The Tolkien Professor

Co-hosts and live listeners found it hard to like the promotional banner for The Hobbit: The Battle of the Five Armies. Fortunately, there are some good tangential conversations.

The analysis phase kicks off by pondering the trailer for the extended edition of The Hobbit: Desolation of Smaug, among other things

The whole Riddles in the Dark gang races through all 15 riddles and conundra while Corey casts his votes for all to see. Submit your answers by midnight Eastern Time, Sunday September 21st, at http://www.mythgard.org/?p=7143

We wrap up the riddle game with the key question: Will there be a Bag End auction?

Corey and Laura share listener observations and present the final five conundra of the riddle game

Corey talks to Mythgard students who joined him at Mythcon 45 in August of 2014, as well as an impressive list of drop-by guests

Professor Olsen comments on the release of J.R.R. Tolkien's translation of Beowulf

What happens when the dust settles after the battle? Corey and Trish ask the tough questions.

Dave and guest listener Karen offer up a first hand view of the Comic-Con experience. Then Corey launches into a two-minute-per-second analysis of the teaser trailer for The Hobbit: The Battle of the Five Armies.

Corey and Trish put the "fun" into "funeral" in this installment of Riddles in the Dark, while Dave is off running around San Diego Comic-Con.

Corey and Trish (standing in for Laura) share great listener observations about the Battle of Dol Guldur (RITD Episodes 3.09 and 3.10)

Who's gonna die? That's the big question in this episode of Riddles in the Dark, as The Tolkien Professor and fellow co-hosts ponder the imponderables of Peter Jackson's third Hobbit movie. Also, from about minute 18 to about minute 43, there is a general discussion about fantasy genre, specifically comparing Tolkien to George R.R. Martin and similar authors.

In response to a listener query, Corey walks through Tolkien's language pronunciation and how the names in The Hobbit films are supposed to be pronounced.

Corey and Trish (standing in for Laura) go over all the riddles covering the Siege (RITD Episodes 3.06, 3.07 and 3.08)

Why will the Elves march to Erebor? Will Bilbo be conscious for the battle? Does Roac constitute one of the armies? These and other pressing questions are considered in this installment of Riddles in the Dark

What is Sauron up to? Where are all those Orcs going anyway? And what's going on with the Nazgul? We don't have the answers, but we have LOTS of theories.

In a Daveless episode, Trish and Corey consider what will be happening at Dol Guldur in The Hobbit: The Battle of the Five Armies, with excursions into unrelated topics

The third episode of the Riddles in the Dark Supererogatory. The Tolkien Professor addresses your comments and questions on RITD 3.04 and RITD 3.05.

Moving right along toward the Battle of (the) Five Armies, Tolkien Professor Corey Olsen and his Riddles in the Dark co-hosts actually talk about....wait for it....THE HOBBIT!!!

Our hosts were very talkative in this episode, starting with a rant about the new name for Hobbit Movie 3, then moving on to considering how the Siege of Erebor might look from the Laketown side of the table. And Corey got to use "abscond" in a sentence, which pleased him no end.

The second episode of the Riddles in the Dark Supererogatory. The Tolkien Professor addresses your comments and questions on RITD 3.02 and RITD 3.03. Afterwards, Corey speaks with Professor Robin Reid about her research on Tolkien's influence on modern culture.

Corey extols the virtues of Roac, Trish attempts to be a human sound effects machine, and Dave holds it all together as the talk centers on what the Dwarves are up to before the Men and Elves arrive in The Hobbit: There and Back Again.

How epic will the attack of the dragon on Laketown be? Will there be any red shirts among the cast? And what about that oily Master? Inquiring minds examine these and other questions about The Hobbit: There and Back Again.

The first episode of the Riddles in the Dark Supererogatory. The Tolkien Professor addresses your comments and questions on RITD 3.01

What's going on in Laketown while the Dwarves are zigging and zagging around Erebor with a dragon in close pursuit? We theorize about this and other matters, and this time there are sound effects!

Saddle up the battle pigs! The RITD team go from serious to silly and back again as they consider the many ways that Peter Jackson could choose to begin the third Hobbit movie.

Talking Elves in the second episode of the third year of Riddles in the Dark.

The first riddle episode of the last year of Riddles in the Dark considers how action and violence impact the first two Hobbit movies and how these aspects will show up in The Hobbit: There and Back Again.

The thirty-fifth session of the Silmarillion Seminar, covering Of the Rings of Power and the Third Age, Part 2

The second installment of Phase 1 of Year 3 of Riddles in the Dark team sees us revisiting The Hobbit: Desolation of Smaug one last time. Three key themes are considered in the context of how they will follow through into The Hobbit: There and Back Again: 1) Dark versus Light; 2) Tauriel and Legolas and how they represent the Elvish portion of the story; and 3) Return of the King, Erebor style.

The Riddles in the Dark team returns for the third and final round of the "how will Jackson tell the story" game. Phase 1, Episode a is a general look back at The Hobbit: Desolation of Smaug. Corey and Dave coin new terms to describe various ways people have reacted to the films of the trilogy so far, while Trish cracks the whip to keep things on track.

Part 2: Professor Olsen discusses his reactions to the second Hobbit movie, The Desolation of Smaug

Part 1: Professor Olsen discusses his reactions to the second Hobbit movie, The Desolation of Smaug

As The Hobbit: Desolation of Smaug is unveiled around the world, Tolkien Professor Corey Olsen, Laura Berkholtz, and Trish Lambert review all the riddles and conundra posed in the second year of the Riddles in the Dark game

Warming up by looking at some more materail from The Hobbit: Desolation of Smaug, our Riddles in the Dark co-hosts move on to talk about the extended edition of The Hobbit: An Unexpected Journey.

Checking out a flood of material released by Peter Jackson for The Hobbit: Desolation of Smaug, with a little dissension amongst our Riddles in the Dark co-hosts to spice things up. Note: This was a highly visual episode, as Corey et al. tracked back and forth through the videos being considered. If you prefer to watch the episode rather than just listen to the audio, go to http://www.mythgard.org/?p=5060.

Considering the fringe characters in The Hobbit: Desolation of Smaug by way of Lego set interpretation. There is a visual companion PDF for this episode available at http://www.tolkienprofessor.com/documents/ritd2.15VisualCompanion.pdf

Trish Lambert and Laura Berkholtz take on the weighty theme of bromance in The Hobbit: Desolation of Smaug.

Trish Lambert and Laura Berkholtz discuss listener opinions on when Bilbo will reveal the presence of the Ring.

The fifth Tolkien Professor open Skype Session, recorded on October 7, 2013. Topics discussed include invisible Ringwraiths, getting a PhD in Tolkien Studies, and more.

Trish Lambert and Laura Berkholtz discuss opinions on the relationship between the elves of Mirkwood and the men of Laketown in The Desolation of Smaug.

A 3.33-hour discussion of the 2.5-minute second trailer for The Hobbit: Desolation of Smaug

Professor Olsen chats with authors Ethan Gilsdorf and Noble Smith

Kamikaze Thrush, Bald Raven, Radish Hat, Galion the Butler, and That Girl Elf

From what cliff will we be left hanging at the end of The Hobbit: Desolation of Smaug?

Professor Olsen talks with Bernd Greisinger of the Greisinger Museum, home of the largest collection of Tolkien artifacts in the world

Trish Lambert and Laura Berkholtz review listener comments and opinions on the start of The Desolation of Smaug.

Considering the big flying lizard in Peter Jackson's The Hobbit: Desolation of Smaug.

Bromancing the (Arken)Stone in the Peter Jackson's The Hobbit: Desolation of Smaug.

The most prominent inanimate character in the Third Age of Middle-earth is discussed in the context of Peter Jackson's The Hobbit: Desolation of Smaug.