Mar
28
At long last, Silmarillion Seminar Episode 21, “Random Things Mandos Said at a Party” (the second session on Chapter 19, “Of Beren and Luthien”) is now available for download.
Mar
23
The latest installment of Dr. Olsen’s Riddles in the Dark podcast series has just been posted over at Mythgard’s site. Take a listen as he and Dave Kale discuss “Bombur and Buffoonery” – the beginnings of the talks on how humor might be incorporated into Peter Jackson’s celluloid adaptation of Tolkien’s The Hobbit.
Mar
18
Recently, The Tolkien Professor has been very busy launching a brand new option in higher education. Like its sister school, the Mythgard Institute, the newly founded Signum University aims to bring top-notch teaching to students everywhere using innovative educational technology – at a price that people can actually afford.
Learn more about Signum University. We’re sure you’ll love what you see!
Mar
13
At last, Silmarillion Seminar Episode 20, “Thingol, Father of the Year” (on Chapter 19, “Of Beren and Luthien”) is now available for download.
Mar
09
Episode Four is now available!
Prof. Corey Olsen and Dave Kale finally get to the heart of the matter and discuss Thorin Oakenshield. They compare his different portrayals across The Hobbit, Appendix A of The Return of the King, and different versions of The Quest of Erebor and analyze how they may be combined and adapted by Peter Jackson’s team in the upcoming The Hobbit films. They focus in on his testy relationship with Gandalf, as well as his rivalry with Bilbo over the leadership of the group, and they speculate how the filmmakers may craft his story arc and character development. Finally, they zero in on one specific moment: will the filmmakers preserve Thorin’s early capture by the elves of Mirkwood, or will they add him to the battle with the spiders?
Prediction of the Week: How will Thorin end up in the Elvenking’s dungeon?
(A) Just as in the book: he will be taken by the elves prior to the spider conflict. (B) He will be captured with the rest of them, after the spider fight; they won’t be separated. (C) Neither of the above.
