just for the sake of being PC, and the idiotic and boring constant teen love angst while traipsing around talking in a forest literally 80% of the entire show (while a demon war is supposed to be waging), I am so done with this series. I was so excited toManu Bennett is the thing good in the show. Between the feminist PC nonsense, purposeful and deliberate inclusion of lesbian situations just for the sake of being PC, and the idiotic and boring constant teen love angst while traipsing around talking in a forest literally 80% of the entire show (while a demon war is supposed to be waging), I am so done with this series. I was so excited to finally see the Shannara chronicles made into live action: and then I watched it. This is clearly more MTV than Shannara. Horrible costumes, lousy fight scenes when there actually IS a fight scene, and laughable CGI. And oh GOD the acting...the acting. I bet Manu is just rolling his eyes after every take, and weeping a bit inside his trailer between filmings. All you people had to do, was make a show depicting the SUCCESSFUL shannara series. That's all you had to do! Nothing more. Nothing less. And you failed. You needed to install your own politics and social engineering into a world that didn't even need it to begin with. I don't watch a fantasy show to deal with real world social justice, and honestly who does? PLus it's just so poorly injected and created to be even more of a focus than the actual story. I give up. I can only imagine how much money they had to pay John Rhys-Davies and Manu Bennett to be a part of this sh*tstorm political social justice abortion of a series.… Expand
  8. Darenn
    Mar 10, 2016
    3
    Why, oh why, do they have to have some kind of music playing in the background all the time? Is it to distract from the lame acting and worse dialog? It's clearly had some thought put into the production, but the music kills it for me.
  9. Spydar71
    Sep 15, 2017
    3
    This review contains spoilers, click expand to view. I loved the novels and I really wanted to like this show. I thought the overall ending was weak compared to the novels and it is such a shame. The sacrifice made by her at the end to become the Elcrys was so powerful in the book and this series just shat all over it. The characters are pretty flat and one tone. Wil showed no character growth at all. And considering the ordeal he went through, there should have been more.
    I'm sorry that this great story was not given the proper treatment it deserved. As a tween/YA series I'm sure its good for the young ones with all the "sexy sexy" and easy, digestible (baby food imo) plot lines for the masses who have probably never read the books or have read much at all. To any of you that actually rated it in the green, I highly recommend that you read the books. This series is about as true to its source material as "Queen of the Damned" by Anne Rice was. Truly a travesty in my eyes. I will not return for season 2 unless I have absolutely nothing else to watch and then I would re-watch something else. Horrible, SAD. So SAD. I hope "Wheel of Time" gets better treatment than this.    … Expand
  10. funkydoodycool
    Mar 18, 2016
    2
    Well.... here goes.

    I read The Sword of Shannara some 20 years ago around the age of 14. Loved it, but didn't end up re-reading it until recently. At about the halfway mark I heard of this series, and sought it out to watch it with low expectations due to the MTV tag. Now I have watched it, and trying to get back to the second half of the book is quite difficult - especially because    Well.... here goes.

    I read The Sword of Shannara some 20 years ago around the age of 14. Loved it, but didn't end up re-reading it until recently. At about the halfway mark I heard of this series, and sought it out to watch it with low expectations due to the MTV tag.

    Now I have watched it, and trying to get back to the second half of the book is quite difficult - especially because the show's portrayal of Allanon is SO different to how I pictured him in my mind. But that is quite subjective, so I can't hold it against the show. I hate to bring up "I read the book and this isn't as good", but there it is.

    More objectively - as t's been said in many reviews this is a teen angst tale of nonsense, and it's a shame that Terry Brooks is tied so closely to it yet couldn't influence it to be... good. The characters are whiny, weak, and unbelievable on the whole. I was expecting the cast to glance at the camera throughout, checking they were doing alright. Even those few who have proven themselves in big-name big-screen films struggle to excite here.

    The script contains every cliche you can think of - "Do you ever wish I was dead instead of my brother? I do, every day." Hackneyed scriptwriting of the worst degree all through. There is nothing original about this story whatsoever, and the setting of the four lands is wasted.

    The production values vary from terrible to alright. The CGI effects can be quite nice looking, but at other times (especially blood - why after all these years can they still not make blood look real??) they break the viewer's involvement in events. There is a sheen over everything, leading to a feeling of polish that doesn't fit well with the genre. A pervading hard-lighting effect attempts to hide the clearly man-made nature of the sets and cheap clothes, adding to this feeling of excessive polish and taking away from believability of the setting. Several times (especially in expositional shots involving demons dotted through the episodes) there is a distinctly 90s feel in the direction, with warping effects on the camera making it seem 20 years older than it is.

    Clearly I am not the target market for this show (odd - being a fan of the books, you'd think I'd be exactly the target audience), but I hope they scrap the whole thing and do no renew it for a second season. They need to get the message that it is possible to make something far better.    … Expand
  11. yesterdayatnoon
    Aug 21, 2016
    2
    The directing in this show would sink it even if it had no other problems. The story is told, and the scenes are directed, in a fairly jumpy way without serving suspense or mystery. The characters are pretty stock archetypes. The "romance" is laughable. It looks good at parts, till someone opens their mouth. Occasionally sets look unfinished and they borrow imagery from Elder ScrollsThe directing in this show would sink it even if it had no other problems. The story is told, and the scenes are directed, in a fairly jumpy way without serving suspense or mystery. The characters are pretty stock archetypes. The "romance" is laughable. It looks good at parts, till someone opens their mouth. Occasionally sets look unfinished and they borrow imagery from Elder Scrolls Oblivion for some of their structures. But I'm still watching it with my wife, making fun of it and pointing out new problems and guessing the plot. It gets a 2 since we have managed to enjoy ourselves while watching.… Expand
  12. Wallisdj
    Mar 15, 2016
    2
    Having read half of Brooks' books, this series equally disappoints as being plodding if not borderline boring. Wooden characters despite some great attempts by the actors are characteristic of Brooks' interesting plot lines, but he could not deliver timely, sharp development either in his books or this series. And what is the purpose of having a cliffhanger at the end when everyone who hasHaving read half of Brooks' books, this series equally disappoints as being plodding if not borderline boring. Wooden characters despite some great attempts by the actors are characteristic of Brooks' interesting plot lines, but he could not deliver timely, sharp development either in his books or this series. And what is the purpose of having a cliffhanger at the end when everyone who has read his books that Eretria will marry Wil and spawn a new generation, which will be the central characters of book two in the Shannara trilogy? If the "titillating" love scenes had been cut out, there would have been plenty of time to rescue Eretria, be present at their marriage, and kick-off a second monotonous season with two half-/quarter-/eighth Elf children wrestling mostly with their inner demons.… Expand
  13. jerkymurky
    Jan 12, 2016
    2
    flashy set pieces and immaculate CGI is not enough to save the show from bad... no, terrible acting, and a story that seems to disregard its original source material.
  14. dacook1999
    Feb 10, 2016
    2
    I don't mind the acting BUT will someone please pay a-freaking-tention!!! Where the hell did he get a zippo!! Its been 3,000 years since they were made, not to mention the lighter fluid. Plus the guy was a brief character to begin with. And Rovers were gypsies in ALL of the books NOT cutthroat bandits. Paranor is ON a plateau in the middle of a dark FOREST! NOT a cave in the freakingI don't mind the acting BUT will someone please pay a-freaking-tention!!! Where the hell did he get a zippo!! Its been 3,000 years since they were made, not to mention the lighter fluid. Plus the guy was a brief character to begin with. And Rovers were gypsies in ALL of the books NOT cutthroat bandits. Paranor is ON a plateau in the middle of a dark FOREST! NOT a cave in the freaking dessert. There are only a few things I like so far about this series but I'm getting disappointed more every week. And by the way, Slanter the Gnome doesn't even appear until NEXT book with Jair who is WIL'S SON! Something better start going right soon...............… Expand
  15. Bluesmanuk
    Feb 27, 2016
    2
    A show that seems to try and be a combination of Lord of the Rings, Game of Thrones and Buffy the Vampire Slayer, all wrapped up in what for me, was a rather boring mash up that failed to get off the ground in any meaningful way. Too much style over substance and even though I gave it 2 episodes, only part way through the first I wanted to turn it off. It seems to be aimed at a youngerA show that seems to try and be a combination of Lord of the Rings, Game of Thrones and Buffy the Vampire Slayer, all wrapped up in what for me, was a rather boring mash up that failed to get off the ground in any meaningful way. Too much style over substance and even though I gave it 2 episodes, only part way through the first I wanted to turn it off. It seems to be aimed at a younger audience but I feel that even they will tire of it quickly.… Expand
  16. adamgo10
    Jul 17, 2016
    2
    This review contains spoilers, click expand to view. Not terrible. I just have one question, and maybe this was actually in the book and the series completely failed to address it... Why did any of this need to take place? Amberle is the seed. She was in the tree in the first couple episodes. Game over. But instead, the tree sent her to San Francisco (the whole season) to tell her to go back into the tree where she started. Nothing changed. The didn't bring anything back. It was all unnecessary. Right??? Should be called: Pointless Journey or Wasted Road Trip.… Expand
  17. Will-T
    Aug 3, 2016
    2
    I've never read the books, and I still think this show is terrible. I found none of the characters likeable in anyway. The main character Wil is just too... perfect (reminds me of the blonde lead from Eragon). OK, so his mom dies and he heeds the call of adventure... but he's a naive half-elf. So he gets robbed, but instead of learning a lesson or gaining any character development, theI've never read the books, and I still think this show is terrible. I found none of the characters likeable in anyway. The main character Wil is just too... perfect (reminds me of the blonde lead from Eragon). OK, so his mom dies and he heeds the call of adventure... but he's a naive half-elf. So he gets robbed, but instead of learning a lesson or gaining any character development, the robber ends up falling in love with him. And then he meets a Princess, who falls in love with hims. And my feelings for the two female leads can be summed up in Episode 7, when they are trapped in an underground room and they more or less say 'don't worry, Wil will come to the rescue'. Seriously? After building up the kickass girls thing in the first episode ('Girls can compete blah blah') and having a sassy human thief who also kicks ass; but then you still need to have them rescued (mostly) by the bland blond idiot with his three magic pebbles.

    OK, so the CGI scenery isn't bad, but it's mostly used as establishing shots, where as everything else is just, forest or throne room or desert. The fighting choreography is awful and as are some of the magic effects. I've never seen a showdown between a (supposedly) badass knight guy and some hulking demon look so... dull. It was just swing, swing, stab in back. No tension, no 'is he going to defeat him'. And in all honesty no emotional pay off that a character sacrificed himself so the two idiot leads could walk to the end of the tunnel and wait for him to be killed.

    John Rhys-Davies as an Elf King is just so funny that it keeps dragging me out of the story (he played the Elf hating Dwarf Gimli from LoTR in case you didn't notice).

    The plot is kind of haphazard and doesn't fit together smoothly. There is no sense of scale on the journey and it devalues tension if the possibility of someone coming to help is only a scene change away.

    Manu Bennett as Allanon actually feels like his character walked in from some good High Fantasy Film somewhere. His character actually seems to keep an emotional tone that fits consistently and is probably the one thing about this show I like.

    All in all the Shannara Chronicles is a show that feels more like its capitalizing on the resurgence of the genres popularity. The blandness of the main characters (and their oh so perfect hair and clothes) would make this show all right for teenagers (12-15) but otherwise anyone looking for some good Fantasy fun, best move on elsewhere.    … Expand
  18. WereSuricat
    Aug 31, 2017
    2
    I tried to love this series... just love the books. But the producer make a show for the teen , the very young teen. Bad choice, like the seeker of truth (very bad). Waste of time, Read the book and wait for the Wheel of time ..... hopely this one will be great... Hope so.. But for shannara its a waste of time if your older then 14 years .... sad ... very sad .. ;(
  19. Scubasteve1974
    Mar 2, 2016
    1
    I thoroughly enjoyed these books as a kid. While the books may not be the best scifi-fantasy books around they are better than most. Once I heard MTV was the "studio" behind this series I really had pretty low expectations going in. But somehow they managed to surprise me by how bad the whole thing plays out. The characters are way overly sensual for what was really a very modest andI thoroughly enjoyed these books as a kid. While the books may not be the best scifi-fantasy books around they are better than most. Once I heard MTV was the "studio" behind this series I really had pretty low expectations going in. But somehow they managed to surprise me by how bad the whole thing plays out. The characters are way overly sensual for what was really a very modest and simplistic story. I realize that some "modernizing" of the plot would be necessary to freshen up a pretty old series but what is left is pretty much unrecognizable. The characters in and of themselves might have been ok, but poorly written dialogue, hokey costumes, bad casting and unnecessary characters sap anything positive from the Shannara Chronicles. I applaud MTV for the ambition to take on a project like that, but without the right thinking and team behind it I believe its doomed to fail. To end on a positive note, a few of the characters had potential and some of the special effects weren't too bad considering it is a TV series.… Expand
  20. kentiler
    Jan 19, 2016
    1
    This review contains spoilers, click expand to view. The Shannara Series is my favorite all-time Sci-Fi book series, so I was very excited when I heard it was coming to TV.

    They kept the names, but about everything else has been rewritten. Amberle was chosen by the Elcrys - the first female in 500 years - because a female was needed for the rebirth. To change it to sheer chance by running a blindfolded race is ludicrous! It just kept going downhill for there. And the Dagda Mor was a Druid turned bad - like the Warlock Lord? He's a demon - not a druid. I thought when Terry Brooks was going to stay involved, he would keep it to the story line, but the re-write was unnecessary to make an excellent TV series.

    Extremely Disappointed!    … Expand
  21. fantasylover68
    Feb 24, 2016
    1
    I have read all the Shannara books and this series is terrible. All the books are jumbled into one and have no fluidity. It is confusing, badly acted and has almost no resemblance to any of the books. I was looking forward to this series and am EXTREMELY disappointed. Why not take one book and chronicle it as opposed to this mismatched mess. Terry you should be ashamed to have your booksI have read all the Shannara books and this series is terrible. All the books are jumbled into one and have no fluidity. It is confusing, badly acted and has almost no resemblance to any of the books. I was looking forward to this series and am EXTREMELY disappointed. Why not take one book and chronicle it as opposed to this mismatched mess. Terry you should be ashamed to have your books associated with this nonsensical, confusing story line that barely even resembles your wonderful written work… Expand
  22. jjjoyce
    Feb 28, 2016
    1
    I honestly think after reading all of the fantastic brilliant books, that this series is the biggest load of **** i have ever watched. allanon is nothing like he is in the book. The computer graphics are ****.Its been totally Americanised.It looks like a B movie gone wrong. Terry Brookes is a fabulous writer lets leave it in print
  23. erik86
    Mar 1, 2016
    1
    As one of those that sleeps with these books under my pillow since 20 years I´m of course glad that Brooks has managed to create some magic for those not raised with the books. Although having read the books I wonder how the production team and the writers has managed to destroy the whole story to this degree.

    I can only recommend the ones that really want to know Terry Brooks´story    As one of those that sleeps with these books under my pillow since 20 years I´m of course glad that Brooks has managed to create some magic for those not raised with the books. Although having read the books I wonder how the production team and the writers has managed to destroy the whole story to this degree.

    I can only recommend the ones that really want to know Terry Brooks´story telling to read his books. I can only hope that productions in the future will give the stories and the wonderful characters justice alongside their added value mirroring this bleak world, because I could´n find one single character from the books there in!    … Expand
  24. Moojangle
    Mar 1, 2016
    1
    I tried very hard to like this show. I liked the visuals and the actors/actresses were okay.
    The storyline was difficult to accept but I swallowed it. Unfortunately, the more I watched the episodes, the more I couldn't stand it.

    I can understand that the storyline has to be geared to the MTV audience, but I felt it was awful...

    even worst was when I saw Paranor.
  25. sdc90291
    Apr 19, 2016
    1
    Having grown up reading the Shannara books, I so wanted to love the series. Even after it moved away from the books (almost immediately), I wanted to give it the benefit of the doubt and enjoy it. Sadly, it just wasn't possible. The sets/cinematography are overall pretty good but the acting is terrible, the story is convoluted and trite. Everyone's pretty but it's all so disjointed, fakeHaving grown up reading the Shannara books, I so wanted to love the series. Even after it moved away from the books (almost immediately), I wanted to give it the benefit of the doubt and enjoy it. Sadly, it just wasn't possible. The sets/cinematography are overall pretty good but the acting is terrible, the story is convoluted and trite. Everyone's pretty but it's all so disjointed, fake and really painful to watch. I'm giving it a 1 simply for the special effects but really, if I could give it a negative score, I'd do it in a heartbeat...… Expand
  26. Sir_racha
    Jul 11, 2016
    1
    I don't even know where to start. The original story was so butchered that I had to force myself to continue past the first episode. In the books Allanon didn't fight with a sword, The reaper was a silent deadly demon, the Dagda mor was never a druid, so on and so forth. the character Bandon didn't even exist in the books. Also Allanon couldn't read minds, on of the usual hurdles wasI don't even know where to start. The original story was so butchered that I had to force myself to continue past the first episode. In the books Allanon didn't fight with a sword, The reaper was a silent deadly demon, the Dagda mor was never a druid, so on and so forth. the character Bandon didn't even exist in the books. Also Allanon couldn't read minds, on of the usual hurdles was convincing reluctant family members of the Ohmsfords to tell him where the protagonists could be found. I wish I could articulate my irritation with this series a little better, but this is the only review I've ever written. If your a long time fan of the books, and over the age of 16, I would certainly not recommend it. Save yourself the unpleasant experience of seeing once interesting characters turned into eye candy for teenagers.… Expand
  27. arcon72
    Feb 21, 2016
    0
    As a fan of both the original books and the entire sword and sorcery genre, I really wanted to like this series. My wife gave it up after episode 1, but I forced myself to stand fast and continue on.

    Unfortunately, this show barely follows the actual book series, and it is blatantly written to appeal to only very young and shallow teenagers. This is nothing more than a cheap CW    As a fan of both the original books and the entire sword and sorcery genre, I really wanted to like this series. My wife gave it up after episode 1, but I forced myself to stand fast and continue on.

    Unfortunately, this show barely follows the actual book series, and it is blatantly written to appeal to only very young and shallow teenagers.

    This is nothing more than a cheap CW cookie-cutter show. Get hot young actors/actresses, make them really attracted to one another, but make up some stupid reason that the two are kept apart and in a constant state of sexual tensions.

    The show seems to lack any sort of real story to stand on, which is particularly baffling given that they have an actual written story to follow. The show seems to have stolen the name of the Shannara Chronicles just for name recognition.

    One of the early episodes introduced a zippo lighter in a groan-inducing moment, but I was willing to chalk this up to lazy writing for a simple ending to a scene.

    It was when the gang ran into an entire village of what are essentially the amish and it was populated by nothing more than a bunch of twenty-somethings who looked like they found a secret stash of American Eagle apparel, who then promptly threw a switch to their generator and kicked off a barn-yard rave, complete with loud music and lighting.

    To top it all off, they introduced guns into the series, and of course the cute little bandit girl is a dead-on marksman, even though she's never even heard of a gun before. And of course at the end of this episode, there's a shootout in which hand-held crossbows are treated like semi-automatic weapons and the revolvers never need to be reloaded.

    Unless you're a very young girl with fanciful delusions of love, I would highly recommend skipping this farce. Just watch any show on the CW and you'll understand the entire premise of the character relationship of this poorly written farce.    … Expand
  28. proscriptus
    Feb 4, 2016
    0
    Make no mistake, this is strictly a YA series, and it isn't a good one. It's a disastrous attempt to meld some pop culture and swords and sorcery, building on source material that wasn't great to begin with. The result is elves in jeans played by incredibly terrible actors. It's phones in, phony, cheap, lazy and terrible. If you're 14, have never read anything more complicated than a comicMake no mistake, this is strictly a YA series, and it isn't a good one. It's a disastrous attempt to meld some pop culture and swords and sorcery, building on source material that wasn't great to begin with. The result is elves in jeans played by incredibly terrible actors. It's phones in, phony, cheap, lazy and terrible. If you're 14, have never read anything more complicated than a comic book and stoned, then this is your show. It's just bad television.… Expand
  29. brentwshelton1
    Jan 10, 2016
    0
    4 minutes - 6 Seconds. That was all I could take of this show. I read the original The Sword of Shanarra trilogy back when I was young and it was an awesome fantasy adventure and a great read. This was also way before YA Dystopian future novels were all the rage. I was assuming this series was based on that series.....I was horribly wrong. In 4 minutes they managed to smash in so many4 minutes - 6 Seconds. That was all I could take of this show. I read the original The Sword of Shanarra trilogy back when I was young and it was an awesome fantasy adventure and a great read. This was also way before YA Dystopian future novels were all the rage. I was assuming this series was based on that series.....I was horribly wrong. In 4 minutes they managed to smash in so many YA dystopian future cliches that I about threw up in my mouth! Opening credits....remnants of our technological society. Check. Long shot camera pan down to someone running in woods? Check. Running in woods = training for the "BIG TRIAL". Check. Plucky, non-PC heroine bucking the system. Check. Plucky non-PC heroine's sassy female sidekick (doomed to die....I'm sure). Check. Not quite sure what they were trying to accomplish by throwing in what appeared to be a Ambercrombie photo shoot with shirtless "elves" (by elves I mean overly gym bodied twinks with pointy ears.........(after all pointy ears = elf.....right? Everyone knows that!) but I'll give it a Check anyway. Photo shoot masquerading as "preparing for the big trial" in which boys immediately cheat against plucky, non-PC heroine. Check. God Awful....remember all this inane nonsense happened in the first 4 minutes and 6 seconds of the pilot. My judgment: Download deleted!!!!!!!… Expand
  30. Dexxxter25
    Mar 2, 2016
    0
    Such an utter and total disappointment. I cant believe how bad this show is. Might as well have burned the book and just said to hell with it cuz they sure didn't use it for crap. It's all the small things that build up until you just can't take it anymore. The snowball became an avalanche of sh*t and they somehow think they are doing this show marvelously. *Hint* 99% of book fans areSuch an utter and total disappointment. I cant believe how bad this show is. Might as well have burned the book and just said to hell with it cuz they sure didn't use it for crap. It's all the small things that build up until you just can't take it anymore. The snowball became an avalanche of sh*t and they somehow think they are doing this show marvelously. *Hint* 99% of book fans are probably not fans of twilight, and that's what you are trying to entice us with...NO please NO… Expand
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Awards & Rankings

6
#6 Most Discussed TV Season of 2016
18
#18 Most Shared TV Season of 2016

Critic Reviews

All reviews »
Metascore
52

Mixed or average reviews - based on 15 Critic Reviews

Critic score distribution:
  1. Positive: 5 out of 15
  2. Mixed: 6 out of 15
  3. Negative: 4 out of 15
  1. Colorado Springs Gazette
    Reviewed by: Terry Terrones
    Apr 6, 2016
    91
    First rate production value, interesting characters and an intriguing story make for a world well worth escaping to.
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  2. Collider
    Reviewed by: Adam Chitwood
    Jan 21, 2016
    80
    Some of the romantic elements are a cheesy, and the exposition is really clunky at times, but for the most part the show is continually compelling and complex.
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  3. The Wrap
    Reviewed by: Ned Ehrbar
    Jan 5, 2016
    50
    Fantasy fare like this generally has a pretty low bar to clear and a pretty forgiving target audience, but the heavy-handed jargon, pointy elf ears and brooding self-seriousness of The Shannara Chronicles might be too much for even those fans. It doesn’t help that the characters seem to be allowed to switch from talking dour fantasy-novel heroes to bored millennials whenever the mood strikes them.
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