The Lord of the Rings: The Rings of Power

[Syt]

Yes. It was an issue in the Hobbit. I think it's possibly just where we are with the tech. But we'll see - from the trailer it looks like this has that problem.

Somehow, HBO does this so much better (GoT looked great and you bought the world) - and the Star Wars shows look great too. I guess it's because they can draw from Warner and Disney's resources/expertise, while Amazon and Netflix are still newcomers.

Does Netflix still count as newcomer? And it may be a wrong impression, but I feel they're much more decentralized and less hands on with their productions, plus farming out to many different producers from across the globe. All that combined may lead to a more uneven level of production quality in their library.

[The Larch]

Yes. It was an issue in the Hobbit. I think it's possibly just where we are with the tech. But we'll see - from the trailer it looks like this has that problem.

Somehow, HBO does this so much better (GoT looked great and you bought the world) - and the Star Wars shows look great too. I guess it's because they can draw from Warner and Disney's resources/expertise, while Amazon and Netflix are still newcomers.

Yeah it's being produced by absolute noobs. The teaser trailer is very unimpressive, looks like generic fantasy with mediocre CGI and hilariously miscast characters. Money can't fix creative bankruptcy.

We msut have watched different trailers, I thought it looked really good, especially for a TV show rather than a movie. Yeah, we don't yet know who the characters are, but it is IMO at least visually promising.

[celedhring]

Yes. It was an issue in the Hobbit. I think it's possibly just where we are with the tech. But we'll see - from the trailer it looks like this has that problem.

Somehow, HBO does this so much better (GoT looked great and you bought the world) - and the Star Wars shows look great too. I guess it's because they can draw from Warner and Disney's resources/expertise, while Amazon and Netflix are still newcomers.

Does Netflix still count as newcomer? And it may be a wrong impression, but I feel they're much more decentralized and less hands on with their productions, plus farming out to many different producers from across the globe. All that combined may lead to a more uneven level of production quality in their library.

Yes, they're pretty hands off. IIRC The Witcher was done by Eastern European outfits, which are really great value for the buck (and it makes sense since the books are Polish) but it can't shake off the B-movie look.

But they are building their own infrastructure nowadays. The setup they have in Madrid is impressive. And they have huge facilities in New Mexico.

[Josquius]

Surely some the variable quality is to target different user groups too. Some people are perfectly happy with low budget crap. To them it's good

[Berkut]

Yes. It was an issue in the Hobbit. I think it's possibly just where we are with the tech. But we'll see - from the trailer it looks like this has that problem.

Somehow, HBO does this so much better (GoT looked great and you bought the world) - and the Star Wars shows look great too. I guess it's because they can draw from Warner and Disney's resources/expertise, while Amazon and Netflix are still newcomers.

Yeah, I overall like the Wheel of Time, but if I did not know better, I would think HBO just spent twice as much per episode or something on GoT. And I know that isn't the case at all.

The world just doesn't look nearly as real, even though they obvious spent a boatload on sets and production.

However, in contrast, I think The Expanse did have that "lived in" look to their world.

[viper37]

Some people are angry at the look of nondescript characters in their fictional universe:
Lord of the Rings: Debunking the Backlash Against Non-White Actors in Amazon's Adaption

I'd never believe that possible!

[Josquius]

I wonder to what extent the whinging about bearded dwarf women is just trying to hide the racism.

[Threviel]

I wonder to what extent the whinging about bearded dwarf women is just trying to hide the racism.

Whining about dwarven women without beards is ok since Tolkien explicitly described them having beards. Whining about the colour of the peoples is stupid, since Tolkien actually didn't describe all folks explicitly and even the Edain, when described, range from blondest of vikings to swarthy and dark.

Om the one hand there are people that complain about things that are out of line with what Tolkien wrote, on the other are (most often) racist idiots that haven't read Tolkien enough.

[Josquius]

I wonder to what extent the whinging about bearded dwarf women is just trying to hide the racism.

Whining about dwarven women without beards is ok since Tolkien explicitly described them having beards.

This is not as certain as many present it. It seems very possible and is heavily implied but not stated outright.

http://tolkien.cro.net/dwarves/women.html

http://tolkiengateway.net/wiki/Dwarf-women

Also worth considering this new show is set in a different age when dwarves were far more in touch with the world.
My head canon, consistent with Tolkein, is that in the 3rd age dwarf women basically do a life of Brian when they go out and about. This wasn't the fashion earlier however.

Whining about the colour of the peoples is stupid, since Tolkien actually didn't describe all folks explicitly and even the Edain, when described, range from blondest of vikings to swarthy and dark.

Om the one hand there are people that complain about things that are out of line with what Tolkien wrote, on the other are (most often) racist idiots that haven't read Tolkien enough.

Rather we are seeing way over the top complaints about this one woman not having a beard despite it being a matter of debate about dwarf women's beardiness.
This woman also happens to be black.
I saw it with the witcher series too. A lot of complaints about the casting of triss- at first they had a definite racial spin but this wasn't cutting through so these days they tend to just concentrate on her not being hot. It's suspect.

[The Brain]

Women don't own razors in Middle-Earth?

[Threviel]

I wonder to what extent the whinging about bearded dwarf women is just trying to hide the racism.

Whining about dwarven women without beards is ok since Tolkien explicitly described them having beards.

This is not as certain as many present it. It seems very possible and is heavily implied but not stated outright.

http://tolkien.cro.net/dwarves/women.html

http://tolkiengateway.net/wiki/Dwarf-women

Also worth considering this new show is set in a different age when dwarves were far more in touch with the world.
My head canon, consistent with Tolkein, is that in the 3rd age dwarf women basically do a life of Brian when they go out and about. This wasn't the fashion earlier however.

Both of those links seem to conclude that they have beards... But you have a point, it's not outright super-duper explicit.

[crazy canuck]

Yes. It was an issue in the Hobbit. I think it's possibly just where we are with the tech. But we'll see - from the trailer it looks like this has that problem.

Somehow, HBO does this so much better (GoT looked great and you bought the world) - and the Star Wars shows look great too. I guess it's because they can draw from Warner and Disney's resources/expertise, while Amazon and Netflix are still newcomers.

Yeah, I overall like the Wheel of Time, but if I did not know better, I would think HBO just spent twice as much per episode or something on GoT. And I know that isn't the case at all.

The world just doesn't look nearly as real, even though they obvious spent a boatload on sets and production.

However, in contrast, I think The Expanse did have that "lived in" look to their world.

Remember that the Expanse was not created by Amazon, they just picked it up when the original producers dropped it.

[viper37]

I wonder to what extent the whinging about bearded dwarf women is just trying to hide the racism.

Whining about dwarven women without beards is ok since Tolkien explicitly described them having beards. Whining about the colour of the peoples is stupid, since Tolkien actually didn't describe all folks explicitly and even the Edain, when described, range from blondest of vikings to swarthy and dark.

Om the one hand there are people that complain about things that are out of line with what Tolkien wrote, on the other are (most often) racist idiots that haven't read Tolkien enough.

They're nondescript characters in a fictional universe.

Had Jackson made Aragon gay and in love with Legolas to get with the time, I would understand, and probably share, the anger.

But one non bearded female dwarf, or even many of them, or the color of the skin of non descript characters: meh.

Unlike the Witcher with Ciri, it does not change anything to the story.  This show did change the skin color of some mages, minor characters in the story, and nobody batted an eye about it.

But Tolkien fans seems to want everything on their screen to be exactly like in their bibles, word for word, description for description.  I find it... disturbing.

[Grey Fox]

I find it extremely boring.

[Valmy]

But Tolkien fans seems to want everything on their screen to be exactly like in their bibles, word for word, description for description.  I find it... disturbing.

Is that true? I mean they certainly pointed out all the things that were different between the books and the original movies but they still were very positive overall.

Of course we are talking about Tolkien fans who have actually read the The Silmarillion and obsess over its details, so we are already talking about a fringe.