Considering there is only one choice besides Gandalf the White, and that these two wizard-types have yet to show any of the kind of confirmed formidibility Tolkien's man possesses, how could you possibly feel reluctant in choosing him?

You should not be so ashamed, my friend. Go with your gut, or whatever body part it was that you were thinking with when you chose Gandalf.

I don't know if it's fair to say that the Hogwarts profs haven't showed their formidability. They were both present when the Death Eaters tried to take over the school, and McGonagall fought pretty valiantly during that battle.

Snape, of course, killed Dumbledore - no small feat, if you ask me.

Still, it seems pretty clear to me.

I don't think the Hogwarts professors get enough credit, simply because we haven't seen them in many battle scenes. The entire LOTR series is essentially a war between good and evil; hence, Gandalf does nothing but kick ass and take names (except when he disappears). On the other hand, HP has been mainly peaceful with only a few exceptions. I bet if we could go back in time and watch the professors fight for and against Voldemort while he was in power, they would have more to show for themselves. That said, if you replaced McGonagall with Dumbledore, I would take him and Snape over Gandalf any day of the week.

Expat, are effing joking? McGonagall took like three curses to the chest was walking around a few days later--she could certainly take a lot of punishment from gandalf, who would probably be all goofy on hobbit pot anyway!

I initially agreed with you, that Snape was acting under Dumbledore's orders, but then I read JK's interviews with the Leaky Cauldron and Mugglenet, and it sounds like she's annoyed that people think that Snape isn't a dirty evil bastard traitor.

Oh, and I know you're still warming up to Studio 60, but I thought it rocked tonight.

Lily,
That's because JKR doesn't want people to know that Snape's not a traitor yet - she's gotta wrangle up some dramatic tension. I mean, she's been hinting forever that Harry might not make it through Book 7, but I will be goddamned if I entertain the notion that Harry will actually die.

I think it would be a betrayal of the Snape character to have him be a traitor - it would be too simple and it would rob him of his depth.

Also, I don't dislike Studio 60, but I must say that I've been disappointed so far. Although, I don't know if that's fair, given that I was comparing it to The West Wing, one of my favorite shows.

Dee,
What I think you guys are forgetting is that Gandalf has the Gods on his side! He died and was sent back because his job wasn't done. With those kinds of allies, I don't know if even an Avada Kedavra's going to help you out.

I agree, Ismael. This is precisely my point. We're not talking about proving yourself against curses, or even a powerful mortal foe. We're talking about whomping an abomination from the abyss, followed by what can only be described as a trip straight through Satan's Sphincter to eventually be landed back on Middle Earth with brand new powers and the vision to overcome not only a pot-addled brain, but the forces of darkness as well.

I always try to give credit where credit is due (especially to my favorite fictional characters), but I still think Gandalf is by far the winner here. My regards to the HP team for their spirited debate, even though you're all horribly, horribly wrong.

expat, maybe you should have married Ismael instead. then you could both gay marry gandalf.

your move!

Three cheers for Dee! I don't really want to choose sides on this one simply because I love HP and LOTR far too much to contemplate any of their characters fighting. I'd like to see a super battle with Gandalf, Dumbledore, Harry, McGonagall matched up against Voldemort, The Witch King and of course Sauron. That's the point of these stories, right? The fight against evil? One thing I will say though is that LOTR is an epic. Of course Gandalf is larger than life...he's literally fighting against Armegeddon. And that's how Tolkien intended it to be...epic, larger than life, huge. Gandalf isn't just a wizard, he's a god. Rowling's writing about people. They're people with special powers, but still just people. And they're battling people. Horrid, nasty, evil powerful people, but still just people. The world has lived through Voldemort's terrors. If he returns, they will again. What counts in Rowling's books is that we want Harry to live through it. We want McGonagall to live through it, and Hermione and Ron and everyone else. The people mean more to us. We stand in awe of Gandalf, but we want to be friends with Harry. So I don't think its fair to match up McGonagall or Snape (evil bastard?) against Gandalf. I think they'd all think it was a waste of valuable time and start kicking the ass of someone who really needed it. Like your mom.

Lauren,
First off - Sauron with or without the One Ring? To be honest, even Sauron with the ring isn't all that impressive - I mean, Isildur may have been a descendant of the people of Numenor, but he was still just a man. Still, Isildur managed to pretty much kick Sauron's ass. In fact, if you were to read The Silmarillion (which I don't recommend you do), you'd see that Sauron was pretty much a huge wuss - every time he went into open battle, he got his ass handed to him.

That being said, he'd beat the shit out of Harry Potter. Dumbledore has pretty much proved that he can pretty much wipe the floor with Voldemort. So the real question is whether McG, Dumbledore, and Gandalf could, together, defeat the Witch-king and Sauron. I would say that Gandalf and the Witch-king is pretty clear - Gandalf comes out on top. He's a wizard, the other guy's just a Magic Ring-enhanced man. So, Dumbledore and McG against Sauron?

I don't think Sauron would be vulnerable to any of the curses, given the fact that he's above that shit. On the other hand, as I've said, he's a wuss. It comes down to whether Sauron's got the Ring. With it, I think he could beat the HP guys easily. Without it, I think that they'd have a shot.

So, I say that Sauron, Voldemort and the Witch-king would beat the others.

Dee, you obviously have no idea how gay marriage works. That two partners could marry a third is not only ludicrous, but straddles two separate legal hurdles: same sex marriage and polygamy/polyandry.

I would have guessed that you and your HP sympathizing girlfriend Lauren would have figured that out by now.

Get off the fence, Lauren! Gandalf Rules!!!