There isn’t really enough of this new television series available to do a proper review yet: the long-awaited prequel story from Amazon Studios, which takes place a thousand or more years before the events of J.R.R. Tolkien’s fantasy trilogy The Lord of the Rings, was just launched on the 1st of September, with only the first two episodes available so far. New episodes will appear every Friday through the end of the first season.
Still, I wanted to share my first impressions and some information about the show immediately. I believe this is likely to become an immensely popular series, because it appears to be far above the standard of much of the new programming I’ve watched lately, and it brings new content to one of the greatest and most popular intellectual properties of our times.
The Rings of Power is not exactly based on a book or book series – instead, it is loosely based on the notes and appendices the author, J.R.R. Tolkien, included in The Lord of the Rings, and other writings, in which he sketched out the elaborate histories of ancient peoples, wars, cultures, languages and characters in his imaginary world of Middle Earth.
This lack of a specific and well-known plot is probably an advantage for the producers and writers, and the viewers as well, in that unlike Lord of the Rings and The Hobbit, which were beloved and well-known books, read by millions of readers over generations before they were successfully made into movies, this series is more of a blank slate in terms of the stories to be told.
Of course, we do have an expectation about the quality of the TV shows, and what their look and feel should be, based on Peter Jackson’s fabulous Lord of the Rings and The Hobbit movie trilogies. This new TV show does not disappoint in that respect at all. The first two episodes feature gorgeous mythical landscapes, ancient maps, and high-definition scenes of the characters, costumes and settings, looking very similar to the fantasy world that Jackson created for his two series.
On the other hand, there are some subtle differences – it’s an earlier time in Middle Earth history. The races, their homes and their wardrobes are not identical (for example, the proto-Hobbits are called Harfoots), and most noticeably, this series is more inclusive and diverse than the Jackson movies in terms of the actors and characters, a welcome improvement that reflects the changing times and improved opportunities for minority performers since Jackson’s movies were made.
One similarity to the movies is the numerous parallel stories to be followed, as we constantly switch back and forth from one to another. There are also a few familiar characters, most notably Galadriel, the Elven Queen of the Lord of the Rings stories (played so brilliantly by Cate Blanchett in the Jackson films). Galadriel is also present, and clearly a central figure, in this earlier epic too (elves being more or less immortal, or at least very long-lived). We see her here at a younger age (played by Morfydd Clark), as a warrior and Elf leader, obsessively following the trail of the missing Dark Lord Sauron, even while her fellow elves want to believe he has passed away.
But as with Lord of the Rings, there are many other races, characters and stories to be told too, and battles to be fought, as the dark shadow of Sauron’s evil begins to fall across Middle Earth in this earlier age. And we know in advance there are rings of power to be forged, rings that will become so important in the later stories with which we are more familiar.
One of the interesting things I have read out about the making of this show, which is noteworthy from an entertainment business standpoint, is that it is being made with the personal financial backing of Jeff Bezos. He has ordered five seasons, because he is apparently a huge fan of Tolkien’s stories, and perhaps also because he’s looking for his own multimedia fictional universe property for Amazon to control, like the worlds of Star Wars, Star Trek, and Marvel and DC comics that are owned by other studios. One positive aspect of his involvement is that there’s little risk the show will fail too soon for lack of ratings, or for poor quality due to lack of production resources – it would appear we’re going to get five well-produced seasons, whether it’s hugely popular or not.
But I doubt that’s much of a risk. I’m reasonably confident, based on what I’ve seen so far, that this series is headed for greatness. I've been told that not everyone is a dedicated fan of The Lord of the Rings and The Hobbit, so if you’re not, this might not be your cup of tea. But if you are – watch this show. Highly recommended.
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