In Praise of Christopher Tolkien

[Tuor in Gondolin]

My view of CT's work on Middle Earth in general and his father's
legacy in particular is quite favorable, making his rather childish
censoring efforts discussed here and elsewhere all the more
regretable. But you can't deny his great contributions, above all
with the Silmarillion and Unfinished Tales. In evaluating him I'm
reminded of the ending in the movie My Favorite Year:
(from AMC Filmsite)

The sad scene in which drunken, swashbuckling movie star Alan Swann (Peter O'Toole), hidden in his limo, watches his estranged daughter Tess (Cady McClain) ride a bicycle in Connecticut - after Swann has driven away, his daughter looks on, knowing he'd been watching; and the sentimental ending after Swann had saved the day on live TV - his last great moment - as young comic writer Benjy Stone (Mark-Linn Baker) narrated about it: ("The way you see him here, like this...this is the way I like to remember him. I think if you had asked Alan Swann what was the single most gratifying moment in his life, he might have said this one, right here. The next day, I drove up to Connecticut with him and Alfi (Tony DiBenedetto). THIS time, he knocked on the door, and when he and Tess saw each other, it was like they'd never been apart. Like Alfi says: 'With Swann, you forgive a lot, you know?' I know.")