The History Channel Doesn't 'Get' Tolkien

I've seen a lot of really terrible Lord of the Rings Documentaries, but the History Channel (somehow) has managed to make the worst one yet. Wow!

[John_NJDM]

History grad student here. The History Channel doesn't "get" history, either, Jess. Don't worry about it. It's a joke in academic history circles.

[nubertuberluber]

"But the worst part of the trenches were the Dementors!" -J.K. Tolkien

[normanjohnson]

You are absolutely correct, Jess. The History Channel does not get Tolkien. But then, the History Channel does not get history either; and hasn’t for some time.

[maniacOtaku]

Huge Star Wars fan here. Your assessment of "sandbox to have fun in that later became a world" is correct and it really grinds my gears that many people pretend it isn't.

[drtaverner]

Nobody at _The History Channel_ has ever written a history paper. Not even an undergrad paper. They have no idea what they're doing.

[MrDedGuy]

To be honest, if they did actually try and say JRR Tolkien wrote the Lord of the Rings as an allegory for alien influence on the history of mankind, I would applaud the History Channel for their absolute lunacy and commitment to the bit. Instead, we got a whole lot of meh.

[edamamameU]

I'm honestly surprised that the History Channel (AKA the Ancient Aliens channel) didn't try to claim that Tolkien was actually an ancient bard from the lost city of Atlantis whose work is secretly foretelling the return of an ancient alien race.

[jamesadams]

It is not true that Smaug is the last Dragon in Middleearth. He is the last Great Dragon, but Gandalf says some still dwell north of the Iron Hills

[seatbelttruck]

I'd never heard that quote about Frodo not failing his quest before, and, honestly, it made me cry and appreciate Tolkien's story so much more. I've been places like that, where I feel like I've failed because my strength gave out. Heck, I've been suicidal (not recently, fortunately). And... wow. Part of me understood that Frodo's "failing" was due to being ground down beyond his capacity to bear, but hearing it spelled out like that really brought it home. I remember being pissed as a kid reading a comparison between LOTR and Harry Potter that said Harry was a better hero because he didn't give in like Frodo did, and it made me really mad, but I couldn't really put into words why. That's why.

[stepheningle]

Amazing how they found those things "intriguing" but were somehow not "intrigued" (as in "roused to curiosity") to explore them further.

[FluffyVicky]

"Lord of the Rings is modern" is one statement bringing something to my mind my grandma born in 1945 said to me after I asked her if she read the Lord of the Rings.

"I'm not into that modern stuff."

I was like, what?.

[willemvandebeek]

The actor playing Tolkien himself looks an awful lot like Edgar Allan Poe, which makes me wonder if the History Channel has those two writers confused? 😅

[thomaskalinowski]

10:38 Denethor paused dramatically. "I . . . am your father!"

"Erm, I know, " said Faramir. "Everyone knows you're my father."

[markuhler]

The director broke out his 7th grade paper on LotR. And then post production an editor who had never heard of the books or Tolkien took over.

[Goatcha_M]

Smaug wasn't the last dragon, just the last of the Great Dragons with fire hot enough to destroy a Great Ring.
There were plenty of lesser wyrms to the north of the inhabited lands, their area is on the maps included in the books, as well as other references made by Gandalf.

[stevenguy-gibbens]

And as a huge Starwars and Tolkien fan, I completely agree with you, the 'world' of Starwars is colossal, but it's piecemeal and built over time by a massive number of contributors, although there is lots of depth to George's original world when you really pick it apart, it is such a daft comparison! George's attention was split between so many projects, while Tolkien invested a lifetime in one place!

[ricopena]

9:24 you’re so right! George RR Martin said it best at his Google talk with Stephen King: “Tolkien’s Middle Earth is a true iceberg. Mine (Westeros) is a block of ice on a barge.” Tolkien created an entire theology, geography, and history. Tolkien is still the world building expert all fantasy and science fiction writers use for inspiration.

[krummhorn]

They didn’t even get the ring itself right. It should be featureless until subjected to heat as we all know.

[reflexnight]

First thing I saw when they showed the Ring at Mt Doom... was it is covered in carvings, but in the book its described in the fellowship as follows
Gandalf held it up. It looked to be made of pure and solid gold. "Can you see any markings on it?" he asked.
"No, " said Frodo. "There are none. It is quite plain, and it never shows a scratch or sign of wear."

[Sputnik]

I think those WW1 "ghosts" were meant to symbolise the PTSD haunting the surviving soldiers.