I suppose I should do a list, even though most of the shows I watched this year were re-watching older shows in anticipation for their returns (The Venture Bros, Arrested Development).

I suppose I should do a list, even though most of the shows I watched this year were re-watching older shows in anticipation for their returns (The Venture Bros, Arrested Development).

I remember laughing the first time I read (pretty sure it was in MoS' blog post) that Members Only Guy sort of looked like Tony's father, but I kind of see it now. Tony's father has always represented the Mob to him. It's sort of a sign that this life is going to kill him eventually.

I remember laughing the first time I read (pretty sure it was in MoS' blog post) that Members Only Guy sort of looked like Tony's father, but I kind of see it now. Tony's father has always represented the Mob to him. It's sort of a sign that this life is going to kill him eventually.

I like to think of the Members Only guy as a harbinger of death, if not necessarily a bringer of it.

I like to think of the Members Only guy as a harbinger of death, if not necessarily a bringer of it.

That's the joke…

That's the joke…

Because Thorin really is an asshole.

Because Thorin really is an asshole.

I feel like a lot of the Appendices/Silmarillion stuff is stemming from the fact that the Tolkien estate is saying that nobody is going to be making anymore LOTR movies for a long time.

I feel like a lot of the Appendices/Silmarillion stuff is stemming from the fact that the Tolkien estate is saying that nobody is going to be making anymore LOTR movies for a long time.

This is a flaw with the source material more than anything Jackson did, though.

This is a flaw with the source material more than anything Jackson did, though.

Just spitballing here: what are the odds the third Hobbit film is going to have an extended sequence of the White Council tearing Dol Guldur up? Pretty solid, yes?

Just spitballing here: what are the odds the third Hobbit film is going to have an extended sequence of the White Council tearing Dol Guldur up? Pretty solid, yes?

The framing sequence is unnecessary, yes, but it did give us five more minutes of Ian Holm as Bilbo Baggins, which is certainly not a bad thing.

The framing sequence is unnecessary, yes, but it did give us five more minutes of Ian Holm as Bilbo Baggins, which is certainly not a bad thing.

That one was less Deus Ex Machina than it was Gandalf trying to draw the orcs as close as he could to Rivendell hoping that the elves would notice them.

That one was less Deus Ex Machina than it was Gandalf trying to draw the orcs as close as he could to Rivendell hoping that the elves would notice them.