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2018-07-09
Interesting behind-the-scenes of the book, plus Matt's most infamous rating.
Opening
0:30
Who says, when I'm not here (and this is gonna to reveal how often I listen to our show), who says the 'we are back' part?
Yeah, when you are not here, and I'm with Daniel and Koby, it is me! I say 'we are back'.
Oh good. Good good good.
So it is said.
I just don't want Koby doing it.
I would never let Koby do that.
Ben is angry about The Hobbit going to 3 movies and Star Wars getting endless movies.
The Sci-Fi Feud with Strangers and Aliens is apparently still going.
Main Topic
Bilbo is implied to be the author of The Hobbit.
Tolkien heavily retconned The Hobbit: Gandalf's motivation for helping the quest, the nature of the Ring, the relationship between dwarves and elves, and especially how Bilbo gets the Ring from Gollum.
The biggest theme of the book is Bilbo's growth from a joke to a hero. One of my three issues with the movie is that it didn't keep this theme.
49:39
Die, Christopher Tolkien, die!
The Hobbit is more personal than The Lord of the Rings. It's not an epic about Good vs Evil. Ben doubts the movie will still just be about characters and adventure like the book. The 2nd of my 3 big problems with the movie.
Tolkien's main project was The Silmarillion.
Without the commercial success of The Hobbit, he never would have done The Lord of the Rings.
1:11:19 Matt gives the Hobbit 2 stars
1:12:53
Somehow I think the Tolkien legacy is gonna survive the Matt Anderson criticism.
1:16:17
Ben and Matt predict the end of The Hobbit: An Unexpected Journey
Do you have any guess on where in the book they'll end Part One? As I was reading I was trying to figure out, how are they going to split this up? Especially when I found out that there was three. So, I have a prediction but I want to hear yours first.
I think based on the trailer, I'm going to say the part where they get chased into the trees by the wargs and...
Are those the trolls?
No, not the trolls. The wargs and the orcs, and then the eagles come and rescue them.
And that's how the first one's going to end?
Yeah.
I think...let me see here...
You're turned to like the first page.
The table of contents!
You don't have a lot of confidence in Peter Jackson!
Table of contents. I could...'Flies and Spiders'...I feel like they have to at least introduce a little bit of Smaug before they call the second movie, 'Desolation of Smaug'. So I wonder if they'll kind of flash to him, and we'll see what he's doing even though--
You'll just have random scenes of Smaug sleeping--
Smoking from his nose.
Nailed it.
1:19:49
Speaking of people sending in emails, I got an email from someone else who (and I don't think I forwarded it to you for some reason) from someone else who is also converting to Catholicism and they're in the RCIA process as well.
Interesting.
So I don't remember his name, but you know who you are. So thank you for your email, and good luck to you.
And, I've actually been emailed by tons of people that didn't bring up any conversion to Catholicism, so I'm guessing they're just staying Protestant. Good work, everybody.
Archivist Note
Should have combined this with the previous episode on Scientology and called it "Elrond Hubbard".