Oldest and Fatherless: The Terrible Secret of Tom Bombadil (2011) • Hacker News Board

Re: Oldest and Fatherless: The Terrible Secret of Tom Bombadil (2011)

#41

Post by Trasmatta » Thu, Jul 28, 2022, 1:54 PM UTC

lordfoom wrote: post #32

Trasmatta wrote: post #29

> Possibly the least liked character in The Lord of the Rings. A childish figure so disliked by fans of the book that few object to his absence from all adaptations of the story. I've been a fan of Tolkien for decades, and this doesn't match up with my experience at all...Tolkien fans seem to generally love Tom, and many were deeply disappointed that he wasn't in the movies (even though his exclusion makes perfect se…

There is even an active sub-reddit of fans: https://old.reddit.com/r/GloriousTomBombadil/ And his absence from the films was remarked upon, negatively in my circles.

> And his absence from the films was remarked upon, negatively in my circles.

Yeah, same. On Tolkien forums in the early to mid 2000's, I think these were the most commented on complaints about the movies:

* No Tom Bombadil

* No Scouring of the Shire

* Movie Faramir vs book Faramir

* The Ents deciding to not help Merry and Pippin at first (tbh, this is the one that still gets me the most. It sort of ruined a key attribute of the Ents just for a tiny bit of extra tension for a short scene.)

I'm probably missing some, but those were the ones I remember coming up the most.

Re: Oldest and Fatherless: The Terrible Secret of Tom Bombadil (2011)

#42

Post by fritztastic » Thu, Jul 28, 2022, 1:55 PM UTC

Trasmatta wrote: post #29

> Possibly the least liked character in The Lord of the Rings. A childish figure so disliked by fans of the book that few object to his absence from all adaptations of the story. I've been a fan of Tolkien for decades, and this doesn't match up with my experience at all...Tolkien fans seem to generally love Tom, and many were deeply disappointed that he wasn't in the movies (even though his exclusion makes perfect se…

I was disappointed he was not in the films, however everyone else I know was glad of this omission. I think his character adds a certain something- maybe something a lot of people don't appreciate. Not including him in the movies, I thought, was a missed opportunity.

Re: Oldest and Fatherless: The Terrible Secret of Tom Bombadil (2011)

#43

Post by ertian » Thu, Jul 28, 2022, 1:56 PM UTC

Cthulhu_ wrote: post #17

JohnJamesRambo wrote: post #5

Interesting ideas but having listened to a mountain of Tolkien Professor podcasts, I don’t think this is a canonical view of Bombadil. My impression is that he is not evil, he is just so old and powerful that he doesn’t care about power anymore.

You mean like a Lovecraftian horror as described in the last quote on the article?

More like Dr Manhattan with a sense of humor.

Re: Oldest and Fatherless: The Terrible Secret of Tom Bombadil (2011)

#44

Post by orthoxerox » Thu, Jul 28, 2022, 1:57 PM UTC

tmcneal wrote: post #33

This reminds me of the fan theory that Tom Bombadil is secretly the Witch-King of Angmar: http://www.flyingmoose.org/tolksarc/theories/bombadil.htm

But did Aragorn wear pants?

Re: Oldest and Fatherless: The Terrible Secret of Tom Bombadil (2011)

#45

Post by HeckFeck » Thu, Jul 28, 2022, 1:59 PM UTC

ramesh31 wrote: post #7

Who the hell is Tom Bombadil?

Repeat this refrain and he'll immediately appear for a merry introduction:

    Ho! Tom Bombadil, Tom Bombadillo!
    By water, wood and hill, by the reed and willow,
    By fire, sun and moon, harken now and hear us!
    Come, Tom Bombadil, for our need is near us!

Re: Oldest and Fatherless: The Terrible Secret of Tom Bombadil (2011)

#46

Post by jccalhoun » Thu, Jul 28, 2022, 2:00 PM UTC

Trasmatta wrote: post #29

> Possibly the least liked character in The Lord of the Rings. A childish figure so disliked by fans of the book that few object to his absence from all adaptations of the story. I've been a fan of Tolkien for decades, and this doesn't match up with my experience at all...Tolkien fans seem to generally love Tom, and many were deeply disappointed that he wasn't in the movies (even though his exclusion makes perfect se…

Agreed. Back when Aint it Cool News was popular I would see tons of people complaining about Bombadil's absence.

Personally, I hate Tom, not because he is childish, but because of the damn songs.

Re: Oldest and Fatherless: The Terrible Secret of Tom Bombadil (2011)

#47

Post by boringg » Thu, Jul 28, 2022, 2:00 PM UTC

1234letshaveatw wrote: post #34

boringg wrote: post #12

Is this popping up because of Elden Ring coming out in the fall?

Why does it seem like everyone wants it to fail? It is almost like everyone has deemed it to be a disaster without watching one episode. I hope that is not the case and critics go in with an open mind, why sap all the fun out of it right out of the starting gate

I didn't say anything about it or alluding to it failing - I mentioned that there is LOTR content popping up at the same time as Elden Ring is getting traction. Your bias really shines through here.

Re: Oldest and Fatherless: The Terrible Secret of Tom Bombadil (2011)

#48

Post by HeckFeck » Thu, Jul 28, 2022, 2:01 PM UTC

fritztastic wrote: post #35

Ok, 2 points: 1. I'm surprised LiveJournal still exists. Genuinely. I used to have one, a loooong time ago. 2. I was always fascinated by Bombadil, he seemed to me like the embodiment of nature itself, or forests. At least, that's the concept he seemed to represent to me. I admit I skipped reading the lyrics though. This is a fascinating theory although it is quite different than what I would conclude from the same e…

I recently looked into LJ, it looks to be a better take on social media than many things that came after. Many ancient blogs are still live, documenting daily struggles and ramblings from 2003. It could be written into social history.

Re: Oldest and Fatherless: The Terrible Secret of Tom Bombadil (2011)

#49

Post by Trasmatta » Thu, Jul 28, 2022, 2:01 PM UTC

jccalhoun wrote: post #46

Trasmatta wrote: post #29

> Possibly the least liked character in The Lord of the Rings. A childish figure so disliked by fans of the book that few object to his absence from all adaptations of the story. I've been a fan of Tolkien for decades, and this doesn't match up with my experience at all...Tolkien fans seem to generally love Tom, and many were deeply disappointed that he wasn't in the movies (even though his exclusion makes perfect se…

Agreed. Back when Aint it Cool News was popular I would see tons of people complaining about Bombadil's absence. Personally, I hate Tom, not because he is childish, but because of the damn songs.

Hah, I love Tolkien, but I still skip all the songs. They just never work for me in written text.

Re: Oldest and Fatherless: The Terrible Secret of Tom Bombadil (2011)

#50

Post by lucideer » Thu, Jul 28, 2022, 2:02 PM UTC

Trasmatta wrote: post #29

> Possibly the least liked character in The Lord of the Rings. A childish figure so disliked by fans of the book that few object to his absence from all adaptations of the story. I've been a fan of Tolkien for decades, and this doesn't match up with my experience at all...Tolkien fans seem to generally love Tom, and many were deeply disappointed that he wasn't in the movies (even though his exclusion makes perfect se…

Absolutely thought "I must be living in a bubble" when I read this: I don't think I've spoken to a single book-reader who wasn't vocally disappointed by the omission of Tom from the films. He was certainly one of mine & my sibling's favourite characters.