The Quest

[MarleysGh0st]

(No, not our quest...the ABC summer reality series on Thursday nights.)

Any other fantasy fans watching this show? Ear?

I like the concept, but at heart it's still a pretty standard "reality" formula. Instead of being stranded alone on a island or isolated in a house, they're dressed up in costume, along with a bunch of actors playing the NPC roles. And every week, one contestant is banished from the game--only this time, with a puff of CGI smoke.

During the first week's episode, they gave the impression that the contestants weren't told any rules and had to figure them out on their own, but I have to believe the ground rules were very firmly spelled out, particularly regarding their interaction with the actors. Like, when the actor playing a monster was dragging off an actor playing a guide, and the "paladins" let it happen, despite the protest of one of them--I imagine the dozen contestants, even unarmed, could have beat the tar out of the poor monster. Heck, the contestant who's a professional cage fighter could have done it, himself.

The challenges in the first two weeks were simple training exercises, and I suspect the rest of the series will be just as carefully programmed, with one contestant being banished until the remaining "hero" is allowed to automatically defeat the evil enemy. I'd like it a lot more if they really had to play out the adventure, in which there was a very real chance of the heroes failing in their mission. Maybe (in the midst of the standard jockeying between the contestants to be the series winner) one of the heroes would really need to self-sacrifice to save the kingdom. Now that would be interesting.

[MarkBarrett]

I would have preferred a second season of Whodunnit?. The Quest looks good and has the usual assortment of players. After seeing "The Purple Wedding" on GoT, what happened on last week's episode was more funny than serious. I like the challenges with everyone and the bottom 3. The elimination voting needs more oomph than elementary school line-up.

Those eliminated having their images remaining sure beats the fade to black & white as done on Big Brother.

When I saw this thread my reaction was that ABC already canned it and I would have to wait for double Sunday afternoon airings like The Assets (worth the wait to finally see all eight) was given.

[MarleysGh0st]

Those eliminated having their images remaining sure beats the fade to black & white as done on Big Brother.

I think they "borrowed" the floating images from The Hunger Games.

[tanstaafl2]

So far it is remarkably cheesy but it is something to watch after Defiance I suppose. Surprised the actors can keep a straight face all the time.

Couldn't get into Dominion which seemed overly soapy so it got dumped from the DVR.

And speaking of the DVR it dumped everything last week went it went tango uniform after only six weeks. Did nothing for my Tivo withdrawal symptoms, that's for sure. Spent most of the weekend reprogramming the new one and trying to track down and recopy what had already been stored and lost when the first DVR crapped out. Such a pain.

[tanstaafl2]

And was it just me or are they using the same mask for the "witch" in the previews as Billy Crystal wore as "Miracle Max" in Princess Bride???

[MarleysGh0st]

And was it just me or are they using the same mask for the "witch" in the previews as Billy Crystal wore as "Miracle Max" in Princess Bride???

It's not just you.

After all, the queen may have been poisoned, but she's only mostly dead.

[Pastor Fireball]

I would have preferred a second season of Whodunnit?

I'm glad that somebody else here appreciates a good reality show when they see one.

[tanstaafl2]

I would have preferred a second season of Whodunnit?

I'm glad that somebody else here appreciates a good reality show when they see one.

I have seen a few rumors that they are casting for a second season and that it may show up in 2015 at some point. I don't know that anything is confirmed though.

[MarleysGh0st]

Well, last night's episode was lame.

Spoiler

They go to Miracle Max--I mean, to the forest hag--to find ingredients for an antidote to the poison. And surprise, surprise, the hag has them run through another challenge, where the winner gets a medal (for "wisdom"!?) and the three losers face banishment. Plus there's a lot of the usual reality show team manipulation.

Gotta love how the queen's gray pallor was magically cleared up...by changing the color of the lights shining down on her.

And then the teaser for next week. The castle's under attack! So, naturally, the paladins are going to be sword fighting against each other.

[jarnon]

I happened to see The Quest on Thursday night, and I was interested enough to watch all the previous episodes online. I think they do a good job of fitting the reality competition into the scripted story. And the challenges are less contrived than on many reality shows.

I wonder what happens after the cameras are turned off. Do the townspeople and soldiers return to their real-world homes? And do the actors stay in character, or does Sir Ansgar become Peter when the camera isn't rolling?

[MarleysGh0st]

I happened to see The Quest on Thursday night, and I was interested enough to watch all the previous episodes online. I think they do a good job of fitting the reality competition into the scripted story. And the challenges are less contrived than on many reality shows.

The challenges are sorta, kinda in the theme of the story, but they make no sense if we were trying to consider these characters "really" being part of the story. Very formulaic, first with some useless busywork that leads up to the challenge where three will face banishment, etc. etc.

Do we need spoilers for this week's episode?

Our heroes, who got trained with swords a couple weeks ago but still don't carry them when they could desperately use them (like last week, when they wasted time trying to assemble a scorpion for the first time, instead of joining Sir Ansgar, who's fighting the ogre singledhandedly) have to flee from the castle. Instead of escaping under cover of darkness, they're told to wait in a tunnel until morning? While the suspected traitor vizier knows they went through that tunnel???

They have to haul up some signal flags, using a ridiculously complicated pattern system that couldn't possibly be distinguished by anyone further off than themselves? And when they hoist the wrong message, there's no "real" penalty for having just given the army incorrect orders?

Then they camouflage their location in the woods. As soon as they're done, it's time to move on.

Later, they camouflage their new camp, but they've got it lit up with half a dozen lanterns.

They're sent out on a "real" scouting mission...so how do the Fates know whose answers are correct?

The dragon is released, but conveniently returns to its lair that has a cage positioned above it, along with the appropriate number of complicated winch mechanisms to close it.

The dragon eggs must be raised from the pits with the tools at hand, but nobody thinks that it might be easier to bring the nets down into the pits and use them? All because it's against some arbitrary (but not fully disclosed) rule?

And the biggest problem of all: the temple of the Fates. If that's supposed to be a magical building that conveniently poofs into existence whenever it's time for the paladins to enter, that hasn't been explained in the story. And if that's not how it works, they should have left the temple, with all those parts of the Sunspear, far behind them, in the hands of Verlox.

BTW, why couldn't they have assembled the spear as soon as the Fates handed out the pieces, in the first episode?

[Bob78164]

Is that show still on the air? --Bob

[tanstaafl2]

Do we need spoilers for this week's episode?

BTW, why couldn't they have assembled the spear as soon as the Fates handed out the pieces, in the first episode?

Spoiler

It is a goofy reality show which in itself should pretty well answer all these questions! I believe the spear point is in the stand where banished contestants have to return their chunk of the spear. If they tried to take that then the three fates would no doubt have Billy Crystal come out and smack them around for their impudence!

[MarleysGh0st]

You know, with all the effort that went into planning that long, scripted ending, you'd think someone would have realized that a spear shouldn't be wielded like a quarterstaff.

[jarnon]

The Philadelphia Inquirer had a big article, on page 2 of the first section, about the winner:

Vanquishing a sterotype

It's big news when a local girl saves a magic kingdom.