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. skykappah
    Mar 12, 2016
    10
    As a person who's never read the books, I really like this series. The first episode was really well done, almost to a movie quality and it doesn't really run out of steam. It's a good antidote to the miserable slap that seems to be all the rage.. So watch The Shannara Chronicles when you need to unwind, it's guilty pleasure territory.
  2. Ekras
    Jan 6, 2016
    10
    AMAZING! A really well done adaptation to one of histories greatest series of novels. Fans of the books may have some valid gripes about changes, but the source material is a masterpiece and this adaptation is worth seeing - especially for those who've never read the books.
  3. Doxide
    Jan 5, 2016
    10
    The perfect guilty pleasure show! Yes it has gorgeous young actors spouting groan-worthy lines. Yes it has cheesy romantic sub plots and teen angst. But none of that matters if you're in the mood for some fun casual entertainment.

    The fantasy world is beautiful to look at. You'll be scratching your head, wondering how MTV bankrolled the effects department. The story moves at a good    The perfect guilty pleasure show! Yes it has gorgeous young actors spouting groan-worthy lines. Yes it has cheesy romantic sub plots and teen angst. But none of that matters if you're in the mood for some fun casual entertainment.

    The fantasy world is beautiful to look at. You'll be scratching your head, wondering how MTV bankrolled the effects department. The story moves at a good pace and is fairly intriguing. And plus: MANU FREAKING BENNETT. This guy is an awesome actor. He was great in Spartacus, great in Arrow, and he's even better here as the druid Allanon.

    The only serious negative about this show is the character of Wil. I don't know if it's the kid's acting, or if it's the lines that were written for him, but watching him on screen is like nails on a chalkboard. He's clumsy, stupid, sarcastic (not in a good way-in an obnoxious way), and his acting range is comprised of two or three "deer in the headlights" looks.

    But other than that one gripe, I was pleasantly surprised by Shannara. It was basically fun eye-candy and it left me wanting more. I will definitely be watching the rest of the season.    … Expand
  4. quietstorm
    Jan 15, 2016
    10
    Love it,like lord of the rings!One of my favorite shows right now! so much fun! A must watch!!Like d&d for tv!!Can't believe its on Mtv of all places, but a excellent show! Give a try and keep a open mind and you might be surpriseed like me
  5. demelo
    Jan 11, 2016
    10
    I've been enjoying this new series, the acting is great, love all the unique characters, the special effects are top notch and I especially like the story line. Keep up the great work
  6. vizard00
    Jan 8, 2016
    10
    This show is sure awesomeness from acting to fashion and music , forget about the 100 or that teenager who run this an awesome production , and every episode amaze me by the magical environment and the music , its like you will watch lord of the ring every week . TNX MTV
  7. Sammyghhg
    Jan 6, 2016
    10
    Further down contains spoilers, but the book has been out 40+ years, so get over it.

    My review: Horrible The idotic critic reviews I mean. If this is that bad, then Force Awakens is only marginally better. The show is AMAZING! I was watching my regular schedule of tv this week - now shows are back on - and I completely forgot that this came out. Then, just before I called it    Further down contains spoilers, but the book has been out 40+ years, so get over it.

    My review:

    Horrible

    The idotic critic reviews I mean. If this is that bad, then Force Awakens is only marginally better.

    The show is AMAZING! I was watching my regular schedule of tv this week - now shows are back on - and I completely forgot that this came out.

    Then, just before I called it a night, I spotted in a corner of my browser a promo for this. I immediately logged into MTV and began watching. First two episodes done, and CLIFFHANGER. Oh no! What happens next? I really was actually freaking about the end of an episode. And that continued for about 20 minutes. AND THAT hasn't happened since the season 5 finale of Game of Thrones.

    For those who watched it, I know that you know that it's pretty much the most obvious answer in the plot, but the cut was amazingly done. And moments after I calmed my **** I realised that THIS IS A GREAT SHOW.

    Strangely, despite all the dumb "Fresh Faced" comments, (I didn't really get this. Most of the cast imo aren't amazingly attractive, even Manu isn't the stud that people seem to rave over.) they fit the roles they are supposed to.

    Manu is the grizzled Allanon, a druid born centuries before and tasked with keeping the world safe.
    Wil Ohmsford a practical and empathetic young guys trying to find his way in the world and caught up in crazy ****.
    Amberle is a spoiled rich girl trying to prove her value to her father in a world of men and a class structure that values strength over intelligence.
    Eretria is the crazy girl next door: rebellious, desperate to prove her value to anyone who shows her affection yet vulnerable due to her size. She prizes her intelligence and silver tongue to get what she wants.
    King Eventine: A bluff and quick to anger king who is mourning the loss of his eldest son, overlooking the virtues of his children in his depression, yet wise to his role as King.
    The Two Princes: Both annoying in their own way. The younger is attentive but indulgent of his young neice, while the elder is in a pissing contest with King Eventine over what to do next.

    All great characters and all superbly played by the actors. At no point did I dislike them when they were meant to be likable, nor did I love them when they were bitter and twisted... and for me, that's enough.

    Manu as an actor tho.... holy **** I really feel for Allanon... not aging through the lives of those he cares about means he's gotta sacrifice his emotions on the altar of the greater good. And the pain he endures through magic use... damn. Even Wil ohmsford isn't bad (I initially thought he had been miscast but he fits the role perfectly). He doesn't really come into his own as a super enjoyable character until maybe late in the second episode.

    The premise is great. Elfstones is a book that I haven't read, but I have already sent away for the hardcover... ty amazon.

    The Shannara Chronicles (Not just this story) has huge potential if properly supported by MTV and fans to eventually become something that could compete with Game of Thrones for viewership and I-Tunes sales.

    Really don't understand the hate. Most of it seems to be centered around the way the elves are portrayed, and how "pretty" they are.

    Duh... elves... most people are convinced of their beauty. Even in Pratchett, elves mask their ugliness behind their glamour.... kinda makes sense from a creative standpoint now dunnit.

    It isn't gritty enough.... well... yeah, I guess, but have they really done anything that requires a bunch of dirt? Not really. Eritrea had access to a bath, will HAD a bath, then took a swim in a river. Amberle swans about a palace 90% of the film, and the 10% she does something dope she gets all kinds of dirty. purr.

    Every show has bad casting calls that are re-worked.... remember Dario from GoT? yeah... they messed that one up, but it's easily forgiven by the same mute brain dickhead critics that slam stuff because they saw other people's reviews before posting their own.... biggest herd mentality ever.

    IMO the casting is pretty good for the audience that enjoys fantasy. If you're in your thirties and forties and upset that this isn't the dreamed story you remember... cool. I'm in that age bracket too.... I get it.

    You gotta turn off your bull**** meter, allow your brain to enter escapism mode and just sit back and enjoy it. Turns out that once you do, it's gonna be one of the best shows on TV.

    So yeah. This is the Obama of tv right now... Did they do everything 100% correct... no. But hell, at least they did something amazing and really went for it. In my opinion it shows. Good work MTV prez!    … Expand
  8. rsheehan
    Jan 15, 2016
    10
    Okay, it's been 30+ years since I read the book so I have forgotten a lot of the original details from the book. Yes, MTV has MTVed it with sexiness and language not found in the book (expected). Yes the story has changed some. However, the show is great. My daughter and wife, who have never read any of the Shannara books, both love the show. In spite of the changes I mentioned above, I amOkay, it's been 30+ years since I read the book so I have forgotten a lot of the original details from the book. Yes, MTV has MTVed it with sexiness and language not found in the book (expected). Yes the story has changed some. However, the show is great. My daughter and wife, who have never read any of the Shannara books, both love the show. In spite of the changes I mentioned above, I am thoroughly enjoying it myself. I hope they keep it going for at least 5 seasons.… Expand
  9. McGraw
    Jan 22, 2016
    10
    MTV Scared me... I thought this was going to be some cheap, crap show.. I was SO surprised, it has AMAZING actors! The quality of the show was crisp, the effects dead on. Some of my old memories of the book flooded back, and they stay pretty true to the story line. I hope this goes on for awhile and they do the whole series, it will be part of my collection if they do!

    GOOD JOB MTV!
  10. Speyeral
    Jan 27, 2016
    10
    This show is great. I love how it feels just as much for adults as for teens. It doesn't seem watered down at all. Possibly the best TV show ever on Cable visually. Plus the story is great.
  11. Jurassic14
    Mar 3, 2016
    10
    This is such a great show. MTV have really picked up their games when it comes to their TV shows. Both Teen wolf and The Shannara Chronicles are written and produced in a way that leaves you wanting more. there is never an episode that isn't produced to the best. This is one show that should not be missed. Absolute legends
  12. Hammnugget
    Jan 6, 2016
    10
    Awesome program. Good story, effects and romance. Check it out if you enjoy fantasy!! Very cool characters. Fast paced and interesting. This story was written before Game of Thrones. Good to know because this series definately influenced the writing of Thrones.
  13. waynehjr1
    Jan 10, 2016
    10
    I think this is a BIG Hit. Great actors and depth, bringing the quest (RPG style etc.). This also has a new and different look for some of the older troll / gnome gender. The graphics and scenery are comparable to other big time shows /movies like Game of Thrones with a twist of the Hobbit. I haven't read the books yet, but considering the author himself has stated he likes the way thisI think this is a BIG Hit. Great actors and depth, bringing the quest (RPG style etc.). This also has a new and different look for some of the older troll / gnome gender. The graphics and scenery are comparable to other big time shows /movies like Game of Thrones with a twist of the Hobbit. I haven't read the books yet, but considering the author himself has stated he likes the way this show has been adapted is definitely a bonus.

    This is definitely compelling, having you wanting to see the next episode (well at least me anyways!).    … Expand
  14. arundeepakrj
    Jan 11, 2016
    10
    visually stunning... and definitely worth watching...
    elves...druids...humans...drolls...demons...SHANNARA...
    its like a lord of rings in tv series... the casting is youth full and the actresses are eye candies... handling of magic and humors are xtremely fyn compare to other fantasy series... simply its definitely not going to disappoint neither book fans nor fans of this show...    visually stunning... and definitely worth watching...
    elves...druids...humans...drolls...demons...SHANNARA...
    its like a lord of rings in tv series... the casting is youth full and the actresses are eye candies... handling of magic and humors are xtremely fyn compare to other fantasy series...
    simply its definitely not going to disappoint neither book fans nor fans of this show...
    simply stunning    … Expand
  15. celehman
    Jan 27, 2016
    10
    The Shannara Series is amazing. Its actually a little disappointing they are doing the original trilogy, when the latter ones have been so much better.
  16. abs88888
    Jan 28, 2016
    10
    This review contains spoilers, click expand to view. To me this is a great show! I watch it with my dad every tuesday. I really like erentraya because in the first few episodes she was bad. But then one of those evil guys turned into her and almost killed that blond and she was sent to jail and that got me mad because i felt bad about what her dad was saying and i new she was good and she is so pretty. I really love that tattoo thing on her forehead. Amberly i really like especially with those close that only cover one sleeve amberly is so pretty to i just ordered the hole book series and am exited to read them… Expand
  17. TeeeNTeee
    Feb 6, 2016
    10
    Since I haven't read the book yet I don't have much to compare here but I truly love this series, it's got a lot of depth with it the characters, they add purpose to the show and they all play there parts well I believe they are doing a great job and I just want to watch them for as long as possible. I'm enjoying watching this love triangle and when watching the show I get goosebumpsSince I haven't read the book yet I don't have much to compare here but I truly love this series, it's got a lot of depth with it the characters, they add purpose to the show and they all play there parts well I believe they are doing a great job and I just want to watch them for as long as possible. I'm enjoying watching this love triangle and when watching the show I get goosebumps thinking about what is next. They really put you on the edge with all the characters and drama it's make me feel so happy when watching this cause I'm so entertained and wanting to know what's gonna happen next. Great show. Great actors. I will have to read the books to get a full opinion though, but for now I'm loving this series and this is a well deserved rating of 10 from me.… Expand
  18. EduardoLGuti
    Feb 20, 2016
    10
    It didn't disappointed me at all, one of the great series of the 2016 so far. The fantasy world is beautiful, I love that is a futuristic fiction, it makes me watch even more episodes, The fight scenes are the best, giving women the opportunity to prove that they are strong and independent it was makes me appreciate this series too.
  19. Zyemeth
    Mar 1, 2016
    10
    Not terribly true to the books but hell for an MTV show this is fantastic. Acting tolerable, effects decent, and only a few goofy writing flaws here and there. (Such as swords conveniently falling off of their belts despite that being against the entire reason to wear one or a zippo lighter ex-machina). I am excited to see a second season as it could only get better from here. Strange thatNot terribly true to the books but hell for an MTV show this is fantastic. Acting tolerable, effects decent, and only a few goofy writing flaws here and there. (Such as swords conveniently falling off of their belts despite that being against the entire reason to wear one or a zippo lighter ex-machina). I am excited to see a second season as it could only get better from here. Strange that they started with book 2 instead of the first one though.… Expand
  20. lambo
    Mar 2, 2016
    10
    MTV had done a great job because Is a nice show well for me was great , interesting and i will suggest everyone to watch it and i hope we will get a season 2
  21. gypsygraver
    Mar 2, 2016
    10
    This is most definitely my new favorite show. It has action, romance, fantasy, a post apocalyptic world where faeries and other creatures of lore have taken over the earth, and the writing and cast are all beautiful. It is like a cross between game of thrones and the Lord of the Rings. It's simply amazing! I so hope they do a second season...
  22. THEGHOSTOFCHAOS
    Mar 3, 2016
    10
    To me This Was A great show i love the way they had set that the elves, demons, druids etc were all set in the future instead of the past like many other shows, films were set just shows that the producers had a different tactic in gaining their audience showing a desolate human world overrun by many types of mystical creatures as well as humans alongside them to me this was a great showTo me This Was A great show i love the way they had set that the elves, demons, druids etc were all set in the future instead of the past like many other shows, films were set just shows that the producers had a different tactic in gaining their audience showing a desolate human world overrun by many types of mystical creatures as well as humans alongside them to me this was a great show and would like to see it go on for as long as it can oh and i love violence and the killing of demons… Expand
  23. zRavenlord
    Mar 5, 2016
    10
    Although the series my not strictly follow the book's, it stays close enough to be true. All in all I love the show and as a long time fan of Terry Brooks works, I have yet to be remotely disappointed in the show. Anyone that doesn't realize that these books are fairly huge, and that certain dramatic elements must be used in a show meant to capture the story without reading you the book isAlthough the series my not strictly follow the book's, it stays close enough to be true. All in all I love the show and as a long time fan of Terry Brooks works, I have yet to be remotely disappointed in the show. Anyone that doesn't realize that these books are fairly huge, and that certain dramatic elements must be used in a show meant to capture the story without reading you the book is silly. I think it should be expected when converting to television.… Expand
  24. Saulsamson
    Mar 10, 2016
    10
    There's nothing more that I could've asked for out of The Shannara Chronicles. This is a beautiful looking show with a great story that can be enjoyed by everyone. If you're looking for that big fantasy/sci-fi series to get into to this is it.
  25. djgue
    Mar 12, 2016
    10
    This series although not completely following the book allows us to live in the world visually , it makes up for its lost little moments from the book. It really adss suspense, and through the combination of great effects, costume design and charachter development it allows us to be attatched to the charachters we live through thier actions. Maybe its not hbo fashion and a little pg butThis series although not completely following the book allows us to live in the world visually , it makes up for its lost little moments from the book. It really adss suspense, and through the combination of great effects, costume design and charachter development it allows us to be attatched to the charachters we live through thier actions. Maybe its not hbo fashion and a little pg but its a great show. I hope there are more seasons.… Expand
  26. Christseeker
    Apr 12, 2016
    10
    I've only seen the long pilot episode so far, but the graphics and scenery were absolutely incredible! I saw several people say the actors were bad, but I haven't seen that so far. I love fantasy shows, movies, and books, so I'm truly hoping this show makes it for the long run. It's good to see that they haven't had strong sex bullcrap. (Which is why I don't watch GOT) So far I think it'sI've only seen the long pilot episode so far, but the graphics and scenery were absolutely incredible! I saw several people say the actors were bad, but I haven't seen that so far. I love fantasy shows, movies, and books, so I'm truly hoping this show makes it for the long run. It's good to see that they haven't had strong sex bullcrap. (Which is why I don't watch GOT) So far I think it's great! Can't wait for the DVD release!… Expand
  27. samsun27596
    Apr 18, 2016
    10
    This show is AMAZING! I seriously can't understand people who don't like it! it has action, romance and magic! i have fallen in love with the show, the characters, the plot and the 'everything' about this show. you must go and watch it, it is not a waste of time.
  28. HAD
    Apr 20, 2016
    10
    This is most definitely my new favorite show. It has action, romance, fantasy, a post apocalyptic world where faeries and other creatures of lore have taken over the earth, and the writing and cast are all beautiful. It is like a cross between game of thrones and the Lord of the Rings. It's simply amazing! I so hope they do a second season . I copied this review because guy who write thisThis is most definitely my new favorite show. It has action, romance, fantasy, a post apocalyptic world where faeries and other creatures of lore have taken over the earth, and the writing and cast are all beautiful. It is like a cross between game of thrones and the Lord of the Rings. It's simply amazing! I so hope they do a second season . I copied this review because guy who write this said all i needed to say about show !… Expand
  29. Roxylauren94
    May 17, 2016
    10
    The shannara chronicles is a great show and would love to see what happens next in a second season! I have heard that it is similar to game of thrones and plan on watching it also!
  30. jpbenning
    Jul 4, 2016
    10
    I loved this series, its not perfect but its a great start and I hope they continue to improve upon everything with every episode. Too many shows are cancelled far too often without giving them enough time and exposure. I was happy to hear they ordered a second series :-)
  31. babylvsurgirl
    Jul 17, 2016
    10
    I really loved season one of this show. I've not read the books but now I really want to. I've always been a big fan of fantasy in general and this show brought fantasy into the world of humans in a way I've never seen done before. I don't know if they're going to get to make a season two but I really hope so!
  32. hgjccghk
    May 8, 2017
    10
    Amazing show amazing characters. awesome mythology and world creatively setup by the writers and directed wonderfully :D would recommend this to anyone who likes fantasy adventure and maybe a bit of romance!
  33. deaconfrost31
    Oct 28, 2017
    10
    I really do enjoy this show. I started reading the books at a young age and was fascinated by the story telling. Terry Brooks continues his legacy as one of the greatest fantasy/science fiction writers of all time. While the show does not follow the books verbatim it does stay true to the narrative in my opinion and I really hope that it is allowed to continue for multiple seasons.
  34. Pr0sper0
    Sep 22, 2018
    10
    Amaizing, for those who like sci-fi, like me, it was really really good. I hope we have the season 3 soon.
  35. Safan
    Oct 13, 2020
    10
    What about season 3??? Season 1 and 2 its amazing. Im waiting for season 3 please accept my request..
  36. ExarKun
    Jan 6, 2016
    9
    I've been a fan of the books for 20+ years. I had high hopes for this after seeing the trailer. I enjoyed it. Beautiful scenery, architecture and costumes. I liked the casting with the exception that a few characters should have been older. Although I understand MTV has to try what sells or the show wouldn't exist. They adapted the books well knowing of course that TV can't match theI've been a fan of the books for 20+ years. I had high hopes for this after seeing the trailer. I enjoyed it. Beautiful scenery, architecture and costumes. I liked the casting with the exception that a few characters should have been older. Although I understand MTV has to try what sells or the show wouldn't exist. They adapted the books well knowing of course that TV can't match the detail or length of the novels. Some fans will dislike the changes but overall I'm impressed. I look forward to the episode.… Expand
  37. SevenThunders
    Jan 20, 2016
    9
    This is a great series. It remains mostly true to the spirit of the books. The special effects are outstanding for a TV show, in large part thanks to the New Zealand setting and the involvement of former Lord of the Rings artists.

    It introduces several up and coming actors. In particular the stunning beautiful and exotic Ivana Baquero, who plays Eretria, steals the show. I can't    This is a great series. It remains mostly true to the spirit of the books. The special effects are outstanding for a TV show, in large part thanks to the New Zealand setting and the involvement of former Lord of the Rings artists.

    It introduces several up and coming actors. In particular the stunning beautiful and exotic Ivana Baquero, who plays Eretria, steals the show. I can't believe she's only 16. If you loved Lord of the Rings you will love this show.    … Expand
  38. Peop7
    Feb 25, 2016
    9
    I've been a Terry Brooks fan since reading the Sword of Shannara back in high school. I do enjoy the video adaption to his great work. The television adaptation shows and even greater depth of what has become of the post-apocalyptic society in the world of Shannara. Though it has been updated to connect better with today's more modern society it keeps to the plot very well.

    The    I've been a Terry Brooks fan since reading the Sword of Shannara back in high school. I do enjoy the video adaption to his great work. The television adaptation shows and even greater depth of what has become of the post-apocalyptic society in the world of Shannara. Though it has been updated to connect better with today's more modern society it keeps to the plot very well.

    The television series has made the female characters more empowered in an equalist movement. It's a bit corny how both main female characters are in love with main male character. The trio do work far better together and do better acting after the third episode.

    The televised series is including real world locations to help connect to this world of fantasy much better then simply letting on a generic post-apocalyptic world of fantasy.

    The Dagda Moor and other demons do look great beside "The Reaper" far more dangerous in the book. The first season is ending at episode 10. I do hope for them to finish this book adaption and adapt others with as much detail.    … Expand
  39. andresmontoya
    Jun 26, 2018
    9
    The Shanna Chronicles is a show everyone would loved to watch! The acting is so good, the way they set the creatures like trolls and gnomes, that was a good job, so original and full of creativity. Ivana Baquero makes the show go like a shooting star, she's so good on being Eretria
  40. gamerzx
    Oct 26, 2017
    8
    Good solid fantasy series. There are not many as good as this. The sets the costumes the backstory are all memorable. Could it be better , yes. Overall it was well worth watching. I caught the series online so I didn't have to suffer through the painful cut to commercials that must have been on MTV.

    The show itself seems to move along a little fast. It is covering Terry Brooks novels    Good solid fantasy series. There are not many as good as this. The sets the costumes the backstory are all memorable. Could it be better , yes. Overall it was well worth watching. I caught the series online so I didn't have to suffer through the painful cut to commercials that must have been on MTV.

    The show itself seems to move along a little fast. It is covering Terry Brooks novels which are thousands of pages. I think that for a TV series this set the standard. The Villains so far have been dark and twisted. The special effects for the villains are flat out the best that isn't Peter Jackson or HBO. The acting is made for the older teenager young adult audience of MTV. That is forgivable for such the large number of episodes that have been produced so far.

    Overall I enjoyed every episode. The few flaws in the series are easily forgotten when the characters enter a crafted set. The Villain in the first series was intense. I have seen the first 2 episodes of this season and I like what is happening. The switcheroos where one character has a knife to another then it reverses are overdone. The sets are superb and the costumes and characters stand out in a fantasy series. It is not as good as Spartacus, but it is great to see the actor that played Croesus show the same intensity with his character in Shannara.

    A little more cinematic maturity would add to the quality. Seeing this effort I have to feel fortunate that Terry Brooks and other writers literature can be brought to life. Fortunate if other good authors in this genre receive the same quality if brought to TV or Cinema.    … Expand
  41. joshuab
    Jan 7, 2016
    8
    I've only watched the pilot but I found this show completely engaging, entertaining and at times, gripping. Those who are seeking something to be on the level of Game of Thrones will probably find themselves disappointed, but for a fantasy show, and on MTV of all channels, it's fantastic and I will definitely be keeping up with it.
  42. GaryThomas94
    Jan 10, 2016
    8
    The story itself is interesting and most of the actors do a great job, but there is a little cheesiness here and there but from a strong performance from the druid and will the show manages to be good instead of teen wolf gone fantasy
  43. DecWin
    Jan 24, 2016
    8
    As a huge fan of Terry Brooks' Shannara series, I was very excited when I heard they were turning it into a TV show. When the first episode debuted, I watched it hoping for the very best.

    The scenery and landscapes are stunning and the CGI and special effects are fairly top notch, especially for a TV show. The actors are young and beautiful which follows the tradition of most shows    As a huge fan of Terry Brooks' Shannara series, I was very excited when I heard they were turning it into a TV show. When the first episode debuted, I watched it hoping for the very best.

    The scenery and landscapes are stunning and the CGI and special effects are fairly top notch, especially for a TV show. The actors are young and beautiful which follows the tradition of most shows these days. However, that by itself does not detract from the show. With the exception of Eventine and Allanon, the actors are still trying to find a feel for their characters but they are decent actors and I haven't been disappointed by their work.

    The show follows the storyline of the Elfstones of Shannara but is not a scene by scene retelling of the book. This is not a bad thing, though many die hard fans of the book may think so. As long as they don't change the underlying story that is being told I am alright with some changes being made. The only detail that bothered me was how small the world felt. They seem to be able to travel halfway across the Four Lands in less than a day. The books have much more realistic travel times.

    Overall I feel it is a show still finding it's footing. The technical aspects of the show are superb. The acting isn't 100% but I could feel an effort and conviction from all of the main cast that I believe could lead to excellent acting in future episodes. The story is close enough to the books that I recognize all of the major elements while still providing enough diversity that I can't tell you exactly what will happen next. (Both a pro and con to a huge fan of the books.)

    Give the show a chance. It isn't perfect, but I am excited to see what they will do with it in the future!    … Expand
  44. minion1
    Jan 25, 2016
    8
    I must admit that I was positively surprised by this series. I virtually hated Sword of Shannara by Terry Brooks as a cheap copy of Lord of the rings and I never got myself to read any other of his books. So I can´t be accused of being Shannara serie´s fan.

    The story of Shannara Chronicles takes place in post apocaliptic world, supposedly thosands of years after our civilisation was    I must admit that I was positively surprised by this series. I virtually hated Sword of Shannara by Terry Brooks as a cheap copy of Lord of the rings and I never got myself to read any other of his books. So I can´t be accused of being Shannara serie´s fan.

    The story of Shannara Chronicles takes place in post apocaliptic world, supposedly thosands of years after our civilisation was destroyed in nuclear war. Out of post nuclear holocaust emerged new races (mutated humans), later known as elves, orcs etc. All this is just hinted/shown and not told to us, which is definitely great plus at least for me.

    Plot revolves around young Elven princess Emberlee, last living guardian of an elvish tree "Orcrease", which is supposed to seal demons from emerging to the world. Then there is Will, last heir of Shannara bloodline, druid Alanon (emerging from cryo sleep) and other more or less notable charactes. Story is classic Good versus Evil and protagonists are sent on a quest somewhere to do somewhat.

    For me it is 8,5/10 with space for improvement as the story progresses.    … Expand
  45. cheritrigg
    Apr 6, 2016
    8
    I loved the Shannara Chronicles. It swayed off track mid season, but resumed to it's course, and finished out. It could have used mid season tumblers to make the ending more compelling. For a one season show, it was great!
  46. grampusdei
    Feb 18, 2016
    7
    I was extremely reluctant to watch this considering some of the reviews(a 50 on Metacritic, though I find their collective assessments a little too harsh sometimes and generally take a lot of it with a grain of salt) and the fact that it was on MTV in the first place which led me to believe it was going to be a lot of teeny bopper trash I needed to avoid. Anyway I was half right. AlthoughI was extremely reluctant to watch this considering some of the reviews(a 50 on Metacritic, though I find their collective assessments a little too harsh sometimes and generally take a lot of it with a grain of salt) and the fact that it was on MTV in the first place which led me to believe it was going to be a lot of teeny bopper trash I needed to avoid. Anyway I was half right. Although the entire enterprise is clearly directed squarely at that specific demographic, and the acting was so bad I couldn't decide if I was more embarrassed for them or for me for watching it, the backgrounds and scenery were eye poppingly beautiful and a few of the more veteran thespians were still keeping the whole thing rolling albeit slowly. Then something magical happened. As the series wore on I became more and more intrigued by the characters and the story because it was apparent that the people involved cared deeply enough for it that they were willing to grow and improve as time went on(something that was sadly lacking in the Star Wars prequels btw). So, as of right now, I wouldn't say I was chomping at the bit for the next episode, like I am for Beowulf and/or the next season of GOT but at least I am not afraid I will be cringing at any moment from the display at hand.… Expand
  47. Charlemagne
    Apr 15, 2016
    7
    A bit glam for fantasy but the soap opera looking cast has grown on me and is surprisingly likable.

    Fantasy? Sold! It is a bit of fantasy soap opera though and could be better.
  48. Solantus
    Jan 8, 2016
    7
    Looks like a new teen tv show coming town boys. İt looks like crossed stars with better cgi. under normal circumstances you shouldn't watch such things if you are not under age 24. But in this scarcity of tv show you don't have choice.
    Plot is lame, characters lame too and ı am sure that elven king is gimli but as ı say before you don't have choice
  49. in_obsession
    Jan 31, 2016
    7
    The graphics are cheap, the acting isn't the best, but god as my witness, I LOVE IT. MTV does young adult stuff really well and four episodes in, I'm pretty sure I'm going to be just as attached to this as I am with Teen Wolf.

    Let's start off with the negatives. The leading cast of younglings are...kind of green around the edges. I find this especially interesting in relation to Manu    The graphics are cheap, the acting isn't the best, but god as my witness, I LOVE IT. MTV does young adult stuff really well and four episodes in, I'm pretty sure I'm going to be just as attached to this as I am with Teen Wolf.

    Let's start off with the negatives. The leading cast of younglings are...kind of green around the edges. I find this especially interesting in relation to Manu because it almost seems as if he's over-acting at times. It doesn't seem to happen when he's in a scene with John Rhys-Davies, so I take it as the younglings aren't quite at his caliber. But, to be honest, I don't quite see this as a red mark. They'll get better with experience. It's always this way with junior shows like this and if you're leaving for that alone, I'd say...please come back I want a second season hahaha.

    The story is interesting though, and although there are a few times when I question the cinematographic choices, it is far from a bad looking show. Soundtrack is amazing, especially that opening! Wow. It tickles me to have John Rhys-Davies as an Elf because he's an even more famous Dwarf. So this is what happens to good Dwarfs who cross over the Sea, is it?

    Also...is it just me or is there way too much chemistry between the main girl and her uncle???? Because it can't just be me.

    I see lots of potential and to be honest, I think that it'll live up to all my expectations in the coming weeks. Can't see this one dying down any time soon (at least I hope...)!    … Expand
  50. wisp63
    Jan 15, 2016
    7
    I began watching Shannara Chronicles because we are still a few months out from Game of Thrones. That, and Manu Bennet. Pretty standard and generic story so far. The characters have yet to "wow" me, except Manu Bennet's Alanan, who's pretty sick. His sword is pretty freaking sick too. The special effects are ok. The Elven Princess is very attractive and decent enough. I'm having aI began watching Shannara Chronicles because we are still a few months out from Game of Thrones. That, and Manu Bennet. Pretty standard and generic story so far. The characters have yet to "wow" me, except Manu Bennet's Alanan, who's pretty sick. His sword is pretty freaking sick too. The special effects are ok. The Elven Princess is very attractive and decent enough. I'm having a hard time liking the protagonist Will and rover girl. Will is insecure, frightened, and waaaay too cliche. The rover girl isn't believable, even when the show is throwing character growth/development at me. It is unnatural.

    Let's get back to Alanan's sword. This thing is just a handle, until the Druid wants it to be a sword. Then it turns into a sword by an impossible series of intertwined blade mechanisms (most likely magic). It is just, so cool. Also, how he scabbards it doesn't make sense but it looks sick, and what's the most important thing about a fantasy series? Looking Cool. Much like an MMORPG.

    I give it a 7 because while lacking in several areas, I will continue to watch it because they are trying very hard to bring about a Fantasy book series to Network Television. It would be a 5, but I swear to God that f**king sword is all I can think about right now. It's like the lightsaber of a fantasy story.

    Also: No bows? Where all my archers at?    … Expand
  51. Tony_Sing
    Feb 26, 2016
    7
    Since when was the Shannara Trilogy set in a post-apocalyptic world full of beached oil tankers, downed helicopters etc. I read these books many years ago, and thought that it was a great story in the style of LOTR. What we are being served up is something more akin to Planet of the Apes!

    Nice effects, but don't pretend that this series has anything more than a tenuous link to the    Since when was the Shannara Trilogy set in a post-apocalyptic world full of beached oil tankers, downed helicopters etc. I read these books many years ago, and thought that it was a great story in the style of LOTR. What we are being served up is something more akin to Planet of the Apes!

    Nice effects, but don't pretend that this series has anything more than a tenuous link to the Shannara world!    … Expand
  52. opindude
    Feb 27, 2017
    7
    The Shannara chronicles is a fun, fast-paced and visually pleasing ride, based on Terry Brook’s series of fantasy books. Drawing its ideas from various concepts – fantasy, RPG games, post-apocalyptic, steampunk – it is a must-watch for fantasy fans. Evidently aimed toward teenage audiences, however older suckers for fantasy stories like myself are easily drawn in. Although it lacks theThe Shannara chronicles is a fun, fast-paced and visually pleasing ride, based on Terry Brook’s series of fantasy books. Drawing its ideas from various concepts – fantasy, RPG games, post-apocalyptic, steampunk – it is a must-watch for fantasy fans. Evidently aimed toward teenage audiences, however older suckers for fantasy stories like myself are easily drawn in. Although it lacks the subtleties, depth and mesmerising dialogues of other fantasy stories like lord of the rings or game of thrones, it can certainly pass as an instant classic, due to its action-packed, true-to-the-source material and stunning presentation. It has a lot of production value, even if the acting is not top-notch but aims high. The only exceptions to this are Manu Bennett as the druid and John Rhys-Davies as the elf king who gave a solid, convincing performance throughout.
    The first 3 episodes were excellent but the rest faltered. 10 episodes provide for plenty of room for side stories, encounters and intrigue, but it feels that characters aren’t fully explored and the main protagonists remain shallow throughout the season. The love triangle between the main characters- a half-elf boy, an elf and human girls- is conceptually interesting but ultimately portrayed in a two-dimensional manner. Also, even though the tension towards the final showdown in the last episode was built well enough through season, it eventually failed to deliver and felt rushed.
    Overall, even for its shortcomings, the Shannara chronicles is highly recommended (for fans of the genre) and I will definitely be keeping my eyes out for season 2.    … Expand
  53. BigDegs29
    Mar 5, 2016
    6
    Keep in mind I've only watched the first two episodes. Normally I wouldn't review something so soon, but in this case I feel like I have an accurate idea of how things are.

    I had low expectations for this show, simply because MTV was running things. In that regard, it quite surprised me that it actually has some good moments. But it has definitely been MTV-ified! Many of the    Keep in mind I've only watched the first two episodes. Normally I wouldn't review something so soon, but in this case I feel like I have an accurate idea of how things are.

    I had low expectations for this show, simply because MTV was running things. In that regard, it quite surprised me that it actually has some good moments. But it has definitely been MTV-ified! Many of the characters act like hopeless, love-struck teenagers with half a brain cell in their heads. The dialogue can go from serious conversation to idiotic teasing/flirting in jarring ways. And the number of teen pregnancy jokes just in the first episode had me cringing! So out of place. Hell, even Allanon the druid has a soppy love story! WTF?

    The degree of acting capability is all over the place. The choice of Manu Bennett for Allanon seems out of place at first, but I ended up liking it. He's a decent actor. Always good to see John Rhys-Davies too! However, many other casting choices seem based more on getting hot young bodies rather than skilled actors. Of the main trio, only Ivana Baquero (Eretria) seemingly has some decent acting capabilities. I found both Austin Butler and Poppy Drayton (Wil and Amberle) severely lacking in that they overact quite often and that breaks the realism (doubly important in a fantasy!).

    It's simply too much of a teen drama for my liking. If that's what they wanted, why buy-out a book license and butcher the source material? If it wasn't for that, I'd probably bump it up to a 7/10.

    There are good aspects to the show. I find a lot of the concepts interesting and the directing seems capable, if not great. The scenery is spectacular...I imagine they filmed in New Zealand. Special effects are surprisingly well done for a low budget tv adaptation.

    But god damn! The cheesy dialogue and abundant hormones in this series is going to kill it if it doesn't change! It feels kind of like Legend of the Seeker, which was also based off a book series by a Terry (Goodkind). That show was less of a teen drama, but became far too repetitive and wasn't up to modern tv standards. Shannara better improve in season 2 if it wants to stick around. There is interesting content there...they just need to make better use of it and treat the content more seriously and less as a backdrop for grabbing the attention of horny teenagers.    … Expand
  54. AffableParadox
    Jan 14, 2016
    6
    Well, I suppose I probably had higher hopes than logic should have allowed. I mean, it is a show on MTV. Now, there is nothing wrong with MTV. One of my guilty pleasures is the Teen Wolf program...young, beautiful people saving the world...one supernatural catastrophe at a time. More fluff than real drama, the show belongs on MTV or the CW network. It is certainly not a show thatWell, I suppose I probably had higher hopes than logic should have allowed. I mean, it is a show on MTV. Now, there is nothing wrong with MTV. One of my guilty pleasures is the Teen Wolf program...young, beautiful people saving the world...one supernatural catastrophe at a time. More fluff than real drama, the show belongs on MTV or the CW network. It is certainly not a show that would be considered for A&E or the like. Shanarra is like that.

    Shannara takes a classic dystopian-future/fantasy novel and waters it down with rushed story-telling and actors and actresses that look like they stepped out of a Forever 21 ad. Every stereotype from modern teen dystopian fiction is present.

    That being said, the production value is amazing! The CG is top notch for television. The main actor (Austin Butler) is not horrible. The casting of Manu Bennett as Allanon is surprisingly good. The actresses are expectedly plucky and do well at fulfilling their roles as modern teen-woman tropes.

    It's like cotton candy...lots of fluff...not a lot of substance...somewhat fun while it lasts...but you might regret it if you consider it too much later.    … Expand
  55. luni
    Feb 21, 2016
    6
    In short, this show is missing serious budget and for a while I just couldn't get past that. In all honesty I was expecting just that when I heard one of my favorite books as a kid was being turned to a series. A regurgitated maze runners/ divergent/ hunger games feel but with a smaller budget. After all, 'cute' teenagers in the midst of dystopian worlds are ragging up the big bucksIn short, this show is missing serious budget and for a while I just couldn't get past that. In all honesty I was expecting just that when I heard one of my favorite books as a kid was being turned to a series. A regurgitated maze runners/ divergent/ hunger games feel but with a smaller budget. After all, 'cute' teenagers in the midst of dystopian worlds are ragging up the big bucks now-a-days. The only thing that could save this show from being a total disaster that wont survive more than a season is an end to this predictable 'chosen' course. A bigger battle, more build up, and more characters! Maybe more focus on the demons and the gnomes, letting the world itself come to life! For one the characters needed a lot more individual build before going on this journey! They are still in every way undeveloped! We need to see them mature into 3d personalities capable of very complex emotions and torn by possibilities. Wil needs to harvest his craft, also he needs a stronger reason to be in this fight! And the girls are too predictable! Also tip. triangles no longer work, they are in every way a death sentence!
    For now, I'll keep watching, hanging on and waiting as I do hope things turn around... And I say this because of my love for fantasy, no to mention my long lost desire of an epic series about the children of lluvatar!    … Expand
  56. cindyp1976
    Apr 3, 2016
    6
    I just love fantasy shows and this was pretty good for what it is you have magic & monsters what else do you need. I haven't read the books so some of the reviewers could be right about the show not being very good compared to the books. it was made for pre-teen or teen viewers so you really can't expect much
  57. vintagerose
    Jul 15, 2016
    6
    I LOVE the premise of the show, blending fantasy with the post-apocalyptic genre. Unfortunately, this creative premise which could provide a rich, interesting world, is wasted on generic, bland characters. You have your Elf princess, your tomboy rogue, your handsome reluctant hero, your wizened wizard, your dark evil overlord, and so on. Not a single one of these characters feels real orI LOVE the premise of the show, blending fantasy with the post-apocalyptic genre. Unfortunately, this creative premise which could provide a rich, interesting world, is wasted on generic, bland characters. You have your Elf princess, your tomboy rogue, your handsome reluctant hero, your wizened wizard, your dark evil overlord, and so on. Not a single one of these characters feels real or fresh. Every actor is so generically good-looking that I kept thinking I'd seen them somewhere else, looked them up on IMDB, and found I hadn't seen any of them (with the exception of John Rhys-Davies, who is frankly wasted on these terrible scripts). Manu Bennett also provides a standout performance, and is definitely the MVP of the series.
    They try to set up their two female leads as "strong, independent woman" characters, but fail pretty spectacularly, as they both immediately fall for the male lead and are rescued by him on a pretty consistent basis. They do OCCASIONALLY rescue him as well, but it's a paltry compensation for the forced love triangle. The romance is not organic. We are merely supposed to be engaged in it because they are attractive people. As for back story? Everyone's an orphan! Hooray!
    The supporting characters are also woefully underdeveloped. Princess Amberle has two uncles who love the same woman. This could be interesting, but the show doesn't get past basically just stating that they both love her. There is no tension between the brothers over this, no indication why she left the one to marry the other. Then there is the Elf King, played by Rhys-Davies. His sons feel like they can't measure up to his expectations, but this isn't shown very well, just explained with clunky dialogue. Their deceased older brother, Amberle's father, is supposed to be this larger-than-life perfect son whose death has cast a shadow on the entire family, but that's not done well, either. It's disappointing because there's a lot of potential with this family dynamic that is simply wasted.
    As for the aforementioned less-than-compelling romance... It really takes me out of the story when something urgent is supposedly happening and the characters stop to talk about their feelings and kiss (or have sex). Sorry, but when it's a matter of life and death only psychopaths would stop to have sex. It completely kills the urgency. The "romance" is rarely shown through looks or body language; the characters literally tell rather than show the romance. Even the love triangle fails to live up to its potential. Where's the conflict? The jealousy? The two women don't look jealous of each other. They don't look like seeing their love with someone else leaves them aching inside. They just... take turns, and it feels almost polite. That doesn't make any sense and it kills any potential conflict and drama that could have made the show more interesting.
    To sum up, the best words to describe this show are "disappointing waste of potential."    … Expand
  58. BrooksFan
    Jul 17, 2016
    6
    As my screen name suggests, I was in my childhood an Avid sci-fi and fantasy reader, and read pretty much all of Terry Brooks work. There are spoilers in here so if you haven't watched them or read the books, you've been warned.
    I remember as an 11 year old boy, seeing the cover of "Elfstones of Shannara", the second book, in an mall bookstore, and being intrigued. After reading "Sword",    As my screen name suggests, I was in my childhood an Avid sci-fi and fantasy reader, and read pretty much all of Terry Brooks work. There are spoilers in here so if you haven't watched them or read the books, you've been warned.
    I remember as an 11 year old boy, seeing the cover of "Elfstones of Shannara", the second book, in an mall bookstore, and being intrigued. After reading "Sword", I read "Elfstones" and then "Wishsong" I skimmed through "Scions" but just couldn't make it. I feel that the Shannara books are probably Brooks least original work. Based loosely on Earth, thousands of years after an Apocalyptic end to known civilization, It is my understanding that Elves had once again revealed themselves on Earth, and that mutations and the like had spawned monsters, gnomes, trolls, etc. Magic has returned to the world after lying dormant during the reign of humankind and technology. Other than that, the novels are a bit of a knock-off of Tolkien's world, (which of course was it's own knock-off of the Fairy books and other things, including possibly WW2) with lots of teen angst and a considerable amount of moping about by Will, and Shea, while explosions spout forth from the Elfstones sporadically, in times of great need, and Allanon rides through the world like a darker version of Gandalf, always doing good, but always hiding a terrible secret. So, While at first I felt much like the others who wrote negative reviews of this series, when I think back on what the books actually were, they are really a perfect fit for this sort of mediocre quality fantasy. Will, in the books, is portrayed as sort of a small guy, and they have a giant hunk playing half-elf, but I think that works better for TV. I imagine that this character originally represented the author, much like Bilbo Baggins represented Tolkien in the Hobbit, and that certainly won't do for the small screen or MTV. The Elves are multi-cultural instead of Nordic, the gnomes are terribly ugly, Humans, for the most part, hardly come into the story and as many have stated the Rovers are portrayed as pretty fricking vicious. I do think the other casting is pretty great. Amberle is beautiful (Poppy Drayton) and does a fine job as Amberle, and Ivana Baquero is startlingly close to what I imagined Eretria would look like, hips, eyes, hair, attitude and all. Of course MTV HAD to try to get Amberle and Eretria to kiss. Really? Allanon (Manu Bennet), while different from my imaginings of him, is a pretty good fit for Allanon, I think. Allanon would definitely not be caught wearing a smile, and neither would Manu's portrayal. I was also glad to see John Rhys-Davies for a few moments, and even though he was about as far away from the Elf King as I can imagine, he always does a good job.
    While the story is barely a mix of the Elfstones and a couple other books, I think the general plot line is about right. The Elfstones explode from time to time with blue light, Amberle turns into a tree and Eretria makes it. But there were some changes that were made that I thought would have been great in the story, Like when Eretria brashly declares that Will is "For her", early on, and then I believe those are the last words in the second book. Pretty great ending. While the books may have been somewhat weak, they weren't all bad, and as a teen/pre-teen. I didn't know any better. The stories along with others inspired me to try write some stories of my own. So from a subjective view, I think these Chronicles do a pretty fair job of revealing the world of Shannara, and are well homed on MTV. Not quite good enough to make a movie from. Like a teenagers life, there is plenty of infinite, angst filled drama sprinkled throughout with the occasional burst of magic. There are SO MANY books about this world, wow! plenty of fodder for season after season!
    I predict it will do well, and I will probably ashamedly binge-watch the second season, pointing out flaws and picking at it, but staying for the occasional cool action shots of characters like Allanon, Will, Amberle, and the Elfstones of Shannara.    … Expand
  59. Gibby123
    Jul 20, 2016
    6
    This was a pretty good show. The first episode was amazing, and I am considering reading the books based on what I have seen in the rest of the show. However, the script seems flat, and some scenes can be very boring. The first few episodes are great, but it goes downhill from there.
  60. Rtheom
    Sep 25, 2016
    5
    If you're looking for some light, dopey, fantasy fun, you could do worse, but this show won't be remembered much past the year. Despite using the Shannara setting, it's pretty generic and you can tell that they pretty much ran out of time by the end of the season. The last few episodes feel like they should have been 2 or 3 times longer. But that's okay, I wasn't expecting much from thisIf you're looking for some light, dopey, fantasy fun, you could do worse, but this show won't be remembered much past the year. Despite using the Shannara setting, it's pretty generic and you can tell that they pretty much ran out of time by the end of the season. The last few episodes feel like they should have been 2 or 3 times longer. But that's okay, I wasn't expecting much from this one anyway, nor should you really, just by looking at the cover.… Expand
  61. EludiumQ36
    Jan 6, 2016
    5
    Agree with "Doxide" in large part, but let me add that while the production values are sick the fact that almost everyone is a clean, fresh faced 25yo Disney-channel alum with 21st century coifs/makeup is what's depressing. This series could've been SOOOOO much better with actors that had real gravitas. Instead, at its start, this series only rises to guilty pleasure which means I'm on theAgree with "Doxide" in large part, but let me add that while the production values are sick the fact that almost everyone is a clean, fresh faced 25yo Disney-channel alum with 21st century coifs/makeup is what's depressing. This series could've been SOOOOO much better with actors that had real gravitas. Instead, at its start, this series only rises to guilty pleasure which means I'm on the FF button more than Play.… Expand
  62. marshlung
    Mar 30, 2016
    5
    *** This review may contain spoilers ***

    Summary: This was a series that had lots of potential with a great world to work in, but devolved into a teen drama with bad writing and terrible pacing. I was really looking forward to this. Really. And to be fair, the series did have its moments. The basic story was there, although there was a fair bit of license taken. But that's TV and I    *** This review may contain spoilers ***

    Summary: This was a series that had lots of potential with a great world to work in, but devolved into a teen drama with bad writing and terrible pacing.

    I was really looking forward to this. Really. And to be fair, the series did have its moments. The basic story was there, although there was a fair bit of license taken. But that's TV and I can deal with that. I think the general premise of a earth that had been blasted and then reformed was done pretty well, with the ruins of civilization sprinkled around.

    But, the setting couldn't save this show from being a cliché ridden mess of bad dialogue, uneven pacing and ridiculous leaps. From the first episode, Allanon sounded like all his lines had been cribbed together from a cheat sheet of lines you have to say as the wizard in a fantasy series. The trio of main characters have no chemistry to speak of. Its like watching neighbors in Rivendell. Character deaths don't seem to have any lasting impact on any of their friends. The acting and dialogue that wasn't cliché lord of the rings, lurched all the way to the other side of the spectrum, bringing way too much twilight teen drama to a series that didn't need it.

    As for pacing, I know that in the books some of these locations are fairly close together, but people seem to cross there and back again in no time flat. And at some points we are in the middle of a super tense crisis, but we still have time for some more teen drama in the middle of it. For example: the world is about to end, we need to get to where we are going as quickly as possible. But first, time for a quick shag...? really?    … Expand
  63. ganglio
    Nov 18, 2017
    5
    I don't want to give this show a too negative review as I like to see more high budget fantasy TV shows like game of thrones. Shannara gets respect in terms of production value, filming in New Zealand and somehow always ending in a cliffhanger that makes you want to see more.

    I started the books series some years ago, but stopped as it was too much cliché for my taste. The TV show    I don't want to give this show a too negative review as I like to see more high budget fantasy TV shows like game of thrones. Shannara gets respect in terms of production value, filming in New Zealand and somehow always ending in a cliffhanger that makes you want to see more.

    I started the books series some years ago, but stopped as it was too much cliché for my taste. The TV show obviously suffers from the same. Examples:
    - Go into a creepy dungeon and split up when a crossroads come to "cover more ground"
    - Main dialogue of Will: "stay close" or "stay away because I can't protect you"
    - Evil characters who are evil because they just love being evil

    The main actor has no real personality and, in season 1, a bad need for a shave. You don't know why he is special, how his magic works. All actors stay flat clichés, which is probably more due to the writing of the show and not so much due to acting. It is clearly a show oriented towards teenies but with quite some violence. In the absence of any alternative good fantasy tv shows, I probably continue to watch it as a guilty pleasure.    … Expand
  64. Leah14
    Nov 2, 2017
    5
    This review contains spoilers, click expand to view. I was hopeful that this series would go along the lines of the books. I pretty much bought and read all the books in High School, and to this day still have them. The show at first was fantastic until I realized how MTV's version has deviated so much from the original story in the books. I don't know why Terry Brooks would agree to these changes made in the name of political correctness. Eritrea was not a lesbian in the books, however the enmity between Eritrea and Amberle is similar as it was in the books because they both fell in love with Will. There are literally dozens of tv series in which their actors portray the LBGT community. Why couldn't MTV stick to the original story on one show? I wonder what they will do to the other female characters later in the series such as Wren. The original story is fantastic, but in the name of "pc", a great story is being changed. BTW, i don't have anything against the LBGT community, but imo MTV should have kept the series to the original story.… Expand
  65. jolsen26
    Jan 12, 2016
    4
    First, if you haven't read the books I would recommend them. Much better than the show.

    Pros: The scenery is actually really cool. They did a good job with the post-human world (I don't know how to explain this without spoilers. There are still humans, but the age of skyscrapers and technological wonders is a thing of the past). They also did a good job with the monsters and effects. I    First, if you haven't read the books I would recommend them. Much better than the show.

    Pros: The scenery is actually really cool. They did a good job with the post-human world (I don't know how to explain this without spoilers. There are still humans, but the age of skyscrapers and technological wonders is a thing of the past). They also did a good job with the monsters and effects. I also don't mind Allanon (played by Manu Bennett), he's pretty good and doesn't overplay his role.

    Cons: Well, the show is mostly brought down by the acting. Amberle (Poppy Drayton) is a complete disaster. In fact, if they had cast someone else (almost literally anyone else) I probably could have given the show a 6 or 7. Wil Ohmsford (Austin Butler) is pretty bad too. The direction is so heavily tilted toward a YA type of show like Twilight or the Mortal Instruments. The clumsy and heavy handed attempts to insert sexual tension and love interests is just sad. Overall, the show does a good job with keeping to the story line, but some deviations like the moronic race at the beginning had no place in the show or books.

    What's said is that this could have been really great if it was done by Starz or Showtime with some decent actors as a way to compete with HBO's Game of Thrones. Unfortunately Brooks fans get this MTV teen drama.    … Expand
  66. ScienceAdvisor
    Feb 1, 2016
    4
    My Pretties: Pretty people, pretty pixels, pretty much nothing else
    Baddsies: Badly written, badly directed, badly acted

    Perhaps in an alternate universe, this would have been done with a proper budget and a showrunner that knew what they were doing. Then again, it could have been on NBC, so it can always be worse.
  67. kevwallace365
    Jan 17, 2016
    4
    While the CGI & cinematography are stunning this is turgid fare from Millar and Gough. While I must admit that I found Brook's books to be two dimensional at best, even they are done an injustice by MTV's adaptation of his work. The problem is not the story per se, neither is it the visuals the problem is the approach. The same breathless acting "style" and constantly over the top levelWhile the CGI & cinematography are stunning this is turgid fare from Millar and Gough. While I must admit that I found Brook's books to be two dimensional at best, even they are done an injustice by MTV's adaptation of his work. The problem is not the story per se, neither is it the visuals the problem is the approach. The same breathless acting "style" and constantly over the top level of dramatic conflict that dominates YA TV series like the OC, Gossip Girl & Pretty Little Liars overshadows everything in this series. This in all fairness should not be unexpected given that it is a MTV production and aimed at exactly the same market as the OC and 90210. In other words MTV want it this way!

    From the first scene the boxes get ticked one by one. Female heroine to rival Katniss Everdeen from The Hunger Games (because that was a hit) - check. Over-protective boyfriend that she needs to dump to have her own life (a generic constant of teen drama ) - check. A gormless reluctant protagonist - because wanting to do good is always a bad sign - check. A spunky Tom Boy character to offset the Princess - check.

    The Shannara Chronicles is a very uneasy mix of the film & TV adaptations of The Hunger Game & Game of Thrones with Gossip Girl and the Star Wars Prequel trilogy. It lacks nuance, it lacks variation in tempo & it lacks actual suspense. What it has is stunning CGI, dialogue so turgid it could coagulate blood, & a melange of Brook's material that manages (however unbelievably) to make its characters even less three dimensional.

    The show has the same potential that Smallville had in its final 3 seasons to become something great, but given Gough & Millar's refusal of that potential with Smallville I have little hope The Shannara Chronicles will realize its own. Mediocrity abounds in this genre, especially on TV but since the high points of Jackson's Lord of the Rings and Hobbit trilogies and Game of Thrones on TV, the standards for Fantasy on screen have changed. The Shannara Chronicles is unfortunately a throw back to an era when the mere mention of elves or trolls was good enough, when acting could be as wooden as a 4x2 and narratives little more than a walk-through of a Dungeon's and Dragons game.    … Expand
  68. ChrisRuch
    Feb 11, 2016
    4
    I have not read the books, but my wife has read the entire series at least twice. She's constantly frustrated by the numerous inconsistencies/changes in the show vs the books. The sexuality (and sexual tension) is forced, ham-fisted and often unnecessary - a cheap attempt at drawing/keeping an audience - and likely a juvenile "me too" attempt at mimicking HBO's Game of Thrones (but withI have not read the books, but my wife has read the entire series at least twice. She's constantly frustrated by the numerous inconsistencies/changes in the show vs the books. The sexuality (and sexual tension) is forced, ham-fisted and often unnecessary - a cheap attempt at drawing/keeping an audience - and likely a juvenile "me too" attempt at mimicking HBO's Game of Thrones (but with closer to a PG-13 rating). The writing/acting/action/sets/effects are decent considering the series likely has a fairly low budget. About 60% of the show is watchable (and sometimes enjoyable/interesting) and the remaining 40% is ridiculous, awkward, rushed, unnecessary, underdeveloped & overkill. Take lessons from Lost & Walking Dead for character development, pacing and even relational/sexual interactions - those shows are much more subtle/realistic and they cause you to care about what happens to the main characters (rather than be annoyed by them).… Expand
  69. Kilrymont
    Sep 4, 2016
    4
    Parallels with LOTR - it'd be stupid to avoid those, and there's plenty of them. The generality of this follows the pattern common in US TV shows where there's no more than an outline of story to get things kicked off, then after that it's see-how-it-goes with an eye on the ratings constantly driving the thing along.

    Which means it plays down to the lowest and easiest sort of appeal.    Parallels with LOTR - it'd be stupid to avoid those, and there's plenty of them. The generality of this follows the pattern common in US TV shows where there's no more than an outline of story to get things kicked off, then after that it's see-how-it-goes with an eye on the ratings constantly driving the thing along.

    Which means it plays down to the lowest and easiest sort of appeal. Get young good looking core character members, add some tolerable magic and monsters and you have a bigger-budget version of Buffy et al.

    Production standards - for a TV show - are surprisingly high, although not uniformly so. The actors do occasionally act rather than just recite their lines and switch between two or three standard facial expressions - but not by much. And as in so many other shows, the weakness is in the writing. Silly script, stupid non-scenes that don't add a single bit of value or progress to the plot, but have the purpose of dragging out the story line to fill the program time slot. This is so noticeable in American shows I don't know how come so few reviewers mention it - since it's staring them in the face time after time. The home market is deeply, deeply uncritical of quality-shortfalls as long as basic elelments are present - like girls in tight leggings and muscular torso'd young heroes who manage to get their shirts off now and again.

    And so it is with Chronicles O Shannara. A series of books I'm glad I avoided in earlier years now I've a wisp of a notion how they're set and paced. Or perhaps that latter point's unfair to the books since the TV people have paced this thiing's progress to suit their time frame and needs of their inevitalbe sponsors.

    The same hackneyed old plot stunts are hauled out, dusted down and replayed with such intellectual laziness that I wonder that Tolkein's estate doesn't sue this show's producers. The monster chasing them with fire & smoke issuing from its vitals is so obvious a pastiche of Tolkein's Balrog that it's utter impertinence to have tried to get away with it.

    Unwilling participants - another key point to LOTR and its character set, none of whom wanted to be there in any way - more or less like the three participants here. With a smear of lesbianism tossed in to keep the seekers after salaciousness content.

    I'd guess that the story line being dragged out interminably will be the death of C.ofShanarra, although it's possible they might actually take the chance to give it some brand-ID of its own rather than the deep levels of plagiarism I've seen in the episodes so far. And if they'd keep the 21st Century idioms out of the script it'd be so far the better. But I doubt the producers have the imagination to see that far beyond trying to appeal to the uneducated mass of mindless US youth which is no doubt their target audience. Since they're the ones with plenty of disposable income living as they do, largely wiht Ma and Pa.

    It's not that it has no merit. It's just that it's so blasted second-hand and absolutely unoriginal that it's an annoyance that can't be overlooked. Tidy up the script writing and show the leads how to act more convincingly, thiis could mature into something worth watching. But I doubt it.    … Expand
  70. 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
  71. 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
  72. 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
  73. 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
  74. 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.
  75. 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
  76. 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
  77. 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.
  78. 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
  79. 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
  80. 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
  81. 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
  82. 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.
  83. 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
  84. 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
  85. 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
  86. 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
  87. 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 .. ;(
  88. 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
  89. 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
  90. 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
  91. 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
  92. 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
  93. 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.
  94. 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
  95. 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
  96. 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
  97. 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
  98. 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
  99. 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
  100. DanniBoi
    Jan 13, 2016
    0
    Lets this get out of the way.

    It is a bad adaptation. (and this is why) Forget about the books for a bit. Because sadly, it doesn't fallow it accordingly. It wants to look like a "dark show" but really it doesn't look like it. MTv? I guess they have the money to make a very depended adaptation from the books. But yet again, lets for get about it for a second. Despite being from    Lets this get out of the way.

    It is a bad adaptation. (and this is why)

    Forget about the books for a bit. Because sadly, it doesn't fallow it accordingly. It wants to look like a "dark show" but really it doesn't look like it. MTv? I guess they have the money to make a very depended adaptation from the books. But yet again, lets for get about it for a second.

    Despite being from the books or not, it is awful, the acting is not realistic and compelling, (super very shallow) the environments are very beautiful (yes) and the cgi is beyond doubt, very gorgeous, but obviously those things doesn't make a huge and good base for a success when, the writing is bad and empty and it feels "pushed".

    This adaptation felt very fast phase, introducing very much every character very fast. I haven't felt any sort of emotional connection with any of the characters yet. This adaptation fall flat, just because despite the non consistence far from a decent adaptation, the own show as a whole, doesn't hold.

    They adapt this show more towards the mtv channel that the book. So, this is a "bittersweet" for those fans from the book and "cool" or "awesome" for those that just want to watch a mediocre or a "okay-ish" adventure show.    … 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.
    Read full review
  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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