On today’s very exciting *live* webcast TORn TUESDAY at 5:00pm PDT — all Ringer fandom had their eyes on THE DESOLATION OF SMAUG live preview from this weekend — but if you missed it or saw only part of it, we are going to carefully review and analyze every little nook and cranny of it today! Peter Jackson and Jed Brophy have certainly given us much to talk about! What was that stuff on the walls of Thranduil’s underground kingdom while Bilbo was pushing some sort of barrel-releasing lever? What was that place Radagast and Gandalf were investigating? Why does Bard the Bowman look like a new-fangled Errol Flynn ready to swash a buckle at a moment’s notice? Join your host Clifford “Quickbeam” Broadway and co-host Justin “I Love Jar-Jar” Sewell on the Live Event page here, which will provide the video playback of our show, broadcast from the heart of Hollywood at Meltdown Comics, and will also let you access our wonderful Barliman’s Chatroom! There you can join hundreds of fans from around the world and bring your questions and comments to the live show! It all starts in about 10 minutes! Huzzah!
Category: TheOneRing.net Announcements
The Round of 32 is over and we have the Sweet Sixteen line-up for Middle-earth March Madness 2013! 22,000 votes were cast, and if you expected this year’s competition to progress based solely on ‘film’ character popularity, you are mistaken! Many non-film characters have made their way into the final 16 combatants!
Here are your Round 3 Match-ups…
The Shire Division
Looks like we have a high chance the winner out of The Shire Division will be an elf! The Lady of the Light, and number one seed, (1) Galadriel has a match-up of mind-blowing proportions as she faces the definitive antagonist of Arda, (4) Morgoth. Helped a bit by his prevalence in Peter Jackson’s Desolation of Smaug tease, (7) Thranduil now has a significant challenge as he faces J.R.R. Tolkien’s favored elf princess (6) Luthien.
The Erebor Division
The Cinderella story continues as (16) Pippin has made it past Dwarven favorite Fili. But will that journey come to a dramatic end as he faces fourth seed (4) Beren? But far more interesting is the match-up between (6) Elrond and (7) Aragorn. The soon to be King Elessar better not underestimate the Lord of Rivendell.
The Mordor Division
The two baddies from Tolkien’s most popular works (The Hobbit and The Lord of the Rings respectively) will face off in Round 3! (1) Smaug the Magnificent hopes to defeat the all seeing eye of (4) Sauron! (Someone make up a cool graphic for this one and we’ll post it on FB) In the other match-up, two popular characters from The Hobbit butt heads as (3) Thorin Oakenshield, most likely helped by his RA army, will face everyone’s favorite mysterious shape-shifter, (2) Beorn.
The Angmar Division
Could this division be any more exciting? (1) The One Ring has made it past Frodo Baggins, but will it defeat the King of Arda (12) Manwe, in hopes to have a potential re-match with (3) Gollum?! Gollum shouldn’t count those eggses before they hatch though. He needs to make it by (2) Gandalf the Grey. Will Gandalf’s sympathy for the wretched creature be his downfall? We shall see!
Voting starts right now and will run until March 28th at 10pm ET.
[Download Division 3 Bracket] [Round 2 Results] [Round 1 Results]
Continue reading “Middle-earth March Madness 2013 – Round 3 – Vote Now!”
Middle-earth March Madness moves to the round of 32 with a bit of controversy and surprise. With some victories settled by a single vote (Beorn vs. Faramir) and others knocking out favorites, the competition is really heating up!
Here are some Round 2 Highlights…
The Shire Division
(8) Huan had a major push against his first round opponent, but can he keep up the momentum against fan favorite and number one seeded (1) Galadriel? Can the most powerful of the Ainur (4) Morgoth take out the eldest ent (5) Treebeard? The story of (6) Luthien, considered by many to be one of the greatest told in Middle-earth, is profound and impactful, but can she overcome the recent Billion dollar box-office success of (3) Bilbo Baggins? And finally, can the elvenking of Mirkwood (7) Thranduil take out the head of the White Council (2) Saruman?
The Erebor Division
There are some very interesting match-ups in Erebor this round. Cinderella seed (16) Pippin takes on recent dwarven heart-throb (9) Fili. Last year’s champ (12) Sam is up against (4) Beren in what will most likely come down to a battle of familiarity with the stories of Middle-earth. (6) Elrond faces off against (14) Eowyn, one who continues to long to win renown in battle. Can she make this her next big victory!? And finally in a battle man vs. beast, (7) Aragorn faces off against the windlord (2) Gwaihir.
The Mordor Division
The Mordor division has some very powerful characters with some very intriguing competitions. (9) Gil-galad, the high kind of Noldor, has his hands full with the number one seed (1) Smaug. The Dark Lord (4) Sauron faces off against a worthy dwarven opponent (5) Dain Ironfoot. (11) Fingolfin could take on the likes of Morgoth, but can he handle the stout and stubborn (3) Thorin Oakenshield? Hot of this shape-shifter’s victory by a single vote, can (2) Beorn continue past her magnificence (7) Shelob?
The Angmar Division
The Angmare division looks like it has the most interesting match-up of Round 2. In a rematch of sorts, (1) The One Ring goes up against (8) Frodo Baggins. It can be said that The One Ring won out last time, but will Frodo accomplish the task this time?? The Eldar King (12) Manwe, an Ainur, faces off against a simple man, (4) Bard. Can Bard overccome insurmountable odds to win this match? Will the quickness and general sneakiness of (3) Gollum lead him past imposing dwarf (6) Dwalin? And last but not least, will (10) Merry finally get back at (2) Gandalf for making him wash all those dishes!
Voting starts right now and will run until March 25th at 10pm ET.
Continue reading “Middle-earth March Madness 2013 – Round 2 – Vote Now!”
Round 1 of Middle-earth March Madness lived up to the hype as some match-ups came down to a flurry of last minute voting, and one match-up being decided by a single vote! With nearly 12,000 votes cast, round 1 will go down as one for the record books!
In The Shire division, the battle between (8) Huan and (9) Quickbeam ended up not being as close as expected, with Huan sounding beating the hasty ent. The rest of the match-ups were pretty much across the board victories for the top seeded combatants.
In Mordor, two match-ups came down to the smallest margins. (7) Shelob squeaked by (10) “Bullroarer” Took by 32 votes, but the match-up between (2) Beorn and (15) Faramir was even more epic. That’s right, Beorn out-matched Faramir by a single vote in the closest shave of the tournament so far.
In the Erebor division, (16) Pippin may be putting on the ‘Cinderella’ moniker as he out wits the division number one seed (1) Balin. In the much hyped, and highly contested battle of dwarven brothers, (9) Fili skated by (8) Kili in easier fashion than one may have expected. And in a surprisingly close match-up, number four seed (4) Beren made a last minute push to beat out (13) Boromir.
The Angmar division did not feature any close match-ups in this round, but we did have an upset or two as (10) Merry got by the division namesake (7) The Witch-king of Angmar, and (12) Manwe got by (5) Glaurung.
Voting for Round 2 will begin tomorrow and run until 10pm on March 25th.
While you wait, download the latest bracket – [Round 2 Bracket]
As you know by now, we’ve just started our 2013 edition of Middle-earth March Madness. With a field of 64 combatants, chosen by our staff (aka selection committee) we’ve had some interesting match-ups that are very close and others that are surprise blow-outs.
With nearly 3000 votes in each match-up, here are some story lines with one more day of Round 1 voting…
The Shire Division
By far the closest match-up is between the great hound (8) Huan and the hasty (9) Quickbeam. There seem to be some strong opinions on this match-up, so we urge you to educate yourself on each character. [Huan Description] [Quickbeam Description]
All the other current leaders in this division are working out pretty close to their seeding. It will be very interested to see if (9) Quickbeam will face (5) Treebeard, or (8) Huan will face (6) Luthien!
The Erebor Division
As expected, the battle between dwarven brothers, (8) Kili and (9) Fili is a close one. Currently Fili has a slight lead, but this could change at any moment! Last year’s victor (16) Samwise Gamgee is having no problem with the infamous (5) Balrog of Moria, and the closest match-up remains (13) Boromir vs. (4) Beren.
The Mordor Division
In a bit of a surprise, (15) Faramir is giving (2) Beorn a run for his money. Faramir is currently holding 52.5% of the vote and this could be our first major upset of the tournament. The other close race has the historically polished (10) “Bullroarer” Took holding steady over her evil magnificence (7) Shelob! (1) Smaug is easily roasting (16) The Watcher in the Water, but there is another upset in the works as (11) Fingolfin seems to have a significant handle on (6) The Great Goblin.
The Angmar Division
Did (16) Denethor ever really have a chance against (1) The One Ring? Sure doesn’t look like it as The One Ring holds 90.03% of the vote! (9) Glorfindel may have been sent by Elrond to help (8) Frodo Baggins escape the Nazgûl, but he seems to be holding the slightest of leads over this Ringbearer with 50.06% of the vote. That is a match that is living up to the seeding – who will win?! In another surprise, brave (10) Merry seems to be reliving his Battle of the Pelennor Fields ‘assist’ against (7) The Witch-king of Angmar, holding 61.99% of the votes.
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We hope you are enjoying our second annual March Madness competition and encourage you to vote often! [Vote in Round 1] [Round 1 Bracket]
Welcome friends to our innovative 
streaming video webcast TORn TUESDAY, starting in about an hour at 5pm Pacific Time right here on our Live Event page. We heard that Ian McKellen is officiating over Patrick Stewart’s wedding, and we have the scoop! Also today, as the wind reversed from the West, the ravens were seen flying back to The Mountain, and the Home Video Gods were pleased with our morning sacrifice, and lo! WE HAVE THE HOBBIT: AN UNEXPECTED JOURNEY out now on DVD and Blu-Ray Combo Pack (at least in North America)!!!! Your amiable host Clifford “Quickbeam” Broadway, with producer Justin “I Love Jar-Jar” Sewell will review the home video versions and discuss all the new packaging & content. Let us guide you to making the right choice! Don’t be confused by all those many packages and review sites. The fun begins *live* at 5:00pm Pacific with our built-in Barliman’s Chat Room right here [Live Event Page], where you can chat and bring your questions.