Prequels are all the rage at the moment, with hit Game of Thrones spin-off House of the Dragon already commissioned for a second series.
On Friday Amazon Prime launched its hotly anticipated offshoot, Lord of the Rings: The Rings of Power.
Full disclosure: I loved the Peter Jackson films so I already had some skin in the game. I’d happily watch Gandalf’s wizardry all day long and seeing Aragorn ride across Middle Earth like he is in some kind of Medieval L’Oreal advert makes Dirty Dancing look tame.
But this show is based on author J.R.R. Tolkien’s notes and scribblings about his characters, not a proper novel.
Could the appendices really make a gripping series? Or would it be the TV equivalent of gathering up leftover scraps of pastry to squeeze out a disappointingly dinky mince pie?
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The action takes place thousands of years before the films, so don’t expect to spot Frodo and Sam hanging out in the Shire.
But conveniently, elves do live for a very long time so blonde warrior Galadriel (played by Cate Blanchett in the Hollywood trilogy) has a big part to play here.
She sets up the story by telling us how the evil Sauron brought war and darkness to the world for the very first time. And although he was eventually defeated, she now travels Middle Earth looking for revenge, convinced he is plotting more terror.
Her friend Elrond (another fan favourite from the films) tells her to rest, but she’s obsessed – and she’s right to be suspicious as danger is around the corner.
Amazon has poured coffers full of cash into this series and it looks just as cinematic as you would hope – it’s the kind of show massive flatscreens were made for.
Pleasingly, it also looks very similar to the films and you instantly feel like you’re in the same world. But given the investment and the hype, some great graphics and a familiar story won’t be enough to make this a success.
Personally, I really enjoyed it. The characters are fun (let’s gloss over Lenny Henry and the inexplicably Irish harfoots), the pace was right and it was a welcome break from all the maverick detectives on our screens.
Unlike Thrones and House of the Dragon, there’s no need to stomach the uncomfortable air of misogyny and incest, and the violence is far less vivid.
Plus, there’s a playfulness and humour that keeps me interested. Do I care about it as much as the films though? Probably not.
