Shot with state-of-the-art visual effects and with the exotic and rugged New Zealand landscape as its backdrop, Legend of the Seeker chronicles the extraordinary transformation of woodsman Richard Cypher into The Seeker, a magical leader who joins with a beautiful and mysterious woman, Kahlan Amnell, on an epic journey to stop the bloodthirsty, sinister tyrant Darken Rahl from conquering all mankind.
In the province known as Westland, a wizard reveals to ordinary woodsman Richard Cypher the truth: that he is a child of prophecy, the first true Seeker the world has known in a thousand years, destined to wield the powerful Sword of Truth and defeat the evil tyrant Darken Rahlan.
Joining Executive Producer Sam Raimi ("Spiderman," "Evil Dead") are Rob Tapert ("The Grudge," "Xena: Warrior Princess," "Hercules: The Legendary Journeys"), Joshua Donen ("The Quick and the Dead"), Ned Nalle ("Xena: Warrior Princess," "Hercules: The Legendary Journeys") and Ken Biller ("Star Trek: Voyager," "Six Degrees").
The ABC Studios production includes Craig Horner ("Blue Water High," "H2O: Just Add Water) as Richard Cypher/The Seeker, Craig Parker ("The Lord of the Rings: The Two Towers") as Darken Rahl, Bridget Regan ("The Best and the Brightest") as Kahlan Amnell and Bruce Spence ("The Matrix Revolutions") as Zedd.
More than 25 million copies of Terry Goodkind's popular books in his series "The Sword of Truth" have been sold worldwide and translated into more than 20 languages. The original Legend of the Seeker novel was a New York Times number-one bestseller.
Legend of the Seeker Cast List
Actor Name:
Character Name:
Craig Horner
Bridget Regan
Bruce Spence
Craig Parker
Jay Laga'aia
David de Lautour
Danielle Cormack
Brooke Williams
Tabrett Bethell
Kevin J. Wilson
Renato Bartolomei
... Richard Cypher
... Kahlan Amnell
... Zeddicus Zu'l Zorander
... Darken Rahl
... Chase
... Michael Cypher
... Shota
... Jennsen
... Cara
... General Egremont
... Demmin Nass
When we learned that Legend of the Seeker was produced by the same team that had brought us Hercules: The Legendary Journeys & Xena: Warrior Princess, we had to give it a try since we found Hercules (and some supporting characters in Xena) a guilty pleasure. Legend of the Seeker has similar production values and some familiar supporting actors, although carries a more serious tone to the storytelling. We will admit to having read Wizard's First Rule some time ago. Suffice it to say that we chose not to continue reading the literary series.
However, the television production chose to focus on lead character Richard Cypher's (mostly) black and white virtuous outlook on life, which appealed to us especially with many television series getting darker and darker in tone. Legend of the Seeker does have its dark side with the villain Darken Rahl, who is surprisingly complex thanks to Craig Parker's portrayal of the character. What surprised us as we watched the first season is how quickly some story developments such as Richard and Kahlan's relationship progressed. This led to some rather uneven storytelling as the storyline alternated between treading water and leaping forward. We expected more of a "slow burn," but barring a major "reset," the second season looks to introduce new story elements to explore.
Keeping in mind that Legend of the Seeker is a syndicated fantasy series, we enjoyed the series for what it is: an action series with a 'hero' at its moral center. Production values, action, special effects and acting by the lead and major supporting character were all quite solid in our opinion. It was the writing that occasionally let the series down. That said, we find ourselves looking forward to the second season and even considering giving Wizard's First Rule a second read.
Legend of the Seeker Complete First Season DVD Extras:
- Audio Commentary on "Prophecy": Producers Ken Biller & Stephen Tolkin; Actors Craig Horner & Bridget Regan
- Audio Commentary on "Destiny": Producers Ken Biller & Stephen Tolkin; Actors Craig Horner & Bridget Regan
- Audio Commentary on "Denna": Actors Craig Horner & Jessica Marais
- Audio Commentary on "Puppeteer": Actors Craig Horner & Bruce Spence
- Deleted Scenes
- Forging the Sword: Crafting a Legend: Behind-the scenes featurette about the production
- Words of Truth: A Conversation with Terry Goodkind Buy the Legend of the Seeker Complete First Season DVD Now!
