Barliman's Chat Fan reaction to The Hobbit: An Unexpected Journey has been broadly supportive, and the commercial success of the film is undeniable. But we all recognise there are divergences from the canon of Tolkien’s legendarium.

That’s why, this weekend, Hall of Fire will revive our traditional Tolkien Purists’ Whine and Cheese Party™, and pick apart all the changes that Peter Jackson and his crew chose to make.

We’ll be asking … what were the things — big or little — that bugged you?

Is it the portrayal of Radagast the Brown? The total invention of the Nazgul-tombs? The absence of Dain Ironfoot at Azanulbizar, or the suzvival of the great orc, Azog? Maybe it was the corny one-liners of the Great Goblin? Or maybe it was something else entirely? Something to do with Bilbo, Gandalf or the Dwarves?

Which of these threw you? Which ones were you able to shrug off and just roll with? And, since changes inevitably come with adaptations, do they really make that much of a difference?

Join us this Saturday January 12 at 5pm EST (New York time) in Hall of Fire when we’ll discuss all this and more!

Time zone conversions

Not sure what time the chat will be where you are? Check this little conversion table out for some help. Alternatively, find your city on this more complete Event Announcer on Time and Date.

America:
5.00pm EST (New York)
4.00pm CST (Chicago)
2.00pm MST (Denver)
2.00pm PST (Los Angeles)

Europe:
10.00pm GMT (London)
11.00pm CET (Paris)
Midnight EET (Helsinki)

Asia-Pacific
8.00am AEST (Sunday) Brisbane
9.00am AEDT (Sunday) Sydney, Melbourne
11.00am NZDT (Sunday) Wellington

How long do your topic chats go for?

Our chats usually last an hour, and are very newbie friendly. Simply drop in and join the conversation! However, our main room, #theonering.net is open 24 hours a day. We don’t always talk Tolkien there, but if you have a burning question, you’ll usually find one or two of “the regulars” up for a chat!

Where — connection details

Chat happens on #thehalloffire on irc.theonering.net — the TORn IRC server. You can connect instantly via our embedded Mibbit client that works inside your web browser.

Alternatively, you can install a dedicated chat program such as mIRC on your computer and just plug in the following connection details.

Server: irc.theonering.net
Port: 6667
Channel: #thehalloffire