I mean, yeah, this could be cool, but you know it's going to be cancelled in one, maybe two years because, say it with me now, it's too expensive.

HBO, either work within practical budgets for your shows so that you can actually keep the damn things running if they turn out to be quality tv, or else cancel some of your shittier content to make the budget available for these more expensive, but high quality, shows. But this whole run a quality expensively produced show, build an audience, cancel, get another quality expensive show running, build an audience, cancel, repeat cycle has gotta end.

I'm a little bitter, can you tell?

What's next, Alfonso Cuaron to direct the Neon Genesis Evangelion films? Watchmen to become a miniseries? Why are you being kind to me God?

Oh... oh no no no... I call already tell that I'm gonna pay for this in karmic dues. It's gonna happen isn't it?! YOU HOLLYWOOD FUCKTARDS ARE GOING TO REMAKE 2001 AND ADD "SCARY ALIENS" AND MAKE HAL SOME UBERCOMPLEX CGI PIECE OF SHIT AND MICHEAL BAY IS GONNA DIRECT AND MY CHILDHOOD WILL BE LOCKED IN THE CELLAR AND RAPED DAILY FOR TEN YEARS!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!

On a different note, I agree with the people saying that the Wheel of Time should be turned into a series, but really at this point shouldn't we be more concerned with whether or not Jordan manages to finish the series. He may be recovering, but amyloidosis is serious stuff.

We've seen again and again that the Masses don't like challenging and original content. If this weren't true, The Wire would clearly be the highest rated show in history. The truth is when Joe/Jill Taxpayer sits down in front of the idiot box after a hard day at the office he/she isn't looking for stimulating, rich material. He/she just wants some easy-to-digest crap that doesn't offend his/her sensibilities and lets him/her switch off his/her brain.

Whilst I would love for this to succeed, it can't survive on Fan Ballast alone, as Serenity so clearly demonstrated.

Keep in mind that Tolkien dealt with supreme archetypes in his story. Considering how mythic LOTR was in its actual telling, it may not feel as realized when compared to the fiction that has so obviously been influenced by it in the years since.

Like I said, I'm not a hater, this is a cool fucking project, and I believe that HBO can do it justice, but if HBO can't afford to follow through once it's up and running and built an audience and they have us all hooked, because they've by that time been distracted by their next big expensive idea and need money for that, leading to this getting cancelled with the same old "too expensive" excuse that killed off Deadwood, Rome and Carnivale, and likely before it's able to come to some sort of resolution, then that's really gonna fucking suck. And that seems to be an increasing trend at HBO, so that's what really worries me. It's not HBO's lack of quality, it's their increasing lack of support for that quality. It's investing a lot of money in something, making a quality project, but then yanking the carpet too soon and without chance of resolution or a satisfying ending for viewers.

As has been said, at least with Rome hopefully we should get some closure by season's end, with Carnivale that didn't happen, and with Deadwood it's damn unlikely that we'll ever see that promised miniseries wrapup story. I just don't want to see that happen again on these new cool shows that HBO is bringing our way, that's all.