After finishing both Peter Jackson trilogies, Lauren and Nicole are ready to decompress, have a laugh, and perhaps even learn a thing or two in this episode of Newcomers all about the memes, parodies, and other bits and bobs that have cropped up over the years surrounding the Lord of the Rings franchise.

Joined by actor, comedian and podcaster Paul Scheer (The League, Black Monday, How Did This Get Made?), the three will navigate all sorts of hilarity, ranging from comparisons between Gandalf and Betty White, to oddly relevant and topical jabs at peoples' responses to COVID-19. Later, Paul will introduce Lauren and Nicole to the deepest of deep cuts: rare footage of another well-known pointy-eared hero of pop culture singing a ballad for our dear Biblo, er... Diplo, er... Bilbo Baggins!

Like the show? Rate Newcomers 5-Stars on Apple Podcasts and let us know what LOTR media you'd like the series to cover.

Sources for this episode:

Amazon's Lord of the Rings production article

Betty White and the Balrog

Normal People vs. People with COVID-19

Let Boromir borrow it

Some form of Selfish

Denethor and the Tomato

A Simple Walk Into Mordor

Veggietales - Lord of the Beans

"Frodo, Don't Wear the Ring"

"The Ballad of Bilbo Baggins"

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