Spoilers Rings of Power is back!

[Sepulchrave II]

I wouldn't call RoP a flaming trash pile either. I probably wouldn't use those terms if I did it would be for S8 GoT or Rise of Skywalker where the story basically falls apart.

A fairer comparison I would argue would be comparing it to Halo or Foundation. Those 3 shows all have similar problems imho.

I'm not a hard core purists of anything but if you're going to deviate in source material you had better make it good. Eg Jackson's LotR movies or S1-4 of GoT. If it's still fun people will overlook discrepancies if they're even aware of them. Otherwise you look like a hack mimicing someone else who's a better writer than you.

Proof is in the pudding.

I haven't seen Halo, but I agree that Foundation suffers from some of the same issues with regard to its overall conceits - fixating on developing character arcs for "hero" types, as though this were the only way to make a compelling show.

But, for me, it's just lazy writing - and a lack of creative vision. There are other formulae which can be very effective; previously, I've mentioned American Horror Story with its standalone series format (loosely connected in a shared universe), or Black Mirror with its standalone episode format. With a palette as vast as Middle-Earth's Second Age, either of these approaches - or a combination - would have served better.

The fact is that the showrunners simply don't have the chops to pull off something which deviates from the most unimaginative formula, and have executed even that formula poorly.

 

[TheSword]

I don't know about @TheSword , but for me, yes, absolutely. Hyperbole is good for comedy and little else.

When used excessively I think it damages the credibility of a statement. Either way.

I don’t think you need to be a film producer to have an opinion. I do think credibly being able to say something is a steaming pile of garbage in every regard with no artistic merit I do think you need to be an expert. If not maybe just hedge the opinion a little bit. Though what we see is the opinions aren’t formed by an honest appraisal of the series but instead a dogmatic ideology of fictional purity.

 

[ART!]

I try to remind myself that opinion and art criticism are two very different things. The latter requires an understanding of the media in question, craft/technique, context, history, etc. Opinions use "I like" and "I don't like" (or if online: "X is great" or "X is crap)", which are phrases that should never be used in art criticism. It's always hard to be objective, but it's worth it if you want to have constructive conversations and broadening views of things.

 

[Micah Sweet]

When used excessively I think it damages the credibility of a statement. Either way.

I don’t think you need to be a film producer to have an opinion. I do think credibly being able to say something is a steaming pile of garbage in every regard with no artistic merit I do think you need to be an expert. If not maybe just hedge the opinion a little bit. Though what we see is the opinions aren’t formed by an honest appraisal of the series but instead a dogmatic ideology of fictional purity.

The article series linked above provides some very specific reasons why at least season 1 of the show had some serious logic issues, over and beyond setting fidelity (where it also had some serious issues).

 

[John R Davis]

Well ep7 was suitably epic

 

[Eric V]

The article series linked above provides some very specific reasons why at least season 1 of the show had some serious logic issues, over and beyond setting fidelity (where it also had some serious issues).

Too many Numenoreans for too few ships going to save an underpopulated town. I can see how that would ruin everything.

 

[Micah Sweet]

Too many Numenoreans for too few ships going to save an underpopulated town. I can see how that would ruin everything.

It is one of the major problems, yes.

 

[ART!]

Regarding comparisons of the budget of the LOTR movies vs of RoP:

1. I don't know if the figures used have been adjusted for inflation.

2. It's worth mentioning that one of the reasons those movies gone greenlit at all was because Jackson's budget proposal was relatively low for 3 tentpole movies. This was possible because he proposed filming everything in New Zealand, where filming was (relatively) inexpensive at the time, rather than a global shoot that a traditional Hollywood movie probably would have done.

 

[ART!]

It is one of the major problems, yes.

It bothered me, but not enough to ruin anything. Like Aragorn in FOTR swinging a sword that clearly hits nobody yet 3 orcs fall down.

 

[Micah Sweet]

It bothered me, but not enough to ruin anything. Like Aragorn in FOTR swinging a sword that clearly hits nobody yet 3 orcs fall down.

The world as depicted in RoP is nonsensical in a lot of ways. That first article in the series describes the big ones, as well as why they are important. It's an amazing read, and sums up my feelings for season 1 and my desire for verisimilitude in general in one tight package.