Legend of the Seeker at Comic Con

Sitting in the over-crowded room at Comic Con, awaiting the start of the Legend of the Seeker panel, I could feel the anticipation of the fans who had gathered to learn more about this surprise hit from New Zealand based on the best-selling novels by Terry Goodkind.

Soon enough a recorded message from Craig Horner and Bridget Regan, who portray the lead roles of Richard Cypher and Kahlan Amnell in the series, dressed in their finery on location, as Season 2 is currently underway, began to a thunderous round of applause and shouts from the audience. They made the introduction of the panel’s moderator, Arthel Neville, a news anchor from San Diego, and so began the panel.

Ms. Neville then introduced Executive Producers Ned Nalle and Ken Biller as well as author Terry Goodkind and star of the show Bruce Spence, who plays the much beloved wizard Zeddicus Z’ul Zorander. Mr. Spence is a very tall New Zealander who looks more like a noted English professor in real life than when transformed into his formidable, but loveable character in the series. The four gentlemen were warmly received by the audience and Ms. Neville kept the panel flowing smoothly with her questions.

When asked about the new season, Mr. Biller stated they just started shooting the second episode (ergo the reason stars Craig Horner and Bridget Regan could not attend Comic Con) and have an order of 22 episodes for Season 2. Mr. Biller also paid recognition to some of the show’s writers – Mike Sussman, Steve Tolkin and Chad Fiveash, who were in panel room. Again, this was met with a rousing round of applause from the audience.

Mr. Goodkind stated it was “a dream come true to have his characters reach a larger audience” by the adaptation of his books into the series. He said, “he was honored and privileged to be part of it,” but noted that changes did need to be made from his stories in order to develop them for a television audience. It was also noted that while Mr. Goodkind is not involved in the day-to-day process of the episodes, there is a collaborative process with heavy inspiration, of course, from his novels. It should also be known that Mr. Goodkind has a new, mainstream thriller series of books coming out starting August 18.

Mr. Spence mentioned that he had arrived from New Zealand the day before the panel and while looking travel-weary, he was in good spirits, sharing that after playing in Star Wars: Revenge of the Sith and against Gandolf in The Lord of the Rings, he thought it “would be great to play the other side” in his role as Zedd. He was asked what his favorite episode was and heartedly replied “he liked the puppeteer episode as well as Brennidon”.

Mr. Nalle explained about the process involved in preparing just one episode for airing on television, stating they first start with “an outline of the episode, then prep for 8 days, film for 8 days and then go into post-production”. Needless to say, the audience reacted well to Mr. Nalle’s announcement that ABC is now providing the show with a bigger budget, allowing for more “unleashed magic” to be depicted in Season 2 along with dire consequences because of the demise of Darken Rahl (the villain in Season 1) and a new travelling companion for the lead trio.

A discussion was held on the Season 1 DVD, which is coming out on October 13, and features Behind the Scenes coverage, including a tour of the set, prosthetics used in the series, the horse wranglers and much more, as well as commentary by Mr. Spence and Craig Parker (who portrayed Darken Rahl) and even a blooper reel.

The Executive Producers also joked with Mr. Spence about working directly across the street from his former high school before breaking news about the new series regular – Tabrett Bethell, who appeared as Mord-Sith ‘Cara’ in the season finale – and special guest star in the season premiere, which will air on November 7, Charisma Carpenter. With that announcement, a sneak peek at Season 2 was shown with a short clip of the season premiere and a look at what to expect for the new season.

A question and answer session was held at the end of the panel, which included the announcement that Legend of the Seeker has been seen in 170 counties, more Zedd-focused episodes will be featured in the new season and the show was nominated for an Emmy Award for music composition. A soundtrack is a “good idea” said Mr. Nalle and Mr. Biller, but none has been created yet, although given the overly-approving response from the audience the Executive Producers stated they would be asking the studio about that very soon.

Legend of the Seeker is produced by ABC Studios and distributed by Disney-ABC Domestic Television and airs in national syndication on Saturdays and Sundays. Please check your local listings for airdates and times or visit http://www.legendoftheseeker.com/ for more details on the show.