Brian Earl Spilner said:
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This nostalgia has now become a problem. Those people won't allow the show to succeed - or fail - on its own merits. They'd rather pine for a different experience, one they've already seen.
As for this, I would challenge a purist such as yourself to take this same advice, and put the source material aside when watching film/tv adaptations and enjoying the show on its own merits.
Well, when one claims to be something or adapting it, I think they're beholden to what they're sourcing.
As adaptations generally go, if you want to argue that Jacksons flicks (LOTR - let's not get into those other films) are more faithful than the norm, sure. But its also like being the tallest hobbit in the room. Its an awfully low bar considering what passes for adaptations out there (Without Remorse comes to mind).
I can recognize that those are great movies; but they don't hit the spot for me. When my favorite moments from the book are excised so we can have lengthier battles, or needless action sequences (10 minutes on a collapsing stair), well...
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One does not have to replace the other. (Colbert actually talked about this very thing on the Friendship Onion podcast, part 2 of his interview.)
But that's the problem. It usually does replace the other in the cultural zeitgeist. I see you're someone who browses r/lotrmemes. Have yo looked at any the other related middle-earth subs? 99% of the fan art you'll see is directly sourced from the movies. Very rarely do you see anything actually original. Every now and again you see something like this and it takes my breath away:
Anyways:
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Fairly sure it's fully taking place in the Second Age. But I'm sure there'll be a prologue of any relevant setup like they did on Fellowship.
I actually hope they don't do a prologue.
OpeningFellowship with an epic prologue made perfect sense. For one, you need to get the audience invested and give them a taste of what is to come, as well as establish the threat. Could you imagine opening up with the Concerning Hobbits sequence and all that frivolity? However, showing the threat and then what is threatened totally works.
I don't think it was needed in The Hobbit, but it ties into what I feel i one of the key flaws of those films: Jackson was trying to recreate LOTR rather than allow that film(s) be its own thing.
Jumping back to Amazon here: they're going to have anywhere from 6-10 hours in the first season alone. I hope they take their time with the backstory; establish context through some cold opens depicting a key sequence (as distinct from an expeditionary prologue), dialogue, and perhaps even flashback a la "I was there Gandalf...". Its 2021. Big Budget fantasy is not the gamble it was 20 years ago. Be patient and trust the audience to stay invested.
