Here it is, Pop Medievalists — the episode that was supposed to drop months ago before Mt Doom exploded on Doc and Nina. What does that mean? They’ll explain in the next episode! Anyway, here, they watch the season finale of The Rings of Power and offer their live commentary. Engineer Mike makes a rare audio appearance for you Engineer Mike stans.
Pop Medieval is back for Season 4! Doc and Nina discuss the most expensive television show ever, “The Lord of the Rings: The Rings of Power.” Their mutual consensus: negative, to varying degrees. Why does this show “insist upon itself?”
Topics include: Nina’s GED in Lotrology, David Bowie’s codpiece, elven swimming abilities, how to time soap opera pacing, Thomas Kinkade, the demon children of elf heaven, Spirit Halloween Numinorians, and how any show — regardless of the subject matter — can be improved with dinosaurs.
Doc and Nina are getting ready to kick off season 4 of Pop Medieval! But first, a minisode! Pulled from an outtake from season 3, Nina attempts to recall the events of the “Lord of the Rings” as a non-LotR geek, from memory. Can she recall all the plot points? (She! Does not! Pass!)
Doc and Nina try to record an episode without giggling, but the lord of the lash says, “nay, nay, nay!” They are back in Nerdhaven studios together and, propelled by the new Lord of the Rings series called “The Rings of Power,” discuss some Tolkien adaptations. Stay for a serenade.
Topics discussed: Overpromising book deadlines, selective rotoscoping, a shocking dvd discovery, Rankin Bass’s confusing start and bizarre flashbacks, Nina’s need for a map, Frodo-mon, the fourth wall break, and justice for the felbeast.
Pop Medieval Episode 32: In Mother Russia...They Include Tom Bombadil
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We lost our minds earlier this month when Russia’s 5TV uploaded a two-part Soviet television adaptation of The Lord of the Rings. This performance, once believed lost to time by scholars who knew of its existence, comes from 1991, at the tail-end of the Soviet Union. Now, both parts are up on YouTube for the world to watch. It’s time to pack a thermos of borscht and set forth on an adventure toward Mount Doom on a mission of perestroika!
Doc and Nina discuss the performance as both a scholar of Soviet/post-Soviet History and a defender of the performing arts (respectively). They’ll start off by giving the low production value a context, work their way through the mournful Russian folk music, puzzle about the frigid weather in the Shire, and, of course, discuss Tom Bombadil. Nina is on a quest for Soviet propaganda and Doc will also answer the question: is The Lord of the Rings an allegory for WWII? Warning: bad Russian accents and worse Soviet jokes lie within.
