By-The-Bywater: A Podcast about All Things J.R.R. Tolkien

Jared, Oriana and Ned start the new year with Ned’s choice of topic: the short children’s works Roverandom and Mr. Bliss. Tolkien has been described as a children’s author both with praise and disparagement over time, but a more accurate way to put it is that while he was busy working on his cycle of early Middle-earth stories with its high drama and tragedy in the 1920s and 1930s, he was also a loving father to four young children who often made up many stories and tales for them. The Hobbit itself has strong roots in this activity but whether it’s the Father Christmas letters, the original Tom Bombadil stories, the early versions of Farmer Giles of Ham or more besides, it’s a large creative part of his work in those decades. After The Hobbit was accepted for publication, Tolkien provided the manuscripts for, among other submissions, the stories Roverandom and Mr. Bliss for consideration, though the success of The Hobbit and the request for a sequel led him down other paths, with the two stories receiving separate posthumous publication instead. Is there ultimately anything more to Mr. Bliss than a series of random happenings that the titular character barely seems to be at the center of a lot of the time? How does Roverandom work in notable contrast to Mr. Bliss, with its deeper emotions as much as it has a sense of playful satire? How well does Tolkien’s art for both stories achieve a distinct resonance and beauty? And who wouldn’t want to get a newspaper called Ocean Notions, perhaps most applicable these days if you live in a pineapple under the sea? Show Notes. Jared’s doodle – a beautiful and striking moment from an equally striking story. Join the Megaphonic Patreon! And yes, The Greatest Story Ever Told…isn’t. At least not in that form. As before, support the HarperCollins union. A Silmarillion opera cycle exists! And has for years, who knew – not us! More about it, including a link to a fuller interview, via TheOneRing.net. The Russian Silmarillion musical, whatever it is? There are clips. Yep, pushing ahead with The Rings of Power. We’ll see… Roverandom! Mr. Bliss! Very different to be sure. Earlier episodes on Smith of Wootton Major and Tree and Leaf (with “On Fairy-Stories”) The Wind In The Willows remains top flight. “Goblin Feet”…does not. Marcel The Shell With Shoes On was indeed a good movie. We all know The Velveteen Rabbit. Surely. Well we all DEFINITELY know Toy Story. The Man in the Moon is everywhere! News of the World was a thing. (They shut down because they were completely horrible. Of course Rupert Murdoch was involved.) The tales of Baron Munchausen are wonderful things. (Gilliam’s movie is remarkable…but read this first.) Tolkien’s illustration of Roverandom and the White Dragon, with Scull and Hammond’s commentary. Our early episode on magic. Oh man do we love Ursula K. Le Guin’s Earthsea. (The Folio Society editions are remarkable.) Uin the whale. (He’s in this reproduction of Tolkien’s original 1917 Middle-earth map on the left in the layer of water below the main continents.) Tolkien’s illustration “The Garden of the Merking’s Palace” is a great riot of color in the best way. Support By-The-Bywater on Patreon and you can hang out with us in a Discord AND hear Ned and Jared talk about Charleton Heston!

Jared, Oriana and Ned continue our own epic trilogy with a look at our collective choice of topic: Peter Jackson’s version of The Two Towers. Turning 20 years old this month, The Two Towers built on the success of the previous year’s The Fellowship of the Ring, becoming another holiday blockbuster and continuing the overall story, as well as introducing the wider world to a variety of striking performances, among them Bernard Hill as Theoden, Miranda Otto as Eowyn and most famously and indelibly, Andy Serkis’s compelling performance as Gollum, further interpreted by the Weta digital effects team to bring the character to life as an animation. All three of us have our own distinct memories and experiences of watching it for the first time and we’ve seen it any number of times since, but returning to it as a standalone film – as with our previous Fellowship episode, we went back to the original theatrical cut – made something clear to us: it’s not all that great. Many different moments are absolutely indelible as already noted and there’s no way something like The Rings of Power can even come close to it, but compared to the absolute triumph of Jackson’s Fellowship, his Two Towers is the odd one out of the series as a whole. What about the structure of the story as adapted, filmed and edited meant that this might have always been the weak center of the sequence? What moments in particular are absolutely perfect – and what decisions are baffling then and now? Exactly how much Helm’s Deep did there have to be in the first place – and do all the decisions that go into the making of that sequence as being central rest on the best foundation? And how great does Serkis’s performance and the realization of Gollum as a character remain overall? (Answer: utterly.) Show Notes. Jared’s doodle. If that seems familiar, look back a year… Follow the HarperCollins Union Twitter feed for strike news. Andy Serkis reading the Silmarillion? We are intrigued, we are. Hail and farewell to Jules Bass. We do recommend relistening to our Fellowship episode; plenty of relevant show notes too. The Frodo Franchise is a very good read for sure. The original teaser trailer attached to the end of The Fellowship of the Ring at the conclusion of that film’s theatrical run. The first official trailer is good, no question, but the second one with the Requiem for a Dream music? Man oh man. Kazaa! Ah Internet nostalgia. Phew, that opening scene. What a way to start up again. We do miss the Huorns, even if they showed up a little bit in the extended version – but not by name. It’s a mix of perfect moments and ‘hmmm’ bits but the whole start to the Helm’s Deep battle definitely is key to the film. Arwen was indeed filmed at being at Helm’s Deep and there are background images of her here and there. (Lindsay Ellis’s essay the other month has a bit more about that.) Zulu, the British film from 1964 that inspired Jackson’s take on Helm’s Deep, is…a caution. (As stated, Zulu Dawn is more interesting in comparison.) The look on Theoden’s face after he takes in the explosion – that’s good acting. Edoras, an absolute triumph of set design, construction, visual effects and cinematography – so it was, so it remains. (Here’s a visit to the set area on Mt. Sunday from a couple of years ago.) Feel free to pick up a copy of The Deadwood Bible by Matt Zoller Seitz if you like, and appreciate Oriana’s work helping make it happen! Brad Dourif’s tear (and the scene overall). Wormtongue’s confrontation scene with Eowyn is in the Edoras clip linked above. The Eowyn/Aragorn blade clash/confrontation scene? Good, good stuff. (The warg attack scene, less so.) Where to begin with Gollum? Frustratingly the extended Two Towers documentary segment on Gollum doesn’t appear to be on YouTube but Serkis’s book on working on the character is easily available and a very good read. Do you really want to know about the monkey from the 1997 Lost in Space? Do you? Fine. Enjoy a video tribute. Now Gollum does act like a cat here, true. And the ‘yeees?!?’ moment remains awesome. The self-confrontation scene. You know it. “PO-TA-TOES.” The buildup to Gollum snarling “My PRECIOUS!” at Faramir is truly striking. David Wenham dealing with Van Helsing. The film that is. (And yeah yeah 300.) Gandalf returns and Ian McKellen’s hair levels up. The whole “give up the weapons/wink/’I TOLD you to take the WIZARD’S STAFF’” sequence – just a treat. The meat was always on the menu, really. “The Riders of Rohan” is one of Howard Shore’s most gripping pieces, still. “Gollum’s Song” is really good if you haven’t heard it in a bit. (Emiliana Torrini’s website will be back soon, it seems.) Sheila Chandra = next level. As is “Breath of Life.” Isabel Bayrakdarian = also next level, and so is “Evenstar.” “The Last March of the Ents” is another remarkable moment of music. “Release the RIVER!” Support By-The-Bywater and our network, Megaphonic, on Patreon and you can hang out with us on a friendly Discord!

Jared, Oriana and Ned talk about the inevitable: the first season of The Lord of the Rings: The Rings of Power. Ever since By-the-Bywater began, the show’s creation, filming and buildup to its release has loomed large in our news reports and there were inevitable questions about it the more information was surfacing. But there was always hope that it could in fact succeed and add to the notable if admittedly varied canon of Tolkien adaptations already created over time. Suffice to say that there was a lot of heavy promotion, a whole amount of attention and there are definitely plenty of people out there who have enjoyed the series to one degree or another. The three of us…are not among them. Frankly, not in the slightest, outside of a few particular points and factors, and we try and bring them up as we can. But we’re not going to pussyfoot around the fact that we found this eight episode introductory season to otherwise be a near-unmitigated disaster and are still picking our way through the wreckage like the orcs after the ‘are you kidding us right now’ Mount Doom relighting trick. What choices were made by the showrunners to create incidents and particular character arcs, whether from Tolkien’s own creations or invented characters of their own, and why did so many of them fall so flat? What did the continuing use of non-standard English dialects mean for certain characters and how they’re meant to be perceived or understood? Who were the good actors who actually did something of note with their often confusing or underwritten or just poorly written character motivations? What if anything was in line with Tolkien’s general themes and approaches, and more importantly, what wasn’t? And once again, what in the WORLD with that scheme about Mt. Doom, good frickin’ grief. Show Notes. Jared’s doodle. See, if they’d cast a Celebrimbor who even LOOKED like this… Yup, second season of The Rings of Power is happening. Yup, sure is. Great. The HarperCollins union announces the strike. Again, please honor it. We tend to favor the reactions that look at things with at least a slightly gimlet eye. James Whitbrook’s end-of-season episode recap at io9 had some good tart points, especially on the unnecessary approach making the entire season a prologue or pilot, in essence. Published before the end of the season, Kathryn VanArendonk’s Vulture piece “The Fantasy Prequel Problem,” which also and understandably takes in House of the Dragon as well, also had some sharp observations. Undone is a really, really good series that Amazon has, indeed. Check it out. Repeating from the previous episode’s show notes: Ned’s Twitter threads on the time compression problem in the series with specific regard to Númenor. The actual destruction of the Two Trees in this clip is truly marvelous, an excellent brief summary…and as we say, it immediately falls apart after that. J. J. Abrams’s famous/infamous TED Talk about the mystery box/puzzle box approach he favors, which the ROP showrunners clearly have taken to heart. (We are not fans.) A recent argument about how the Star Wars prequels became more embraced. (The point Oriana notes about having a vision is brought up as a factor.) See also Rian Johnson’s 2020 tweet. The Bronwyn/Theo/orc duel in episode 2 and the Galadriel/Adar barn debate in episode 6 are very good scenes! But they were all too rare in comparison. Our earlier episode on orcs. If you want to delve more into the haphazard weirdness of 1980s/1990s D&D novels – and there are quite a lot to choose from – Rob Bricken’s irregular ‘Dungeons & Dragons & Novels’ series on io9 has been a treat; here’s the most recent entry. Caroline Framke’s Variety piece on the show is much more positive than ours but zeroes in on an inescapable fact: the lack of traction the show has had in terms of wider discussion/interest, especially in comparison to House of the Dragon. Star Wars: Andor! The Wheel of Time! The forthcoming Willow series! There’s so much more that’s just…better out there. Our episode from last year on Peter Jackson’s Fellowship of the Ring. Subscription required but we do indeed recommend Lindsay Ellis’s new video on Peter Jackson’s Lord of the Rings adaptation choices, as well as the Like Stories of Old’s YouTube video The Rings of Powers Has a Narrative Momentum Problem. The Spouter-Inn’s episode on The Two Towers – the bonus episode with Jared is forthcoming. (Their earlier Fellowship of the Ring episode, as well as the bonus episode with Oriana.) Support By-The-Bywater and our network, Megaphonic. Thanks!

Jared, Oriana and Ned talk about Ned’s choice of topic: cartography. To say that maps help define Middle-earth is to understate; besides the famous map featured in The Hobbit and also given as a key visual element with the book itself, one of two Tolkien drew for it, his own many other maps of Middle-earth he created over time, finalized for publication by Christopher Tolkien both before and after his father’s death, establish a visual sense of what Middle-earth ‘looks’ like in a broad sense, to the point of spawning numerous atlases, charts and online explorations of that wider world. But then again, cartography in a modern sense is a very Eurocentric proposition, and even the fantasy fiction cartography that Tolkien’s maps both drew on and then subsequently influenced in a massive way is very much a product of that wider influence, sometimes in very subtly skewed ways. How do maps function ‘in’ Middle-earth themselves, whether as plot device, something referenced casually or even seemingly not needed at all, depending on the character? What about the historical context of the British Empire and the sense of ‘discovering’ the world might have fed into Tolkien’s own views about how to create his own maps and charts, as much as his own knowledge of medieval manuscripts and maps in turn? How have the various visual interpretations of Middle-earth in other media used maps in turn in their efforts and to what purpose? And how is the long shadow of Middle-earth’s maps and their impact being interrogated by creative artists around the world as newer worlds are envisioned and explored? (And yes…we have some initial thoughts on a certain streaming TV series.) Show Notes. Jared’s doodle. We cover the Middle-earth globe for you. (When it became a globe.) Look we know, WE KNOW. For now we just recommend Gita Jackson’s piece “Whose Fantasy Is This?” Fuck racists and then some. Ned’s Twitter threads on the time compression problem in the series with specific regard to Númenor. Jared’s Patreon piece on the show a few episodes in. Cartography! It’s got a history. The Tolkien Estate’s map section on its website. The Tolkien Society’s closer look at the annotations that Tolkien wrote for Pauline Baynes regarding her poster map. Jonathan Crowe’s two excellent pieces for Tor: “Celebrating Christopher Tolkien’s Cartographic Legacy” and “Where Do Fantasy Maps Come From?” Barbara Strachey’s Journeys of Frodo and Karen Wynn Fonstad’s The Atlas of Middle-earth both remain enjoyable reads, Fonstad’s volume being especially key. Crowe’s Tolkien entries on his own blog, The Map Room. Stentor Danielson’s articles on cartography at the Journal of Tolkien Studies. Sally Bushell’s “Mapping Worlds: Tolkien’s Cartographic Imagination” from her book Reading and Mapping Fiction (you’ll likely need library or academic access to read it directly). Nicholas Tam’s “Here Be Cartographers: Reading the Fantasy Map.” The British Library’s “What Is a Fantasy Map?” A 1999 New York Times piece summarizing the increasing study and work being done throughout the decade working against the Eurocentric cartographic approach. A 2019 undergrad paper by Luke Maxwell on imperialism and Eurocentrism in fantasy cartography. The 2021 Dream Foundry panel discussion, “Fantasy Maps and Worldbuilding from a Non-Eurocentric Perspective,” archived on YouTube. Our episode on the Red Book of Westmarch, a putative source of the Lord of the Rings maps. There are indeed many online Middle-earth maps and atlases – including as mentioned the Minecraft Middle-earth. Other examples include LOTRProject’s Interactive Map of Middle-earth and Arda Maps. On a psychogeographical tip, Nowhere and Back Again might be of esoteric interest. Support By-The-Bywater and its network, Megaphonic, on Patreon. Thanks!

Jared, Oriana and Ned talk about Jared’s choice of topic: food in Middle-earth. As Jared says in his introduction, he was reminded of the subject when a semi-viral Tolkien tweet went around again claiming that The Lord of the Rings is in its various parts like the stereotype of recipe blogs: a lengthy and seeming rambling introduction to an eventual meal. But that’s not in fact the case, and the wider question of how food – and appetites and hunger in many different forms – is described by Tolkien in Middle-earth as a whole raises some interesting questions in turn. (We didn’t even talk about Smith of Wootton Major, come to think of it!) Where did the idea the tweet incorrectly claims come from and why do people apply it to Tolkien when it seems much more apt for the works of other writers? How does evil in general intersect with questions of appetite and destruction, and are there differences in how that is applied both in a literal and metaphorical sense? How does hunger play out in Middle-earth and where, and is it more apparent in some works than others? And what would be your preferred meal to join in on if you were given the chance? Also, we have another rather lengthy news section this time out because a certain series is literally about to premiere mere hours from now… Show Notes. Jared’s doodle. Lembas and stew, who wouldn’t want that? The By-the-Bywater Kitchen Party! It was great. (Catch Jared on the next Kitchen Party live on Megaphonic’s Twitch channel.) One last Rings of Power trailer. And it’s cluuuuuunky. (At this point there are endless features and promo pieces out and if we tried to track them all we’d seize up.) TheOneRing.net’s report about how Alex Jordan has joined the Warner Bros anime. The Embracer rights news, also from TheOneRing.net. The Marquette University exhibition J. R. R. Tolkien: The Art of the Manuscript’s home page. Absolutely go if you can get the chance; here’s links to the three associated lectures and other programming that’s happening. If you just want to buy the exhibition catalog, here ya go. Milwaukee magazine on the exhibition, plus two local TV news reports on it. Bear McCreary’s Rings of Power soundtrack is streaming on all services; unsurprisingly Amazon’s includes extra cuts. The J. A. Bayona interview with io9 with the weird ‘elves are political, men are melodramatic’ comment. Insider’s speculation/semi-behind the scenes piece on Amazon’s financial interest and stances in the series. There’s endless recipes for things ‘inspired by’ Tolkien and Middle-earth online. Tolkien Gateway has a few specific entries on actual food in canon, including lembas of course. Does Redwall have food? Does it ever. Kumis! Ma’amoul! Squid-ink pasta! Try ‘em all. Peter Jackson’s Aragorn with the deer moment from Fellowship. (It’s at 2:07 in this clip.) There is indeed a lot out there on fairy tale food as temptation – this 2013 thesis is almost titled that! Lembas, Tolkien’s Catholicism and the Eucharist – plenty out there as well! Here’s an essay/podcast episode on the matter. A good chunk of Jackson’s Unexpected Party sequence from the first Hobbit film. (Bilbo’s defeated look in his empty pantry is also at 2:07.) No, really, John Carter was a very entertaining film. Support By-The-Bywater on Megaphonic! Thanks!

Jared, Oriana and Ned talk about Oriana’s choice of topic: Legolas Greenleaf. Not originally planned as a member of the Fellowship – the honor was going to go to Glorfindel, who helps Aragorn and the hobbits evade the Nazgûl en route to Rivendell – Legolas ended up as a classic retcon character, introduced as the son of Thranduil, the Elvenking featured in The Hobbit, even though no such character was ever mentioned or described in that book. A brilliant archer who makes light of burdens, literally can walk on snow and isn’t above teasing his suffering companions – but someone who can react badly if his own privilege is ever questioned – he’s at once fascinating and more than a little infuriating, though his unique relationship with Gimli is one of The Lord of the Rings’s more intriguing subplots. What kind of universality can be read into the character as maybe representing what Elves are like – or is he simply his own individual self? How does he come across to the hobbits, who are the ones ‘telling’ the story in Tolkien’s own construction of it, and is he truly relatable to them at all? What does his profound change of mood when he nears the sea say about Tolkien’s deeper conception of not only Elves but how they considered time? And just what do we think of Orlando Bloom’s performance of the character in the Peter Jackson films? (And separately: did we have thoughts on various The Rings of Power trailers? Oh did we ever.) Show Notes. Jared’s doodle. Legolas would do that as often as he could, truly. Jared and Ned did indeed meet for the first time in Seattle for lunch at a Vinason location. COVID’s still a thing – don’t sleep on it. And yes, if you get it, get yer Paxlovid. So, The Rings of Power trailers? Which do you want? This one, this one, or this one? The EW story introducing the Númenoreans. Want to see the SDCC panel on The Rings of Power? Go nuts. Bear McCreary conducting at SDCC. (We still think this might be his masterwork.) Support the Harper Collins Union. A typical interview with the showrunners. Mm. The 1951 letter to Milton Waldman with the ‘other minds and hands’ passage. Our episode on Dwarves and the attendant stereotypes. We’re not saying this kind of thing is what WILL happen with Ar-Pharazôn but you know… Irish fairies and their kid-stealing ways. Adûnaic! If you’d like to learn more. Legolas…we’ve heard of him. Ms. Marvel was indeed a pretty good show. Our episode on friendship. Legolas shoots down the Winged Messenger. The Ask Middle-earth Tumblr on sea-longing. Orlando Bloom’s Legolas in The Return of the King. Just that. That ‘stars are veiled’ moment. The sidelong look happens a bit later. Yes, yes indeed, they are taking the hobbits to Isengard. Shout out to DayQuil! Support By-The-Bywater and its network, Megaphonic FM, on Patreon. Thank you.

Jared, Oriana and Ned talk about Ned’s choice of topic: Tolkien’s essay “A Secret Vice.” Originally prepared as a lecture called “A Hobby for the Home” for an Oxford literary society in 1931, “A Secret Vice” is now regarded as one of the two most key essays, along with “On Fairy-Stories” of Tolkien essentially reflecting on his own work and what drove his creative interests. His training and work as a philologist grew out not only an interest in languages in general but in creating them for his own interest, and it’s long been clear that his early development of the Elvish languages in particular are what led him to start creating poetry and prose set in his legendarium to begin with. At the same time, the time and place of the essay’s creation demonstrates that a lot of his stance involves assumptions that wider linguistic scholarship has since moved on from. What was the popular impact of constructed languages such as Esperanto on Tolkien’s own belief in how such languages could thrive? Why is it important to distinguish between Tolkien’s favored belief in sound symbolism and the separate school of structural linguistics? What were some of the evident biases that Tolkien’s own favored languages – not to mention his native language, English – created in terms of what he wanted to create himself with his own original tongues? And just what was it with his way of dancing around actually talking about what interested him in the subject instead of simply flat out stating it? Show Notes. Jared’s doodle. To see the stars is to name them. We do not recommend getting into an accident with a forklift, but if you do, watch MST3K, listen to It’s Just a Show, and sing along with a song. The Tolkien Society’s report on the new forthcoming Tolkien book The Fall of Númenor. (And as we say later, check out our Aldarion and Erendis episode.) Amazon promos ahoy. There were a variety of Empire magazine stories; this was the main one online, plus Lenny Henry on the Harfoots. (And Celebrimbor…the newscaster?) Leith McPherson on being the dialect coach for The Rings of Power. Jamie Wilson and Lindsey Weber on the Orcs in The Rings of Power. (Relatedly, our episode on orcs.) Deadline’s announcement of the major voice casting for The War of the Rohirrim. Philippa Boyens interviewed by TheOneRing.net on The War of the Rohirrim, including discussion of the new character Héra. The critical edition of A Secret Vice, as listed on Dimitra Fini’s site. (Plus the informal launch, as she describes it, of the book at Oxford.) Oriana’s 2019 Vox piece on conlangs. You might have heard of GoldenEye. But are you invincible? Constructed languages have been a thing then and now. Esperanto! Volapük! Novial! Gertrude Stein and James Joyce: Modernists par excellence. Sound symbolism and structural linguistics. Finnish is very much its own thing. Support By-The-Bywater on Patreon and hang out with us in a friendly private Slack!

Jared, Oriana and Ned talk about Jared’s choice of topic: the Red Book of Westmarch. It’s hinted at at the end of The Lord of the Rings when Sam reviews some title pages – a device carried over into the Jackson movie adaptations – but the appendices and part of the introduction both make it clear that the published story is meant to be a translation from Bilbo and Frodo’s own handwritten memoirs, covering The Hobbit as well, and thus Tolkien in this conceit is not the author of the text but its translator and editor instead. It fits within Tolkien’s own life as an academic and an interpreter and presenter of texts, as well as being part of a lengthy tradition in numerous societies over millennia where writers employ the creative tool of claiming their work as that of others, be they found documents, unearthed manuscripts, discovered letters and so forth. It’s something that many readers may simply find an intriguing amusement when it comes to The Lord of the Rings, but it does introduce further questions about perspective and authorial intent worth the consideration. How does framing the story through the lens of certain participants only shape what we might consider a ‘true’ history of the events of the book, and what would it mean if other perspectives were shared instead? What other times had Tolkien used this framing in his own creative work as a way to present a tale in a different context, and with what intent? Is Tolkien’s work in fact the first postmodern fantasy as such, a self-conscious creation that plays with tropes even as it also establishes new ones in turn? And just what are all those memes about how the main protagonist of the story is really a Maura Labingi about? Show Notes. Jared’s doodle. Who wouldn’t want the real Red Book of Westmarch? Aw, crypto turned out to be a hype scam market, who knew. (Everyone with sense, of course.) As for Lonely Ape, puh-leez. Do check out Oriana’s other podcasts! American Grift and Mission: Recall, both great. The bit from John Howe in Empire – we’ll talk about the issue covers that were released next episode. Reports from the Amazon promo event for the hyperfans are…to be expected. (Again, the ones with the cautious optimism are the ones we appreciate more over the raves.) The LOTR on Prime tweet confirming Tyroe Muhafidin as ‘Theo’ aka the one with the broken blade. IGN speaks with the scientist who named the most distant star yet found in the universe Earendel. Alan Lee in LitHub on illustrating The Lord of the Rings. Den of Geek tries once and for all to untangle the whole rights question. It’s still unclear. Tolkien Gateway’s entry on the Red Book of Westmarch. We don’t quite use the term in the episode but the concept of the frame story, as discussed on Wikipedia, is a broader category that can include the kind of stories where authors are presenting works they’ve supposedly found and presented rather than simply written. A key example as Jared discusses would be the epistolary novel, and don’t forget the unreliable narrator. Maura Labingi! It is Frodo’s real name. Postmodernism in fantasy is a thing and has been discussed in various ways – back in 2010 Brandon Sanderson and Jeff VanderMeer had an exchange on the matter. Thomas Pynchon’s written some good work. Or found it, if you will. The Red Book of Hergest, Tolkien’s real-world model. Our Farmer Giles of Ham episode. And our Nature of Middle-earth one. How well known was David Foster Wallace for footnotes? This should give you an idea. Jonathan Strange & Mr. Norrell definitely has a LOT of footnotes. The Message Bible, as not recommended by Jared. The Book of Mazarbul in Tolkien Gateway, including Tolkien’s own created pages from it, planned as a possible inclusion for the initial printing of The Lord of the Rings. Laurence Sterne, literary badass. John Darnielle interviewed by the New Yorker. (We highly recommend Devil House.) The Manuscript Found in Saragossa, and its 1965 Polish adaptation for film, The Saragossa Manuscript. We forgot to give Nate Thatcher a mention in the episode but he was the listener who pointed us to the lecture Jared mentions watching, Michael Drout’s “Lord of the Rings: How To Read J. R. R. Tolkien.” The Cats of Queen Berúthiel! And that’s about all we know. Malazan Book of the Fallen by Steven Erikson – worth a read! The 1987 US one-volume edition of The Lord of the Rings designed to look like a Red Book of Westmarch, part of a series of such editions. Support By-The-Bywater through Patreon! (Thanks!)

Jared, Oriana and Ned talk about Oriana’s choice of topic: initial thoughts on what evil is in Tolkien’s work. The sweeping arc of The Lord of the Rings in particular is understandably thought of – though very often simplistically reduced to – a basic good versus evil clash, a black and white split. But as more and more of Tolkien’s work over the decades has been published over time, up to and including last year’s The Nature of Middle-earth volume, it’s clear that he himself thought that what evil exactly was in his created universe took on many forms and had numerous ways of being perceived. It’s also well worth reflecting on how many of his seemingly stereotypical ‘good’ characters carry out actions, consciously or not, that result in manifold acts of evil playing out in many different forms, from mass slaughter to small acts of domination. What are the differences between Morgoth and his prime servant Sauron in terms of how they view their actions and desires, and how they carry them out? What are the worst horrors carried out in Arda Marred – itself conceived and portrayed as containing an intrinsic, foundational evil that could not be removed without its own destruction – and who is ultimately responsible for them in the moment? How is the pettiness of Ted Sandyman’s laughter and spit in the Scouring of the Shire as much a reflection of evil as Sauron’s ravaging of the Pelennor Fields? And is there evil as such portrayed at all in any of Tolkien’s non-Middle-earth works, or is it more something akin to it? Show Notes. Jared’s doodle. Truly tragic and horrific, and that’s all that can be said. The Folio Society announcement of the newly revised and updated Alan Lee-illustrated Lord of the Rings edition. It really does look great. The Folio Society’s earlier edition with illustrations by Queen Margrethe is indeed really sharp too. A report on the Ukok Princess and her tattoos. Truly striking work. Plenty of stuff to read about Robert Eggers’s film The Northman – enjoy this Smithsonian dive into some of the historical roots. (Bjork’s character is a priestess for this fellow.) The Tolkien Gateway entry on Arda Marred. Robert Moses had quite the impact, to put it mildly – as did Robert Caro’s famed biographical study, The Power Broker. The Kinslaying really is a horrific event to consider. Our episode on The Nature of Middle-earth. Generational and inter-generational trauma are heavy burdens. Our Aldarion and Erendis episode: destructive sorrow without evil as such. Our Scouring of the Shire episode. Bulletproof vs. stab-proof vests, should you be so inclined. The Book of Job is quite a meditation on evil’s existence. There’s a lot out there regarding modern Disney, Marvel, villainy and so forth. For now, Adam Serwer on Killmonger in Black Panther and a wider meditation and links to other pieces on colonialism and imperialism in Thor: Ragnarok. Our episodes on Farmer Giles of Ham, Smith of Wootton Major and Leaf By Niggle. Support By-The-Bywater through our network, Megaphonic, on Patreon.

Jared, Oriana and Ned talk about Ned’s choice of topic: Ralph Bakshi’s animated film adaptation of The Lord of the Rings. A heavily promoted effort at the time due it being both the first ever version of Tolkien’s work done for film as well as due to Bakshi’s notable reputation as the most well known American animator since Walt Disney and Chuck Jones, the 1978 movie was a reasonable success but not a smash, and the fact that it was only the first half of a planned two-film sequence – but not marketed as such – led to confused audiences and an upset Tolkien reader fanbase. At once a surprisingly faithful if still heavily redacted version of the book and a very unusual mix of animation styles that grew out of Bakshi’s earlier movies, the film has retained a cult following since, and the resulting contrast with the later Peter Jackson movies has proven illuminating to both. What makes the sequences like the Flight to the Ford both compelling viewing and something of a slog? Which voice actors bring a notable depth to their characters along with the script and animation efforts – and which ones end up undercutting their characters completely? How does the shifting between particular animation styles, even within scenes, both act as intriguing experiment aiming to solve particular problems and yet also a confusing mess? And what is up with that incredibly generic musical score? Show Notes. Jared’s doodle. Jackson riffed on this scene for a reason. And Jared did bake a cake for Megaphonic’s Kitchen Party! Check it out. The new Tolkien Estate page, worth a poke around. The Tolkien Society’s announcement of Priscilla Tolkien’s passing. Ralph Bakshi’s site. The specific Lord of the Rings page has a variety of stills, behind the scenes shots and preparatory work from the production. The IMDB entry for Bakshi’s production. (The film is available for streaming from a variety of services.) The AFI catalog entry for the production. Ralph Bakshi: Forging Through the Darkness, a short documentary. The Tolkien Experience, Episode 32: Ralph Bakshi, an extended interview by Luke Shelton. An Exhaustive History of Ralph Bakshi’s Lord of the Rings by Dan Olson of Folding Ideas. (And as we spoke about in the episode, Olson’s two hour plus video on NFTs and crypto is an absolute must-watch.) Three Rings For Hollywood, Janet Brennan Croft’s short comparative study of various film script adaptations of The Lord of the Rings up through Bakshi’s adaptation. ‘Will the Video Version of Tolkien Be Hobbit Forming?,’ John Culhane’s late 1977 New York Times story on the Rankin-Bass Hobbit which also includes separate quotes from Bakshi on his then-forthcoming adaptation. Vincent Canby’s review of the film for the New York Times. Roger Ebert’s review of the film for the Chicago Sun-Times. Mythlore 19, Winter 1979, which contains two reviews of the film from Steven Walker and Dale Ziegler. Information on Amon Hen 39, published in June 1979, which contains four separate reviews of the film, including the Mythlore review from Steven Walker. ‘Hobbits On Film,’ Glenn Gaslin’s 2001 retrospective consideration of the Bakshi production for Slate, written in the run-up to the release of Peter Jackson’s Fellowship of the Ring. Bakshi’s 2015 interview with TheOneRing.net. Austen Gilkenson’s extended 2018 study of the film for Tor, part one and part two. Ned’s own 2018 piece about the film and other Tolkien adaptations of the time, published in the Quietus. A TV ad for the film. The Electric Company Magazine! And like Ned said, there was a tie-in issue. As for the board game, it had Shelob at least. You know the Spider-man meme. As for Bakshi on his Spider-man experience, he’s not thrilled… That Legolas reaction. It’s a choice. The Flight to the Ford scene – well worth watching even if you don’t know the full film, it sums up both the strengths and oddities of the adaptation. An example of the intriguing angular design of the Shire woods in the Shadow of the Past Goes Outdoors sequence. (Compare to Eyvind Earle’s work on Disney’s Sleeping Beauty.) The full Lothlorien sequence, with Galadriel’s fashion sense, the strange elf choir, the training montage as such and the Mirror of Galadriel highs and lows. Two notable sequences showing how Bakshi’s Aragorn is as Jared puts it ‘his’ Aragorn (costume aside): his meeting with the Hobbits in the Prancing Pony parlor and Boromir’s death, especially with the wordless reaction from Aragorn near the end of the clip. The Council of Elrond sequence definitely is a moment. Not a GOOD moment… The Shadow of the Past sequence, with the quick cuts of the seasons, Gandalf being crabby and stagy, Frodo’s agape reaction to the Ring being tossed into the fire and so forth. Gandalf meets Saruman – or Aruman, depending on the line. Orthanc’s design and Saruman’s MANY COLORS! included. The hobbits first encounter the Nazgul, and it’s a truly creepy moment. Ah yes the Balrog. We agree with the title of this clip. Aside from the opening credits, the prologue sequence is really impressive as we note. But yeah that one Elves bit. Our episode on Peter Jackson’s Fellowship of the Ring. And our orc episode. Gollum being Gollum. And almost being redeemed towards the end of this clip. (Per Jared’s comparison, here’s Quentin Crisp on Letterman.) Grima petting Theoden. Can’t put it any plainer. Sam, Sam, Sam. Where to begin? So many examples. And then there’s that ‘moment.’ Aragorn takes a tumble. Helm’s Deep here is not exactly Jackson’s. That’s one big skull in Moria. Meantime, is Rivendell a lamasery? If you REALLY want to hear the soundtrack… But yes, just listen to Rosenman’s Star Trek IV soundtrack instead as Jared suggests. The heroic ending! Sorta. Maybe. If you squint. Support By-The-Bywater and Megaphonic FM on Patreon!