The Fireside

  I've stated before that I'm a fan of Prime's Rings of Power  series, though it's been a bit since I've mentioned it; due to when the previous season finished.  Before I continue, I wish to address my verdict (as of now): I like it more than The Hobbit  films, but nowhere near as much as The Lord of the Rings  films. I am able to compartmentalize books and their adaptations. There's more things that I do  like about this series than things I don't . I like it enough to watch each season, wondering what will happen next, and what will happen to the characters. While I like both, I recognize that House of the Dragon  is the superior show.   So Season 2 is set to debut on August 29. It will be 8 episodes (like Season 1), so going on that, we can expect the season finale to be October 17 - on the assumption that we get one episode per week, each week, non-stop. With essentially all the TV shows I watch, no matter how much I'm interested in them,...

The Wheel of Time turns, and Ages come and pass, leaving memories that become legend. Legend fades to myth, and even myth is long forgotten when the Age that gave it birth comes again. Big news day for those looking forward to Amazon's Wheel of Time series - myself included. We've got our main Two Rivers characters. I'll run through them again, and add the casting of Rosamund Pike. Rosamund Pike as Moraine: Marcus Rutherford as Perrin Aybara: Zoe Robins as Nyanaeve al'Meara: Barney Harris as Mat Cauthon: Madeleine Madden as Egwene al'Vere: Josha Stradowski as Rand al'Thor: Seems promising! Since that I am not overly attached to the books (I own them (in paperback), I read them, and I enjoyed them) I suppose that means that I'm looking forward to the adaptation. Whereas with Amazon's Middle-earth series, I am attached (quite strongly) to Tolkien's works, so my interest in the adaptation is fairly low as of now. I am looking forward to Netflix's...

Lastly, for the time being, I shall somewhat-wrap up talking about Middle-earth music. I am following the development of the Amazon Middle-earth series with great interest. It's far too early to tell if it will be any good,, as everything at this stage is in the 'pre' phases: pre-production etc. We don't even have a premiere date, cast, trailer etc. But this leaves time and room for thinking and speculation. First and foremost, I must say that I greatly adore Howard Shore's Middle-earth music (most notably, the Complete Recordings releases of The Lord of the Rings  soundtracks). This post is being written under the assumption that Howard will be not a part of the project, however much I wish him to be. He's poured so much into Middle-earth at this point, I'm unsure what else has to offer, even if he wanted to! One never knows... So, due to my love of film and TV soundtracks, fantasy, and music and all that, I've been listening to a few composers over the...

I wanted to do a write up of my thoughts about the upcoming Amazon  Lord of the Rings  (or, rather, “Middle-earth”) series. Before I do so, however, there are some points that need to be made: 1) They are  only  using (and only allowed to use) material found within the pages of the books known as  The Hobbit  and  The Lord of the Rings , or from any of the six Peter Jackson films. (More on that to follow.) That means, anything found within the pages of  The Silmarillion, Unfinished Tales,  or the History of Middle-earth is off-limits. 2) In terms of Middle-earth’s timeline, it will take place between  The Hobbit  and  The Lord of the Rings . If it takes place in the First or Second Age, it’ll be based on what Jackson has shown us in  Rings , or what was written in  The Lord of the Rings  that references those eras. Where it might get tricky is Beren and Luthien: Aragorn sang a song about them in  T...

  Since the announcement of the Amazon Middle-earth series (which will take place after The Hobbit: Part 3 but before The Fellowship of the Ring ) I’ve been mulling things over. First off, all the major news announcements etc have said “Lord of the Rings”. In terms of plot , that is simply not true – we are not going from Hobbiton to Mount Doom with Frodo etc. HOWEVER , the material in which the Amazon series will be based on is found within the pages of the book known as The Lord of the Rings , or to be more precise, The Return of the King . It will be based on what is found within the Appendices, most likely. A re-boot or remake of the Peter Jackson films to me would be a terrible idea. Any adaptation has changes from its source material from one medium into another. The films have been very well received by both critics and fans. The Hobbit films, is another manner. Opinion on them is a bit more more…divided. Since the Amazon series will most likely ‘supplement’ both ...

Nothing new to report, so keeping quiet lately...also been busy. I will most likely do a playoff update post on the weekend (with the compressed season it's harder to blog game-by-game.) . Anyway, there have been a few updates to my Amazon wishlist.

I have once again updated my 'Amazon Wishlist'. 

On occasion I mention that I have a wishlist up on Amazon.ca. I still do, but wanted to let you know that it's been updated slightly. You may notice the same items being on it. These are things I want to get until...well, I eventually have them! The point of this is to show you my tastes, and also if I have any readers or friends who wish to gift me something for birthday, Christmas, etc...or just because, they can buy the item off of the list through the link, pay for it, and it'll get sent to me. Hand if you live in another part of the country, or another country. I'm not expecting anything at all. Call it a shopping list for myself that I want you to see. The list is here:  http://www.amazon.ca/registry/wishlist/334OHARFDHZKQ/ref=cm_wl_search_1 It can be viewed by 'type' (book, music...) or how badly I want the items. Blu-rays are at the bottom because sad to say, I don't have a blu-ray player yet, or even a HD TV (LED is what I'm after)! But those ...