Microphones in Middle-earth...the BBC Lord of the Rings

[Lalwendë]

Originally Posted by Brian Sibley

I think Dave and others have already said most of what can be said about this... What is lost? A fascinating character... A episode of unexpected dangers... A indication that TREES are not always what they seem to be... An oasis of peace at Tom's house providing a moment's respite on the trail... An opportunity to know that there are those (or at least one) who is untouched by the power of the Ring...

What is gained by cutting Tom? Keeping up the momentum of Frodo's flight and the Riders' pursuit... In Tales of the Perilous Realm, these chapters took TWO half-hour episodes, so, if it had been included in the original broadcasts, these scenes would have needed to be compressed to a point of being, probably, meaningless...

Now here's a thorny question. If you had been given a whole extra hour of Auntie's time, would you still have cut out Tom?

At least, speaking as an out and out Tom-nut, you did the cut coherently. What bothered me with the films was that where a change had to be made, it so often messed about with the integrity of narrative and character. It might be fun to listen to the early episodes but with the further adaptation of the three Tom chapters inserted into place.