Pat DuTuschie

When viewed in light of Tolkien's source materials the series is unwatchable. Principal, well-defined characters (such as Elrond and Galadriel) as Tolkien describes in writings from The Silmarillion through the LOTR Appendices are almost contrarily depicted in ROP. Perhaps because they could not get rights to The Silmarillion, their motivations utterly ignore the high elves' (and in particular Galadriel's) leaving the Undying Lands for middle earth. The story glosses over or ignores virtually every formative canonical event that should motivate its characters. Rather than telling Tolkien's compelling quasi- mythological world-building stories, the narrative is a bewildering slough through snail-paced, seemingly unrelated storylines. When we could have had The Ungoliant's poisoning the two trees and the saving of their light in the Silmarils, the Fall of Gondolin and the Lay of Beren and Luthien all foreshadowing the climactic end of the Third Age, we get boring proto-hobbit hobos, an insubordinate vengeful elven warrior Galdriel, an emasculated poet/oaf Elrond, along with dwarves and humans whose societies seemingly exist solely for overwrought, scenery-chewing melodrama. Perhaps it could work if viewed as an elaborate alternate-universe fan fiction; but as a genuine Tolkien adaptation, The Rings of Power doesn't ring true.

Star Trek: Brave New Worlds boldly provides what NEWTREK (Dark Trek? Star Dreck?) sensibilities just couldn't provide Entertainment. How? First: STORY. Though episodic, the stories are well written and at the same time do not reset the overall story arc. We get to keep our cake and Edith Keeler too. Second: PRODUCTION The visuals, with classic-Trek inspired color palates, costumes and modernized, yet retro-feel sets; the audio call-backs to the old Glen-Glen Sound studio effects and OS musical cues; Third, CHARACTERS and ACTORS The cast is Spot on. Anson Mount as Pike is perfect. He's played as mature, considerate and commanding, yet at the same time with an almost boyish delight in getting to be an adult-ish "spaceman spiff." Hooray for characters who don't take 5 minutes to just stare into each others' eyes weeping every 20 minutes, who are genuinely likable and whose personal conceits of their identities are not what give them value or drive their actions but whose values inform their actions and whose actions reveal to us (and them), their identities. This Trek has the charm, strength, character and story to go the distance. Engines ahead, Warp factor 6, Lt. Ortegas... and... Hit it!