The direction is great, the photography is crisp, the sets are all completely convincing - it's just a really, really visually lovely show. The New Zealand scenery is absolutely stunning, the special effects aren't photo-realistic but they look really nice and of course, Richard and Kahlan are two gorgeous specimens of human beings and get naked quite often. if you're not too keen on the opening episodes (and roll your eyes at the very typical, cliched first episode - don't worry, I did too), try episode eight ( Denna) where the show very much Grows the Beard and if you don't like that then it's probably not for you. But if you want an incredibly entertaining and dramatic fantasy series then this is an incredibly entertaining and dramatic fantasy series, with great characters and enjoyable storylines that honestly keep you interested and involved. If you're after some groundbreaking revolution in the genre then you're going to be disappointed. I suppose there's an element of comfort television to it, but LotS is surprising because it's never complacent: you're going to get some really good drama and some really fucking epic moments as it goes along. Legend of the Seeker most definitely hits the right notes - it's got the requisite melodrama, fantasy names, creatures, swords and sorcery that you'd expect in high fantasy like this, but it works because it's so unpretentious and is carried by characters you care about.
Fantasy as a genre is inherently more cheesy than sci-fi and that's fine, because cheese can definitely hit the right notes if it's done with conviction. The budget has to be quite high for it to work, and while Legend of the Seeker isn't an epic TV blockbuster in those terms, it does look good for the most part. That's why there aren't really all that many, mainly because it's just hard to pull off.
It's difficult to do fantasy series set in their own world on television.