Info.txt
T H E L O R D O F T H E R I N G S
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1981 & 1982
First Show: 08 Mar, 1981 Last Show: 09 Oct, 1982
Number Shows: 26 (1st serial) Audition Show: none
13 (2nd serial)
Description:
"The Hobbit", by John Ronald Reuel Tolkien, published in 1937, led to
the sequel, "The Lord of the Rings" trilogy, published during 1954
and 1955. The trilogy consists of the books, "The Fellowship of the
Ring", "The Two Towers", and "The Return of the King". The works
gained public attention rapidly and, in 1956, the BBC staged a 12-
part condensed radio adaptation. (It is not known if this was a
reading or a full-cast adaptation).
"The Lord of the Rings" is a fantasy epic, set in humanity's far
past, in a land called Middle Earth. It tells of a time when
hobbits, elves, dwarfs, wizards, goblins, trolls and a host of other
beings battled in a contest of good versus evil that stretched over
millennia.
In 1981, the BBC again tackled "The Lord of the Rings", this time in
a serial of twenty six 30-minute episodes. This production was not
a condensed version, although it does leave out a number of events.
Still, it is about as faithful to the book as one could reasonably
expect. The characterizations are excellent and music is very nicely
done.
The 1981 trilogy was adapted for radio by Brian Sibley and Michael
Bakewell. It was directed by Jane Morgan and Penny Leicester. It is
voiced by some very fine British actors including Ian Holm as Frodo,
Michael Hordon as Gandalf and Peter Woodthorpe as Gollum among others.
The serial aired Sundays from 12 Noon to 12:30 PM on BBC Radio Four
and was repeated each following Wednesday from 10:30 to 11:00 PM.
In 1982, the BBC again aired the serial, this time combining the half
hour episodes into a series of 13 one hour episodes. These aired,
again on BBC Radio Four, on Saturdays, from 3:30 to 4:30 PM.
"The Lord of the Rings" trilogy is available from the BBC in the UK
and on the Internet, and in bookstores in the US, on both cassette
and CD's.
Log Comments:
Broadcast dates and much other information was obtained provided by
Ian Beard in the UK, who cited RADIO TIMES as the source of his
information. Additional information was obtained from various
internet sites.
Logs for both 1981 and 1982 serials as below. Columns for adapter
and producer for each episode of the 26-part serial are also given
(last name only), where known.
Log:
Date Ep# Episode Title Adapter Producer
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1981 26 30-MINUTE EPISODE VERSION
Broadcast Sundays at Noon,
repeated Wednesdays at 10:30pm
08 Mar 1 "The Long Awaited Party" Sibley Morgan
15 Mar 2 "The Shadow Of The Past" Sibley Morgan
22 Mar 3 "The Black Riders" Sibley Morgan
29 Mar 4 "Trouble At The Prancing Pony" Sibley Morgan
05 Apr 5 "The Knife In The Dark" Sibley Morgan
12 Apr 6 "The Council Of Elrond" Bakewell Morgan
19 Apr 7 "The Fellowship Of The Ring" Bakewell Leicester
26 Apr 8 "The Mines Of Moria" Bakewell Leicester
03 May 9 "The Mirror Of Galadriel" Bakewell Leicester
10 May 10 "The Breaking Of The Fellowship" Bakewell Leicester
17 May 11 "The Riders Of Rohan" Sibley Morgan
24 May 12 "Treebeard Of Fangorn" Sibley Leicester
31 May 13 "The King Of The Golden Hall" Sibley Leicester
07 Jun 14 "Helm's Deep" Bakewell Leicester
14 Jun 15 "The Voice Of Saruman" Bakewell
21 Jun 16 "The Black Gate Is Closed" Bakewell
28 Jun 17 "The Window On The West" Morgan
05 Jul 18 "Minas Tirith" Bakewell Morgan
12 Jul 19 "Shelob's Lair" Bakewell Morgan
19 Jul 20 "The Siege Of Gondor" Bakewell Morgan
26 Jul 21 "The Battle Of Pelennor Fields" Bakewell Morgan
02 Aug 22 "The Houses Of Healing" Sibley
09 Aug 23 "Mount Doom" Sibley Morgan
16 Aug 24 "The Return Of The King" Morgan
23 Aug 25 "Homeward Bound" Sibley Morgan
30 Aug 26 "The Grey Havens"
1982 13 1-HOUR EPISODE VERSION
Broadcast Saturdays at 3:30pm
17 Jul 1 "The Shadow Of The Past"
24 Jul 2 "The Black Riders"
31 Jul 3 "The Knife In The Dark"
07 Aug 4 "The Ring Goes South"
14 Aug 5 "The Mirror Of Gadladriel"
21 Aug 6 "The Breaking Of The Fellowship"
28 Aug 7 "The King Of The Golden Hall"
04 Sep 8 "The Voice Of Saruman"
11 Sep 9 "The Two Towers"
18 Sep 10 "The Choices Of Master Samwise"
25 Sep 11 "The Battle Of Pelennor Fields"
02 Oct 12 "Mount Doom"
09 Oct 13 "The Grey Havens"
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