TV reviews
Legend of the Seeker:
My initial thought was woo boy that dude is hot. Good move on someone's part to introduce Richard Cypher with his shirt off building a bridge. Then, I thought the actors' accents were very conspicuous, very not-British, and usually with these types of fantasy shows/movies, the characters have British accents. The only fantasy I can think of that isn't British is Star Wars.
The plotline isn't totally original. It reminds me of every other fantasy novel or movie I've ever seen. Star Wars, Eragon, Lord of the Rings: the normal boy from a somehow broken family who learns from the town's crazy old guy that he is the only one who can save the world/universe. At first, the hero is reluctant, but then after some disaster in his family (or supposed family), he takes up the sword (in Richard's case, literally) and vows to defeat the evil. The old mentor usually dies and the hero usually learns some shocking information about his family. That is the spine of Legend of the Seeker and most other fantasies.
I do like this show. I sort of compared it to Eragon earlier, but I like it a lot better than Eragon. I still haven't seen the movie, but the books took me forever to get through because I thought Eragon was annoying. As much as I like the show, Richard Cypher is a bit annoying to me too, but I think it's the acting. It isn't phenomenal. But I think it's also because Richard is sort of a mega-good guy. He's the ultimate hero. He's almost a Gary Stu, in my opinion. He is so intent on doing the right thing, on defeating Darken Rahl even though it doesn't seem like he has trained to defeat him at all. There's no conflict between his free will and his destiny. At first he's reluctant to be the Seeker, but it's not long before he's all for it. Harry Potter was real because he was a teenager, he had teen angst and a life outside of being the Boy Who Lived. Eragon was so full of anger and revenge. Frodo was tempted and nearly corrupted by the ring. Luke had serious family issues. Richard is not fueled by anything except doing what is right and his destiny as the Seeker. He, Kahlan, and Zed think fulfilling his destiny is going to be so difficult, but at the same time, they don't do anything to prepare him for it.
Kahlan is BA though. And Zed has some strange eyebrows. :) So yeah, I like the show. I'm not overly impressed with it, but I enjoy it.
Merlin:
I've only seen the first two episodes but I already like it a lot. I kind of wish I had started the show without any expectations, but I've already got the Merlin/Arthur 'ship in my head. I can't tell if the show looks slashy because it is, or because I'm expecting it to be. But I like it. :) Arthur and Morgana? Nooooo. Come on. Why would the dragon tell Merlin, "A half cannot hate that which makes it whole," (:D) if Arthur and Merlin aren't supposed to be together forever? Is this 'ship canon to the show? Nevermind, I don't want to know.
I had a hard time watching these two episodes. It probably took me two or three hours to watch only one of them. The only video I could find of each of them were Japanese (Yukou or something?), so it took two or three hours for the video to buffer, load, and watch. BUT! I just read on Wikipedia, and saw it confirmed on Mugglnet, that Merlin is premiering in the States on the 21st of June! :D So, I think I'll just wait to watch any more episodes until then and watch the show on Sunday nights at 8.
But I'm definitely a Merlin/Arthur shipper based off the two episodes I've seen. :) Does Arthur ever find out that Merlin is a warlock? (Obviously he does eventually since "historically" Merlin was a known warlock and adviser to Arthur, but in the show, I mean.) Again, don't tell me. I'll see as I watch the show. :)