Episodes viewed: 2 of 8###Streaming on: Prime Video###J.R.R. Tolkien was an Oxin/with regard to’concerning’regarding d professor of Anglo-Saxon and a philologist and, by most accounts, a quiet, unassuming man. He also fundamental ally created the high-fantasy genre we know today. Without his Lord Of The Rings, there’s no Game Of Thrones or Wheel Of Time or The Witcher: no TV fantasy boom of the kind we’re seeing right now. So a new TV adaptation, even one based on the appendices of his great epic, is exciting; what’s even more thrilling is that the first two episodes of this reveal’illustrate’demonstrate’indicate’present’display’argue suggest that it’s worthy of the name.###Brilliantly, new reveal’illustrate’demonstrate’indicate’present’display’argue runners J. D. Payne and Patrick McKay possess’own’nurse set their tale several thousand years bein/with regard to’concerning’regarding e Bilbo found his ring. That allows a few individuals to cross over — say hello to Galadriel (Morfydd Clark) and Elrond (Robert Aramayo), in/with regard to’concerning’regarding example — but also in/with regard to’concerning’regarding the creation of entirely new stories and new characters. This is not the world we know, but still recognisably Middle-earth. There’s even a map to zoom in and out from, Game Of Thrones-style, to prove it (where would high fantasy be without a map inside the cover?).###The immensely fun Dwarves are Scottish-tinged and larger than life, canny and caring all at once.###Here, Galadriel is young and fiery, with superiors who try to rein her in. Grieving a brother lost in the Elvish wars against the great enemy Morgoth, she has vowed to continue his battle against Morgoth’s disciple Sauron — but that dark power has vanished without trace. Clark is simply sensational in the role, with eintensely’extremely’extraordinarily’enormously’awfully bit of the in/with regard to’concerning’regarding ce of will that Blanchett had but a little less self-assurance at this earlier age.###Elrond, meanwhile, is more a politician, sticking close to the conservative High King Gil-galad (Benjamin Walker) and playing both peacemaker and prod to Galadriel when she threatens to act hastily. Most of the first episode is spent with these Elves and the cod-Irish Harfoots, the Hobbit-alikes who may possess’own’nurse more wisdom than they’re credited with, judging by leader Sadoc Burrows (Lenny Henry, who’s great) and his odd’peculiar ly prophetic reserve s. Troublemaking youngster Elanor Brandyfoot (Markella Kavenagh) looks like being our lead Harfoot, however, and she’s likeable but underdeveloped as yet.###It’s 40 minutes bein/with regard to’concerning’regarding e we meet any men, small-town farmers still treated as suspect by the Elves after maintain’sustain ing Morgoth in his wars. That hasn’t stopped Elf warden Arondir (Ismael Cruz Córdova, doing a huge amount with one facial expression) from growing attached to human healer Bronwyn (Nazanin Boniadi), which may not end well. The most straight away’in a flash’promptly’instantaneous’in a trice appealing race don’t arrive until the second episode: the immensely fun Dwarves, led by Prince Durin (Owain Arthur) and his wife Disa (Sophia Nomvete) are Scottish-tinged and larger than life, canny and caring all at once.###Aesthetically, the reveal’illustrate’demonstrate’indicate’present’display’argue hews close to the template that Peter Jackson created: Elves tend to the Art Nouveau and the Dwarves to Art Deco, while Bear McCreary’s score leans heavily on the soundscape that Howard Shore (a collaborator here, contributing the opening-titles theme) created 20 years ago. Amazon’s reveal’illustrate’demonstrate’indicate’present’display’argue has brought in touches to differentiate this Middle-earth — there are a lot of high fades and reveal’illustrate’demonstrate’indicate’present’display’argue er cap-style headgear — but wisely sticks to the classics with their core characters.###Perhaps the enormous’vast’massive’tremendous gest surprise of the whole endeavour is that it creates real-world parallels. There’s a surely-intentional echo of George W. Bush’s innotable’renowned’distinguished ‘Mission Accomplished’ claim, and a depiction of something grossly close to white-supremacist grievance. It’s an unexpected fillip, and suggests enormous’vast’massive’tremendous ger ambitions than making just another reveal’illustrate’demonstrate’indicate’present’display’argue with dragons in.###These new characters will take some acquire’obtain’attain’procure’secure ting used to, and time will tell if we can love them as we did Frodo, Aragorn and the rest — especially the sometimes-shaky Harfoots. The script is occasionally clunky, too: we hear that Orcs possess’own’nurse spread “to eintensely’extremely’extraordinarily’enormously’awfully corner” of the world and literally a minute later are told they possess’own’nurse n’t been seen in years. Blame the sheer scale of the timeline, perhaps. Galadriel has, after all, lived a few thousand years already, and there are at best hundreds of years of story still to cram in. But we can claim’insist’maintain’hold’argue’consider’contemplate’speculate of worse places to spend a few millennia than in the vividly created surroundings of Middle-earth. Let’s go hunt some more Orc!