On Friday (2 September), the first two episodes of The Lord of the Rings: The Rings of Power were released on Prime Video.
Ahead of the highly-anticipated premiere, fans have had a lot of fun with a fake opening credits scene, which bears an uncanny resemblance to a number of retro sitcoms and soap operas
The viral clip shows an arrangement of the series’ characters turning to face the camera in a dramatic fashion before fading into black – a much more low-budget offering than the real opening sequence.
“Apparently this is the intro for the new LOTR show... this is what $750 million buys you,” one popular tweet incorrectly stated.
Mashable points out that the video is actually a mash-up of images from a promo with Entertainment Weekly.
But that didn’t stop the parodies.
One viewer came to the conclusion that the opener looked exactly like the Noughties Australian comedy Kath & Kim, and overlayed the show’s theme tune over the footage of dwarves, elves and suchlike.
Another noticed that it resembled a joke scene in Community.
Additional offerings included Too Many Cooks and soap opera The Young and the Restless.
Meanwhile, others decided to meme the original clip.
“This is how it feels to be high at the mall walking by people,” one popular tweet reads.
“9 pints deep showing your mate the menu at your favourite kebab,” another wrote alongside the end of the clip showing Charles Edwards gesturing into the distance.
Find The Independent’s verdict on the series here, and a recap of the opening episodes here.
