Amazon LoTR

[Shaps]

Wasn't sure what to expect... but honestly not sure why the show is getting so much hate.

I actually thought the first two episodes were really good. It might not line up exactly with the lore, but I've enjoyed them so far.

From the criticisms I've seen so far - the only one I can slightly lean towards is, it does seem like they've made most of the men seem like idiots (but it is much more subtle and not in your face as other shows)... but the one playing Galadriel is doing a damn good job IMO. Looking forward to seeing her arch over the upcoming episodes.

It's FAR better than the abomination they created with the Wheel of Time... god that was a horrendous adaptation.

You all enjoying or disliking it so far?

[Gelston]

I saw the first two episodes in the movie theater for free. Loved it.

The only criticisms I see ar epeople that haven't seen it (and don't plan to) because they are all ItS NoT ToLkIeN.

My wife and I both enjoyed House of Dragons, but we like RoP way better so far.

Elrond's actor just looks like a young Willam Dafoe.

Galadriel's actress is spot on though.

[Alastir]

I saw the first two episodes in the movie theater for free. Loved it.

The only criticisms I see ar epeople that haven't seen it (and don't plan to) because they are all ItS NoT ToLkIeN.

My wife and I both enjoyed House of Dragons, but we like RoP way better so far.

Elrond's actor just looks like a young Willam Dafoe.

Galadriel's actress is spot on though.

100% on the Elrond.


I'm enjoying all of these shows. I've never read the books, so maybe that helps.

[Shaps]

The Elrond guy has the head tilt down, I like small consistencies like that.. but ya he's doing well. I'd also love if someone came along that compared to Dafoe.. one of my all time favorite actors.

The vibes I was getting from Galadriel were Ripley from Aliens like... she's no Sigourney Weaver in that role yet, as she's nearly the goat (though Linda Hamilton, Michelle Yeoh, and the Kill Bill ladies are all amazing - sure I'm missing some, but those pop up first in my mind)...

Hoping they give Galadriel a slight soft arc like they did with Ripley in Aliens with Newt... that slight compassion, along with the badass attitude, would take it over the top IMO.

[Suppressed Poet]

I’m one of those that won’t watch it because I hate everything it stands for. Perhaps that is quite shallow of me.

I’ll give it some time and may revisit after more episodes if I hear positive things. The critic reviews I read were wildly different with some calling it the best show ever while others saying it was complete garbage.

[Parkbandit]

I’m one of those that won’t watch it because I hate everything it stands for.

You're a heightist?

[Gelston]

I’m one of those that won’t watch it because I hate everything it stands for. Perhaps that is quite shallow of me.

It is a TV show, developed for entertainment purposes... Just like Tolkien's book were developed for entertainment purposes.

[drumpel]

I’m one of those that won’t watch it because I hate everything it stands for. Perhaps that is quite shallow of me.

I’ll give it some time and may revisit after more episodes if I hear positive things. The critic reviews I read were wildly different with some calling it the best show ever while others saying it was complete garbage.

Don't waste your breath with critic reviews, watch it for yourself and make your own judgement.

If I went by the critic ratings for The Terminal List, I would have brushed it off as a crummy show. I watched it because it looked interesting and I really enjoyed it. Critics are a bunch of fucking retards, so don't make your decisions based on what they think. I've played a lot of games over the years that got bashed by reviews, yet I still liked them. Had I simply relied upon reviews to sway my game play decisions, I would have missed a lot of games that I've enjoyed playing.

[Suppressed Poet]

It is a TV show, developed for entertainment purposes... Just like Tolkien's book were developed for entertainment purposes.

I get that. Based on what I saw from the trailer and everything else, I don’t think it’s something I would find entertaining.

[Suppressed Poet]

You're a heightist?

Eff’n harfoots.

[Suppressed Poet]

Don't waste your breath with critic reviews, watch it for yourself and make your own judgement.

If I went by the critic ratings for The Terminal List, I would have brushed it off as a crummy show. I watched it because it looked interesting and I really enjoyed it. Critics are a bunch of fucking retards, so don't make your decisions based on what they think. I've played a lot of games over the years that got bashed by reviews, yet I still liked them. Had I simply relied upon reviews to sway my game play decisions, I would have missed a lot of games that I've enjoyed playing.

Warrior Galadriel, queer Elrond, black female beardless dwarves, Don Lemmon playing as Legolas’ brother from another mother, and treating orcs as oppressed indigenous people… Is the series supposed to be a parody?

[Suppressed Poet]

Kinda related I guess…. I watched the first two episodes of House of the Dragon. I don’t think it’s terrible thus far.

[Archigeek]

I am really enjoying it so far.

[Gelston]

Kinda related I guess…. I watched the first two episodes of House of the Dragon. I don’t think it’s terrible thus far.

Not related and that is a good show too. You are horrible.

[Suppressed Poet]

Not related and that is a good show too. You are horrible.

This is a good show. You have no idea what you are missing.


https://youtu.be/YUGlFZYlMS8

[Astray]

I heard people screeching about it so I went to watch it.

It's fine. I'm enjoying it.

[Nephelem]

It's not great so far, but neither is it deserving of the review bombing it has received. Episode 1 had me nodding off, but 2 was a bit more engaging. Will definitely be watching. House of the Dragon had a really good first two episodes and then got cheesey for episode 3. Given how badly burned we were when GoT went full Hollywood writers room, I am prepared for the worst.

[nichelas]

Thought it was good. Earth shattering? No. Am I looking forward to Friday? Yes.

[Archigeek]

I feel like it's unfolding at a slow pace, and I'm liking the pace. Episode 2 I liked the way the story is starting to develop.

[onurb]

So, I didn't know this show existed until I saw this thread. Not much of a TV person really. But I do have amazon prime so I thought I would watch it as I am big into sci-fi and fantasy as well as LOTR.

I think the first thing people need to understand when watching this is... Tolkien's LOTR was the best, it is like the goat of all fantasy books/movies etc. Nothing will ever compare to it. So no, I did not think Amazon LOTR was as good as Tolkien's LOTR. But thats ok. Also I am sure the budget they have for special effects, actors pay, etc is far far less than the movie so you have to take that into consideration. I am thankful that someone made something I can watch that is an extension of Tolkien's LOTR.

I have watched all 3 episodes and enjoyed each one and looking forward to the next episode.

Next I will try out House of the Dragon, havent watched any of that yet.

[Gelston]

Also I am sure the budget they have for special effects, actors pay, etc is far far less than the movie so you have to take that into consideration..

lol, it isn't though. Amazon spent 250m just for the rights, before any filming, and then it is over 100m a season, and they've already committed to a 5 season run, with plans to spend just over a billion.

All three LotR films together had a budget of 280m.

[Archigeek]

So, I didn't know this show existed until I saw this thread. Not much of a TV person really. But I do have amazon prime so I thought I would watch it as I am big into sci-fi and fantasy as well as LOTR.

I think the first thing people need to understand when watching this is... Tolkien's LOTR was the best, it is like the goat of all fantasy books/movies etc. Nothing will ever compare to it. So no, I did not think Amazon LOTR was as good as Tolkien's LOTR. But thats ok. Also I am sure the budget they have for special effects, actors pay, etc is far far less than the movie so you have to take that into consideration. I am thankful that someone made something I can watch that is an extension of Tolkien's LOTR.

I have watched all 3 episodes and enjoyed each one and looking forward to the next episode.

Next I will try out House of the Dragon, havent watched any of that yet.

It's a precursor to LOTR, like The Hobbit is, but think pre-Hobbit. Get yourself a copy of The Silmaril and slog through that, and the slow pace and added detail starts to make sense. That said, they're taking some license with the story, but they're doing a good job of it.

[Gelston]

It's a precursor to LOTR, like The Hobbit is, but think pre-Hobbit. Get yourself a copy of The Silmaril and slog through that, and the slow pace and added detail starts to make sense. That said, they're taking some license with the story, but they're doing a good job of it.

It is WAAAAY prehobbit.

This is second age, the battle you see before Fellowship of the Ring was the battle that ended the Second Age.

The rings haven't even been created yet.

Also to note, this is technically not the same "universe" as the movies, filming wise... So they will breed familiarity, but none of the music or any of the exact same looks will be there. The Tolkien Estate apparently hated the movies.

[Taernath]

It's kind of slow and boring and I don't really care about any of the characters quite yet.

[Gelston]

It's kind of slow and boring and I don't really care about any of the characters quite yet.

You're kind of slow and boring and I don't really care about any of your characters yet.

[Taernath]

You're kind of slow and boring and I don't really care about any of your characters yet.

no u

Plus the scene where Galadriel jumped off the boat in the middle of the ocean with no real plan except to swim back was so dumb it's hard to get past.

[Gelston]

no u

Plus the scene where Galadriel jumped off the boat in the middle of the ocean with no real plan except to swim back was so dumb it's hard to get past.

Elves have a low discipline stat.

[Taernath]

Elves have a low discipline stat.

Discipline only affects how likely you are to stay in bed all day smoking the pothinir grass, even though she is likely capped she is probably not tripled in swimming and doesn't have access to 112.

[Gelston]

Discipline only affects how likely you are to stay in bed all day smoking the pothinir grass, even though she is likely capped she is probably not tripled in swimming and doesn't have access to 112.

She isn't capped yet. She is like level 30 in this show. She hasn't even gotten her ring of power yet.

[Taernath]

She isn't capped yet. She is like level 30 in this show. She hasn't even gotten her ring of power yet.

Celebrimbor is the one who started Duskruin, which is what the rings were originally made for. Galadriel is about 5000 years old in the show, having lived through GSII and most of GSIII. The Galadriel at the end of the film series is post-cap and spent about $25k at DR which is why she is so OP.

[Gelston]

Celebrimbor is the one who started Duskruin, which is what the rings were originally made for. Galadriel is about 5000 years old in the show, having lived through GSII and most of GSIII. The Galadriel at the end of the film series is post-cap and spent about $25k at DR which is why she is so OP.

The show is GS2. Hobbit/LotR Movies are GS3. They hopefully will not continue to make a GS4, although it is shown a few times in extended cuts and talked of in books.

[onurb]

lol, it isn't though. Amazon spent 250m just for the rights, before any filming, and then it is over 100m a season, and they've already committed to a 5 season run, with plans to spend just over a billion. All three LotR films together had a budget of 280m.

Ok, I admit I assumed a bit on the budget. However, while spending 250m for rights is technically on the budget, what I really wanted to know was how much did they actually spend on the creating this series and comparing it to how much LotR spent on creating their series to determine if their money was spent wisely. Because then we'd be comparing apples to apples.

Ok, I was bored so I did some math...

LoTR Trilogy - 3 movies, 9 hrs 17 minutes (557 minutes)
Budget - $281 million
Cost Per Minute - $504k

Rings of Power - 5 seasons, 8 episodes per season, 40 hours (2400 minutes)
Budget (w/rights) - $715m
Cost Per Minute (w/rights) - $298k
Budget (wo/rights) - $465m
Cost Per Minute (wo/rights) - $194k

When you look at it from this perspective, the budget for RoP is close to half of what LoTR is even if you include the rights fee. Much less of course without the fee.

[Gelston]

Ok, I admit I assumed a bit on the budget. However, while spending 250m for rights is technically on the budget, what I really wanted to know was how much did they actually spend on the creating this series and comparing it to how much LotR spent on creating their series to determine if their money was spent wisely. Because then we'd be comparing apples to apples.

Ok, I was bored so I did some math...

LoTR Trilogy - 3 movies, 9 hrs 17 minutes (557 minutes)
Budget - $281 million
Cost Per Minute - $504k

Rings of Power - 5 seasons, 8 episodes per season, 40 hours (2400 minutes)
Budget (w/rights) - $715m
Cost Per Minute (w/rights) - $298k
Budget (wo/rights) - $465m
Cost Per Minute (wo/rights) - $194k

When you look at it from this perspective, the budget for RoP is close to half of what LoTR is even if you include the rights fee. Much less of course without the fee.

I think it costs go down for the series because they are using sets other services and such a lot more often and over a longer period of time so costs go down. I think the quality looks as good as LotR, and better than Hobbit.

[onurb]

I watched the first episode of House of Dragons. I liked it alot. Looking forward to watching another one tonight.

[Neveragain]

I watched the first episode of House of Dragons. I liked it alot. Looking forward to watching another one tonight.

I've been watching both, pretty happy with both series so far.

Not sure why all the hate for RoP. I got a kick out of Durin's wife.

[Gelston]

I've been watching both, pretty happy with both series so far.

Not sure why all the hate for RoP. I got a kick out of Durin's wife.

Hahaha, people were pissed at them showing female dwarves too. And that she was black.

[onurb]

The only thing in RoP that kinda bothered me is how the halflings looked. They could have done a better job. They didnt even seem short enough, especially the main female halfling, she's pretty tall.

Is that gandalf? the person who was found in the fiery crater?

[C.Difficile]

If you grade RoP as a Tolkien work, it's 1-star. It basically has Tolkien dressing but totally re-written as a social justice display.

As "generic fantasy show", it's maybe 3 stars, at best. It's boring (nothing happens in the first few episodes, people constantly narrate what is in front of them, lots of standing around), the main protagonist is utterly unlikable, with zero vulnerabilities and faults other than her insufferable, arrogant personality, and the constant social justice messaging is tiresome. I mean, see the 11 male elves fumble around helplessly with the troll and Galadriel does a 360 back sword flip and kills it without breaking a sweat. Really? Grrrrrl Power much? The dialogue is cheesy as shit and poorly written "you have not seen whaaat i have seeen" ::dramatic pause::, i mean come on.

The constant poor imitations of Game of thrones catch phrasing that just falls flat "THE SEA IS ALWAYS CORRECT!!!" i mean what/?!!! GoT gave us "The North Remembers", "What is Dead May Never Die", and so on. And RoP has "The sea is always correct!!!!" This is shaping up to be a huge flop for Amazon, a historical one.

[C.Difficile]

The only thing in RoP that kinda bothered me is how the halflings looked. They could have done a better job. They didnt even seem short enough, especially the main female halfling, she's pretty tall.

Is that gandalf? the person who was found in the fiery crater?

For copyright reasons they could not use halflings so they scoured the Silmarillion for a similar race, then created a she-Frodo and she-Samwise who basically are exact clones but grrrrrl power to then tool around with a Gandalf-like clone. Like everything about the series is just a poor rip off of something better.

So yeah they wrote these Harrowfoots into existence (and whom tolken basically said did nothing of note in his story and werent worth writing about) who sing about their big hearts and care bear shit but when one of their guys falls down in the snow they're like fuck that guy, lets keep moving. Just shitty shitty writing, lots on internal inconsistencies. Sooo bad.

[Neveragain]

Hahaha, people were pissed at them showing female dwarves too. And that she was black.

Guess they have never heard of dark iron dwarves.

Pretty much the only people I hear giving bad reviews are 50 year old dudes that still read comic books.

[Archigeek]

Pretty sure they paid for the rights and could use "halfling" if they wanted to. I find them more entertaining than the dwarves. I do agree on how effeminate the male elves are, but we knew elves were gay didn't we? Maybe after 3000 years of banging, you decide to explore your sexuality a bit...

I'm enjoying the series, and based on the number of people watching it, it's a hit.

[Ardwen]

hobbit not halfling, and they should own the rights, I think they are differentiating because at some point the other tribes of hobbits enter the story, and they are quite different.

[Archigeek]

Amazon claims it's currently the most watched show on "television" so I guess it's not a flop.

[C.Difficile]

Amazon claims it's currently the most watched show on "television" so I guess it's not a flop.

It's all relative. Sure a production of "How I Met Your Mother" would love to have RoP's audience, but the producers basically said give how much they spent it has to have a global audience and be of impactful cultural significance (a la GoT). And yeah lots of people watched the first episode, but the viewership had a massive drop between episode 1 and 2, as in, someone could just click "watch next episode" and something like 30% of people bailed out, which is more than any successful series would ever have. Not sure on the #'s Im approximating.

[Gelston]

Pretty sure they paid for the rights and could use "halfling" if they wanted to. I find them more entertaining than the dwarves. I do agree on how effeminate the male elves are, but we knew elves were gay didn't we? Maybe after 3000 years of banging, you decide to explore your sexuality a bit...

I'm enjoying the series, and based on the number of people watching it, it's a hit.

They paid for the rights to the Silmarillion, they can't use anything from LotR books.

[Archigeek]

They paid for the rights to the Silmarillion, they can't use anything from LotR books.

Well that seems foolish, and holy crap they paid a lot for that.

[C.Difficile]

They could have bought some generic fantasy IP for pennies on the dollar as opposed to 250 million, since they basically dumped large parts of the base narrative, rewrote it, made new characters, and created a tribute to wokeness/grrrrl power. It's like they wanted to associate it with Lord of the Rings and cover it in that veneer but then dumped the insides that made it what it was.

[Teveriel]

I only watched the first episode but this was my take:

Galadriel - was cool until I reminded myself she's supposed to be Galadriel
Elrond - is.. a fucking dork
Gil-galad - Looks more like a grocer than the great hero who fell at the Battle of Dagorlad
Arondir - is cool, actually
Harfoots - great except for Nori; love Sadoc's personality

I heard the way the dwarves are presented is interesting and cool, but I don't have any interest in watching any more. :(

[Avaia]

They paid for the rights to the Silmarillion, they can't use anything from LotR books.

They did not get the rights for the Silmarillion. What they can use is from the appendices in the Return of The King, only.

[Gelston]

They did not get the rights for the Silmarillion. What they can use is from the appendices in the Return of The King, only.

Actually I got it backwards and we're both wrong.

“We have the rights solely to The Fellowship of the Ring, The Two Towers, The Return of the King, the appendices, and The Hobbit,”

So all the stuff they can show is basically things that have flashbacks or are mentioned in those books.

[Tgo01]

I’m just burned out on TV and movies in general these days. Maybe I’m just getting old and jaded, but it seems like back in MY DAY people got really excited for certain TV shows and movies. Now there is a new TV show and movie being released every 2 seconds and it’s difficult to really care about any of it anymore.

Amazon boasting of 25 million viewers for a show released in over 180 countries at the same time seems weird.

A random episode of “Friends” in season 1 has about 22-24 million viewers, and that show didn’t have anywhere near the budget as Amazon’s show, and those 22-24 million viewers for “Friends” was US numbers only.

[Orthin]

I’m just burned out on TV and movies in general these days. Maybe I’m just getting old and jaded, but it seems like back in MY DAY people got really excited for certain TV shows and movies. Now there is a new TV show and movie being released every 2 seconds and it’s difficult to really care about any of it anymore.

Amazon boasting of 25 million viewers for a show released in over 180 countries at the same time seems weird.

A random episode of “Friends” in season 1 has about 22-24 million viewers, and that show didn’t have anywhere near the budget as Amazon’s show, and those 22-24 million viewers for “Friends” was US numbers only.

Content was different 10-20 years ago. Nothing really was instant and you had to wait. There were also less choices. I think now overall content is better though there is a level of saturation for crappy shows too.

I don't know if the ROP versus Friends is a fair comparison. I would go ROP versus like HOD since both are new. Friends has built up viewership because of its run on TV and Nick at Nite and DVDs and crap for 20-30 years (man is that show really that old?!) *first season 1994 that is bonkers*

[Viekn]

A random episode of “Friends” in season 1 has about 22-24 million viewers, and that show didn’t have anywhere near the budget as Amazon’s show, and those 22-24 million viewers for “Friends” was US numbers only.

Like you mentioned, it's just different now, so there's different metrics. When Friends was airing, there was no streaming and nothing was on demand. If you wanted to watch Friends, you had to make sure your ass was planted in front of that TV on the day and time it was on. Season 1 of friends came out in 1994. DVD's didn't come around until 1997, and Tivo didn't come around until 1999. That means, if you missed an episode of TV, you'd have to hope someone taped it with their VCR or you'd have to buy it on vhs. So getting 22-24 million viewers then was a lot easier.

Now you can choose to watch something whenever you want to watch. You can wait years to start a show after it was released. And there are so many more shows out there to choose from, not to mention how many more things exist today to draw our attention (gaming, phones, VR, etc.) than existed in 1994. So if Amazon is boasting 25 million viewers for a show they released just this month, that actually seems very good given those differences.

[Tgo01]

Content was different 10-20 years ago. Nothing really was instant and you had to wait. There were also less choices. I think now overall content is better though there is a level of saturation for crappy shows too.

I don't know if the ROP versus Friends is a fair comparison. I would go ROP versus like HOD since both are new. Friends has built up viewership because of its run on TV and Nick at Nite and DVDs and crap for 20-30 years (man is that show really that old?!) *first season 1994 that is bonkers*

Yeah but that’s why I’m comparing the viewer numbers for “Friends” season 1, before the show became really popular. Also the viewer numbers were for episode premieres, not reruns.

Although you’re right it’s not a completely fair comparison because “Friends” was a network show that anyone with a TV could watch for free, whereas people need an expensive Amazon prime subscription to watch this LoTR shows. But still, roughly the same number of US viewers for Friends compared to a worldwide, albeit limited, audience.

[Tgo01]

Like you mentioned, it's just different now, so there's different metrics. When Friends was airing, there was no streaming and nothing was on demand. If you wanted to watch Friends, you had to make sure your ass was planted in front of that TV on the day and time it was on. Season 1 of friends came out in 1994. DVD's didn't come around until 1997, and Tivo didn't come around until 1999. That means, if you missed an episode of TV, you'd have to hope someone taped it with their VCR or you'd have to buy it on vhs. So getting 22-24 million viewers then was a lot easier.

Now you can choose to watch something whenever you want to watch. You can wait years to start a show after it was released. And there are so many more shows out there to choose from, not to mention how many more things exist today to draw our attention (gaming, phones, VR, etc.) than existed in 1994. So if Amazon is boasting 25 million viewers for a show they released just this month, that actually seems very good given those differences.

Not sure I buy the argument that more choices nowadays is affecting the show’s viewership. “The Walking Dead” tripled their US numbers from 5 million in season 1 to 15 million in season 4 and they had to compete with more shows and streaming services, also the show required a cable subscription, which granted isn’t as limited as an Amazon prime subscription.

If LoTR manages to triple their numbers then that would be amazing. Heck even if they manage to keep 15-20 million viewers for the entire first season then that would still be pretty good.

[Tgo01]

Also I just realized that Amazon’s 25 million number is for both episodes, so that means so far they are averaging roughly 12.5 million views per episode. The show might be good and it might do really well, but so far Amazon seems to be reaching with how they are framing these numbers. They carefully say things like “the most successful show ever! … for Amazon studios.” Or “the most popular TV show right now!” Without mentioning that they are combining viewership for both episodes into one number.

[Taernath]

Not sure I buy the argument that more choices nowadays is affecting the show’s viewership. “The Walking Dead” tripled their US numbers from 5 million in season 1 to 15 million in season 4 and they had to compete with more shows and streaming services, also the show required a cable subscription, which granted isn’t as limited as an Amazon prime subscription.

Speaking for myself, it absolutely is true. Every other new release on Netflix is some random new series, nevermind Amazon Prime, or Disney, or the other streaming networks. There is just a ton of stuff out there that you can watch whenever you want. You have to be picky about it unless you want to spend the rest of your life parked in front of your TV.

[Tgo01]

Speaking for myself, it absolutely is true. Every other new release on Netflix is some random new series, nevermind Amazon Prime, or Disney, or the other streaming networks. There is just a ton of stuff out there that you can watch whenever you want. You have to be picky about it unless you want to spend the rest of your life parked in front of your TV.

I’m just overloaded with how much crap is out there these days.

[Suppa Hobbit Mage]

Do people still pay for "regular" cable tv anymore? I was forcibly pushed off google tv/fiber about a year ago and honestly only missed it for a very brief transitional period. I also think I was late to cutting my cable.

I now get HD TV local stations over an antenna, and rotate my streaming services off/on. I guess I miss it a little simply for convenience sake but the cost savings felt pretty big. My "cable" bill went from like $230 (cable, 3 boxes, extra spanish channels for my MIL, plus internet) down to $60 for internet. We have smart tv's in the bedrooms so you can get anything streaming, and the antenna in the living room for live local news/sports.

[Archigeek]

Do people still pay for "regular" cable tv anymore? I was forcibly pushed off google tv/fiber about a year ago and honestly only missed it for a very brief transitional period. I also think I was late to cutting my cable.

I now get HD TV local stations over an antenna, and rotate my streaming services off/on. I guess I miss it a little simply for convenience sake but the cost savings felt pretty big. My "cable" bill went from like $230 (cable, 3 boxes, extra spanish channels for my MIL, plus internet) down to $60 for internet. We have smart tv's in the bedrooms so you can get anything streaming, and the antenna in the living room for live local news/sports.

Unfortunately for me the only reliable internet access I can get in my neighborhood is through cable. I can get it through the phone company, but that has a terrible track record. The good news is we pay for minimum basic cable plus 1 box and internet access. Costs about $100/month by the time you add all the hidden fees.

[Tgo01]

Do people still pay for "regular" cable tv anymore? I was forcibly pushed off google tv/fiber about a year ago and honestly only missed it for a very brief transitional period. I also think I was late to cutting my cable.

I now get HD TV local stations over an antenna, and rotate my streaming services off/on. I guess I miss it a little simply for convenience sake but the cost savings felt pretty big. My "cable" bill went from like $230 (cable, 3 boxes, extra spanish channels for my MIL, plus internet) down to $60 for internet. We have smart tv's in the bedrooms so you can get anything streaming, and the antenna in the living room for live local news/sports.

15 years ago I felt like I needed cable, especially when DVRs became so readily available. But nowadays with streaming and my general lack of interest in most television I don’t miss cable at all.

[Orthin]

Unfortunately for me the only reliable internet access I can get in my neighborhood is through cable. I can get it through the phone company, but that has a terrible track record. The good news is we pay for minimum basic cable plus 1 box and internet access. Costs about $100/month by the time you add all the hidden fees.

So jealous. My only real internet options are satellite or worse satellite. Elon Musk has been telling me for 2 years I'd get Sknet RSN but it just keeps getting pushed so I have to struggle with VIASAT and that gross bill versus Hughes Net and their even worse plan and similar prices. I damn near gave a verizon driver a BJ to put in a line down our road but it turned out he was just there for some telephone bullshit

[Gelston]

Also I just realized that Amazon’s 25 million number is for both episodes, so that means so far they are averaging roughly 12.5 million views per episode. The show might be good and it might do really well, but so far Amazon seems to be reaching with how they are framing these numbers. They carefully say things like “the most successful show ever! … for Amazon studios.” Or “the most popular TV show right now!” Without mentioning that they are combining viewership for both episodes into one number.

Both episodes came out at the same time.

[Gelston]

Do people still pay for "regular" cable tv anymore? I was forcibly pushed off google tv/fiber about a year ago and honestly only missed it for a very brief transitional period. I also think I was late to cutting my cable.

I now get HD TV local stations over an antenna, and rotate my streaming services off/on. I guess I miss it a little simply for convenience sake but the cost savings felt pretty big. My "cable" bill went from like $230 (cable, 3 boxes, extra spanish channels for my MIL, plus internet) down to $60 for internet. We have smart tv's in the bedrooms so you can get anything streaming, and the antenna in the living room for live local news/sports.

I have DirecTV Stream. It isn't "regular" cable TV, but it is essentially the same. A lot of people pay for things like that and call themselves "cord cutters", but all you really did was replace the cable cord with an internet cord.

[onurb]

15 years ago I felt like I needed cable, especially when DVRs became so readily available. But nowadays with streaming and my general lack of interest in most television I don’t miss cable at all.

I completely agree with this. I stopped actively watching cable TV so long ago, I can hardly remember. I think when battlestar galactica ended was about when I stopped. Anything I wanted to watch that I overheard people talking about, or that was suggested to me, there's a million free sites out there where you can watch them. I did have a short phase where I used an antenna for some limited tv channels and its a great idea if you want a non-reoccuring cost solution but I just lacked interest for even that. I can probably count on 2 hands the number of TV shows I watched in the last 2 decades.

[Neveragain]

Watched the 3rd episode last night..........

https://i.gifer.com/QC0a.gif

[Suppressed Poet]

Watched the 3rd episode last night..........

https://i.gifer.com/QC0a.gif

Did the beardless dwarves receive their reparations? Did warrior-Galadriel show those oppressive racist colonizing Numenoreans the error in their ways?

[Taernath]

Alright, 5 episodes and 5 hours in...

As boring as it was after the first one. Every subplot is just kind of spinning its wheels. Hobbits haven't done anything. The Elrond/Durin bromance continues unabated but is lessened without Disa. Arondir is boring and overshadowed by Adar. 'Galadriel is super powerful and cool and can do anything and we love her' - the writers. I GET IT. I got it when she killed a troll in the first episode, fighting 5 teenage recruits isn't going to change that.

We're going to get to episode 10 or whatever and nothing will have been meaningfully resolved or moved forward.

[Astray]

Woman capable of pounding faces, pounded faces. Less at 7.

[C.Difficile]

Woman capable of pounding faces, pounded faces. Less at 7.

thought writers learned from the whole Captain Marvel fiasco that characters that can kill everything with their pinkies and face no challenges are completely unrelatable and uninteresting.

[Gelston]

thought writers learned from the whole Captain Marvel fiasco that characters that can kill everything with their pinkies and face no challenges are completely unrelatable and uninteresting.

The film that made 1.128 billion dollars? What would they learn there?

[Suppressed Poet]

For those of you still watching it what do you think think this far in? Are you at all excited to see the finale?

I still haven’t seen a single episode. Being honest, I hope to see it flop for Amazon’s choice to take extensive creative liberties. I’m boycotting, but not review bombing nor making any judgments on people who watch and/or enjoy the show.

Perhaps if PCers on here say it’s worth the time to watch, even if it’s just meh enough, I will do so. Being that we’re connected via a text RPG game that wouldn’t exist without Tolkien’s influence…I guess I kinda sorta value your opinion on this one way more than I would most things.

Waiting until mid-December should be enough time that it’s commercial success/failure has already been firmly established & my own viewing time is a greatly diminished contribution to Amazon.

[Tgo01]

I haven't watched it, but it seems the hype for this show fizzled out quite fast. Seems everyone was excited for the first two episodes then after that I have heard hardly anything about this show. But I guess it makes sense for people to be excited when a new show starts.

[Parkbandit]

I'm enjoying HotD right now, but I'll give this a shot once it's over.

[Suppressed Poet]

I'm enjoying HotD right now, but I'll give this a shot once it's over.

Same. My expectations for HotD were low but I’ve been pleasantly surprised. It makes me wonder if LotR RoP may be misjudged, but from what I am hearing from reviewers (hardcore Tolkien fans that are no doubt biased which is why I’m asking here) it’s worse than the Disney Star Wars sequel movies. It doesn’t have to be great like the Peter Jackson films, but I don’t want to waste my time if they are that bad

[Parkbandit]

Same. My expectations for HotD were low but I’ve been pleasantly surprised. It makes me wonder if LotR RoP may be misjudged, but from what I am hearing from reviewers (hardcore Tolkien fans that are no doubt biased which is why I’m asking here) it’s worse than the Disney Star Wars sequel movies. It doesn’t have to be great like the Peter Jackson films, but I don’t want to waste my time if they are that bad

1) I wouldn't take any review from a "hardcore" fan seriously.. their entire existence is based upon a fictional story.
2) NOTHING CAN POSSIBLY BE WORSE THAN THE STAR WARS SEQUEL MOVIES!
3) See #2

[C.Difficile]

I'm no hardcore fan but am pissed at Amazon. I wanted it to be good. I wanted something to enjoy. Instead they took a can't miss IP, handed it and a billion dollars to a couple of amateurs-showrunners with no significant prior experience-who then proceeded to turn it into a social justice diversity parade. LOOK WE HAVE A BROWN ELF!!!! They completely forgot about, you know, telling a good and entertaining story. The show is utter dogshit.

Here's one chestnut-https://www.forbes.com/sites/erikkain/2022/09/18/the-rings-of-power-has-inexplicably-terrible-writing/

The repercussions are being felt now. Notice how amazon touted "25 MILLION PEOPLE WATCHED THE FIRST TWO EPISODES ZOMFGQ!!! and now noticeably silent 4 eps later...Amazon has also cut the show's budget. moving production back from new zealand to the UK to cut costs. We will probably see some staff changes soon, but at this point short of an embarassing 1 season reboot just arranging deck chairs on the titanic.

[Teveriel]

I don't think the casting is an issue worth bringing up, but the writing is terrible and the costumes are somehow even worse.

[gilchristr]

Im not going to watch this. I'll just watch the LoTR movies again... picked 'em up in 4k

[Winter]

I enjoying it but I've not read the books nor am I a die hard fan, also it's a bit darker and little bit more violent than the films I had to turn my head away more than once :axe:.

[Gelston]

I still like it. I couldn't care less if they casted black people or white people or whatever in roles that the books said were a different color. It is fiction, not a history piece.

[Archigeek]

I'm still enjoying it, though I thought the last episode was a little weak.

[C.Difficile]

Coo, Ryan Gosling for the next Black Panther then? It's fiction right?

[Suppressed Poet]

I still like it. I couldn't care less if they casted black people or white people or whatever in roles that the books said were a different color. It is fiction, not a history piece.

It’s not the casting of racial minorities to check a D&I box that bothers me. House of the Dragon did the same making House Valeryon black folks, but for the most part it still follows the literary source material from Fire & Blood + the acting and production quality are superb. What has kept me from watching LotR RoP thus far is that they had solid source material from a literary genius, and instead chose to make a wild perversion created solely for the obvious purpose of promoting woke culture. And still I could look past all of that if the show itself is entertaining.

I guess in hearing at least some people like you seem to enjoy it, I’ll give a try in December when I have some more time to spare.

[Gelston]

Coo, Ryan Gosling for the next Black Panther then? It's fiction right?

I couldn't care less.

[Gelston]

It’s not the casting of racial minorities to check a D&I box that bothers me. House of the Dragon did the same making House Valeryon black folks, but for the most part it still follows the literary source material from Fire & Blood + the acting and production quality are superb. What has kept me from watching LotR RoP thus far is that they had solid source material from a literary genius, and instead chose to make a wild perversion created solely for the obvious purpose of promoting woke culture. And still I could look past all of that if the show itself is entertaining.

I guess in hearing at least some people like you seem to enjoy it, I’ll give a try in December when I have some more time to spare.

They don't have access to all the source material though and even if they did, I do not care. I like the series whether it follows it or not.

[C.Difficile]

To be fair, a lot of the BS D&I stuff would be easy to overlook if the writing wasn't horrid and you could fall into the story. Oh and the portrayal of pretty much every male in the story as spineless and incompetent without the help of one of the female characters is bothersome too. Oh yeah and making the orcs white? Cmoooon man!!

It's great there are people out there that enjoy stuff like this though. Olive Garden and Budweiser wouldn't exist otherwise.

[Gelston]

To be fair, a lot of the BS D&I stuff would be easy to overlook if the writing wasn't horrid and you could fall into the story. Oh and the portrayal of pretty much every male in the story as spineless and incompetent without the help of one of the female characters is bothersome too. Oh yeah and making the orcs white? Cmoooon man!!

It's great there are people out there that enjoy stuff like this though. Olive Garden and Budweiser wouldn't exist otherwise.

Well, it gives you things to bitch about I guess.

Also, I don't drink budweiser nor go to Olive Garden.

[Neveragain]

I feel like I have watched 6 episodes just to discover that mithril is petrified tree roots or some shit like that. It really does feel like I'm dog paddling in a story that's going nowhere.

[Suppressed Poet]

I like Olive Garden. They have good breadsticks. I recommend the seafood alfredo.

[Methais]

I fell asleep halfway through the first episode and haven't picked it back up yet. Does anything cool or interesting ever happen?