Terry Goodkind and the Sword of Truth novels

[egwenes#1hater]

It's looking like the show won't be renewed for a 3rd season.

 

 

plz tell me your joking :'(

i love the show.i hated the books

 

this newws ruined my day :'(

[azrael.1289]

It's looking like the show won't be renewed for a 3rd season.

 

 

plz tell me your joking :'(

i love the show.i hated the books

 

this newws ruined my day :'(

Well, nothing is confirmed yet. But, things are not looking good.

[Anoxanmore]

Let the terrible die, DIE DIE DIE DIE DIE!

[egwenes#1hater]

ok i just have to ask

 

why do u hate show so much anoxanmore?

u have admitted that u didnt like the books.so why do u hate the show? i mean yeah there were some good parts to the books but mostly they were crap. i watch the show purely for entertainment value not because of the books.

[Anoxanmore]

I believe even if the book is horrible, or it has its bad moments, which are books 3 -4, 6-12.

 

TV shows that are supposed to be based upon said books should keep to the main theme, not throw it completely off kilter.

 

The Show, really does make the books look like a 2 yr old wrote them, vs someone in the mid 30s with a god complex.

 

I prefer the later, since that usually entails adult themes(I don't mean nudity and excessive violence, but they are in SoT) and ideas and dialogue even if it appears forced at times.

 

The show failed to live up to everything as soon as it was known that Darken Rahl was Richards brother... THAT right there pretty much set it up for failure, minus all the crap before it.

 

Not to mention the horrible use of Nicci, (both times).

 

Terrible confessor(s) (Should have been only one).

 

Departing that much from the books, really does make a show die.

 

Never should have been done, NEVER.  Let alone, making it look like Cara is hitting on Richard, UGH.

[egwenes#1hater]

i understand where you are coming from but what im saying is that the show is good because it deviated from the books. i disconnect from my knowledge of the books when i'm watching the show.i watch the show just for fun and entairtainment. i don't compare what is happening on the show with wat really happened in the books.i think of the show as it own story separate from the books.

[Anoxanmore]

The show by itself is horrible. If it didn't have SoT references, and I say that very loosely, it would fall on its own face.

[Werthead]

The show by itself is horrible. If it didn't have SoT references, and I say that very loosely, it would fall on its own face.

 

I haven't watched the series myself, but pretty much everyone I know who has with no foreknowledge of the books, or is at best a casual fan, seems to think it's okay, and has improved a lot in its second season. The only people I know who loathe it seem to be hardcore fans of the books who despise the way it's deviated from the books (although this was unavoidable, as a lot of material in the books is unsuitable for screening on TV, even by a network like HBO let alone the Disney-owned ABC syndication team).

 

Sure there's lots of exceptions out there, but the consensus feeling (as much as something can be measured) seems to be that on its own merits, it is standing up okay (and the reasonable but unexceptional viewing figures seem to back that up), if nothing more than that.

[egwenes#1hater]

The show by itself is horrible. If it didn't have SoT references, and I say that very loosely, it would fall on its own face.

 

I haven't watched the series myself, but pretty much everyone I know who has with no foreknowledge of the books, or is at best a casual fan, seems to think it's okay, and has improved a lot in its second season.

 

 

this is exactly what i'm talking about.

anoxanmore just can't get over the fact that it differs so much from the books.

[Crossroad]

Yeap crap show will die after this season.  Terry must have went for the big bucks on this one.

[Werthead]

Yeap crap show will die after this season.  Terry must have went for the big bucks on this one.

 

Yup, ABC's production partner has chosen not to proceed with a third season, although it's not dead yet as ABC are looking for another partner company. But it doesn't look good.

[Anoxanmore]

The show by itself is horrible. If it didn't have SoT references, and I say that very loosely, it would fall on its own face.

 

I haven't watched the series myself, but pretty much everyone I know who has with no foreknowledge of the books, or is at best a casual fan, seems to think it's okay, and has improved a lot in its second season.

 

 

this is exactly what i'm talking about.

anoxanmore just can't get over the fact that it differs so much from the books.

*sigh* The point I am trying to make is apparently missed. People are trying to make the SoT stand up to the likes of Xena and Hercules.

 

It will NEVER live up to those shows simply because it fails to relate to anyone on the same level.  Those particular shows didn't exactly follow the Myths of Hercules and Xena to a T, but it was close enough that no one cared, which is why each one ran for six years.

 

SoT could not run for 6 yrs without at least maintaining the basic story line.

 

This is something people do not understand, hence why you try to defend a horrible show.

 

You can not deviate so much from such a large fanbase and expect it to live up to the expectations.

 

Sure the books had an over abundance of violence and etc.  Doesn't mean you can't tone it down for TV and still maintain the Darken Rahl is Richard's father, not brother.  Nicci is not the leader of the Sisters of the Dark.  OR THAT THE BOUNDARIES THE THING THAT CAUSES DARKEN RAHL TO INFILTRATE THE MIDLANDS ARE DOWN (but up in the show)

 

Valley of Perdition not being neutralized is another point against the show, that is key to keeping the show alive.  Keeping the plot going.

 

What is the point in basing a show on books if you can't even follow the most basic plot points?  Exactly, nothing, the show dies in two seasons, when it should have died in one.

[Verbal32]

I cannot fault a single thing in your post, Anox.  I agree 100%, even though I like the show.  It doesn't have staying power for those exact reasons.  Oh well.  :-\

[Corki]

In a way, it does remind me of the hash that Wolfgang Petersen made with Troy when he butched Homer's Iliad and Virgil's Aeneid - 2 of the great ancient texts ever. Things I seem to remember...

 

- 10 days (or something similar), not 10 years

- Menelaus being killed...um, he lives and gets Helen, his wife, back --> this was the one that made me cringe the most

- The lack of Gods, which would have made the film infinitely better

- Andromache escapes, but she is captured

Wikiepdia has a nice long list of the main discrepencies.

 

There again, I was a student of Ancient Greek and Latin, so I probably had a slightly biased opinion.

[egwenes#1hater]

the show does deviate immensely from the books and yet there are people who enjoy it.

i still like it and i desparately hope it doesn't get cancelled.

if it does i'll be extremely miserable :'( :'(

[Anoxanmore]

There are very few people who truly enjoy the show.

 

Most of them just go "OMG BRIDGET REAGAN", or "OMG CRAIG HORNER" and care little for the actual plot of the show.

[Werthead]

There are very few people who truly enjoy the show.

 

There's actually quite a few. Just because you do not, there's no need to start making odd generalisations that are somewhat insulting to other posters (you just implied that the prior poster only watches the show for the eye candy when this was never said).

 

You can not deviate so much from such a large fanbase and expect it to live up to the expectations.

 

There's a somewhat solid fanbase of around 2 million people worldwide (based on the sales of the novels, and around half that number in the USA), which is a reasonable grounding but nowhere near what is required to make a successful TV show. The TV producers deciding to take off in a different direction is somewhat unwise, but OTOH hewing closely to the books was also impossible. Casual viewers are not going to sit through 35-minute speeches on the evils of Communism, nor are they going to buy the Evil Chicken or the heroes murdering innocent people and getting away with it as they do in the books. Changes had to be made and were inevitable.

 

In a way, it does remind me of the hash that Wolfgang Petersen made with Troy when he butched Homer's Iliad and Virgil's Aeneid - 2 of the great ancient texts ever.

 

They're also works of fantasy with very, very little basis in historical fact (there was a Troy and it was burned down sometime around the 13th Century BC but that's about it). The movie was a valid attempt to do a 'realistic' take on the legend (hence why it is called TROY, not THE ILIAD, and the gods do not appear). Ten year-sieges are not realistic, at all. The movie was not brilliant, but worked on a popcorn entertaining level.

[Anoxanmore]

There are very few people who truly enjoy the show.

 

There's actually quite a few. Just because you do not, there's no need to start making odd generalizations that are somewhat insulting to other posters (you just implied that the prior poster only watches the show for the eye candy when this was never said).

I'm saying the majority of the viewers watch it for the eye candy, I never specifically said anyone did on this forum, but that is fine, put words in my mouth.

 

Secondly if you are going to use loose generalizations yourself like "lots of people truly enjoy the show".

 

LoS got a rating of 1.4/3.  Hercules recieved 2.3/3, Xeno recieved 2.1/3.

 

Really? Shows from over ten years ago score much higher?  At least bring something to the table, I was speaking of my experience with what the ratings were, not my own opinion.

 

 

You can not deviate so much from such a large fanbase and expect it to live up to the expectations.

 

There's a somewhat solid fanbase of around 2 million people worldwide (based on the sales of the novels, and around half that number in the USA), which is a reasonable grounding but nowhere near what is required to make a successful TV show. The TV producers deciding to take off in a different direction is somewhat unwise, but OTOH hewing closely to the books was also impossible. Casual viewers are not going to sit through 35-minute speeches on the evils of Communism, nor are they going to buy the Evil Chicken or the heroes murdering innocent people and getting away with it as they do in the books. Changes had to be made and were inevitable.

 

There are a lot of other ways to make it adaptable to TV without straying from the main story line plots. 

 

My points still stand and they are very much the truth as to why the show has failed.

 

 

[Werthead]

I'm saying the majority of the viewers watch it for the eye candy, I never specifically said anyone did on this forum, but that is fine, put words in my mouth.

 

Well, one poster just said they really enjoyed the show and your immediate response was that people only watch it for the eye candy.

 

Really? Shows from over ten years ago score much higher?  At least bring something to the table, I was speaking of my experience with what the ratings were, not my own opinion.

 

Shows from ten years ago get higher? Yes, certainly. This is true across the board of all television shows, due to the radically higher number of channels these days and the multiple ways people watch TV (DVD box sets, Tivo, Hulu etc). The raw ratings no longer reflect an accurate picture of how many people are watching the series. If HEROES had been shown ten years ago, it would have been cancelled two seasons back for the ratings it's getting now on NBC, for example, and I doubt LOST would have survied a 50% cull in ratings ten years back either.

 

There are a lot of other ways to make it adaptable to TV without straying from the main story line plots.

 

No, there aren't really. The main storyline in the books is definitely not a general audience-friendly, PG-rated storyline. Tapert and Raimi wanted a general audience-friendly, PG-rated series they could sell to the largest audience possible, and must have impressed that point on Goodkind. If Goodkind had wanted a direct adaptation, he should have held out for someone like Showtime or AMC taking an interest (HBO's ship having sailed with another series of fantasy books), or a film adaptation.

[Anoxanmore]

The main plot isn't PG friendly?  ROFL

 

How is Darken Rahl being Richard's father not PG friendly?

 

How is Kahlan being the last confessor in season 1 not PG friendly?

 

How is the boundaries being down, not being PG friendly?

 

How is the Sisters of the Light stealing wizards not PG friendly? (I don't recall them seducing the wizards)

 

The only single major plot line that isn't PG friendly deals with when Kahlan goes into the con dar and what she does during, and honestly, watching her get riddle with needles is PG friendly? Even then, you don't have to how the gruesome violence that the book has, just look at any implied violence that is used.

 

Just wow, talk about limited view of how to adapt things properly.

 

With Lost's ratings dip it still has higher ratings than LoS did, even on pilot night. Heroes still has higher ratings than LoS. (albeit barely atm)

Book adaptations that rate higher than LoS at the moment include Dexter, True Blood, and Spartacus: Blood and Sand.

[OptimusPrime]

The only things in WFR that might not pass PG guidelines are Darken Rahls buddy being into little boys and Richard kicking that girl in the face. Both could be easily removed without harming the story; Richard could just do something else that makes that little girl hate him, and Darken Rahls buddy could just not be into little boys. Simple.

[Eht Slat Meit]

The only things in WFR that might not pass PG guidelines are Darken Rahls buddy being into little boys and Richard kicking that girl in the face. Both could be easily removed without harming the story; Richard could just do something else that makes that little girl hate him, and Darken Rahls buddy could just not be into little boys. Simple.

 

1. How about Darken Rahl killing that little boy by burying him up to his head and feeding him ... gold?

 

2. Or the part where Kahlan orders the pedo to kill himself?

 

Some of its easily moderated stuff, but #2 shows the hardcore guerilla leader side of Kahlan's personality that is defined repeatedly throughout the series. They have to rewrite her character just to make her PG-appropriate to the series.

 

There's an episode called "Torn" where Kahlan is separated into her emotional side and her logical side, both extremes. It's strongly implied that as a whole person these temper each other. Yet the "Logical Kahlan" is startlingly very much like SoT-Kahlan, which means we're not going to be seeing her again.

[egwenes#1hater]

i must say one point i do agree with that anoxanmore made is that the show would be a lot better if goodkind had waited for a cable network to pick up the show.

i still think the show is good on a purely entertaining level and i have a theory as to why lot of people dislike the show.

O.K. here goes: I THINK PEOPLE WHO HAVE READ THE BOOKS DISLIKE THE SHOW BECAUSE THEY KEEP COMPARING THE TWO TO EACH OTHER.

i also think anoxanmore is a perfect example of this. in all her posts about the show she compares the books and the show.

[Corki]

O.K. here goes: I THINK PEOPLE WHO HAVE READ THE BOOKS DISLIKE THE SHOW BECAUSE THEY KEEP COMPARING THE TWO TO EACH OTHER.

i also think anoxanmore is a perfect example of this. in all her posts about the show she compares the books and the show.

And the same will happen if and when WoT hits the screen.

 

With Lost's ratings dip it still has higher ratings than LoS did, even on pilot night. Heroes still has higher ratings than LoS. (albeit barely atm)

Book adaptations that rate higher than LoS at the moment include Dexter, True Blood, and Spartacus: Blood and Sand.

LotS is a syndicated show, and I think it is normal for these kinds of shows to have lower ratings than shows made for actual networks. From the figures I have seen, LotS is doing quite well with viewing figures. I do believe season 2 figures are up on season 1.

[Anoxanmore]

Yet, it is going to be canceled because it is a horrible show.