Valleys of Numenor: Recent Episodes
John Harchar
Discussions of fantasy and sword & sorcery stories and their depictions in various media. This can mean anything from Tolkien, Burroughs and Robert E. Howard to fantasy and horror films and shows.
John looks at books and sees a lot of Tolkien, including almost all of the History of Middle Earth series.
A look at the new trailer, the Tom Bombadil announcement and why this wasn't the best way to handle all this.
Going over what Peter, Fran, Phillipa and Andy could do for the recently announced film, what the story could be and which actors could be involved.
Going over the rumors for what may appear in Season 2 and where the heck is it, anyway?
We go over Conan's time at Dark Horse Comics and the second run at Marvel and see why they both ended on a bad note.
We look at Conan the Barbarian's history in the comics in the second half of the 20th century, both at Marvel and a very surprising first outlet.
We go over the first arc of the new Conan comic series and how it follows in the footsteps of the better runs the barbarian has had in the medium.
We discussed the other series from the pen of Tarzan's creator, as well as the films from these books that reached the big screen.
Video component to this year's special showing off the DVDs (and Blu ray set) used for the reviews
A look at the first series of Toho films festuring the giant radioactive breathing monster as well as a number of related films including Rodan, Mothra and King Kong Escapes.
We go over Tarzan's portrayals on the big and small screen over the past 40 years, the crazy love life of John Derek and Phill Collins' Oscar revenge.
With the destruction of Terminius, is there still a Foundation left to do the show about? And will Demerzel's programming save the Cleonic dynasty, or destroy it once and for all?
Day goes to Terminus to confront Hari Seldon's ghost (hologram?) while Gaal and Salvor try to escape from Ignis.
Poly & Constant face execution, Gaal and Salvor are captives of the mentalics and Dusk & Rue being to discover Demerzel's hidden secrets.
Hober Mallow meets Bel Riose, the clarics meet the emperors, Sareth meets the gynecologist and Salvor meets her doom...maybe
Hari discovers the mentalics may not be as much of an ally as they hoped, while Poly & Constant and Hober Mallow reach their destinations to begin their missions.
Gaal, Hari and Salvor arrive on Ignis and discover they have been expected and Sareth tries to get to the bottom of the assassination attempt and finds an eons old secret.
Hober Mallow goes tothe Vault and finds out what his part will be in Hari Seldon's plan, while Bel Riose goes to Siwenna to discover what he can about the rumored organization.
We meet Bel Riose and Hober Mallow, two individuals closely tied to the fate of the Foundation as Gaal and Salvor deal with the disembodied Hari...but not for long...
Gaal Dornick and Salvor Hardin tryi to get off of their former home planet. The Cleons are about to go back to expand the dynasty the old fashioned way and the Vault is opening on Terminus, meaning we’re coming up on the Second Crisis.
Hari is trapped in a Matrix of his own design, the Cleons plan expanding their empire the old fashioned way, an arranged marriage and Gaal and Salvor get to know each other as mother and daughter while the Second Crisis begins to emerge.
Johnny Weissmuller continues playing Tarzan thru the 40s, then a continuing series of actors picked up the mantle on film and on TV until the 70s when things took a break for nearly a decade.
Hari Seldon's plan is working perfectly...except for the fact one of the main people leading it is nowhere to be found. The emperors also find out they're not so perfect after all.
The Anacreons and Thespins gather on Terminus to settle things once and for all and Brother Dawn tries to make a great escape but can't run from himself...literally!
The emperor takes a religious journey, Hardin tries to save Trantor from attack and Gaal wants out of the whole thing after finding out there will be a Second Foundation.
The Anacreons hijack a ship and pan to attack Trantor, while Brothers Day & Dawn face new challenges of their own to be...individuals?
Brother Day learns about religion and the Foundation fights back against the Anacreons.
Tarzan hits the mass media during the silent film era, as well as the comic strips and radio. When the films began to talk, Tarzan spoke less than he did in the silent era.
The Anacreons threaten the Foundation at Terminus while the Emperor's clones all deal with different issues.
So what's that Vault thing already there on Terminus when no one was supposed to be there?
Hari Seldon's team prepares the Foundation while the Emperors launch an attack that will help further their downfall.
Isaac Asimov's Foundation has finally made it to the screen. Does this adaptation do the story justice? We'll go over the premiere episode and see how they start off.
We'll take a look at the original novels by Edgar Rice Burroughs plus a few extras along the way, some of them quite interesting.
The connections between the characters created by Robert E. Howard run far and wide. Hear which ones are closely tied in and which ones aren't as tied in as you'd think
Where did a lot of the other ideas in the last few episodes come from if they weren't by Robert E. Howard. I go through the scripts and fill you in. Plus another Rings of Power update, this time some names join the cast.
Conan battles a resurrected wizard and hunts for a lost jewel to save his kingdom and sets out to travel across the western sea.
Conan goes from adventurer to mercenary general to king of Aquilonia, only to be threatened by man and wizard alike.
Warner Brothers (or Warner Discovery) has made a deal to make more Lord of the Rings related films. We'll go over what they might do, what they should do and what they shouldn't.
In the second part of the Saga of Black and Red, the Cimmerian leaves the sea to become a scout for Aquilonia, which brings him into conflict with his ancient enemies the Picts. His battles with them end up leading him back to the sea and eventually into partnership with a famed female adventurer.
Conan goes from a tribal leader in the east to the monarch of a southern kingdom to a return to the western seas and the life of a buccaneer
Conan goes from the captain of the guard to a desert chief, discovers a lost city and leads a band of outlaws against Turan
Conan returns to the Hyborian world as a soldier of fortune, selling his sword to the highest bidder. He becomes a general and a pirate, as well as meets the woman whose spirit will remain with him the rest of his life.
We tell the tsle of Conan as it appears in the Nemedian Chronicles as well as other legends attributed to the barbarian. Part 1 deals with his birth, his early travels in the north and his time as a young thief in Zamora
We work out the Conan chronology by piecing it together in the order Howard wrote the stories and other material to see how things match up against the previous timeline and what needs to change and why.
In this episode we put together a chronology of the Conan stories based on their appearance in Weird Tales magazine in the 30s and see how it matches up with the Miller/Clark one that became the standard.
A discussion of the early work of Tolkien, how the Book of Lost Tales may have been a fantasy classic while Silmarillion needed 40 years before it got published, and a look at the new Fall of Numenor collection.
The marketing for the Rings of Power was wide ranging but did it get to the right audience and did it tell them what the show was really about?
The season finale (after 8 episodes?) and we get not one but TWO big reveals. But were they the right ones at the right time?
The eruption of Mount Doom and the discovery of mithril leaves permanent scars among the beings of Middle Earth.
The Numenoreans come to the rescue of the men of the Southlands, but will they be in time to stop Adar's evil plan...whatever it is.
Someone is searching for Nori's big friend, the men are split on whether to surrender or fight and the Numenoreans prepare to make the voyage to Middle Earth.
Galadriel succeeds in her mission, but at what price? Elrond discovers what the dwarves have been hiding from them. And Adar sends Arondir with a message to the men of the southlands.
Galdriel and Halbrand find Numenor and Elendil, Arondir is captured by orcs and the Harfoots begin their migration, with a giant tagging along.
The second episode of Rings of Power has Galadriel adrift, Elrond meeting the dwarves and the giant causing all kind of problems for our Harfoots.
The first episode of Rings of Power is out, we'll take a look at what's Tolkien and what's not and how it works.
We discuss the writings Tolkien left behind that discuss the Second Age and the difficulties the creators of The Rings of Power may face bring it to Amazon Prime.