New Lord of the Rings series makes Game of Thrones look quaint

Since Amazon is paying an unheard of $60 million per episode for The Lord Of The Rings: The Rings Of Power, I was hoping I’d see every last cent up on
the screen.

If the number of times my jaw hit the floor during the opening instalments counts for anything, I’d say it definitely is.

In terms of scale, there really is nothing like it on television – which I appreciate is a ridiculous thing to say when the mega-budget Game Of Thrones spin-off House Of The Dragon is sharing the schedules.

If you’d asked me two weeks ago if TV could look more big budget than House Of The Dragon, I’d have said no.”

If you’d asked me two weeks ago if TV could look more big budget than House Of The Dragon, I’d have said no. But that series only (ONLY!) cost $20m per episode. With a 300% budget increase, The Rings Of Power blows it out the water and the antics of George RR Martin’s fantasy world look positively quaint in comparison.

I’m not a fantasy nut by any stretch, so the fact I enjoyed it so much is notable. I was impressed with the first three of Peter Jackson’s LOTR films, but by the time he expanded The Hobbit into a three-movie slog, I was well and truly off the train to Middle Earth.

If you’re someone who also soured on the films, I’m happy to report that The Rings Of Power feels like a return to form (at least based on the early episodes I’ve seen).

Set thousands of years before the events of The Fellowship Of The Ring, it’s heavy on the mythology but, to its credit, isn’t too overwhelming for fair-weather fans. That said, I wouldn’t dissuade anyone from having The Lord Of The Rings Wiki page open on their phones.

So visually stupendous, so over-stuffed with epic battles, monsters and adventure, it more than lives up to the hype.”

But finding a spare moment to “name that elf” might be tricky since I found it pretty hard to tear my eyes off the on-screen spectacle.

It’s so visually stupendous, so over-stuffed with epic battles, monsters and adventure, it more than lives up to the hype and title of the biggest show in the history of TV.

Which I suppose it should, for $60 million an episode.

You might also like…