effects and CGI aside a lot of this show is p sub-par but one thing i do find myself liking is just the sense that the texture of life in middle earth at this particular moment was a bit crappy and niggly and competitive and anxious
arguably this is untolkienish in feel (his routine thing being several thousand years of NIGH AND NOBLE FEELING* now and then offset by the threat of hordes of horrible cockney goblins (plus an oasis of cheerfully cocooned hobbitism to start us off)
but here everyone except the harfoots is a dislikeable bickering dick of one sort or another and the harfoots are all sorts of greenwood proto-celtic weird
― mark s, Sunday, 18 September 2022 12:34 (one year ago) link
I did like what are effectively dwarf druids in the last episode.
Obv Durin should have responded to Elrond's magisterial tale of the burdens of being the son of an elf hero with "Now, the stars, those are the things like faraway gems, right?"
Last episode significantly improved by the lack of the O'Harfoots, too.
― Andrew Farrell, Sunday, 18 September 2022 12:56 (one year ago) link
I like the scary orcs, and the sound vibration opening credits. It's not bad, though, it's just fine. But I'm not comparing it to any books (I don't know if I ever read any sources for this? I read the Silmarilion about 30 years ago...)
― a hallan shaker loon (dowd), Sunday, 18 September 2022 14:02 (one year ago) link
the sources are the LOTR appendices only and strictly
― mark s, Sunday, 18 September 2022 14:13 (one year ago) link
Maybe they should have the appendix taken out
― i eat ass with a knife and fork (Neanderthal), Sunday, 18 September 2022 14:27 (one year ago) link
đźš®
― mark s, Sunday, 18 September 2022 14:42 (one year ago) link
The three of us kept waiting for that shoe to drop and were at least relieved that didn't happen here.
Without patting myself TOO much on the back, my thread seems to have taken off among a number of readers/fans/watchers in the wider community. From the sound of it there's not much talk about these kinds of issues precisely because so much of what IS out there discourse-wise is racist bullshit.
― Ned Raggett, Sunday, 18 September 2022 16:01 (one year ago) link
I also have this sense that the showrunners and writers really were trying their level best. There's an earnestness to all of it that doesn't seem like phoning it in, but you can tell that they're not experienced at this.
Well famously the two showrunners, who are indeed comparatively young, have never done anything like this before and barely have any credits! I honestly think this was just networking triumphing since they'd worked with JJ Abrams. The results are as we see them.
― Ned Raggett, Sunday, 18 September 2022 16:02 (one year ago) link
it’s really just astonishing. how the fuck can you commission something this expensive from such beginners. i mean you could get lucky i guess? but like… welcome to the big leagues, amazon. making a good show is hard
― Tracer Hand, Sunday, 18 September 2022 17:54 (one year ago) link
It's not that weird. One of the GoT showrunners had no credits before that show either. Producers want new talent who are available for a long time commitment. Screenwriters may have several lauded scripts that have never been produced, showcasing their talent.
― abcfsk, Sunday, 18 September 2022 19:45 (one year ago) link
The writers room is very experienced. So are the directors.
― abcfsk, Sunday, 18 September 2022 19:46 (one year ago) link
ah okay.
― Tracer Hand, Sunday, 18 September 2022 20:38 (one year ago) link
I don’t think I’d use the GoT producers as evidence of that being a good idea
― mh, Monday, 19 September 2022 01:56 (one year ago) link
gives us a clue where the story's going with galadriel
― mark s, Monday, 19 September 2022 09:30 (one year ago) link
I do like that the dawrf king in this is played by Peter Mullan, while his old mucker Paddy Considine plays the king in House of Dragons.
― Andrew Farrell, Monday, 19 September 2022 11:06 (one year ago) link
My cohost Jared has some good thoughts on the series (free to read)
https://www.patreon.com/posts/just-some-guy-in-72248227
― Ned Raggett, Tuesday, 20 September 2022 18:12 (one year ago) link
the line "the sea is always right" is a simply moronic phrase and however seriously i was taking this show, it declined by half after i heard that
― comedy khadafi (voodoo chili), Tuesday, 20 September 2022 18:30 (one year ago) link
the aquatic disagreer has logged on
― mh, Tuesday, 20 September 2022 21:05 (one year ago) link
"the sea is sometimes right"
― comedy khadafi (voodoo chili), Tuesday, 20 September 2022 21:19 (one year ago) link
the sea googles a lot of stuff
― terminators of endearment (VegemiteGrrl), Tuesday, 20 September 2022 21:32 (one year ago) link
From Ned's co-host:
He lets go of a rope and gets fired, along with his friends. That’s basically his first real scene.
Excuse me, I think you'll find that his first scene is exactly the same one week earlier.
― Andrew Farrell, Wednesday, 21 September 2022 06:57 (one year ago) link
meanwhile the sea supports me in email
― mark s, Wednesday, 21 September 2022 10:15 (one year ago) link
the sky is always wrong
― Jaime Pressly and America (f. hazel), Wednesday, 21 September 2022 13:40 (one year ago) link
the earth is somewhere in the middle
― scanner darkly, Wednesday, 21 September 2022 20:21 (one year ago) link
I am truly impressed at how just off and weird and ridiculous this show gets episode for episode. Astounding in its breathtaking foolishness.
― Ned Raggett, Friday, 23 September 2022 04:55 (one year ago) link
thought i was in the drag race thread for a second
― scanner darkly, Friday, 23 September 2022 05:32 (one year ago) link
Roffle.
― Ned Raggett, Friday, 23 September 2022 13:25 (one year ago) link
Jesus the song and montages..
― ian, Saturday, 24 September 2022 02:01 (one year ago) link
Elvish has left the building
― i eat ass with a knife and fork (Neanderthal), Saturday, 24 September 2022 02:02 (one year ago) link
How is the show doing in the wider world? Is it a hit?
― Tsar Bombadil (James Morrison), Saturday, 24 September 2022 02:35 (one year ago) link
This show is unbelievably boring. I’m out.
― 𝔠𝔞𝔢𝔨 (caek), Saturday, 24 September 2022 19:00 (one year ago) link
i enjoy the durin / elrond stuff, i think those two actors have good chemistry & have slightly better story/dialogue to work with i find the galadriel stuff the biggest slog it seems like its pure exposition & endless indicating & ugh i get deeply bored by that
― terminators of endearment (VegemiteGrrl), Saturday, 24 September 2022 20:08 (one year ago) link
it's indicating that galadriel needs to find three dragon eggs p damn soon
― mark s, Saturday, 24 September 2022 20:18 (one year ago) link
or else one of her dullard swordplay pupils runs her through bcz of clumsiness
― mark s, Saturday, 24 September 2022 20:19 (one year ago) link
still low-key enjoying the competition for most insufferable: elendil vs gil galad
― mark s, Saturday, 24 September 2022 20:26 (one year ago) link
'we have reason to suspect a passing brigand"
how is this middle-earth's major sea power
― mark s, Saturday, 24 September 2022 20:43 (one year ago) link
well THAT was a fucking trudge
― mark s, Saturday, 24 September 2022 21:11 (one year ago) link
This thing looks good (still) but I'm beginning to lose interest.
― SQUIRREL MEAT!! (Capitaine Jay Vee), Saturday, 24 September 2022 21:12 (one year ago) link
The Lord of the Rings: The Rings of Power *(Rings Not Included in this Series)
― mark s, Saturday, 24 September 2022 21:15 (one year ago) link
'we have reason to suspect a passing brigand"= hark a vagrant
― terminators of endearment (VegemiteGrrl), Saturday, 24 September 2022 21:54 (one year ago) link
instant classic
― Tracer Hand, Saturday, 24 September 2022 21:59 (one year ago) link
i’ve seen the first three minutes or so of the first episode and that was enuf for me
― Tracer Hand, Saturday, 24 September 2022 22:00 (one year ago) link
A cut towards the end between Gil-Galad and Halbrand, both full of dark, boring, secrets.
I also regret to inform you I've remembered who Isildur reminds me of https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=PIh2xe4jnpk
― Andrew Farrell, Saturday, 24 September 2022 23:18 (one year ago) link
lol
― terminators of endearment (VegemiteGrrl), Saturday, 24 September 2022 23:44 (one year ago) link
We at the podcast have taken all this under advisement. (We record our first episode since the series started tomorrow. I suspect we will be somewhat sweary.)
― Ned Raggett, Sunday, 25 September 2022 00:01 (one year ago) link
so i dremt there was a big ilx conference dedicated to predicting what was going to be in each ep of every coming series of the benighted and dumm elf show
i will not share with you many of the details of this dream (it was a big ilx conference, it was superficially friendly but also panicked and dorky and paid the highest poster attention to the wrong detail; also i was not really paying attention to my own dream tbrr)
but i will say THIS: someone at this conference proved by science (printing out their own tweets) that there would be an entire episode that was just a tom bombadil song and this better happen or like, fvck everything
― mark s, Sunday, 25 September 2022 09:18 (one year ago) link
Hahah a true vision.
― Ned Raggett, Sunday, 25 September 2022 13:17 (one year ago) link
I pledge myself to you, Sauron!You’re Sauron, right?*guy on screen doing the same grasping at straws as feckless viewers*
― mh, Sunday, 25 September 2022 14:17 (one year ago) link
also that guy appeared to be called baldrick
― mark s, Sunday, 25 September 2022 14:23 (one year ago) link
Waldreg according to the subtitles that I have on for an ever-increasing amount of the stuff I watch - it did raise the question of what percentage of the giant orc armies are just dudes in orc-like masks, like Joker henchmen.
― Andrew Farrell, Sunday, 25 September 2022 14:28 (one year ago) link