[Kalimac]

Legalos and Lindil - first of all, I just want to say I'm not dissing Radagast in any way, but what I didn't make clear was that the way the movie timeline was set makes it difficult to keep him in. I'm not talking about financial considerations or anything like that, but about not building spoilers into the movie. You're right that Radagast could come to Gandalf at Bag End since Saruman sent Radagast out specifically for this purpose, but think of what a spanner that would throw into things; Radagast would tell Gandalf that Saruman wants him, that the Nine are abroad and basically that Evil Walks Again In This Land. And unlike in the book, all this would have to happen JUST BEFORE FRODO SETS OUT, and while Gandalf still has access to him, so to speak, since for purposes of pushing the story forward Frodo leaves almost as soon as Gandalf tells him what the Ring is. <P>Now what happens? First of all, the first appearance of the Nazgul has been severely deflated; it's true that we see them leaving Minas Morgul earlier but that's a very brief shot of them on their horses, and you can't really tell what they are. If Radagast comes rushing up saying "The Nine are abroad", even if he doesn't describe them much, immediately the audience knows that something very nasty is hunting Frodo (and if Gandalf is afraid of them...well...). Secondly, it would make Gandalf's subsequent actions both nonsensical and, one could say, extremely callous. Can you imagine what it would make Gandalf look like, if, after getting the news that the Nine are abroad and that Frodo is in hourly danger of being killed or turned into a wraith, he lets Frodo and Sam just go off with little idea of what they're doing and no protection worth speaking of? Now THAT would be an impossible scene to write. "Well, so long, Frodo. Um, make sure to look behind you frequently." <P>And yes, it is another question as to how Gandalf *gets* there so quickly (that's one heck of a horse he's got, that's all I can say). To be honest, I've wondered the same thing about those pits and machinery around Isengard; the way the movie timeline goes that whole industrial complex seems to have been dug in about four days. Ah well, the physics of Middle Earth are another matter altogether .<p>[ November 25, 2002: Message edited by: Kalimac ]