T H E L O R D O F T H E R I N G S ----- ------- --- ----- --------- 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 for his information. Additional information was obtained from various internet sites. Logs for both 1981 and 1982 serials are below. Columns for adapter and producer for each episode of the 26-part serial are also given (last name only), where known. Chronological Log: Date Ep# Episode Title Adapter Producer ------ --- -------------------------------- -------- --------- 1981 26 30-MINUTE EPISODE VERSION Broadcast Sundays at Noon, repeated Wednesdays at 10:30 PM. 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 3:30 PM. 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" Reeder Feedback: * Steve Risebury from Newcastle, England provided titles and adapter names for episodes 16 and 22 and caught a title error for number 4. Last Update: May 20, 2004 This log is informational only and does not imply that I have these shows for trade or sale. The shows are still protected under copyright law and should be obtained only from authorized dealers. The log may be freely reproduced and published on a no-profit basis. Please send error corrections or additional information to Frank M. Passage, 109 Elmwood Road, Verona, NJ 07044 (email: wb2ntp@arrl.net).