LotR as a Series

[Iris Alantiel]

I think this is a really interesting idea. It would be exciting to see LotR as a TV series and I would definitely make a point of watching it, though I'm not normally a TV person.

I kind of wonder if it would really resolve the problems people have with the movies, though. It would still be totally dependent on a director's interpretation of the books. And the truth is, I don't think its possible to ever get across the real grandeur of Tolkien's work in a movie or TV format. As Mollecon said, "The problem is that the story in itself is only half of it - the other half is that great universe created by Tolkien". I mean, sure they could get some of that across, as they did in the movie, in the way they styled ME, but it would be virtually impossible to get the entire scope of Tolkien's universe into any visual medium. And then you have to start cutting things out for clarity in case people haven't read the books and wouldn't understand . . . it becomes a much more difficult task than it initially seems.

Also I kind of wonder if it would be feasible, budget-wise, to make a LotR TV series. Generally movies have a much higher budget than television shows; there would have to be a lot of sacrifices that way. The series couldn't be as elaborate as the movie was because there just wouldn't be enough money. I would worry that the series would look kind of tacky as a result and would tarnish our image of Middle Earth.

Personally, I think I just want to stick with the books.