At first, it appeared that the most expensive TV show ever made had settled for opening credits worthy of Kath & Kim.
But despite a viral tweet claiming so, a clip of the characters from Lord of the Rings: The Rings of Power making the rounds on social media is not the opening credits to Amazon’s blockbuster fantasy series.
The short clip, which shows the main cast turning to gaze at the camera, was put together for a promotion that ran on Entertainment Weekly, for the magazine’s set of digital covers.
While the clip is not the real opening credit, social media has reacted with glee, making parodies of the opening of sitcoms and soap operas, and quite a few memes.
It’s nice, it’s different, it’s unusual:
I've just heard the Rings of Power opening looks just like the Kath and Kim opening...so I had to combine the two 😭 this goes so well pic.twitter.com/XCrXNDRwqF
— Alex (@alex_mallender) September 1, 2022
The original, for anyone who hasn’t seen the Australian comedy Kath & Kim. (If that’s you, that’s your weekend sorted):
The Young and the Ringless:
here, I've fixed the music & donated @LOTRonPrime a new can't-miss name for the series:
— gojomo.eth ꧁👁👁꧂ (@gojomo) September 1, 2022
"LOTR: The Young & the Ringless"
I'm sure @YandR_CBS won't mind. pic.twitter.com/PPSNMTHLUI
The Young and the Restless opening credits for comparison:
Too Many Cooks:
— lil sweaty (@boobastank) August 31, 2022
Neighbours:
Androids have feelings too~ pic.twitter.com/z4ukV3DKUF
— Countsmegula (@Countsmegula) September 1, 2022
The clip is also oddly similar to a scene in season two of Community, which first aired in 2010:
— Bark. Like a Duck. (@BarkLikeADuck) August 31, 2022
It has also spawned a worrying number of memes about doing drugs:
This is how it feels to be high at the mall walking by people
— 7/11 Truther (@DaveMcNamee3000) August 31, 2022
pic.twitter.com/PVdrJe4zVj
The actual opening credits for The Rings of Power are entirely animated and show some pebbles gathering into various symbols from JRR Tolkien’s universe; fewer soap opera vibes, perhaps, but arguably more boring. Prepare for a parody of that set to the opening music from House.
The Rings of Power, which started on Amazon Prime Video on Friday around the world, has received overwhelmingly positive critical response so far, many critics praising the production values and quality compared with the also recently launched Game of Thrones prequel, House of the Dragon. Both are still better than the 1991 made-for-television Soviet adaptation of Tolkien’s books, which was rediscovered after it was suddenly uploaded to YouTube last year.
