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Article from 12/18/2003
The following article was the answer of a fan to Tim's article:
I have just re-read the trilogy after a long lay-off, and whilst admitting it is a masterpiece, not all written by JRR is wonderful. Peter Jackson
has wisely edited out the awful and pointless Tom Bombadil (and therefore by necessity the Barrow Downs) and reduced the part played by
the somewhat ridiculous Ents. Such omissions naturally mean certain actions must be attributed to different characters, but the overall
narrative benefits.
As for the Scouring Of The Shire, it has no place in the films. The climax of the trilogy is the battle and the destruction of the ring. You
cannot realistically have a film with a big end, then a little one. It is diminishing returns.
The 'Scouring' would have been better served as one of the appendices detailing the fate of the main characters. As for calling
Saruman 'Sharkey' - are we dealing with a 1930's gangster 'B' movie here?
The only use for that part of the tale that I could think of is as a 'framing sequence' for the 'The Hobbit' Movie. Frodo returns to the Shire,
overthrows Saruman and is asked by his neighbours to explain where all the fuss with the ring stemmed from anyway. Well, it began with
Bilbo and 13 Dwarves, says Frodo.......
The books are incredible and despite Peter Jackson's worthy efforts, books will always be able to convey more history and depth than
films, but make no mistake, the actual plot is better served in the movies.
by Ian
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