LOTR TV series @ Amazon

[Jaymann]

Apparently Mads Mikkelsen was all booked up.

[hepcat]

Rory and Eddie are great character actors. Mads is a lead!

[Blackhawk]

Well, then - ring-a-dong-dillo!

[Holman]

Do people care if this is spoilered? Can you really spoil something that already exists?

One of the most offbeat figures in J.R.R. Tolkien’s The Lord of the Rings saga is finally making an on-screen appearance in season 2 of the Amazon Prime Video spin-off series The Rings of Power. Yes, that’s right, it is Tom Bombadil.

Announced via an exclusive first look by Variety, it has been confirmed that the all-signing, mystical woodland dweller Tom Bombadil will make his adaptation debut in The Lord of The Rings: The Rings of Power season 2. In the image, we see Penny Dreadful’s Rory Kinnear as the eccentric character dressed in an embroidered green coat and a pointed brown wizard-like hat, with an overgrown beard and staff to match.

Yellow boots or go home!

[Smoove_B]

Maybe this series explains how he got them?

[Smoove_B]

[Holman]

OK that is a kickass trailer.

The most interesting aspect is how it shows the elves and dwarves totally culpable in their desire for the rings.

[Smoove_B]

Still excited

[hepcat]

I'm going out to get a wig this weekend in preparation.

[Smoove_B]

Can't you just repurpose your House of Dragons outfit?

[hepcat]

I converted all those for my Whitesnake cover band album cover last month. Unless you want a Sauron in platform shoes and a shit ton of fringe, that is?

[Holman]

I converted all those for my Whitesnake cover band album cover last month. Unless you want a Sauron in platform shoes and a shit ton of fringe, that is?

Who would NOT want that??

A propos:

We had a genuine Culture War in third grade (1978). You could like STAR WARS or you could like KISS, but you couldn't like both. We were too naive and dogmatic to realize that Darth Vader and Gene Simmons were cool for the same reasons.

Something similar probably applies to Sauron. He's metal.

[hepcat]

I can understand Star Wars vs Star Trek. But Star Wars vs. Kiss?

[Holman]

I can understand Star Wars vs Star Trek. But Star Wars vs. Kiss?

This was in the late 1970s Atlanta suburbs. Probably the anti-heavy-metal Satanic Panic was just starting to bubble up.

[Max Peck]

We had a genuine Culture War in third grade (1978). You could like STAR WARS or you could like KISS, but you couldn't like both. We were too naive and dogmatic to realize that Darth Vader and Gene Simmons were cool for the same reasons.

It took 40 years, but the Kiss/Star Wars schism was resolved in 2018.

[Smoove_B]

I made it through the first two (of three) episodes that were released on Thursday, and I'm still absolutely enthralled with the show. What's weird is that it's not really action heavy; there's lots of talking and pacing back and forth while trying to solve problems; very limited violent solutions. But for some reason, I'm finding it all very interesting, which is also weird as I'm not at all someone that is into the LotR, other than the original trilogy and watching the cartoons as a kid. I've read the Hobbit and 1.5 books in the main story, but that's it. But for some reason, this show just works for me.

It's totally not related to seeing my internet girlfriend, of course - though that helps.



I feel like if I saw her in real life, I'd believe she was an elf. The show (costumes, sets, etc...) just looks so perfect. Or at least how I imagine it should look. I get that people hate it, but I think it's fantastic.

[Jaymann]

I dunno, there is something about her that I don't find her attractive at all. Maybe I have a sixth sense for pointy elbows.

[JCC]

I absolutely loved the first season. Haven't started season 2 yet.

[McNutt]

They have made some interesting choices that I had to get beyond. I'm enjoying it though and like that it's story heavy.

It's a hell of a lot better than The Hobbit.

[Smoove_B]

I guess I'm the only one watching this too? S2 ended earlier this week and I thought it was much better than the first season. Felt more...focused and (maybe) relatable to the Lord of the Rings movies (story?) overall. I really liked seeing the setup for how the rings were made and how Sauron was able to trick the various groups into doing what he wanted.

And yes, of course the final reveal at the very end.

Spoiler:

Grand-Elf, errr Gandalf is the mysterious stranger.

I thought that was really well done.

[disarm]

I agree that season 2 is very well done... much clearer, focused story that really explains events leading up to the war against Sauron, as well as some other key events in the history of Middle Earth that are mentioned in the LotR. I think the whole season is excellent.

[Zaxxon]

Re: smoove’s spoiler: I’m still a couple of episodes behind, but it’s been abundantly clear for some time

Spoiler:

who that was. No? Including verbatim lines delivered *by* him in the future being delivered *to* him.

[Jaymann]

It took the whole season but I finally got to see...

Spoiler:

those greedy dwarves releasing the Balrog.

[Smoove_B]

Re: smoove’s spoiler: I’m still a couple of episodes behind, but it’s been abundantly clear for some time

Spoiler:

who that was. No? Including verbatim lines delivered *by* him in the future being delivered *to* him.

That's when I was also pretty sure, but up until then I thought they were also throwing out red herrings. But there were multiple times this season where I was this meme:



Including the pointed remarks uttered by Celebrimbor last night.

[hepcat]

Why did they design the rings of power to look like ring pops?



“Lord Sour Ron Cherry” is my favorite.

[Smoove_B]

S3 is happening:

The Rings of Power is in preproduction, and filming of the hit fantasy drama will begin this spring at the show’s new production home at Shepperton Studios in the United Kingdom. Fans have been eagerly awaiting the renewal news since the show’s second-season finale aired in October.

The Hollywood Reporter can reveal the show is executing a major time jump going into the new episodes, with Sauron now crafting the iconic One Ring. Here is the exclusive logline: “Jumping forward several years from the events of season 2, season 3 takes place at the height of the War of the Elves and Sauron, as the Dark Lord seeks to craft the One Ring that will give him the edge he needs to win the war and conquer all Middle-earth at last.”

I know opinions vary, but I still really like the show; glad to see it's continuing.

[Zaxxon]

Same. It's been a little bogged down at times, IMO, but I'm enjoying it.

[Jaymann]

As long as Tom Bombadil steals the ring for practical joke purposes.

[Blackhawk]

Didn't they commit to x seasons in the contract with the Tolkien Estate to get the rights?

[McNutt]

That final shot from Season 2 is going to be hard for me to get over. It was one of the most groan-inducing shots I've ever seen.

Spoiler:

[disarm]

Despite the often-meandering pace, I've really enjoyed both seasons and look forward to seeing what's next. I'm a little surprised that Amazon is willing to continue pouring so much money into the show, but the cinematic quality of the visuals is (in my opinion) one of the things that helps to make the show work so well.

[Zaxxon]

Despite the often-meandering pace, I've really enjoyed both seasons and look forward to seeing what's next. I'm a little surprised that Amazon is willing to continue pouring so much money into the show, but the cinematic quality of the visuals is (in my opinion) one of the things that helps to make the show work so well.

Also, Galadriel.

[Kurth]

I’m a big fan of this show, warts and all. I don’t discount the criticisms, some of which I feel are well deserved. But for crying out loud: Let’s not let the perfect be the enemy of the good.

Give me a good LotR series with the kind of visuals and production that Amazon money can buy, rather than holding out for some mythical, perfect LotR that we will likely never see.

[Blackhawk]

But for crying out loud: Let’s not let the perfect be the enemy of the good.

First time here? Welcome to OO!

[hepcat]

I’m a big fan of this show, warts and all. I don’t discount the criticisms, some of which I feel are well deserved..

That sentiment is really all I’m seeing here. I don’t see anyone claiming the show shouldn’t exist.

I enjoy it, but I did chuckle every time wigged Sauron appeared this last season.

I enjoyed the Lord of the Rings movies too, even though they could have just rode those damn eagles to Mordor from the very beginning.

[Blackhawk]

(They couldn't have, and the eagles wouldn't have.)