SMALL SCREEN HEROES
Young stars are on a quest to save the world in fantasy series The Shannara Chronicles,
Think of The Shannara Chronicles as a kind of Lord of the Rings for the MTV generation.
Filmed in New Zealand — which played host to the LOTR, Hobbit and Narnia movies — Chronicles is set in a future in which civilization has been destroyed but wondrous magic abounds.
The plot follows elven princess Amberle, the half-human, half-elf Wil and the human Eretria, who’s part of a band of thieves called Rovers.
The trio sets out on a quest to save their world from an army of demons.
Executive producer Jon Favreau praises MTV for swinging for the fences with the fantasy series. It debuts on MTV Canada Tuesday.
“We’d been working on the property for some time. MTV wanted it very badly and they knew it was a big swing for them and they loved the vision that we pitched,” said Favreau.
“We’re so happy with the high production value that we were afforded by MTV’s partnership. We were able to reflect (author Terry Brooks’) vivid fantasy world. It didn’t really fit into a movie, but thanks to the way that television is transforming, that finally opened up this opportunity.”
Favreau noted that stories such as The Shannara Chronicles “couldn’t have (been) told before the technology was available. And now thanks to this serialized, broad-scope television, you can tell stories over the breadth of many hours and seasons.
“With 10 initial episodes, it feels handmade and not rushed. It’s really a wonderful time for the small screen.”
The heroic trio at the heart of the story is portrayed by Brit Poppy Drayton as Amberle, American Austin Butler as Wil and Spaniard Ivana Baquero as Eretria.
Favreau called them “the new generation of stars coming along.”
“This is a story about three young people on a quest and coming to terms with the fact they must accept personal responsibility for yourself and how that affects others,” said author Brooks. “That’s a lesson that all young people have to learn at some point.”
Drayton, who’s appeared in Downton Abbey and played Elizabeth in the TV movie version of When Calls the Heart, says her character, Amberle, “is brave and skilled but also has a big golden heart, one of the reasons I love her.”
“She realizes she has this huge responsibility, along with her fellow travellers, to save their world.”
Says Baquero, who starred in Pan’s Labyrinth: “The story is very relatable and a metaphor for what’s happening today, with bias toward people who are not like you. In our story, there’s prejudice between the vari- ous groups, the elves, gnomes, dwarves, and humans and Halflings.
“My character, Eretria, is a little cynical initially because she and her nomadic Rovers have to rely on nothing but their wits and own skills. As a Rover, she steals for a living and has learned how to survive by her own means. She doesn’t really know love or what affection is, but she senses there is more.
“So her arc kicks up when she meets Wil and Amberle, and discovers the world is so much larger. They help expand her horizons as she goes on this quest with them. But she also goes on this inner journey . . . She finds out about being selfless and what generosity is.”
Butler, whose TV work includes The Carrie Diaries, says the series captures the sense of wonder he had for magic as a child.
“As a kid, I’d go to the magic booth at the county fair and buy a little kit, then go home and practise it.”
In the show, “Druid Allanon (Manu Bennett) says he’ll teach Wil how to use the magic within, how to find that hero and bring it out. So it’s like a metaphor, finding that magic, that hero within yourself. For me, that’s one of the strongest themes in the series.”