The Lord of the Rings - Second Age - Amazon Prime

[ctg]

 

[Teresa Edgerton]

I think it is interesting how most of the time most people are in agreement that reviews on places like Amazon are NOT very reliable, and now we're supposed to believe that guy in the video when he acts like they are super reliable.

I have read book reviews by people who say they haven't read the book in question but they've read other books by the author and those were great so they are sure the book will be wonderful when they get around to buying and reading it. (Yet that counts like any other 5 star review.)

Or reviews that don't comment on the product, but give it 1 star because it was shipped later than promised.

And it's interesting that he uses the word disingenuous, which is what I would say about him going on and on about how Amazon shut down the reviews when it was only for a few days and ended weeks before that video in which he is speaking was taped.

Look, some people don't like the series for quite legitimate reasons. Just not personally appealing is a legitimate reason. The pace was too slow is a legitimate reason. It's not true to Tolkien's writings is a legitimate reason (if the person who reviews it accordingly actually is familiar with Tolkien's writings). There are a million honest reasons why a person might not like any particular show, but there are also reasons that are, to use his own word, disingenuous.

And really I would not take the habits of people who are pirating downloads as a beacon of honesty, when the whole practice is dishonest to begin with.

 

[HareBrain]

I came across a review the other day by someone who claimed themself as a "big Tolkien" fan but hadn't read any of the books!

 

[ctg]

The Rings of Power may have started production on its second season this week, but that doesn’t mean that we’ll be seeing it anytime soon. Season 1 took 18 months to film, and while some of that can likely be attributed to the struggles of filming during the height of the Covid-19 pandemic, it also makes sense given how extensive the production process has to be for a story of this magnitude.

When asked if we could expect to see The Rings of Power season 2 in 2023, the head of Amazon Studios, Jennifer Salke, told Variety that “We want the shortest time possible between seasons, but we want to keep the bar just as high. So it’ll take what it takes. But there’s been some urgency around moving quickly, which is why these guys have been writing all through their hiatus. We’re moving fast.” And while that wasn’t a clear answer on how long the production of season 2 will take or when we will get to see it, it seems as though she, and the series showrunners, are prepared to take their time to do the story justice.

In an interview with The Hollywood Reporter, The Rings of Power showrunner Patrick McKay said that he and fellow showrunner J.D. Payne expect to work on season 2 for “another couple years.” Which is no surprise seeing as their goals for season 2 are to be “bigger and better” on “every level … by an order of magnitude.” How exactly season 2 will be bigger or better is yet to be determined, but it’s nice to know that this team isn’t looking to diminish the quality or scale of the show just to get it out into the world faster.

Given that Amazon Studios essentially committed to five seasons of the series from the beginning, it makes sense that the creative forces behind The Rings of Power would feel comfortable taking their time. When asked about the massive budget for the series, Salke partially justified it by saying that Amazon Studios is “building infrastructure for five seasons” and that they’re effectively “building a small city” to produce this show. According to THR who toured The Rings of Power’s new U.K. set while interviewing Payne and McKay, the season 2 set even has its own blacksmith and hearth to make prop weapons. McKay says that “the entire making of this show has been a massive learning experience for everyone involved.” While they’ve learned a lot from the production of season 1 that will likely help things run smoother, and potentially faster, they also know that the stakes are still high – even without the threat of cancellation looming menacingly overhead.

Despite the amount of money that Amazon has invested in this series, McKay remains adamant that “[The Rings of Power] is the most earnest production. This is not a paycheck job for anybody. This is a labor of love.” So while season 2 probably won’t be on our screens for a while, it sounds like the creative team wants to take its time to get it right. They appear to be in this for the long haul, regardless of the criticism directed toward the first season.

Lord of the Rings: The Rings of Power Season 2 Is Not Releasing When You Think

Even though production has begun on The Rings of Power season 2, the lengthly process means that it will likely be awhile before we see it.

www.denofgeek.com

 

[Teresa Edgerton]

I've just learned that the guy in that video, Chris Gore, publishes a magazine which charges for its reviews. To me, that makes his opinions a little questionable, since it is conceivable they might vary according to who is paying him.

 

[Toby Frost]

I think it is interesting how most of the time most people are in agreement that reviews on places like Amazon are NOT very reliable, and now we're supposed to believe that guy in the video when he acts like they are super reliable.

I don't trust any of those Youtube reviewers, as much too often it's trumped-up political propaganda thinly disguised as critique. "And that's why the Emancipation Proclamation RUINED Star Wars!" This guy doesn't seem to be an outright political crackpot, but I'd always go to a proper critic first rather than some guy off public access internet TV.

 

[Christine Wheelwright]

Now it’s over, let’s come out and say it: The Rings of Power was a stinker

The world’s most expensive show – which looked like an episode of Hollyoaks, only with woeful acting – was so inept that every episode left you sniggering

www.theguardian.com

 

[jd73]

Now it’s over, let’s come out and say it: The Rings of Power was a stinker

The world’s most expensive show – which looked like an episode of Hollyoaks, only with woeful acting – was so inept that every episode left you sniggering

www.theguardian.com

pff, what does the Guardian know anyway.

 

[Extollager]

Possibly some folks interested in the Amazon series would be interested in some comments on The Fall of Númenor, the compilation of texts by J. R. R. Tolkien about the Second Age. My hunch is that fans of the series, especially ones who haven't read much if any Tolkien, who get this book because they are intrigued by the Second Age, will be surprised by how much of the book is drawn from The Silmarillion and Unfinished Tales -- sources to which the series crew had no rights, as I understand; and accordingly by how little the book suggests the TV series Perusal of the book is likely to bring out how little the series is actually indebted to Tolkien. For example, as I understand the series (which I haven't watched) emphasizes the character Galadriel a lot. She barely appears in The Fall of Númenor.

Book Hauls!

The Peripheral by William Gibson was a pound on Amazon this afternoon, so i bought it based on Vince's review of the TV Series.

www.sffchronicles.com

 

[HareBrain]

A couple of points from reading the Appendices at the end of Return of the King (which I believe were the only material Amazon was allowed to use as a source.)

I've seen some reviews that criticise the show's intro for claiming that Morgoth alone destroyed the Trees of Valinor when it was Ungoliant. But right at the start of the ROTK appendices, Tolkien states that it was Morgoth. Ungoliant isn't mentioned. I find that interesting not just in relation to the show, but because it contradicts the Silmarillion. You could argue that Tolkien left her out to simplify things, but he doesn't show much evidence of valuing simplificity in the rest of the appendices. And he's already mentioned Ungoliant in relation to Shelob, so it's not as if her name would mean nothing to the attentive reader.

Also, some reviews have criticised the seemingly odd decision to make the Elves need mithril to avoid declining. I think it's a bit daft myself, but it does have some kind of backing in the appendices, because Tolkien says that it's "something about Middle Earth itself" (slight paraphrase) that causes the reduction of longevity in those of pure Numenorean descent. I guess the writers took that idea and applied it to the Elves too. But it raises the question, what did Tolkien mean by that?