[The Saucepan Man]

This exhibition opened at the Science Museum in London last week. We went along on Saturday.<P>Having two five year olds and a three year old in tow meant that we could not concentrate on it quite as much as we would have liked. And also, the lack of air conditioning in the museum on an unseasonably hot day made for a stifling atmosphere inside. Nevertheless, it was extremely enjoyable.<P>The exhibition mainly comprises costumes, armour and props (weapons, rings, palantirs etc) from the first two films. Despite having already watched some of the documentaries on the films, I was still incredibly impressed by the amount of detail that went into these items. The costumes were so detailed, down to the numerous white tree and horse emblems emblazoned on the armour of the Gondorians and Rohirrim even though much of it would not be visible on screen. The props too. For example, there are two versions of each of the Nine Rings: the "originals" given by Sauron to the Kings of Men and their shrivelled remnants as worn by the Ringwraiths. There were two crowns for each of them too. Such weird and wonderful items as skulls and other sinister artefacts from Saruman's chamber at Orthanc, Theoden's seal, and even Orcish forks and spoons, were on display. My only gripe was the explanation of the inscription on Arwen's sword which refers to it being something like "suitable protection for a noble lady", while also saying that it was handed down to her by her father who used it at the Last Alliance. Perhaps Agent Elrond used it in Priscilla Queen of the Desert too. <P>There were also models of various of the creatures which featured in the films. Particularly impressive were the Cave Troll, accompanied by a vicious Orc, and a forbidding full sized model of Lurtz, although I for one was glad that there were no Lemming-Hyenas (sorry Wargs ) present.<P>The exhibition was also dotted with video screens with interviews with the actors and production team explaining various aspects of the films, such as how the weapons and armour were made and the use of prosthetics (feet, ears and the like). Much of this is already common knowledge to those of us who have seen the documentaries on the DVD editions, but I did enjoy the explanation of the CGI armies used at the Last Alliance and Helm's Deep and the way that Orcs and Elves were "trained" to fight in different styles.<P>And, of course, it was inevitable that we had the Hobbit-sized photos (on Gandalf's cart) taken. Like most couples, we avoided any argument by both taking a turn as a Hobbit. <P>All in all, a very pleasant few hours despite the stifling atmosphere. Even the kids enjoyed it - well my daughter and her friend certainly did anyway (inevitably our three year old became bored rather early on). Since I have read the Hobbit with my daughter, she recognised quite a few of the characters and races (and in fact, we watched FotR together the next day). And, courtesy of the inevitable gift shop outside (and a bit of bribery involving the promise of a toy for good behaviour in the exhibition), we are now the proud owners of two sets of LotR Top Trumps. I had my eye on the model of Bilbo's Trolls for myself, but had to concede that the £300 cost might be better spent elsewhere. <P>Have any other British (or visiting) Downers managed to make it to the exhibition yet? If so, what were your thoughts?<p>[ September 23, 2003: Message edited by: The Saucepan Man ]