Inside Lord of the Rings prequel The Rings Of Power – the most expensive TV show in history

THE most expensive TV show in history begins this week – but will this Lord Of The Rings spin-off dwarf its rivals?

Amazon Prime’s The Rings Of Power comes with a £850million price tag for the five series planned.

For that towering sum, Jeff Bezos’s streaming service is getting lavish sets, computer-generated beasts and the right to reinvent the works of the late author JRR Tolkien.

Apart from Sir Lenny Henry, there are no household names in the big-budget eight-part series, which starts streaming on Friday.

And while many fans of Tolkien’s fantastical Middle-earth can’t wait to see the much anticipated prequel to the Lord Of The Rings, others are already picking holes in the first series which won’t feature any hobbits.

As the wizard Gandalf once said, “All we have to decide is what to do with the time given to us”. So, should you give up your telly watching hours to more Tolkien?

What’s it about?

THE Rings Of Power is set thousands of years before the events of The Lord Of The Rings or The Hobbit novels.

It begins near the end of what Tolkien called The Second Age, when the 20 rings of power were forged.

The influence of the evil Sauron, mostly reduced to a blazing eye in the Peter Jackson movies, causes all kinds of trouble again and opposing forces must unite to defeat him.

Script details are largely secret because anyone entering the writing room needed fingerprint clearance to get in.

It is certain, though, that there should be lots of raging battles between elves, dwarves, humans and his monstrous orcs.

Expect treacherous journeys across mountains, swords clanging against helmets and short men with impressive beards, such as Welsh actor Owain Arthur’s character Prince Durin IV.

Who's in it?

FEW of the cast are well-known faces, but many are British.

The most recognisable is Sir Lenny Henry as Sadoc Burrows, a hobbit-like being known as a harfoot.

The leading lady is Welsh actress Morfydd Clark, who plays a younger version of the elf Galadriel.

While this character was wise and thoughtful when Cate Blanchett portrayed her in the films, this time she is a kick-ass avenger going after Sauron for killing her brother.

Former Hollyoaks star Maxim Baldry plays Isildur, who famously cut the ring from Sauron’s hand and Hull actor Robert Aramayo, who played the young Ned Stark in Game Of Thrones, is the half-elf Elrond.

The cast also includes Monarch Of The Glen actor Lloyd Owen as human warrior Elendil.

Is it based on Tolkien’s book?

ONLY a little bit. The script was inspired by appendices, unpublished material and poems from the British writer, who died in 1973.

Tolkien said of the Second Age that “not very much of its history is (or need be) told,” because it was often peaceful.

Jeff Bezos’s streaming channel has paid a reported £200million just to secure the TV rights to the author’s works and in return the estate, which controls the copyright of most of his books, agreed to let them expand on the events mentioned by the writer.

Simon Tolkien, the grandson of JRR Tolkien, was also a consultant to the production.

Is it similar to House Of Dragons?

THERE is little chance of The Rings Of Power being as racy as the Game Of Thrones prequel House Of The Dragon.

Even though an “intimacy coordinator” was hired for the series, which suggests it might be a bit sexier than the films, full-on nudity is highly unlikely.

The Rings Of Power has been rated 12A by British censors and Tolkien never mentioned sex in any of his novels.

The violence will also be far more family-friendly than its fantasy competitor – The British Board of Film Classification describes it as “moderate” and the bad language as “mild”.

Why watch?

HUGE sums have been spent on the splendid sets and, like Peter Jackson’s Lord Of The Rings, it was filmed in the beauty of New Zealand.

Much of Jackson’s crew, including his special-effects team Weta, are involved with the production, too, but there is more emphasis on hand-crafted costumes and buildings than computer-generated imagery.

The first two episodes were directed by JA Bayona, whose previous works include the disaster movie The Impossible and Jurassic World: Fallen Kingdom.

Plus, Tolkien’s books have sold more than 600 million copies over 80 years so his characters clearly have staying power.

Why not watch?

IF you are expecting hairy-footed hobbits, you are going to be disappointed – because there aren’t any in the first series.

Many of the other beloved characters from the Peter Jackson movies, such as Gollum and Gandalf are also expected to be absent.

The reaction of some Tolkien fans to the trailer was far from positive, with many complaining on social media about the excessive use of computer-generated imagery.

Thousands took the same quote from the Lord Of The Rings author to disparage the Amazon series – “Evil is unable to create anything new, it can only distort and destroy what has been invented or created by the forces of good.”

Will there be any more?

FIVE series are planned, with more of Middle-earth being ploughed for content.

Filming for the second season is set to begin in October in the UK, mainly in Scotland.

The Tolkien estate felt that because the author was inspired by the British landscape, it was important to use this nation’s beautiful countryside.

Much of the cast from the first series are expected to return for round two.

It's ok but not wizard

★★★☆☆

The Rings of Power - Amazon Prime

LIKE an Amazon delivery, The Rings Of Power arrives with huge amounts of packaging around the gift inside.

But with Jeff Bezos having spent a billion dollars on his shiny new Lord Of The Rings TV series, you’d expect plenty of pretty bows.

In fact, it is the beautiful New Zealand scenery, intricate sets and fantastical costumes that are a major highlight of the first two episodes.

They are a happy distraction from the plot and characters, which come thick and fast.

The history behind this series is rushed through at such a pace only JRR Tolkien devotees could properly keep up.

The audience is expected to know the significance of the “north”, “south”, “west” and “east” as characters pronounce them with furrowed brows.

Irish viewers are also unlikely to be impressed to discover that short, simple and superstitious relatives of the hobbits – known as harfoots – share their accent.

Truly precious

What is clear, though, is that Amazon Prime Video has found someone truly precious in lead actress Morfydd Clark, who is playing a young Galadriel.

The fact that Clark, can lend as much emotion to her lines about “following the light” as Cate Blanchett from Jackson’s epics is the highest compliment.

Even better, this version of the wise elf is a sword-carrying fighter able to dispatch a troll in a few strikes.

For that reason alone this expensive telly package shouldn’t be chucked over the wall just yet.