Earthsea is a three hour mini-series from the Sci-Fi channel, which is based upon the Earthsea stories written by Ursula K. Le Guin. This mini-series is basically about boy finding his path in life as a magician and at the same time saving the world from a destructive power hungry King. Earthsea is set in a world known as Earthsea, where the world consists of many small islands instead of large continents. The series takes place in a fairly rudimentary medieval time with kings, wizards, magic, dragons, and more. Overall, Earthsea proves to be entertaining enough to warrant a watch. However, the mini-series isn't so powerful that it will leave you wanting more. In fact, at some points it feels slightly lacking.

The story revolves around several characters, but the main focus is on Ged (Shawn Ashmore). He is the son of a blacksmith, who hopes for a different life filled with adventure and excitement. In a way he is like Luke Skywalker from Star Wars: A New Hope, but with a much different parentage. Fortunately for him, he soon learns his role in the world of Earthsea is great. One day his village is attacked by the evil King Tygath's (Sebastian Roche) army. Ged manages to conjure magic (with no experience) and save the village. This act of magic gets noticed by Ogion (Danny Glover), a traveling wizard. Ogion takes Ged under his wing to teach him how to use magic, but eventually Ogion realizes Ged is not going to learn what he needs from him and he is sent to a school of magic. The story continues with the first half of the mini-series watching Ged grow from a brash young adult to a hero who can save Earthsea.

Another perspective introduced in the earlier portion of the mini-series comes from the priestesses of the Temple of Atuan. Tener (Kristin Kreuk) is quickly rising as a priestess in her order. Her fate becomes intertwined with Ged, as she helps him save Earthsea. Before she can have the opportunity, she must face the corruption in the order of the priestesses. Another priestess Kossil (Jennifer Calvert) has joined forces with King Tygath and is intent in ruining the order. Their plan is to release a nameless evil into the world, which will be the destruction of Earthsea.

As earlier mentioned, the basic outline of story is Ged finding himself as a wizard and understanding his true place in Earthsea. Finally, there is a battle between good and evil, where the fate of the world lives in his hands. The different aspects of the story from the characters provide a decent tale. However, there seems to be a lot more material than can fit in the mini-series' three hours. There are several aspects not really developed or touched upon. For instance, the school Ged goes to learn magic at. There is some time spent there, but clearly not enough. Most people will be able to correlate the story about the school to Harry Potter, although Earthsea was around before Harry Potter's time. Regardless, the school of magic posed an interesting story and Ged seemed to rush right through it with a lot of detail skimped over.

Additionally, the perspective of King Tygath could have been developed more. What was shown of his grueling campaign of conquest felt under scaled and petty. His character was also not really developed well and felt like generic bad guy without much of a personality. Finally, the overall story about Ged saving Earthsea from utter destruction was very light. In the last hour of the mini-series the story comes to a close. However, it feels abrupt and the final ending is a disappointment. The story itself is not the only drawback to Earthsea, as several of the character roles are poorly performed. Some feel a little out of context in the manner they deliver dialogue.

Overall, the tale Earthsea is not really a strong or gripping story. The problem lies in its presentation and delivery. The story feels somewhat rushed and some of the characters feel out of context. However, despite Earthsea's limiting qualities it can be entertaining to watch once.

The DVD

Video:
The video is given in its 1.85:1 ratio widescreen color. It was digitally mastered for DVD and the quality is good. The picture has a very light grain, with minimal compression artifacts and slight color distortions. Overall, it looks good, better than cable or broadcast television.

Audio:
The audio is given in the English language and comes in two formats, 5.1 Dolby digital and 2.0 Dolby stereo. The sound quality varies, with dialogue being flat and music and sound effects coming off rich and vibrant. However, more often than not the music over powers dialogue. As for the surround sound capabilities, the audio mostly comes from the forward channels and there is a distinction between left and right channels. The release also supports closed captioning.

Extras:
The special features included with this release will probably only appeal to the fans of the mini-series. The biggest extra is an audio commentary with director Robert Lieberman. The commentary is pretty dull and Lieberman talks about the production of the mini-series in a monotonous voice. "Exploring Earthsea" is a short three minute with cast and crew making a few brief comments about the Earthsea. The last item to appear in this section is a trailer for 5 Days to Midnight.

Final Thoughts:
Earthsea can be great for those who enjoy fantasy stories about wizards, magic, kings, and the battle between good and evil. The story proves to be entertaining enough for a single watch, but it does not have the qualities of a truly powerful feature. It is clearly not something I would want to watch over and over again. One of its biggest problems is it tries to fit too much in three hours. The bottom line is Earthsea makes for a good rental.