LOTR – Rings of Power

[Angel Barracks]

Just finished it, anyone else watched it?
Your thoughts?

[Olaf Meys]

As I can’t remember the intricate details of the prequel books, I enjoyed it. A bit slow to start with, but the pace picks up as it goes along.

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wargames review site...

[Mike Headden]

I enjoyed it and am looking forward to more.

Nicely shot, well lit, great scenery and costumes plus an excellent cast (well, apart from Lenny Henry who hammed it up a bit I thought).

All without resorting to bare bosoms, dragons or incest. Who’d have thought it?

For me the ladies who played Nori and Poppy saved the Harfoots from descending into Ewok levels of cutesy schmaltz.

Also, much as I enjoyed Peter Jackson’s LotR, I preferred this.

There are 100 types of people in the world, those who understand binary and those who can work from incomplete data

[Steven Francis]

Watched the first episode but not gone back to it. It was promising but the not hobbit were close to the realm of the Gungians in terms of being annoying and I did not really like the idea of super ninja Gladriel. Will try the rest at some point as it was not bad, just not must watch yet.

[Darkest Star Games]

I too thought it was very slow at first.  I really appreciate the back-and-forth and little bits of humor between the Elves and Dwarves (though the distrust bit is played up too much), and agree with the above sentiments about the Harfoots.  The young lasses make up for it though.  I’m still unsure as to what I feel about Numinor, and I have questions about the construction of the damn/watchtower (felt a lot like a McGuffin or Deus Ex).  However I was surprised by the the last reveal, and that was delightful!  It’s rare for that sort of slow-burn revelation to happen for me so it elevated my esteem for the series.

"I saw this in a cartoon once, but I'm pretty sure I can do it..."

[Steve Johnson]

Visually stunning, but poor story telling and far toooo slow at times. It felt flabby for much of it and really needs tightening up for the forthcoming series. Hard to care about any of the characters, other than the Balrog which we wanted to see more of!

[Mike Headden]

I liked the pacing. I would describe it as a gentle pace rather than a slow one. Giving you time to savour the scenery, trappings, atmosphere and story.

Ah! Balrogs!

“The time has come”, the critics said,
“To talk of many things,
Of pace and plot and character
And balrogs having wings!”

😀 😀 😀 😀 😀

There are 100 types of people in the world, those who understand binary and those who can work from incomplete data

[Who Asked This Joker]

I really liked it.  Story telling was fine and each episode always left you with questions.  It made me look forward to the next episode.

SPOILER PAST THIS POINT sort of.

Based on the lost tales.  As they were not finished, it gave the writers some leeway for interpretation.  If it is based on the revised edition that Tolkien wrote before he died, I suspect the stranger represents the blue wizards.

 

John

"Nearly all men can stand adversity, but if you want to test a man's character, give him power."

--Abraham Lincoln

[Mike Headden]

I’d assumed The Stranger was Saruman, or possibly Gandalf. If neither of those then Radagast seems more likely than one of the blue wizards but you may yet be proved right Who Asked This Joker!

There are 100 types of people in the world, those who understand binary and those who can work from incomplete data

[warwell]

I watched the first episode.

I kept mentally comparing it to the LotR movies, and RoP kept coming up way short. I decided not to bother with any more episodes. I re-watched the movies instead.

[Paint it Pink]

RoP is not for everyone. That’s okay. I liked it for what it was, epic fantasy without an excess of grimdark.

People who complain about any aspect of the show might want to understand that not everything will appeal. Doesn’t make it bad, just not your cup of tea.

As a writer, this series seemed to me a bit like the TV show The Expanse, which viewers complained were slow. The show really picks up at episode four.

By comparison to say, Korean drama we’ve been watching recently, RoP races along. People habituate to forms of story presentation, which makes it difficult to accommodate to everyone’s expectations.

I’m glad they went this route, rather than trying to deliver a story that hits the current zeitgeist. YMMV.

One is good, more is better
http://panther6actual.blogspot.co.uk/
http://ashleyrpollard.blogspot.co.uk/

[Sane Max]

Paint it Pink wrote:

As a writer, this series seemed to me a bit like the TV show The Expanse, which viewers complained were slow. The show really picks up at episode four.

It’s not THAT good is it? adore The Expanse (and i wasnt struck by it being slow…. there was a lot of info to get into those first few episodes you know)

[Paint it Pink]

I would point you back to reviews of season one of The Expanse, like here. In particular this quote:

“Ultimately, The Expanse is hard science fiction and everything from the dialogue to the background of the locales and all the way through to the political system are explored in a lot of detail. So much so, it can make for some tough watching at times as the show threatens to fall into a confusing mess. As the characters discuss events or overdo the expository dialogue, it can make it difficult to follow all the different areas and characters in such a short space of time. Its not a deal breaker, but it does make The Expanse a show that requires quite a bit of intense watching to understand all the nuances and intricate relationships between the factions. that could turn some people away.”

So, I recall the first three episodes as being a bit slow. Episode four ramped up the pace, and the rest as they say, is history. My own review of The Expanse in 2017 is here.

Therefore, I stand by my observation that RoP starts slow, but ramps up. Not as effectively as The Expanse, but that show had the advantage that the authors were producing the show, had written the novels, and probably had a better handle on how to translate their story from one medium to another. YMMV.

One is good, more is better
http://panther6actual.blogspot.co.uk/
http://ashleyrpollard.blogspot.co.uk/

[Devon Start]

kill your babysitters

[Mike]

Devon Start wrote:

kill your babysitters

wut?

[Devon Start]

it means stop watching tv. kill the babysitter. in this case the babysitter is the TV.

[Mike Headden]

Not many babies watching Rings of Power, I reckon. 🙂

Besides, many, like me, will have watched it on a monitor or, gods forbid, a phone.

When my kids were small and I could have used a “babysitter” in the wee small hours TV was off for the night. Technology, never there when you really need it. 🙂

There are 100 types of people in the world, those who understand binary and those who can work from incomplete data

[Paint it Pink]

I came across (as in I follow this blog) discussing the problems with the rings of power.

Collections: Why Rings of Power’s Middle Earth Feels Flat

A lot to chew over here, as would be expected from a historian and classicist.

One is good, more is better
http://panther6actual.blogspot.co.uk/
http://ashleyrpollard.blogspot.co.uk/

[Mike]

“Rings of Power, after all, makes no claim to historical accuracy or realism (unlike Game of Thrones or Assassin’s Creed) and so cannot be faulted for failing to do something it never set out to do. ”

Not sure GoT ever claimed to be real or historically accurate did it?

Nor AC for that matter, given it is a sort of temporal body switch virtual time travel teleportation affair?

[Author]

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