Hear that sound of swords clashing, of cries from the battlefield? It can only mean one thing – March Madness is here! Time to decide where your allegiance lies… This year, TheOneRing.net brings you Middle-earth March Madness 2024: Magical Moments.

Our ‘Regions’ are made up of moments where magic occurs, in The Hobbit and in the three parts of The Lord of the Rings. From the reading of moon runes to the secrets of Galadriel’s mirror; from Gandalf’s return in white, to the resurgence of the White Tree – what exactly constitutes magic in Middle-earth? Which beings have magical abilities, and what are the most compelling moments when they use those powers? YOU decide!

TORn’s volunteer staffers have voted and come up with a ‘long list’ of 64 events (16 from each book), which have been seeded based on staff votes. These moments have abbreviated titles on our bracket graphic, due to space limitations; but here’s the complete list in full (listed in their seeding order):

The Hobbit Division

  1. Moon Runes Appear on Thrain’s Map
  2. Bilbo’s Ring Turns Him Invisible
  3. The Last Light of Durin’s Day Reveals the Keyhole
  4. Orcrist and Sting Glow Blue
  5. The Trolls Turn to Stone at Sunrise
  6. The Black Arrow Strikes Home/Takes Down Smaug
  7. Beorn Shape Shifts
  8. Mirkwood Elven Feasts Disappear and Leave Intruders Stunned
  9. The Arkenstone Shines with a Brilliant Inner Light
  10. Beorn Has Highly Hospitable Animals
  11. Mirkwood’s Enchanted River Leads to Bombur’s Long Nap
  12. The Eagles Arrive at the Battle of Five Armies
  13. Smaug is a Good Conversationalist
  14. The White Council Dislodges the Necromancer
  15. Troll William’s Purse Talks
  16. Sentient Spiders React Poorly to Name-Calling

The Fellowship of the Ring Division

  1. Bilbo Vanishes at His Birthday Party
  2. Gandalf Adds Wild Water Horses at the Flood of the Bruinen
  3. Galadriel Has Psychic Mind-Probing Power
  4. Gandalf Puts On a Spectacular Fireworks Show
  5. Durin’s Doors Open at the Right Password
  6. Gandalf Confronts the Balrog with Glamdring and the Flame of Anor
  7. The Mirror of Galadriel Proves Perilous
  8. Boromir’s Horn Echoes Throughout Gondor
  9. Mithril Mail Stops a Cave Troll Spear
  10. Lorien’s Time Flows Differently
  11. Gandalf Is a Moth-Whisperer
  12. The Elven Tonic Miruvor Cures the Cold
  13. Frodo Can See All the Way to Mordor from Amon Hen
  14. Tom Bombadil Does a Parlor Trick with the One Ring
  15. Narsil Is Reforged to Become Anduril
  16. Tom Bombadil Responds to His Rescue Song
Enjoying a glass of Miruvor…

The Two Towers Division

  1. Gandalf the White Returns from the Dead
  2. The Palantir Snares Pippin
  3. Gandalf Heals Theoden from Saruman’s Curse
  4. Elven Cloaks Hide Their Wearers Very Well
  5. Hithlain Rope Comes When It’s Called
  6. Lembas Sustain the Fellowship on Their Quest
  7. Growing Hobbits Drink Ent Draught
  8. Shadowfax Can Run Really Really Fast
  9. Elven Boats Are Unsinkable Even After Rauros
  10. Saruman Upgrades Regular Orcs to Uruk-Hai
  11. Faramir Dreams of Boromir’s Death
  12. The Tower of Orthanc Is Indestructible Even for Ents
  13. Enraged Ents in battle
  14. Don’t Mess with the Huorns
  15. Aragorn Ages Well
  16. The Dead Marshes Have Party Lights

The Return of the King Division

  1. The Witch King Is Destroyed by “No Man”
  2. The Army of the Dead Is Summoned at the Stone of Erech
  3. The Phial of Galadriel Stops Shelob
  4. Athelas Will Cure Whatever Ails You
  5. Turns Out You Can Destroy the One Ring (aka the power of Mount Doom!)
  6. Elven Ships Leave Middle-earth and the Spheres of the World
  7. Gandalf the White Repels the Nazgul During Faramir’s Retreat
  8. The Dark Tower Falls
  9. The Smoke from Orodruin Covers Vast Territory for Days
  10. Aragorn Wields the Palantir to Confront Sauron
  11. The Watchers at Cirith Ungol Warn of Spies in Mordor
  12. Shelob’s Webs Are No Match for Sting
  13. It Turns Out a New White Tree of Gondor Has Been Growing for Years
  14. Rohan Arrives on the Pelennor Fields as the Rooster Crows
  15. Galadriel’s Gift of Soil to Sam Sees the Shire Reborn
  16. The Witch King’s Sword Is on Fire!

How you decide, of course, is up to you. We expect there may be some debate, out of the moments we have chosen, about which are actually ‘magic’. How/what defines such power, and how does it operate in Middle-earth? And for the moments you believe ARE magical – how do you choose your favourite? Will your votes be based on how these moment are described in Tolkien’s writing? Perhaps you have preferences based on childhood memories of Rankin Bass cartoons… Or maybe you’ll just toss a coin! It’s up to you; but however you decide, now is the time to place your votes!

How does it work, you ask? Simple! Click on one of the orange division buttons below. Then click the ‘Vote Now’ option that appears above the divisional bracket. This year, as with last year, you get to vote in each divisional match-up in one convenient and visual interface. Note – you need to click each division to vote in their respective brackets. So let’s get voting!

You have until the end of the day Thursday March 21st to vote in Round One; on Friday 22nd we’ll announce winners and open voting for Round Two! Join us for TORn Tuesday, where we’ll discuss and debate March Madness 2024; let the games begin!

The rollout of the Amazon’s The Lord of the Rings: The Rings of Power TV series has re-energized Middle-earth fandom, and one thing is clear, we all love to get together, online, at conventions, and at the theater and talk Tolkien.

Reading The Hobbit during the Baggins Birthday Bash

The Baggins Birthday Bash, coming to Los Angeles at 11:30am on September 24 at Griffith Park’s Mineral Wells picnic area is the perfect way for SoCal Tolkien fans to gather and party like Hobbits. There will be games, there will be food, there will be plenty of Tolkien discussion going on, and I’m sure we can fit some fun in there somewhere.

Regarding food, in the before times it was a big buffet, and last year, we decided to ask everyone to just bring enough food and drink for their own party. This year, it will probably end up being a bit of a hybrid. Some will just bring what they want to eat, and a few will bring shareable dishes, and we’ll let the food and drink sort itself out. It would be nice if some folks bring extra picnic plates and cups, maybe some paper towels, and of course, everyone should bring a portable chair or blanket and a popup if you have it.

We would like to bring back the Cake or Cupcake contest for the best Middle-earth designed desserts. We’ve had some really creative and beautiful designs in the past, so start contemplating now on how to wow your fellow fans this year. Costumes are welcome, as usual, especially any new 2nd Age costumes. If we do trivia, there is a decent chance it will include some references to the Rings of Power show, since the 5th episode will have screened just 2 days before the picnic.

Please do RSVP on our Facebook Event page, located at: https://www.facebook.com/events/1271178800320132/ and read through the About Details, including selecting ‘see more’ to access the directions for those driving from different sections of Southern California in order to get to Griffith Park and the Mineral Wells section of the park.

TORn Tuesday’s co-host Justin flew around the world — at his own expense — to experience the first showings of Prime Video’s huge The Lord of the Rings: The Rings Of Power with fellow fans in NYC and London. Now having seen it twice, after years of the most spoileriffic leaks, here is his review of the first two episodes of The Lord of the Rings: The Rings of Power on Prime.

Producers Lindsey Weber, JD Payne and Patrick McKay introducing themselves to fans in NYC

Back in 2002, I sat down in a theater full of fellow Ringers at midnight as an unknown jovial British man with a deep voice walked out to introduce The Two Towers. Andy Serkis had come at the invite of TheOneRing.net to opening night. Nobody knew who he was other than the IMDb credit and 3 seconds of trailer time — and this guy looked & sounded nothing like Gollum. There was also a lot of chatter leading up to the release of The Two Towers that book lovers were terrified of — that the elves had been reassigned from the books to honor the last alliance at Helm’s Deep (ruining Tolkien’s greatest battlefield reunion in The Return of the King). Leaked set pics showed Arwen fighting at Helm’s deep. Jar Jar Binks all-CGI characterization had “ruined” Star Wars, and all-CGI Gollum was ready to ruin Tolkien. 

The lights dimmed. The screen showed the familiar landscapes. Then the camera dived INTO the mountain to replay one of the greatest scenes of Fellowship (natch, film history). Oh great, I thought, another film that does “when we last left our heroes” recap. And then the camera follows Gandalf as he falls into battle with Durin’s Bane, as an epic choral music laments their fall into the great chasm. I lept out of my seat! I couldn’t believe a movie had just shown me things I had never seen before, never expected, and a style of storytelling I didn’t think possible. The Two Towers changed my movie going life, and it is still my favorite of the trilogy.

My Rings of Power take after seeing the pilot episodes twice and really diving into the visual details:

Prime Video’s The Rings of Power brings back that feeling of discovery. It changes what television is capable of. It redefines multi-storyline TV. It completely immerses you in Middle-earth from the start, and delivers an incredible storytelling experience that stays true to the tone of Tolkien while necessarily charting a new path. 

The Rings of Power finally delivers on Gimli’s promise to the Fellowship that his kin would provide a warm welcome in Moria. We finally see dwarven culture at its pinnacle — a fully realized society that is well-fed, well-worked, and well-machined. These dwarves will feel familiar to Hobbit trilogy fans, with great-looking, practical makeup FX (allegedly supported by Weta Workshop), but it’s the characterizations that really take this culture beyond the comedy of the movies. Fans of deep lore will rewatch the dwarven scenes to spot the many Easter eggs of items lost to time in the books.

All the other lands and races are equally fully realized, even the orc culture. We are all aware of the amount of effort needed to accomplish creative at this level thanks to Peter Jackson’s Appendices. It’s obvious hundreds of top creative talent are collaborating on this show. There is a visible sense of pride in the work from all the details both visual and narratively. This is a billion dollar TV show and it shows. It takes that much support to realize Tolkien’s vast imagination — which is larger in the Second Age than the Third Age seen in the films. The Second Age just has more of everything. More societies. More cities. More arid lands. More areas to explore. More destruction. My biggest fear now is that future seasons of The Rings of Power may not get the same generous budget, knowing what enormous cataclysms are to come.

Writing on the show is peak television at its pinnacle. Prime has assembled an all-star fellowship of writers from the best shows on TV — Breaking Bad, Better Call Saul, Hannibal, Game of Thrones, and more. Absolutely no characters from the vast collective on this show feel cardboard, short changed, nor one-dimensional. Everyone quickly has motivations created and their place in society established. TV has never seen a character break as bad as Sauron, the lord of all the rings, and the pilot episodes set up the stakes for Middle-earth.

J.A Bayona was absolutely the right director to establish the look and feel of this show. From his water work with The Impossible to the dark tones of Penny Dreadful, Bayona captures the existential dread that Middle-earth may not know is coming. Showrunners J.D. Payne and Patrick McKay are living our collective fan dream overseeing this massive project. Their imaginations are reaching for the same great heights that JRR Tolkien famously attempted, yet still under the guardrails and guidelines he established. Tolkien envisioned filmmakers expanding his Legendarium with his “other minds and hands, wielding paint and music & drama” and these guys are up to the task. Having chatted with them many times over the last six months it’s clear that these other and hands are the right ones to continuing shaping the history of Middle-earth.

Fans may forget that Peter Jackson’s The Lord of the Rings was full of no-name actors. It was Orlando Bloom’s first work, Billy Boyd’s first movie, and the biggest job for the hundreds of longtime kiwi actors. Rings of Power continues that tradition of unveiling top talent on the global stage. These folks are future stars. All the recent discourse of how they look and talk — also things fans also complained about in 2001 — is put to rest the minute the show starts. There is no wink at the camera or in-your-face notice me going on. These performances live in Middle-earth, period. Tolkien’s source text allow for a very expansive visual canon which the filmmakers are developing with the highest of standards. All the fears fans have of this “looking like television” are proven invalid. Better than other space and superhero TV shows, this is Middle-earth looking exactly like it should: the proper continuation of a $6 billion franchise and most-awarded film series of all time. 

Even if it’s not a continuation. We have covered the rights situation numerous times over the last 4 years on this site and on YouTube. Testament to loyalty to JRR Tolkien is the involvement of Simon Tolkien (the current elder family stateman) in the production of the show, and no less that 11 living Tolkien relatives showing up to the London premiere. It’s a privilege to have Royd Tolkien a longtime friend of TORn, but to have his family there at The Rings of Power premiere unlocked a feeling I didn’t know this franchise needed: full support of the sub-creator’s legacy, and a proper continuation of his life’s work. There’s a trust in the show there, now, that I didn’t know was missing.

Royd Tolkien & Justin at the London Screening
Tolkien Professor Dr. Corey Olsen, Clifford Broadway and Nerd of the Rings debate lore of the TV show in NYC

I’m looking forward to the many debates fans will have, and we will have at TheOneRing.net, over the choices made by the filmmakers. I’m reminded of the TORn staff that walked out of The Two Towers theatrical opening, disgusted that Frodo and Sam were at Osgiliath with an unrecognizable Faramir. My favorite film of Peter Jackson’s The Lord of the Rings has its detractors and I respect their perspectives, and The Rings Of Power will undoubtedly generate similar debates that can only strengthen our love of Middle-earth. Maybe we should bring back RINGER REVIEWS so all us fans can share our assessment of each of the 50 episodes to come.

As I walked out of that first screening, and now a second one in London, my one word review of Lord of the Rings: The Rings of Power two-part pilot remains:

PERFECTION.
No Notes.

Huge thanks to all the teams at Prime Video that have supported the fans throughout this journey of creation, for inviting hundreds of fans to these free screenings around the world, for all the support at Comic-Con and DragonCon, and for all the friendly (sometimes intense) conversations as we shared the excitement for this show. Fans are happy to be seen, and will be very happy with the finished product.

Tune in every Tuesday at 8pm ET for TORn Tuesday LIVE with Clifford & Justin, and chat anytime on the TORn Discord at https://discord.gg/theonering

Tying in with the upcoming release of The Lord of the Rings: The Rings of Power tv series, Amazon Books has launched a new Lord of the Rings Book Club.

The Book Club will be starting in September with The Fellowship of the Ring, The Two Towers will follow in October and finishing in November with The Return of the King. To take part visit www.amazon.com/lotrbookclub

Press Release

On August 25th Amazon Books launched its newest Top Book Club, this one centered around The Lord of the Rings (LOTR) trilogy and hosted by the Amazon Book Review’s Managing Editor, Marcus Mann. The LOTR Book Club will start in September and continue monthly, covering: The Fellowship of the Rings (September), The Two Towers, (October), and The Return of the King(November).

A beloved franchise, LOTR has always had a passionate and engaged reading fan base, and with all of the reader excitement for Prime Video’s ‘Rings of Power,’ Marcus will be reacting and discussing the various connections between the books and the show as the series airs. He will host an interactive club where members can celebrate a shared love of the series and live video discussions.

“Reading The Lord of the Rings has been one of my favourite escapes since I was a child, when the series first captured my imagination,” said Marcus. “I’m thrilled to be able to take this journey through Middle-earth again with readers around the world in our new Amazon Book Club. I can’t wait to share the experience and learn from the perspective of old fans and new alike!“

Amazon Book Clubs is a free service where readers join book clubs of all genres or create their own. To join the LOTR Book Club and start discussing with fellow Tolkien fans, visit  www.amazon.com/lotrbookclub

The Haggerty Museum of Art and Raynor Memorial Libraries at Marquette University will be presenting a a lecture series in September in conjunction with the collaborative exhibition “J.R.R. Tolkien: The Art of the Manuscript.

The exhibition — which opens on August 19 — will feature original manuscripts created by J.R.R. Tolkien for his The Hobbit, The Lord of the Rings and other works. It will consider Tolkien’s work through the lens of manuscripts, in terms of both the materials that he studied as a medieval philologist and the manuscripts that he created while developing his legendarium.

All lectures will be held at the Haggerty Museum of Art and are free to attend. They will also be streamed online for audiences who wish to attend virtually (great for people not in the USA!). The museum states that — due to limited capacity — reservations are required. You can reserve a place to attend the lectures here.

Thursday, Sept. 22, 5 p.m.: “Editing the Tolkienian Manuscript,” presented by Carl Hostetter

Carl Hostetter is a computer scientist at NASA who has earned a reputation as one of the leading experts on J.R.R. Tolkien’s invented languages. He is a key member of the Elvish Linguistic Fellowship, an elite group of four Tolkien scholars whom the Tolkien Estate has entrusted with special access to the author’s unpublished linguistic manuscripts. These linguists have published extensively on Tolkien’s invented languages, including in “Vinyar Tengwar,” a peer-reviewed journal that Hostetter edits.

Hostetter is one of the most experienced students of Tolkien’s manuscripts. His ability to read and interpret Tolkien’s notoriously difficult handwriting is second to none. Christopher Tolkien (1924-2020) entrusted Hostetter with editing his father’s last volume of published writings, released in 2021 under the title, “The Nature of Middle-earth.” Hostetter’s work is highly regarded by Tolkien scholars. His volume “Tolkien’s Legendarium”—co-edited with Verlyn Flieger—is considered one of the best collections of essays on the history of Tolkien’s secondary world.

Thursday, Oct. 13, 5 p.m.: “Tolkien’s Faith and the Foundations of Middle-earth,” presented by Holly Ordway

Holly Ordway is a rising star among Tolkien scholars. Her 2021 book “Tolkien’s Modern Reading” is a tour de force destined to become a classic in Tolkien studies. Ordway demonstrated that Tolkien, usually pigeonholed as a medievalist, was remarkably well read in modern literature.

Her work shows how many modern works affected Tolkien’s creative output. Currently on faculty at Houston Baptist University, Ordway has taught English at the University of North Carolina-Chapel Hill and MiraCosta College. She specializes in J.R.R. Tolkien and, more generally, in mythopoeic literature. Ordway’s current research project is a book-length treatment of Tolkien’s Catholicism, fitting for a Catholic, Jesuit university such as Marquette.

Thursday, Nov. 17, 5 p.m.: “Whispering Leaves: How Tolkien’s Manuscripts Reveal the Secrets of His Creativity,” presented by John Garth

Trained as a journalist, John Garth has gained an international reputation as a leading writer about J.R.R. Tolkien and a popular commentator on Tolkien’s works and life. His published works include the recent “The Worlds of J.R.R. Tolkien” (2020). His earlier masterpiece, “Tolkien and the Great War” (2003), is universally acknowledged as a classic in the field of Tolkien Studies.

Garth, who has made a special study of Tolkien’s manuscripts, will focus his lecture on a manuscript that is part of Marquette’s collection and has never previously been exhibited or published. He will demonstrate his renowned historical research skills by analyzing the manuscript and using it to tease out insights about Tolkien’s experiences during the Second World War.

Tickets for the “J.R.R. Tolkien: The Art of the Manuscript” exhibition are on sale now. Tickets are $10 for general admission and $8 for senior citizen and active military (with I.D.). Friends of the Haggerty Museum of Art members, K-12 educators, children aged 17 and under, and Marquette University students, faculty members, and staff members are free with advance reservations and a valid I.D. The exhibition will be open until 8 p.m. on the night of each lecture.

About the Haggerty Museum of Art

The Haggerty Museum of Art at Marquette University is an innovative nexus of interdisciplinary learning where creativity, intellect and social justice intersect. Located in the heart of the Near West Side, adjacent to downtown Milwaukee, and open daily, the museum is one of the most accessible arts venues in the city.

“The Short Lay of Earendel, Earendillínwë,” Version K, ca. 1949–1953
“The Short Lay of Earendel, Earendillínwë,” Version K, ca. 1949–1953. Raynor Memorial Libraries, Marquette University. Credit: © The Tolkien Estate Limited 2022.

BBC has enlisted noted Tolkien scholar John Garth for this Middle-earth quiz that may actually stretch your knowledge of The Lord of the Rings.

Garth is best-known for his award-winning book Tolkien and the Great War as well as The Worlds of J.R.R. Tolkien: The Places that Inspired Middle-earth.

There’s no “what is the name of Frodo’s sword?” questions in this quiz. Instead, he’s set 15 tricky questions that will test your ability to recall some fine details about Tolkien’s novel.

Test your LOTR knowledge over at the BBC.

Thanks to Pontin on our Discord for the link.