GEEKOLOGY 101: Time to return to the Shire

Well, fellow geeks out there, the time has come to return to the world of Rivendell and the Shire.

No, I am not talking about a Tolkien Convention, I am talking about the release of the long-awaited Hobbit series from director Peter Jackson.

YES!!!

Now, you guys all know how much I love Peter Jackson. Heck, I liked The Frighteners. Look that one up.

So when he took us on the journey with Frodo and the rest of the Fellowship of the Ring, I was impressed by his scope and his ability to keep us entertained through three grand episodes.

Now he is back with his vision of The Hobbit.

Now I wish I could have seen it by now, and I could have, but I was otherwise detained. Sometimes hanging out with some friends is more important than going to a screening of a movie I have anticipated all year long.

WHAT?!?!

Yes, even I have priorities.

But, I have read the book, several times and have seen the animated film like a million times.

You see in our house, we used to watch The Hobbit (1977) almost every year when I was a kid. It was our house’s Wizard of Oz.

Some people watched Wizard, we watched the Hobbit.

We were publicly scorned for it but it was worth it. (Not really but my cousin used to make fun of me about it.)

Oh, it wasn’t the best film out there but I just loved the story and to see it come to life on screen was a sight to behold for a 6 year old.

Okay, I am dating myself here.

Anyway, when I first heard that they were bringing the Hobbit to the big screen, I wasn’t at all surprised.

The Lord of the Rings Trilogy had done so well, it was only inevitable that they would go back to the beginning and release The Hobbit as well.

Though I was surprised that Peter Jackson wasn’t going to be at the helm.

That he was actually “fired” from the project.

I felt it was his world to create and any other director would be shunned by the LOTR community.

But Irvn Kershner did just fine invading the Star Wars universe so maybe another director wouldn’t be so bad.

Then it came out that MGM would co-finance the film with New Line and that they had hand picked their new Executive Producer. None other than Mr. Jackson himself.

So I started to believe that Peter Jackson was going assume the reigns once again but, just wait, Guillermo Del Toro was brought in to direct.

Okay, I like Del Toro and maybe he could work some Kershner magic on The Hobbit.

Then another bump in the road. Del Toro quit because of constant delays in shooting.

This left the door wide open for Jackson to step back in and assume the role he was born for.

So the journey of The Hobbit to the big screen was almost as intriguing as the journey of Bilbo himself.

Though I may have glossed over some details, but you get my point.

So, come Saturday, I will be glued to my seat with joyous wonder as I wait for the film to unfold before my eyes.

I - CAN’T - WAIT!!!

Though I won’t be cosplaying, it would be nice to see a few people dressed up as hobbits or Gandalf. I like it when fellow geeks dress up for events like this.

It adds more magic to the event.

And those brave souls that will be camped out, around the USA, trying to be first in line, my heart is with you. 10 years ago, I would be right there beside you.

Alas, I will wait with anticipation for Saturday. It will still be just as good then as it would have to put in the time waiting in line.

So see you all there. It will be a good time getting back to a world that I have missed so much.

Gary Darling is the geekiest employee at the Maryville Daily Forum. His email is: gdarling@maryvilledailyforum.com. Drop him a line sometime!