Here's the text for those not on Twitter:
Me:
Out of curiosity, as both an author yourself, and someone used to colouring between the lines and round the margins of Tolkien for RPG Sourcebooks, how would you have tackled a 5 season treatment of the forging of the Rings? What would you have done differently?
Gareth:
Assuming I've only got access to the appendices, and off the top of my head - do it with each season covering a different time period. Mortal cast changes each season, elves stay the same.
Season 1: Founding of Númenor. Open with the aftermath of the War of Wrath, elves and humans fighting against Morgoth's remaining forces. Maybe do Elros + Elrond + Galadriel hunting Sauron and other foes. Choice of the half-elven; Elrond stays in Lindon, Elros founds Númenor.
Season 2: Elves are fading, but Númenor's getting stronger and stronger. To arrest their fading, elves in Eregion start experimenting with ringcraft; at the same time, you've got quarrels with humans. The elves think they need the rings to avoid being eclipsed. But really, behind the scenes, it's Sauron whispering to Celebrimbor. Maybe have Galadriel & Elrond uncovering his treachery. End with forging of the One and the Three.
Season 3. War of the Elves & Sauron. Sauron kills Celebrimbor, seizes rings. Númenor shows up, stomps Sauron.
We skip on a few hundred years again. Now Númenor's a massive, overwhelming empire, and we have some Númenor intrigue - then the stolen rings start showing up again.
Sauron's using the rings to make wraiths and suborn lesser Númenórean nobles to his will; at the same time, he's rebuilding his army. It looks like we're building to a huge fight all the start of the season... Númenor sends a fleet to Middle-earth - and Sauron surrenders.
Season 4, then, is Sauron corrupting Númenor and whispering to Ar-Pharazôn. We introduce Elendil etc. Big cataclysm, Númenor sinks.
And then Season 5 is the Last Alliance.
The virtue of doing it this way, as well as being closer to Tolkien, is that you'd have a great sense of scale and time - we've built Númenor up over five seasons, we've seen Sauron get defeated and then undermine and destroy the forces who defeated him.
And we don't have nonsense like 'elves need mithril or they'll die.'