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In case anyone was curious: > television adaptation will explore new storylines preceding J.R.R. Tolkien’s The Fellowship of the Ring So it's not going to tel

by untog 9y ago

In case anyone was curious: > television adaptation will explore new storylines preceding J.R.R. Tolkien’s The Fellowship of the Ring So it's not going to tell the main story itself, which is probably wise given the film adaptations aren't even that old. Maybe it's just me I'm not super-excited by this news. I wish there were more original universes being created with the insane amount of TV money swirling around these days. This just feels like a very safe "me too Game of Thrones" play.

cholantesh 9y ago
I recently started watching Fargo and I'm, for the most part, enjoying what was done there. Captures the source material well while telling a new story in the same universe.
- deleted 9y ago
  [deleted]
macintux 9y ago
So young Aragorn and young Boromir killing orcs? Gimli killing elves?
- projectramo 9y ago
  I hope its not the same characters. Its hard to drum up tension for a battle when you know the hero/ine will survive.
  - schtitt 9y ago
    Hm, I disagree. Usually when you read a book/watch a movie, you do have a pretty good idea who will survive. I mean, even in the original trilogy, most people knew how things would go down since the books were well known. I would say more interesting is how it goes down, and you can still have tension even if you know the final outcome. Same thing with folk tales: you know the hero is going to win, but it is still enjoyable to hear the tale told.
    - projectramo 9y ago
      I guess you have a point. But let me try another counter: how much more enjoyable were the big scenes in Game of Thrones? I think you know the ones I am talking about. I still enjoy rewatching Breaking Bad but the shock and recognition of watching these shows the first time is superior.
      - schtitt 9y ago
        Yup, you're right. It does add something for sure. I guess the further away a show/movie strays from common tropes the more important is the value of not knowing what will happen.
- sizzzzlerz 9y ago
  How about the origin stories of the Ents and of Beorn
- deleted 9y ago
  [deleted]
ehllo 9y ago
I think tolkien is a good option for "new" stuff, since there are many written stories in this universe about other characters and the created world by him is massive. There is also a possibility to start with his oldest book "silmarillion".
- username223 9y ago
  Maybe they could do the "Tale of the Children of Hurin," but the Silmarillion covers thousands of years and hundreds of characters. It would be like a multi-season adaptation of the Old Testament, i.e. a disaster.
  - megaman22 9y ago
    That, or Beren and Luthien, or the fall of Gondolin, which are the most fleshed-out episodes, as far as I remember. The exile of the Noldor could be interesting, but iirc, it's really in the form of a Germanic saga, so it would really need a lot of filling out of details and characterization.
mmanfrin 9y ago
Do you mean original as in first-as-a-series, or original as in something that hasn't been made for tv/movies yet? If the latter, there are tons: - The Expanse - American Gods, Good Omens - Kingkiller Chronicles (being produced by Lin-Manuel Miranda) - Wheel of Time However, if you mean the former, then I agree, although there are new shows, they just don't have high budgets like those with followings already.
- santaclaus 9y ago
  > Kingkiller Chronicles Sweet, maybe we'll get book 3 on TV before in print like Game of Thrones!
  - tudelo 9y ago
    You have no idea how you just made me feel...
  - mmanfrin 9y ago
    I hope so. I worry Rothfuss has gone full-GRRM; got too successful before the series concluded and now it's up in air if it will conclude. The only real hope I have is that it feels like Rothfuss wouldn't let his series be finished by TV in the way GoT has for ASOIF. Also Rothfuss claimed to have a 'finished manuscript' in 2014, so there is hope.
- enervate 9y ago
  Syfy has an Expanse show. It's pretty good, imo.
  - cavanasm 9y ago
    Parent was listing smaller original fiction literature universes that HAVE recently gotten TV shows.
vlunkr 9y ago
If this means they will be adapting some of the Silmarillion stories then I might be on board. There are some great sketches of stories there that unfortunately were not completed in Tolkien's lifetime. I would love to see them fleshed out. When publishing these, they try not to modify the original writings, which is nice, but also frustrating, because they aren't written in a way that Tolkien deemed them ready for publishing. What I would really love is for them to publish the originals, but also give them to other fantasy authors and let them adapt it into a complete novel. A TV show is less exciting (for me), but could be interesting.
- cannonedhamster 9y ago
  If they took a (less horrifying) Black Mirror approach where it was stories in the same universe that could be interesting, but I don't think it would play. There's a lot of story fruit still in LOTR universe that hasn't been plucked yet, so I think that they could do something really good that was episodic as well, but I suspect it will end up closer to "Legend of the Seeker" than something with a good, lasting story.
  - krapp 9y ago
    We'd just end up with Sexy Shelob, though.
notacoward 9y ago
> This just feels like a very safe "me too Game of Thrones" play. No more than Game of Thrones was a "me too Lord of the Rings" play. I mean, seriously, Tolkien's work was first in both book and movie/TV form.
BerislavLopac 9y ago
> So it's not going to tell the main story itself, which is probably wise given the film adaptations aren't even that old. As far as my understanding of the very complex and sad story of LotR rights goes, they can't/. In a nutshell, JRRT has sold all non-printing rights for LotrR and Hobbit a long time ago, and they are currently held by the entity (currently) called Middle-earth Enterprises [1], a division of The Saul Zaentz Company. This basically boils down to them having the final world on any derivative work that includes the characters, locations and some other elements from the novels. The rest of the rights belong to the Tolkien Estate [2], which is a legal entity controlled primarily by Tolkien's son Christopher. The Estate have for long been opposed to any derivative works, but they have apparently changed their stance, considering they are the ones Amazon made the deal with. So I expect we won't see any of the Fellowship, nor places like Rivendell, Moria or Minas-Tirith; but there are plenty of areas in Middle-earth with enough stories to explore -- early days of Arnor and Gondor, Dol Amroth etc. [1] https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Middle-earth_Enterprises https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Middle-earth_Enterprises [2] https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Tolkien_Estate https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Tolkien_Estate
ellius 9y ago
The worst part is that you probably couldn’t pick a worse franchise to adapt into a Game of Thrones-style show. LotR is all about a Manichean struggle between good and evil, and about dreaming and wanderlust and journies. GoT is about cold, brutal, gritty realpolitik and the realities of power, war, and violence. Shoving GoT themes into a world that was basically built for precisely opposite ideas is lazy and will probably produce jarring, unnatural stories.

by untog 9y ago

cholantesh 9y ago

I recently started watching Fargo and I'm, for the most part, enjoying what was done there. Captures the source material well while telling a new story in the same universe.

deleted 9y ago
[deleted]

macintux 9y ago

So young Aragorn and young Boromir killing orcs? Gimli killing elves?

projectramo 9y ago
I hope its not the same characters. Its hard to drum up tension for a battle when you know the hero/ine will survive.
- schtitt 9y ago
  Hm, I disagree. Usually when you read a book/watch a movie, you do have a pretty good idea who will survive. I mean, even in the original trilogy, most people knew how things would go down since the books were well known. I would say more interesting is how it goes down, and you can still have tension even if you know the final outcome. Same thing with folk tales: you know the hero is going to win, but it is still enjoyable to hear the tale told.
  - projectramo 9y ago
    I guess you have a point. But let me try another counter: how much more enjoyable were the big scenes in Game of Thrones? I think you know the ones I am talking about. I still enjoy rewatching Breaking Bad but the shock and recognition of watching these shows the first time is superior.
    - schtitt 9y ago
      Yup, you're right. It does add something for sure. I guess the further away a show/movie strays from common tropes the more important is the value of not knowing what will happen.
sizzzzlerz 9y ago
How about the origin stories of the Ents and of Beorn
deleted 9y ago
[deleted]

ehllo 9y ago

I think tolkien is a good option for "new" stuff, since there are many written stories in this universe about other characters and the created world by him is massive. There is also a possibility to start with his oldest book "silmarillion".

username223 9y ago
Maybe they could do the "Tale of the Children of Hurin," but the Silmarillion covers thousands of years and hundreds of characters. It would be like a multi-season adaptation of the Old Testament, i.e. a disaster.
- megaman22 9y ago
  That, or Beren and Luthien, or the fall of Gondolin, which are the most fleshed-out episodes, as far as I remember. The exile of the Noldor could be interesting, but iirc, it's really in the form of a Germanic saga, so it would really need a lot of filling out of details and characterization.

mmanfrin 9y ago

Do you mean original as in first-as-a-series, or original as in something that hasn't been made for tv/movies yet? If the latter, there are tons: - The Expanse - American Gods, Good Omens - Kingkiller Chronicles (being produced by Lin-Manuel Miranda) - Wheel of Time However, if you mean the former, then I agree, although there are new shows, they just don't have high budgets like those with followings already.

santaclaus 9y ago
> Kingkiller Chronicles Sweet, maybe we'll get book 3 on TV before in print like Game of Thrones!
- tudelo 9y ago
  You have no idea how you just made me feel...
- mmanfrin 9y ago
  I hope so. I worry Rothfuss has gone full-GRRM; got too successful before the series concluded and now it's up in air if it will conclude. The only real hope I have is that it feels like Rothfuss wouldn't let his series be finished by TV in the way GoT has for ASOIF. Also Rothfuss claimed to have a 'finished manuscript' in 2014, so there is hope.
enervate 9y ago
Syfy has an Expanse show. It's pretty good, imo.
- cavanasm 9y ago
  Parent was listing smaller original fiction literature universes that HAVE recently gotten TV shows.

vlunkr 9y ago

If this means they will be adapting some of the Silmarillion stories then I might be on board. There are some great sketches of stories there that unfortunately were not completed in Tolkien's lifetime. I would love to see them fleshed out. When publishing these, they try not to modify the original writings, which is nice, but also frustrating, because they aren't written in a way that Tolkien deemed them ready for publishing. What I would really love is for them to publish the originals, but also give them to other fantasy authors and let them adapt it into a complete novel. A TV show is less exciting (for me), but could be interesting.

cannonedhamster 9y ago
If they took a (less horrifying) Black Mirror approach where it was stories in the same universe that could be interesting, but I don't think it would play. There's a lot of story fruit still in LOTR universe that hasn't been plucked yet, so I think that they could do something really good that was episodic as well, but I suspect it will end up closer to "Legend of the Seeker" than something with a good, lasting story.
- krapp 9y ago
  We'd just end up with Sexy Shelob, though.

notacoward 9y ago

> This just feels like a very safe "me too Game of Thrones" play. No more than Game of Thrones was a "me too Lord of the Rings" play. I mean, seriously, Tolkien's work was first in both book and movie/TV form.

BerislavLopac 9y ago

> So it's not going to tell the main story itself, which is probably wise given the film adaptations aren't even that old. As far as my understanding of the very complex and sad story of LotR rights goes, they can't/. In a nutshell, JRRT has sold all non-printing rights for LotrR and Hobbit a long time ago, and they are currently held by the entity (currently) called Middle-earth Enterprises [1], a division of The Saul Zaentz Company. This basically boils down to them having the final world on any derivative work that includes the characters, locations and some other elements from the novels. The rest of the rights belong to the Tolkien Estate [2], which is a legal entity controlled primarily by Tolkien's son Christopher. The Estate have for long been opposed to any derivative works, but they have apparently changed their stance, considering they are the ones Amazon made the deal with. So I expect we won't see any of the Fellowship, nor places like Rivendell, Moria or Minas-Tirith; but there are plenty of areas in Middle-earth with enough stories to explore -- early days of Arnor and Gondor, Dol Amroth etc. [1] https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Middle-earth_Enterprises https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Middle-earth_Enterprises [2] https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Tolkien_Estate https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Tolkien_Estate

ellius 9y ago

The worst part is that you probably couldn’t pick a worse franchise to adapt into a Game of Thrones-style show. LotR is all about a Manichean struggle between good and evil, and about dreaming and wanderlust and journies. GoT is about cold, brutal, gritty realpolitik and the realities of power, war, and violence. Shoving GoT themes into a world that was basically built for precisely opposite ideas is lazy and will probably produce jarring, unnatural stories.