At the end of the movie Sam's like yeah I'm home

We went to the apartment of some fellow geeks today to watch that most marathonish of movie marathons: Lord of the Rings Extended Edition, all three movies, one after another, with the briefest of breaks for changing disks and/or visiting the toilet.

You'd think we'd get bored, but we didn't. Watching them consecutively genuinely added something to the viewing experience, and if you have a chair you could bear sitting in for nigh on 12 hours, I'd thoroughly recommend it. (We sat on the floor, which was something of a problem.)

And if you can manage, leave out the guy who likes to maintain a running commentary bereft of all wit and imagination.

You know of whom I speak.

When Aragorn kicks someone's ass, he cries, "Yeah, kick his ass!" When Pippin does something idiotic (like knocking the corpse/bucket/chain down the pit in Balin's Tomb) he pipes up, "You idiot!" Immediately after that, at about the same time as Gandalf suggests that Pippin jump in the pit himself, he brings it to your attention that "Gandalf's like, why don't you jump in the pit!" When Denethor is being crazy and getting knocked out by Gandalf, he calls out (rather ironically), "Shut up!" And when Frodo is staring at the ring, and deciding to turn his back on the quest (a rather important moment, by the way) he makes sure that everyone realizes that "Frodo's like, maybe I'll keep the ring!"

You know, that guy. Let's be clear: I'm a lifetime member of the peanut gallery, but it is a position that requires some skill. Please, just don't invite that guy.

And be wary of ending up with people less obsessed with Middle Earth than you are. In particular, fake geeks. You know, they've watched some anime, maybe read Dragonlance, but thought LOTR was too boring to read. It's no fun facing questions like, "Hey, did they take this scene from Record of Lodoss War?" and being forced to bite your stupid nonconfrontational Canadian tongue. Or, you might complain about the various ways in which the movies diverge from the books, and be met with blank looks. Trust me, you don't want to be stuck in a geek-out session with someone who's never heard of Glorfindel, or responds to the appearance of the Mouth of Sauron with "He's icky, they should send out a diplomat."