Something to Pass the Time Until December...

S

Shelob'sAppetite

Valinor
Now that principal photography is essentially over, I thought it would be a good idea to find interesting Hobbit-related ways to pass the time before December - activities that are not dependent on the schedule and whims of the Hobbit film production. Having recently stumbled upon the second season of the Scottish TV series Rebus, starring Ken Stott (aka Balin), I thought that a great way to enjoy oneself in the coming months, without being slavishly glued to the Hobbit rumor mill and official hype machine, would be to watch films and TV shows that involve members of the Hobbit cast. The characters playing the dwarves are an especially good group to mine (pun intended) as many of them are relatively unknown to a global audience. So re-charge your Netflix account, or dig into your On Demand list, and start watching these actors do their thing! I'll start with some notable films and shows that I recommend watching:

1. Rebus (2nd and 3rd season): Ken Stott. I like this show very much - sort of a throwback to earlier detective stories. Ken is fantastic in them, and I think he'll be a great Balin.
2. Five Minutes of Heaven: James Nesbitt. IMO, Nesbitt's best performance. On par with the giant of an actor he shares the spotlight with - Liam Neeson. Looking forward to his Bofur. If you're looking for more of him, though, try the TV series Jeckyl and Hide.
3. Rome: Graham McTavish: He's only in two episodes "the Spoils" and "Utica" but he plays a great ancient Roman criminal. Though his role in the last Rambo movie might be more on par with what Dwalin will be like, I would hate to recommend to anyone that they watch the last Rambo movie...[;)]
4. Sherlock: Martin Freeman and Benedict Cumberbatch. Just great. Enough said.
5. North and South: Richard Armitage. Undoubtedly his best role. If his pride-filled performance here doesn't convince you that he can't do Thorin, nothing will.
6. Kingdom: Stephen Fry. This is an understated little TV series, but IMO, Stephen Fry at his best. He can be OTT in other things, particularly films that call for it, but here he is wonderfully subtle and human.
7. Boondock Saints: Billy Connolly. This is the movie that made me think Billy could easily pull off Dain.

If anyone else has any recommendations, do share them here!
 
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And enjoy it at times. But the weeks without any substantial news do drag on. So, this is something to relieve that dragging, and to make the clock hands move faster!
 
I must get to watching Sherlock again. I got both series on DVD last Christmas but they're still in their cellophane [shocked] Shocking I know, but my partner doesn't like it, so not really had an oppurtunity to re-watch.
 
I love it! I dont think i have known anyone not like it, haha!

Really looking forward to the third series. Oh and if people are wanting to watch films/tv shows with actors from the hobbit in, then what about cold feet, that stars James Nesbitt and he is in all 33 episodes or waking ned which i found humourous!
 
We have completely different tastes in TV shows. There's always a race to the TV remote!

I recommend Doctor Who (seasons 24-26), if anyone wants to see Sylvester McCoy in action [laugh]
 
Richard Armitage did a year (or two?) on that show and I think he's worth watching.

I don't necessarily think you have to watch all the seasons leading up to it but I think Matthew Macfadyen also did a nice job in the first year or two so I'd recommend those to start with... then you could skip ahead if you like. Hugh Laurie had a small role in the first season that was fun to see, as well.

But a strong caveat that this show is not afraid to 'go there'. I cannot recommend it for tender sensibilities without saying you might need to close your eyes, and sometimes plug your ears and close your eyes, and sometimes fast forward or walk out of the room. Not suitable for young ages at all.

I think it takes a certain sense of humor to enjoy Vicar of Dibley and RA is only on the last year (I think) but, imo, having enjoyed the end of the show jokes as much as anything, RA ends that series brilliantly. There's also a cameo of Sean Bean in one episode that was better enjoyed not realizing it was coming.

Robin Hood... well, I watched them (episodes) all and they had some good moments and some eyerolling moments. If you hate the set up, it'll never get better. But Richard is worth it (as are other aspects). The first season was the best. Lara Pulver, who is also in MI5 and was Irene Adler in Sherlock is also in Robin Hood.

I caught Benedict in The Last Enemy and think it's worth a watch.

Aidan Turner in Being Human - angsty - demony - bloody. All the things that young people these days like. :-) I liked it enough to watch two seasons but the angst is getting to me so with the exit of Turner, I'm kind of out.

Wonderfalls is a lovely, summery kind of series to watch. You'll catch Lee Pace in that.
 
The first season of Kingdom is not available on Netflix. You have to watch it on Hulu.

The second season is on Netflix.
 
No need to tell me to do something that I am already doing...

This thread is about our own recommendations, so be prepared for the expression of personal opinions here!

I thought the last Rambo film was a conglomerate of different kinds of animal dung, but that's just me! [;)]
 
Though I believe season 1 used to be on Netflix, and has since dropped off...

A great series, IMO. Shows that Fry is a well-rounded actor, not just a comedian of caricature.
 
(holds up cloth to keep this out of the view of Shelob'sAppetite - I don't want to ruin his day!)

If you want some Shore Scores to pass the time, I can recommend Eastern Promises. I really enjoy this music a lot. And I can also surprisingly recommend Twilight Eclipse. I've never read the books nor seen the movies and have no wish to. I bought the score because Shore did it and I knew I could buy it at Target. It's got some nice moments in it.

I won't say either of these is Shore's best work. But there have been times I've had my player on shuffle and thought, 'gee... that's a moment in the LOTR scores I've never noticed before' only to realize it was from one of those other scores. So I think people who like LOTR and are tapping their fingers waiting for more Hobbit music might be interested in checking out these scores.
 
I love Eastern Promises. And Viggo is fantastic in it - one of his best performances.

In fact, Cronenberg wouldn't be a bad director to remake LOTR... [:)]
 
I recommend Pushing Daisies. It's very funny and surprisingly touching.

As for Luke Evans, there's always Tamara Drewe! Fancied him in that [:P]
 
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