Legend of Earthsea (TV miniseries)
Encyclopedia
Legend of Earthsea is a miniseries (later shortened to Earthsea), a loose adaptation of the award-winning "Earthsea
" novels by Ursula K. Le Guin
. It premiered as a two-night television event on the Sci-Fi Channel
in December 2004.
) from the Earthsea
novels for executive producers Robert Halmi, Sr. (Merlin
, Gulliver's Travels
, Animal Farm
), Lawrence Bender
(Kill Bill
, Pulp Fiction
) and Kevin Kelly Brown (Roswell
). The series was filmed in Vancouver, British Columbia, Canada
.
"totally missed the point" of Le Guin's novels, "ripping out all the subtlety, nuance and and beauty
of the books and inserting boring cliches, painful stereotypes and a very unwelcome "epic" war in
their place". The Moria website's review of "Legend of Earthsea" states "Earthsea feels exactly like tv filler. In the books, Ursula Le Guin expended a great deal of time creating a world with a depth and culture, but nothing of this survives in the mini-series". The review also argues Legend of Earthsea "is shabbily and indifferently directed" and "The dialogue is dreadfully clunky and often excruciatingly bad".
Earthsea
Earthsea is a fictional realm originally created by Ursula K. Le Guin for her short story "The Word of Unbinding", published in 1964. Earthsea became the setting for a further six books, beginning with A Wizard of Earthsea, first published in 1968, and continuing with The Tombs of Atuan, The...
" novels by Ursula K. Le Guin
Ursula K. Le Guin
Ursula Kroeber Le Guin is an American author. She has written novels, poetry, children's books, essays, and short stories, notably in fantasy and science fiction...
. It premiered as a two-night television event on the Sci-Fi Channel
Sci Fi Channel (United States)
Syfy , formerly known as the Sci-Fi Channel and SCI FI, is an American cable television channel featuring science fiction, supernatural, fantasy, reality, paranormal, wrestling, and horror programming. Launched on September 24, 1992, it is part of the entertainment conglomerate NBCUniversal, a...
in December 2004.
Plot
In Earthsea, a world of one thousand and one islands, priestesses led by the High Priestess Thar lock in the tomb of Atuan the diabolic Nameless Ones. However, the ambitious King Tygath, who intends to unite the realm, wants also to release the demons to learn their secret of immortality, and uses his mistress Kossil to poison Thar. Kossil expects to be nominated the next guardian and get the keys and enchantment that keeps the darkness forces apart, but Thar selects the pure Tenar. Meanwhile, in the island of Gont, the reckless and rebel son of a blacksmith Ged dreams on being a wizard. He is sent to the island of Roke to learn magic, but in a dispute with a corrupt mate, he accidentally summons a powerful Nameless One that becomes The Gebbeth and wants to devour his soul. Now his only chance to survive is to follow the lead of a dragon and find the two parts of an amulet to destroy the Nameless OnesCharacters
- GedGed (Earthsea)Ged , is the true name of a fictional character in Ursula K. Le Guin's Earthsea realm. He is introduced in A Wizard of Earthsea, and plays both main and supporting roles in the subsequent Earthsea novels...
(Shawn AshmoreShawn AshmoreShawn Robert Ashmore is a Canadian film and television actor, perhaps best known for his role as Jake in the Animorphs television series and Iceman in the X-Men films. He is the twin brother of actor Aaron Ashmore.-Early life:...
) - Young mage-in-training - TenarCharacters in EarthseaThis is a list of the names of characters in the stories about the fantasy world of Earthsea, written by Ursula K. Le Guin.-On names and naming:...
(Kristin KreukKristin KreukKristin Laura Kreuk is a Canadian actress and producer, known for her portrayal of Lana Lang in the American television series Smallville. She was also a regular cast member on the Canadian teen drama Edgemont, and has starred in movies such as Eurotrip and Street Fighter: The Legend of...
) - Priestess - High Priestess TharCharacters in EarthseaThis is a list of the names of characters in the stories about the fantasy world of Earthsea, written by Ursula K. Le Guin.-On names and naming:...
(Isabella RosselliniIsabella RosselliniIsabella Fiorella Elettra Giovanna Rossellini is an Italian actress, filmmaker, author, philanthropist, and model. Rossellini is noted for her 14-year tenure as a Lancôme model, and for her roles in films such as Blue Velvet and Death Becomes Her.-Background and early life:Rossellini is a...
) - Ogion (Danny GloverDanny GloverDanny Lebern Glover is an American actor, film director, and political activist. Glover is perhaps best known for his role as Detective Roger Murtaugh in the Lethal Weapon film franchise.-Early life:...
) - Master Wizard - King Tygath (Sebastian RochéSebastian Roché- Early life :Roché was born in Paris, France, on August 4, 1964; he is of Scottish and French ancestry. He is also fluent in four languages: English, French, Spanish and Italian. On General Hospital, he spoke in Russian, Spanish and French, and on the pilot episode of Odyssey 5, he spoke in French...
) - KossilCharacters in EarthseaThis is a list of the names of characters in the stories about the fantasy world of Earthsea, written by Ursula K. Le Guin.-On names and naming:...
(Jennifer CalvertJennifer CalvertJennifer Calvert is a Canadian actress with many years experience on stage and primarily UK television. She trained at RADA and is most famous for her role in children's comedy drama Spatz in the 1990s. She has guest starred in other shows such as Mike and Angelo; Stargate SG-1; The Fast Show; Red...
) - VetchCharacters in EarthseaThis is a list of the names of characters in the stories about the fantasy world of Earthsea, written by Ursula K. Le Guin.-On names and naming:...
(Chris GauthierChris GauthierChristopher Gauthier is an English born Canadian actor. He is married with two children and currently resides in Vancouver, British Columbia, Canada....
) - Jasper (Mark HildrethMark HildrethMark Hildreth is an American former professional wrestler. He is best known for his tenures in World Championship Wrestling under the ring name Van Hammer.-Global Wrestling Federation :...
) - School bully - Archmagus (Alan ScarfeAlan ScarfeAlan John Scarfe is a British-born Genie Award winning Canadian actor. He is a former Associate Director of the Stratford Festival and the Everyman Theatre in Liverpool...
) - The Gebbeth (Mark AchesonMark AchesonMark Acheson is a Canadian actor, who works for the Ocean Group Company. He was the narrator in Transformers: Energon, and also voiced Unicron in Transformers: Armada, including the voice of Crumplezone in Transformers: Cybertron...
) - The nameless one that comes after Ged. A cast-off being - Dunian (Dave 'Squacth' Ward) - Ged's Father
- Lady ElfarrenCharacters in EarthseaThis is a list of the names of characters in the stories about the fantasy world of Earthsea, written by Ursula K. Le Guin.-On names and naming:...
(Amanda TappingAmanda TappingAmanda Tapping is an English-born Canadian actress, producer and director. She is best known for portraying Samantha Carter in the Canadian-American military science fiction television series Stargate SG-1 and Stargate Atlantis...
) - Skiorch (Alessandro JulianiAlessandro JulianiAlessandro Juliani is a Canadian actor, singer, and voice actor. He is notable for playing Tactical Officer Lieutenant Felix Gaeta on the Sci Fi Channel television program Battlestar Galactica, and Emil Hamilton in Smallville...
) - Ged's friend
Production
The series was produced by Hallmark Entertainment in association with Bender-Brown Productions. It was adapted by Gavin Scott (The Mists of AvalonThe Mists of Avalon
The Mists of Avalon is a 1983 novel by Marion Zimmer Bradley, in which she relates the Arthurian legends from the perspective of the female characters.-Plot introduction:...
) from the Earthsea
Earthsea
Earthsea is a fictional realm originally created by Ursula K. Le Guin for her short story "The Word of Unbinding", published in 1964. Earthsea became the setting for a further six books, beginning with A Wizard of Earthsea, first published in 1968, and continuing with The Tombs of Atuan, The...
novels for executive producers Robert Halmi, Sr. (Merlin
Merlin (film)
Merlin is a television miniseries which originally aired in 1998 that retells the legend of King Arthur from the perspective of the wizard Merlin...
, Gulliver's Travels
Gulliver's Travels
Travels into Several Remote Nations of the World, in Four Parts. By Lemuel Gulliver, First a Surgeon, and then a Captain of Several Ships, better known simply as Gulliver's Travels , is a novel by Anglo-Irish writer and clergyman Jonathan Swift that is both a satire on human nature and a parody of...
, Animal Farm
Animal Farm
Animal Farm is an allegorical novella by George Orwell published in England on 17 August 1945. According to Orwell, the book reflects events leading up to and during the Stalin era before World War II...
), Lawrence Bender
Lawrence Bender
Lawrence Bender is an American film producer. He rose to fame by producing Reservoir Dogs in 1992 and has since produced all of Quentin Tarantino's films with the exception of Death Proof....
(Kill Bill
Kill Bill
Kill Bill Volume 1 is a 2003 action thriller film written and directed by Quentin Tarantino. It is the first of two volumes that were theatrically released several months apart, the second volume being Kill Bill Volume 2....
, Pulp Fiction
Pulp Fiction (film)
Pulp Fiction is a 1994 American crime film directed by Quentin Tarantino, who co-wrote its screenplay with Roger Avary. The film is known for its rich, eclectic dialogue, ironic mix of humor and violence, nonlinear storyline, and host of cinematic allusions and pop culture references...
) and Kevin Kelly Brown (Roswell
Roswell (TV series)
Roswell is an American science fiction television series developed, produced, and co-written by Jason Katims. The series debuted on October 6, 1999 on The WB and moved to UPN for the third season. The last episode aired May 14, 2002...
). The series was filmed in Vancouver, British Columbia, Canada
Canada
Canada is a North American country consisting of ten provinces and three territories. Located in the northern part of the continent, it extends from the Atlantic Ocean in the east to the Pacific Ocean in the west, and northward into the Arctic Ocean...
.
Critical Reception
Reviewing the mini-series, the book The Ultimate Encyclopedia of Fantasy claimed Legend of Earthsea"totally missed the point" of Le Guin's novels, "ripping out all the subtlety, nuance and and beauty
of the books and inserting boring cliches, painful stereotypes and a very unwelcome "epic" war in
their place". The Moria website's review of "Legend of Earthsea" states "Earthsea feels exactly like tv filler. In the books, Ursula Le Guin expended a great deal of time creating a world with a depth and culture, but nothing of this survives in the mini-series". The review also argues Legend of Earthsea "is shabbily and indifferently directed" and "The dialogue is dreadfully clunky and often excruciatingly bad".