Lord of the Rings TV Series Purchased by Amazon

[bledgor]

As a fan of fantasy series, I think of it as the difference between Brandon Sanderson and a guy like GRRM. I like Brandon Sanderson's books, and I like that his output is prodigious, but I am starting to get less interested in them as time goes on. I can't put my finger on it but they do feel somewhat formulaic - which makes sense, I don't think you can put out as many books as he has without being formulaic. I think Wheel of Time was similar - prodigious output, but not super well done. The guys who do great stuff don't have a ton of output. Personally I was always comfortable with HBO - at their peak they didn't have a ton of output, but they usually had at least one good show that was currently out, and that was enough for me. In ordinary times I'm ok with reading Sanderson's stuff, but I would drop his books in a second if Winds of Winter came out. The problem is he gets paid the same for the 17th cosmere book as GRRM gets paid for his first ASOIAF book in umpteen years.

I think as long as you have novel stories and don't string them out to long you can do formulaic writing and make it interesting, I still enjoy Koontz from time to time when he does his off beat stories (still love Frankstein and Odd Thomas series). Brandon has got the talent to make different but still formulaic stuff too, like I enjoy the world of Way of the Kings enough to have read the books published so far, but some of his other series I never got into because it felt a bit to similar.

Honestly Butcher when he was in his prime of pushing two books a year I still loved, as The Dresden Files was such a fun concept of modern day wizard and yet I still enjoyed the Codex Alera greatly too because it was a different world concept.

I guess what I am saying is they want to do formulaic, I find I enjoy if they do a different style fantasy next to the high or normal fantasy series to keep it interesting.

[rhorle]

Yup, and they're playing games too. Since Discovery bought HBO, they started doing shit like pulling certain content off the website to create limited availability windows. Meanwhile I honestly don't understand what Amazon is thinking with Prime - where's the synergy between free delivery and tv shows?

Discovery didn't buy HBO. AT&T bought Discovery for $85 million and merged the WarnerMedia (the parts they didn't sell off) into it. Amazon has stated in the past that Prime Video trials convert at a higher rate then other trials. So it helps keep people paying and interacting with Amazon. If you are paying to watch videos why not enjoy the 2-day shipping as well. It's not like it should be that baffling since Amazon has their hands in everything and their web services is really eclipsing even the retail at this point.

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Amazon has the easiest path forward in my opinion as they have twitch, think they should look to include it in prime video to supplement it, and if people can watch twitch through amazon prime more likely to browse for something or buy something if they remember they need it if they are already at the site.

Neither Twitch or Prime Video need to supplemented and they should likely be kept seperate since one is the traditional Movie industry and one is gaming. They market Twitch as a part of the Prime Gaming perks (Free games, in-game stuff, rotating Luna games each month, free twitch sub). There seems little reason to mix the influencers with video on demand. They could integrate Amazon into Twitch so they link to the company more but I bet they have the data to judge if that is a good or bad idea more than any of us here.

[Biomega]

As a fan of fantasy series, I think of it as the difference between Brandon Sanderson and a guy like GRRM. I like Brandon Sanderson's books, and I like that his output is prodigious, but I am starting to get less interested in them as time goes on. I can't put my finger on it but they do feel somewhat formulaic

Sanderson is the fast-food equivalent of fantasy writing, really. It's okay, but never really much more than okay - and just lives off of volume volume volume. GRRM isn't exactly 3-star cuisine, but it's more like... that super exclusive dining club you wait 2 years for a reservation, and you get a memorable experience of sufficient quality even if it might be a little overwhelming.

Compensation is hardly anything to go by in creative work, really. It's mostly a function of hype only weakly related to quality - it's more about hitting the right mass appeal at the right time, which is how 7 Harry Potter books make you a billion dollars. Not because they're particularly amazing or particularly well made, they just managed to take off in the right way. It's not exactly fair to the artists, but you don't become an artist for the money (not if you're any good at it, anyway). It's more like a lottery you can manipulate a little bit yourself. But only a little bit.

I think time is a big factor, though, especially when it comes to platformed products like made-for-streaming shows. They can't take their time, because they need to pump content like crazy to keep their service relevant. Which means most projects are rushed one way or the other, even if they would artistically benefit from extra time in the oven. A film or show is a very different thing from a novel - sure writer's gotta eat, but anyone can at least in principle just sit down and write a novel in their spare time. They CANNOT just sit down and make a TV series in their spare time. You need massive funding, and with that funding come all the constraints that ruin good art.

[Shadowferal]

Just as an aside, Patrick Rothfuss really screwed himself over...The Rise And Fall Of The Kingkiller Chronicle Series Should Be A Lesson For All Fantasy Writers

[crusadernero]

House of the Dragon wins Golden Globe for best drama series. Rings of Power with zero nominations.

At some point the marketing machine - buoyed by Amazon's money and calling everyone racist if they think the show is bad - has to finally lose, right? Maybe this is the start.

I think most people see the show for what it is. Very bad. One thing is what the media+Amazon harpes about to defend the show, but I would think ALOT of people that watched this show now have a sour taste.

Sucks though. Amazon had a geniun shot here to create something huge. The world is already established, lots of lore to dwelve into.

[Shadowferal]

Well, I recalled a rumor that Amazon really wanted an Emmy nomination, but without a Golden Globe nomination I think they realize they have to make changes sooner than later.

[rhorle]

At some point the marketing machine - buoyed by Amazon's money and calling everyone racist if they think the show is bad - has to finally lose, right? Maybe this is the start.

They never called everyone who didn't like the show racist. There is no possible way for them to win when people like you keep using lies. As all you care about is your fantasy of hate rather then the truth. Not to mention a golden globe is not everything. Would Amazon be upset they didn't win anything for the show? Sure. Does it matter that much for popular or successful shows? No.

It is crazy how much some of you hate and continue to hold onto it. Why not move on to the next show that you might like?

[NineSpine]

House of the Dragon wins Golden Globe for best drama series. Rings of Power with zero nominations.

At some point the marketing machine - buoyed by Amazon's money and calling everyone racist if they think the show is bad - has to finally lose, right? Maybe this is the start.

I think the show sucks and have criticized it a ton. Nobody has called me racist. Maybe because my criticisms of the show have nothing to do with race.

[rhorle]

My statement was an exaggeration, but I do think that they tried to marginalize critics as being part of a racist backlash. They shut off reviews and deleted a lot from Amazon and argued they were being review bombed by racists.

There were racist remarks made against the show and its actors. It is crazy that you even imply that wasn't the case. They didn't marginalize critics as being part of the racist backlash. You admit you lied and are still lying so you don't look as bad. Which makes you look even worse.

[Triceron]

I think most people see the show for what it is. Very bad. One thing is what the media+Amazon harpes about to defend the show, but I would think ALOT of people that watched this show now have a sour taste.

Sucks though. Amazon had a geniun shot here to create something huge. The world is already established, lots of lore to dwelve into.

I don't think what they have is unsalvageable, but they need to put a lot of work into the next seasons.

[Syegfryed]

I don't think what they have is unsalvageable, but they need to put a lot of work into the next seasons.

They need to pretend season 1 never happened. That is how you do it.

[Triceron]

They need to pretend season 1 never happened. That is how you do it.

To be honest, I think a fan edit could go a long ways. The Hobbit was just as bad as this with all the extra shit they threw at it, but it was still redeemable.

That being said, like 90% of the whole show was fluff. It was really oddly paced and they didn't really do much with the time they had.

[bledgor]

To be honest, I think a fan edit could go a long ways. The Hobbit was just as bad as this with all the extra shit they threw at it, but it was still redeemable.

That being said, like 90% of the whole show was fluff. It was really oddly paced and they didn't really do much with the time they had.

Main issue is that the writing staff has to recognize that collectively they have a fraction of the talent Tolkien had, and use his works as a guide/blueprint and not as a buffet to cherry pick from.

[Syegfryed]

To be honest, I think a fan edit could go a long ways. The Hobbit was just as bad as this with all the extra shit they threw at it, but it was still redeemable.

That being said, like 90% of the whole show was fluff. It was really oddly paced and they didn't really do much with the time they had.

If you edit all the 8 episode sin one of 50m i would still it its better to scrap everything and start anew.

Like, the plot points they introduced, that are based entirely on shit they made up, like the magic mithril, Galadriel leading numenorians into southland, the whole thing with Anathar , everything is fucked.

I think they should pretend season 1 never happened, and start doing season 2 using the book, focusing on other stuff besides the creation of the three rings, like maybe Sauron corrupting the numenorians. But that is something only a rly good group of people can pull out

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Main issue is that the writing staff has to recognize that collectively they have a fraction of the talent Tolkien had, and use his works as a guide/blueprint and not as a buffet to cherry pick from.

Its funny that you see a lot of this shit about cherry picking in media nowadays, just so people can point they got the reference, Easter eggs(Like Hallbland saying ""consider a gift") are not lore

[rhorle]

Main issue is that the writing staff has to recognize that collectively they have a fraction of the talent Tolkien had, and use his works as a guide/blueprint and not as a buffet to cherry pick from.

They couldn't. The Tolkien estate green lit a work from the Second Age with the blue print and guide off limits.

[Triceron]

I think they should pretend season 1 never happened, and start doing season 2 using the book

They'd still have to invent a ton of shit even if they follow the books. That's the reality of it.

[rhorle]

The biggest issue that comes to mind, besides the numerous massive problems with plot, is that Gil-Galad is going to be 50 and Celebrimbor 60 by the time they finish this shit (one of many utterly mind boggling choices made).

So? Make up, Tech, and other things can easily de-age a person. It is a common thing to do and the tech to do it is only getting better. This criticism also ignores how younger actors can still change and age over 10 years.

[Triceron]

So? Make up, Tech, and other things can easily de-age a person. It is a common thing to do and the tech to do it is only getting better. This criticism also ignores how younger actors can still change and age over 10 years.

The funny thing is if that were really the answer, they wouldn't have looked as old as they already do in the first season.

So really, it's a bullshit excuse, as always from this one.

[rhorle]

Don't get sucked in, we were on a good run there...

Ah, right. A good run of hate and lies. Heaven forbid someone ask you why their age matters when younger actors would still age. I forgot that you aren't interested in honest discussion just the echo chamber.

[Triceron]

Don't get sucked in, we were on a good run there...

He can't see my posts, he has me on ignore.