LoTR: the TV series
 

This is in reaction to a post in the Books section of the forum: A member had asked if maybe Christopher Tolkien was correct in saying that LoTR could never really be adapted to film while another member added that if they were to adapt the book word for word it would be too long a film. Becasue of the grand nature of the entire book, doesn't this movie just scream out for a television series, where time could be devoted to proper character developement and past Tolkien history, especially considering the amazing ability to institute cgi's and other technology? The series would almost be guaranteed to last three years at an hour an episode with 24 to 30 episodes per season, making it especially easy to deal with the breaking of the fellowship-equal time devoted to each storyline which seems to be a major complaint with the TTT movie. The television medium just seems so much better suited for an undertaking of this kind due to the episodic nature of the book. Does anyone think this could be a possibility or would the cost and time be too much to ask for a television show?

I actually think it is a great idea! Only, if one missed an episode, as is inevitable, it would kinda mess up everything, as each episode is bound to contain something important...but I gues they could do repeats...

I like the idea! it could be neat!

Yes that would work quite well. But I think only Tolkien-fanatics would watch it religiously. Hard to say though.

tv shows have a habit of being casted, rushed, and in the end, less quality than movies simply because they have to meet dates and such. But think about this; it was 5+ years to get the nine hours of shooting they have now. that only 18 episodes....

...I could live with a weekly episode of LotR.. No problems really :-) Maybe some new stories (made up ones)..or after the leaving of Grey Havens for the elf lovers?

THat would be great, the only thing i fear is that i'd spend all the time infront of TV. I so much wanted to see Tom bombadil on screen together with goldberry and was so disappointed when i discovered they werent going to be on film...the histories of middle earth would make a operfect tv series. however they would become too commercialised just like the Harry potter stuff. One cant even compare lord of the rings with Harry potter yet it is common atleast in my country...so i guess there are the drawbacks too. <BR>it is the IMAGINATION that counts finally<BR>

I'm not sure if I like the idea or not. If you missed one episode, you'd be in a lot of trouble, and I don't think it would be as impressive. Maybe it's just me, but I think TV tends to spend less money than movie makers. I'm fine with LotR sticking to the movies, as long as I get lots of bonus footage in the special editions

I don't believe it'd work because of the low-budget it'd probably have. They'd have to shoot the series year around so that the actors wouldn't age to much over 5+ years.

I am aganst the idea. Why? Certainly we would have a lot more detail, but a LotR mini-series would not have the class that the movies have, or have much respect. Plus, once you have the DVD/VHS, you can watch the movies any time, while a TV show you have to make time for it.<BR>See ya,<BR>~M

I'd watch it. And that's something considering I barely watch TV. But, I just don't think it would work. Going into that much detail would limit the audience base. Also, PJ is already going crazy making three movies. I think you'd have a hard time finding someone would be willing/able to make a series out of it. Besides the time and money it would cost, it would be best if they used the same characters for the series as they used for the movies? Can you imagine if Aragorn, Legolas, or Gandalf were played by other actors! That would be a crime. It would be a huge committment for the actors, and it would be nearly impossible to get all or some of the characters to also do the series. And if Tolkien fans get upset by the deviations from the book from just three movies, imagine the constant debate over the "mistakes" made in a TV series. Because of time and money constraints, I'm sure things would happen. So although I'd love it, I don't see it happening.

Great idea! I always had this idea. In China, they put books into tv series to make more money(this nay seems odd to you but in China a popular tv series earns 10 times as much as a popular movie.). And some books they use for scripts were REALLY long, some twice as long as LOTR. This putting a long book into TV series thing is VERY common in Asia. I was suprised that no western people ever done that.

I've always though that Lord of the Rings would make an awesome three year run television series. So many of the chapters are somewhat episodic in nature anyway and it would give you the time to explore the character, plot and world at a much more leisurely pace than you would get in a movie. <P>Production costs would obviously be an issue, but with the way digital effects are becoming more and more available to modestly priced projects (look at all the sci-fi/fantasy productions that are on cable channels now) I think a day will come when it will be within reach.<P>Actually, about a month or so ago on a Saturday afternoon, I sat down to play with writing a script for that very thing, just for fun. I began ploting out the first few episodes which would expand on lots of stuff that is only dealt with in passing in the books (Gandalf, Aragorn and Gollum; Boromir, Faramir and the dream; etc.) but when I started writing I only got to the end of the first act when I realized that there was a bigger issue to deal with and that was Jackson's film. <P>The begining of the second act of the first episode would be Gandalf's arrival and then would move into the party and I realized that, although I could change dialogue and plot from the film, visually I couldn't imagine how it could be better. Maybe I'm reaching the end of my limited imagination, but I couldn't shake those visuals from Jackson's film of Gandalf arriving, of he and Bilbo in Bag End, of Gandalf and Bilbo smoking before the start of the party. I'm not sure it could be done better, and so I stopped.<P>If there ever is going to be a series, I think it would have to be a long way off just so people could begin to shaking the images from the movie.<P>For those interested, here's my <A HREF="http://www.geocities.com/hcisland/lotr.htm" TARGET=_blank>script</A>. I think you can see how you can take your time with it, introducing the characters and story more slowly. Before anyone mentions it, I did take some liberties. Most of the scenes did not appear in the book, I aged Pippin because I wanted to have the four hobbits interacting in the first act and I did transplant a bit of dialogue.<P>Maybe I'll pick it up again, but for now I'm thinking what might be more fun is writing a movie script for Beren and Luthein from The Silmarilion. Of all the chapters in that book, I've always thought that one would make an amazing stand alone movie. It's something that I'll keep picking at in my spare time.<P>H.C.<p>[ April 12, 2003: Message edited by: HCIsland ]