Legend Of The Seeker – The Complete First Season DVD – Win Yours Here

I reviewed Legend of the Seeker back in February, and interviewed the show's star Craig Horner around the same time, and surprising as it may seem, the show has grown on me even more. I encourage you to check out both of those articles for more perspective on the show, and the Craig Horner interview was just a lot of fun.

Legend of the Seeker is now available on DVD with some interesting bonuses, and it's worth checking out before the new season starts on Nov. 7th.

Based on the internationally best-selling “Sword of Truth” novels and executive produced by Sam Raimi, Legend of the Seeker is a weekly television series that follows the epic journey of a young woods guide named Richard Cypher, a mysterious woman named Kahlan Amnell and a wizard named Zeddicus Zu'l Zorander who come together to stop the evil Darken Rahl  from unleashing an ancient and terrifying power.

The series recently won the 2009  Primetime Emmy Award for Outstanding Music Composition for a Series.

While people will be quick to put the show in the category of such things as Hercules and Xena, Legend of the Seeker really stands out with its darker subject matter pulled straight from the novels. It's certainly still somewhere in a "lighter" realm than a film treatment might be, and there are many moments of joviality thrown in, but there is only so far you can go with a sect of magical torturers who feel the pain they cause.

It really is a new angle put to the action/adventure, bit of fun serial idea, and it's quite worthwhile. There is also a great balance as you progress through the season, with episodes that are much more on the fun side mixed in with some that are truly surprising in their intensity.

The bonuses on the DVD add a lot of value to the set as well, something you might not really expect from such a release. There are several commentary tracks available for a few episodes which include - stars Craig Horner and Bridget Regan, and producers Ken Biller and Stephen Tolkin. I would call these slightly above-average as far as commentaries go, but Craig Horner remains an interesting guy to listen to. Just as was the case when I spoke with him, he comes across as having the perspective of a kid in a candy store more than anything else.

Also included are several deleted scenes and two featurettes which fans will really enjoy.

Forging The Sword: Crafting A Legend - A more or less standard behind-the-scenes effort which is nevertheless a lot more wonderful to watch than is the standard, because the show is shot in New Zealand. It's a well-rounded look at the show's creation that looks at the sets and locations as well as the many aspects of making fantasy come to life.

Word of Truth: A Conversation With Terry Goodkind - A look at the creation of the story with the author that fans of show and/or novel will love. Perhaps worth a bit more to those who have read the books, this is a great bonus for everyone. Those who haven't read the books will probably not have a full appreciation of that "intensity" I mentioned, because while the show does relay some of those moments, reading the novels can at times be downright disturbing. Now you can take a walk with the creator, and discover where the characters and ideas came from.

Overall a very solid release. Though it may not compare with some of the recent releases which absolutely bury you in special features, this is a very nice treatment, especially keeping the show's relative status in perspective. You wouldn't be overly surprised if there were less in the way of bonuses, and the series itself is well worth the price.

Own it on DVD today!

Leave a comment below and include the word, "Win," to be entered to win your very own copy. U.S. and Canada only. Winner will be randomly selected on Nov. 15th.

Check out some great clips below, including a couple of "featurettes."

Storytelling magic comes alive with the adaptation of the internationally best-selling “Sword of Truth” novels, in Legend of the Seeker: The Complete First Season, coming to DVD on Oct. 13, 2009 from Walt Disney Studios Home Entertainment. The 5-disc set containing all 22 one-hour episodes of Season One reveals even more of the fantasy, magic and romance with exclusive-to-DVD bonus features. Behind the scenes interviews with the cast offer intriguing insight into the Legend just in time for Halloween and the November 2009 Season Two premiere.

Shot with state-of-the-art visual effects and with the exotic and rugged New Zealand landscape as its backdrop, Legend of the Seeker: The Complete First Season 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.

FEATURETTE: MAIN CHARACTERS

FEATURETTE: SETS

THE FUTURE

TRUE LOVE

© 2009, Are You Screening?. All rights reserved. Reprinting without express permission of the author is prohibited.

About Marc Eastman

Marc Eastman is the owner and operator of Are You Screening? and has been writing film reviews for over a decade, and several branches of the internet's film review world have seen his name. His reviews have brought him personal praise from the director of a major motion picture, and have been used as required reading in a course at a major University. These priceless rewards, along with just bags of cash, keep him from straying from freelance writing. He is also a member of The Broadcast Film Critics Association and The Broadcast Television Journalists Association.

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