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Ursula K Leguin's EarthSea trilogy broke new ground in the fantasy
genre, and has truly earned a place of honor. Unfortunately, as with
many television adaptions, the Sci-Fi Channel's attempt to bring that
story to the television screen preserved almost nothing of
that. Although the miniseries is less bitter and painful
than Tehanu, it lacks the qualities that made the original
trilogy such a wonderful creation. It also lacks the special
effects to effectively carry out the magic that is such a vital
component of EarthSea. Leguin herself has all but disowned the
adaption, claiming that while she was offered a consultant's role, the
end result was a story she could neither recognize nor prevent. I went into this three-hour miniseries hoping to find something that I would recognize from the stories I love, something that would capture the sense of wonder and excitement that comes from a world full to bursting with magic. In that, I was mostly disappointed. There are some moments drawn from the original plot that have their appropriate power; Jasper's illusion-tree and barbed insults, moments with Ogion, the summoning of Elfarren, the lonely trip to a distant isle. But there are as many that come across less well, and the plot can hardly be described as an adaption of the trilogy; it is more a tapestry of stolen scenes woven into entirely new (and much poorer) cloth. This one is better left on the shelf, although there is nothing in it of sufficient import to distort the orginal. In that respect, unlike Tehanu, it is safe to waste a few hours with. |
EarthSea
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EarthSea
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On Tuesday night, the Sci Fi Channel aired its final installment of Legend of Earthsea, the miniseries based -- loosely, as it turns out -- on my Earthsea books. The books, A Wizard of Earthsea and The Tombs of Atuan, which were published more than 30 years ago, are about two young people finding out what their power, their freedom, and their responsibilities are. I don't know what the film is about. It's full of scenes from the story, arranged differently, in an entirely different plot, so that they make no sense. ... and, surprisingly enough, doesn't like it. Didn't she have some editorial control over this? Apparantly not; she was a "consultant", which in Hollywood means they are free to ignore you. |
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