Goodbye Christopher Tolkien

And we thank you.  Christopher Tolkien, the son of J.R.R. Tolkien, and long time director of the Tolkien estate, is resigning.

Christopher has been the watchdog for Tolkien's literary masterpieces for generations.  And why not?  As my son said, Christopher heard the stories and tales as a child, while he was in bed, listening to his father, long before the world had heard of Frodo, or Hobbits, or Middle Earth.  Heck, he heard them before his father had even thought of hobbits.

Some fanboys have come to despise Christopher because of his disdain for Jackson's treatments of the works, and might welcome the news.  Certainly his departure and the news of a new Amazon series based loosely on Middle Earth are no coincidence.

Nonetheless, Christopher Tolkien was no prude about his father's works.  He was actually quite open to different interpretations.  What he couldn't stand about Jackson was that he felt Jackson didn't respect his father's vision at best, and at worst went out of his way to downplay or dismiss the essence of his father's works.

I'm inclined to agree.  I've said before that Jackson's films were about two hits for every three misses.  There were times when they shined, I will admit.  But those times only made the awkward, or poorly executed, moments look worse by comparison.

So I cut Mr. Tolkien some slack.  Given the traditions he maintained, the degree of respect and dignity for Tolkien's works that he defended, and the output that he has helped produce that aids in our understanding of his father's rich contributions to the last century's literary output, I think we owe him more than a little gratitude.