1981 The Lord of the Rings (BBC Radio Drama)

Release Date: 1981
Reader: Full Cast
Language: English
Adapted By: Brian Sibley & Michael Bakewell
Organization: BBC Radio 4
Copyright: © 1981 BBC Worldwide
Duration: 12 hours 50 mins
Unabridged: No
Country: UK
Licenced: Yes
Formats: Cassette, CD, Digital

Contents

• Development History
• Version History
• Artwork
• Release History
• Cast
• Crew
• Episode Details
  • 1981 Original Edit
  • 1982 Thirteen Episode Edit
  • 2001 Trilogy Edit

Development History

The 1978 release of the Ralph Bakshi animated film adaptation of The Lord of the Rings gave Richard Imison, head of the BBC’s Script Unit, impetus to bring the book to radio and initiated talks with Jane Morgan, an experienced producer of long running-time radio adaptations. Meanwhile, the BBC mistakenly negotiated with Saul Zaentz, believing that he held the rights (due to the films), and then discovered that they had to recover the money and deal with the Tolkien estate, which actually still held the original radio broadcast rights.

A young and relatively inexperienced writer, Brian Sibley, had made a number of suggestions of books that he would like to adapt into radio plays and included a particular plea for The Lord of the Rings. This came at such an auspicious moment that Richard Imison wondered if Sibley had been tipped off that they were negotiating the rights. Once all of the legal issues were resolved, he was asked to write a sample script of the “Council of Elrond” – one of the most difficult, dialogue-heavy chapters. Imison was pleased and gave the go ahead for Sibley to work on the writing of the show, alongside an experienced radio writer, Michael Bakewell.

The two of them spent a lot of time in Morgan’s kitchen drawing up story plans and dividing episodes up, thirteen each, with Bakewell tending to take those involving battles and big set pieces. Crucially, they decided not to follow the structure of the book, but to interweave Frodo and Sam’s journey around and into Mordor with the events in Rohan and Gondor. Also, the three ‘Tom Bombadil’ chapters were skipped to create more room for the rest of the story. Christopher Tolkien had consultation and approval rights over the scripts and read over each one, leading to significant rewrites until all were happy.

There was a strong desire to maintain as many of the songs as possible and so Stephen Oliver was approached to provide arrangements – composing and conducting. Jane Morgan was (thankfully) against using electronic adjustments to the actor’s voices and wanted to cast people who had just the right qualities for each character. Two actors reprised their roles from the Bakshi film – Michael Graham Cox as Boromir and Peter Woodthorpe who had given a definitive performance as Sméagol (arguably the template for all following interpretations). Many major names from British stage and film were secured alongside a number of relative newcomers to radio. Many of the performances were critically lauded as well as Gerard Murphy‘s narrator, who along with Bill Nighy and Ian Holm, were the only cast members to appear in all 26 episodes.

Recording was completed between November 1980 and February 1981, broken into blocks of 2-3 episodes with a few days off in between. Given the time of year, coughs and colds became an issue affecting the recording schedule. Christopher Tolkien provided a pronunciation guide for the cast and particular help with some of the Elvish passages. Despite this, some did inevitably struggle but given the tight time schedule and budget, Morgan was unwilling to re-record a scene if there was only a minor pronunciation error and the performances were otherwise good. Brian Sibley admits that he did make a “bit of a nuance” of himself in the studio “fussing over pronunciations”.

For the finale, Sibley had wanted to use the poem Bilbo’s Last Song, the rights of which are held separately by Joy Hill, Tolkien’s secretary. She was initially unwilling for it to be incorporated into The Lord of the Rings, given that it had been written years later. She was persuaded, as it is clearly written from the perspective of Bilbo at the Grey Havens, but was adamant that it not be arranged and sung, so John Le Mesurier would have to recite it. However a demo recording of the sung version was later discovered on a cassette in Jane Morgan’s collection. This was included as a bonus track on the digitally remastered soundtrack.

Version History

1981

Recorded from November 1980 to February 1981 and broadcast in 26 weekly 30 minute episodes from 8^th March to 30^th August.

1982

Re-edited into 13 60 minute episodes which required some minor editing, and re-recording of narration. Broadcast weekly from 17^th July to 9^th October.

2001

Further edited into a ‘trilogy’ format of 4, 4, & 3 CDs with new frame-narrative prologues and epilogues for each ‘volume’ (The Return of the King only had a prologue) recorded by Ian Holm as Frodo reflecting back on the events of the story whilst documenting it in the Red Book of Westmarch, before departing to the Grey Havens. Also, further alterations to narration and episodes were required including some additional music cues which the BBC were forced to take from the soundtrack album after they had disposed of the music’s original master tapes.

A 12^th CD was also added containing the digitally remastered soundtrack with an additional bonus track of John Le Mesurier singing Bilbo’s Last Song, which had been replaced by Matthew Vine’s performance in the series.

Some releases, notably the Collector’s Edition “Ring Tin” release contained a bonus CD holding “Microphones in Middle-earth” a behind the scenes documentary made by Brian Sibley, interviewing a great many of the cast and crew.

Artwork

Eric Fraser created a colour painting that was used for the Radio Times cover and promotional posters, albums and cards. He also created small black & white episode specific images used in the entries within the Radio Times for that episode. One such image, actually a detail from the main painting, was used on the cassette (and later CD) box sets. Sibley noticed too late that Fraser had drawn Gandalf holding the One Ring on the cover. He often jokes that he is the only person who is still bothered by this 40 years later.

Release History

New information is frequently added but if you have any additional updates, please let us know.

UK	1987	BBC Enterprises Ltd	Slipcase Box, Gold Cassettes x 13	RINGS 001-013
	Original 1987 release – no printed serial numbers on box which came in a printed soft card slipcase. Cassettes are black and individually numbered RINGS 001 to RINGS 013 Ⓟ 1981 BBC. Includes gold foldout leaflet with map, credits and a set of notes on The Author, The Book and The BBC Radio Production. Episode 8 correctly titled The Voice of Saruman on the inlay card, but the printed title on the cassette incorrectly says The Voice of Sauron.

UK	1987	BBC Enterprises Ltd	Box, Gold Cassettes x 13	RINGS 001-013
	Re-issue boxed release – no printed serial numbers on box which did not come with a slipcase cover. Cassette are white and individually numbered RINGS 001 to RINGS 013 Ⓟ 1981 BBC. Includes gold foldout leaflet with map, credits and a different set of biographical notes. Episode 8 The Voice of Saruman is incorrectly titled The Voice of Sauron on both inlay card and the printing on the cassette tape.

USA	1987	BDD Audio	Black Leaflet Box, Cassettes x 13	BBC019x
	Bantom Double Day cassette release with black leaflet and each cassette has BDDAP BBC019x printed where x is a letter from A to M. Episode 1 is A through to episode 13 as M etc. The textual biographical content on the leaflets is the same as the UK re-issue but differs in layout and font size between both black and white leaflets and the UK printings. Printing on the inlay cards is identical between black and white leaflet editions. Episode 8 The Voice of Saruman is incorrectly titled The Voice of Sauron

USA	1987	BDD Audio	White leaflet Box, Cassettes x 13	BBC019x YA151
	Bantom Double Day cassette release with white leaflet and each cassette has BDDAP BBC019x YA151 printed where x is a letter from A to M. Episode 1 is A through to episode 13 as M etc. The textual biographical content on the leaflets is the same as the UK re-issue but differs in layout and font size between both black and white leaflets and the UK printings. Printing on the inlay cards is identical between white and black leaflet editions. Episode 8 The Voice of Saruman is incorrectly titled The Voice of Sauron

USA	1989	The Mind’s Eye	Cassettes x 12	ISBN 9781559350334
	First attempt to repackage in a trilogy format, long before the BBC trilogy re-edit. White and black plastic clamshell cases, each containing 4 cassettes. The first box holds episodes 1-5, the second has episodes 6-9 and the third holds episodes 10-13. Available in two versions (see gallery below); white panels with a band of Union Flags along the top and bottom, darker coloured panels with multiple colours and no flags. Produced by The Mind’s Eye, who had previously produced their own versions of both The Lord of the Rings and The Hobbit, alongside the name AVC Corporation. It’s possible that The Mind’s Eye (and also Jabberwocky) are brand names used by AVC. Episode 8 is correctly titled The Voice of Saruman.

UK	1992	BBC Enterprises Ltd	Special Centenary Ltd Ed	RINGS 001-013
	Special Centenary Limited Edition – no printed serial numbers on box which did not come with a slipcase cover however there is a sticker with the limited edition number and special centenary circular logo printed on each end (see images). Numbering indicates that 10,000 were made. Includes the same gold leaflet as the re-issue and there is an additional leaflet containing Brian’s Sibley’s The Recording of the Rings. Cassettes are black and individually numbered RINGS 001 to RINGS 013 Ⓟ 1981 BBC. Episode 8 The Voice of Saruman is incorrectly titled The Voice of Sauron on both inlay card and the printing on the cassette tape.

UK	~1995	BBC Worldwide Ltd	Box, Silver Cassettes x 13	ZBBC 1050
	Release similar to the re-issue gold version except that now silver is used instead and a printed catalogue number and ISBN is on the rear of the box – also no slipcase. Leaflet content is the same as the gold re-issue, just also printed in silver. The cassette tapes are clear and printed with a longer ISBN (0563209828) than that printed on the box as well as the code ZBBC 1050 and credited now to BBC Worldwide Ltd. Episode 8 The Voice of Saruman is incorrectly titled The Voice of Sauron on both inlay card and the printing on the cassette tape. No date is currently known for this release but the presence of an ISBN and the clear plastic cassettes are consistent with BBC releases in the 1990s so this almost certainly came after the centenary limited edition release, quite possibly when the ZBBC 1050 CD release came out in 1995.

UK	1995	BBC Worldwide Ltd, Limited Edition	CD x 14	ZBBC 1050 CD
	Limited Edition (exact number unknown but at least 2,600). Held in a ‘book style’ binder within a thin cardboard box. Also including a 21 page booklet, map and a bonus CD of the music and songs from the series by the cast and scored by The New Chamber Soloists. Barcode: 5 011755 105020 ISBN: 0563388129 This has also been released in an almost identical form in 2002, tho without the Limited Edition numbering, in a combined box set that also includes the BBC’s 1968 The Hobbit, see below. Episode 8 is correctly titled The Voice of Saruman.

USA	1995	Bantom Doubleday Dell Audio	CD x 13	BBC 019A
	BBC Worldwide Ltd and Bantom Doubleday Dell Audio Publishing release. Barcode: 9780553456530 ISBN-10: 0553456539 Other: 56995. Original artwork © Hildebrandt. Episode 8 The Voice of Saruman incorrectly titled The Voice of Sauron.

DE	1997.08.17	der Hörverlag	CD x 10	3895847895
	German release by BBC Worldwide Ltd and der Hörverlag. Flip-lid box containing a booklet, which has The Making of The Ring by Brian Sibley and 10 CDs. Does not have the music or a map. Episode 8 is correctly titled The Voice of Saruman.

UK	2000	Frieze Panels	Cassette x 14	ISBN 056355309X
	Includes a map of Middle-earth and the inlay cards from each double cassette box put together made a special frieze (see image gallery below). Also includes the soundtrack music and songs as well as additional notes and information about Tolkien’s world and the production process. Barcode: 9780563553090 ISBN-10: 056355309X Episode 8 is correctly titled The Voice of Saruman.

UK	2001	Trilogy Standard Ed CD vol 1	CD x 4	ISBN: 9780563536550
	The Fellowship of the Ring, vol 1 of the new trilogy edit. Double jewel case holds 4 CDs and a booklet which has The Ring Goes Ever On by Brian Sibley.

UK	2001	Trilogy Standard Ed Cassette vol 1	Cassette x 4	ISBN: 9780563536543
	The Fellowship of the Ring, vol 1 of the new trilogy edit. Quad plastic cassette case holds 4 tapes and a printed inlay which has The Ring Goes Ever On by Brian Sibley.

UK	2001	Trilogy Standard Ed CD vol 2	CD x 4	ISBN: 9780563536574
	The Two Towers, vol 2 of the new trilogy edit. Double jewel case holds 4 CDs and a booklet which has The Recording of the Rings by Jane Morgan.

UK	2001	Trilogy Standard Ed Cassette vol 2	Cassette x 4	ISBN: 9780563536567
	The Two Towers, vol 2 of the new trilogy edit. Quad plastic cassette case holds 4 tapes and a printed inlay which has The Recording of the Rings by Jane Morgan.

UK	2002	Trilogy Standard Ed CD vol 3	CD x 4	ISBN: 9780563536598
	The Return of the King, vol 3 of the new trilogy edit. Double jewel case holds 4 CDs and a booklet which has biographical notes on JRR Tolkien. One CD contains the music.

UK	2002	Trilogy Standard Ed Cassette vol 3	Cassette x 4	ISBN: 9780563536581
	The Return of the King, vol 3 of the new trilogy edit. Quad plastic cassette case holds 4 tapes and a printed inlay which has biographical notes on JRR Tolkien. One tape contains the music.

UK	2002	Trilogy Standard Ed Cassette Box	Cassette x 12	ISBN: 9780563528876
	Soft card slip cover that bundles together the 3 individually released cassette volumes, see above – 9780563536543, 9780563536567 and 9780563536581.

UK	2002	Trilogy Standard Ed CD Box (BBC Worldwide)	CD x 12	ISBN: 9780563528883
	Soft card slip cover that bundles together the 3 individually released CD volumes, see above – 9780563536550, 9780563536574 and 9780563536598. Essentially identical to the AudioGo box (below) apart from the company name printed on the base.

UK	2002	Trilogy Standard Ed CD Box (AudioGo)	CD x 12	ISBN: 9780563528883
	Soft card slip cover that bundles together the 3 individually released volumes, see above – 9780563536550, 9780563536574 and 9780563536598. Essentially identical to the BBC Worldwide box (above) apart from the company name printed on the base.

UK	2002	Trilogy Children Ed Cassette vol 1	Cassette x 4	ISBN: 9780563528814
	The Fellowship of the Ring, BBC Radio Collection re-issue of the 2001, branded as a children’s release with new artwork. Two double cassette cases glued together hold 4 cassettes with a printed, fold-out inlay which has The Ring Goes Ever On by Brian Sibley.

UK	2002	Trilogy Children Ed Cassette vol 2	Cassette x 4	ISBN: 9780563528838
	The Two Towers, BBC Radio Collection re-issue of the 2001, branded as a children’s release with new artwork. Two double cassette cases glued together hold 4 cassettes with a printed, fold-out inlay which has The Recording of the Rings by Jane Morgan.

UK	2002	Trilogy Children Ed Cassette vol 3	Cassette x 4	ISBN: 9780563528852
	The Return of the King, BBC Radio Collection re-issue of the 2001, branded as a children’s release with new artwork. Two double cassette cases glued together hold 4 cassettes with a printed, fold-out inlay which has biographical notes on JRR Tolkien. One tape contains the music.

UK	2002	Trilogy Children Ed CD vol 1	CD x 4	ISBN: 9780563528821
	The Fellowship of the Ring, BBC Radio Collection re-issue of the 2001, branded as a children’s release with new artwork. Double jewel case holds 4 CDs and a booklet which has The Ring Goes Ever On by Brian Sibley.

UK	2002	Trilogy Children Ed CD vol 2	CD x 4	ISBN: 9780563528845
	The Two Towers, BBC Radio Collection re-issue of the 2001, branded as a children’s release with new artwork. Double jewel case holds 4 CDs and a booklet which has The Recording of the Rings by Jane Morgan.

UK	2002	Trilogy Children Ed CD vol 3	CD x 4	ISBN: 9780563528869
	The Return of the King, BBC Radio Collection re-issue of the 2001, branded as a children’s release with new artwork. Double jewel case holds 4 CDs and a booklet which has biographical notes on JRR Tolkien. One CD contains the music.

2002.07.02	USA	Random House Audio	ISBN-13: See Below	RH 2064 / YA 393
Several sets of soft card boxes for each volume, each containing 4 cassettes.
2001.10.31	Vol 1	0553714775
2002.07.02	Vol 2	0739301187	9780739301180	RH 2064
2002.07.02	Vol 2	0807209074	9780807209073
2002.07.02	Vol 3	0807209104	9780807209103	YA 393
2002.07.02	Vol 3	073930139X	9780739301395

UK	2002.11.11	BBC Worldwide Ltd	CD x 19	ISBN: 9780563528449
	Essentially just a card sleeve around The Hobbit ZBBC 1925 CD and The Lord of the Rings ZBBC 1050 CD. ISBN-10: 0563528443

2002	USA	Random House Audio	ISBN-13: 9780739301197 9780739301401	RHCD 205
Three ‘volume’ quad CD cases with printed inlays and a card sleeve. Some of this stock was repacked for the RHCD 412 Gift Set (see below). It is not known if there is a boxed set of all three volumes available for RHCD 205.

UK	2003	BBC Audiobooks Ltd	CD x 13	ISBN: 9780563494850
	An embossed round tin within a square box which contains 13 CDs: each of the three volumes on 4 CDs each plus a thirteenth entitled “Microphones on Middle Earth” – a documentary featuring interviews with the cast. Each CD is in a round card cover. Tin includes: an eight-page booklet for each volume – booklets are CD shape and size; folded map of “The West of Middle-Earth At The End of the Third Age” Barcode: 9780563494850 Other: ISBN 0563494859

USA	2003.09.01	Random House Audio	CD x 17	ISBN: 9780739310113 RHCD 412
	JRR Tolkien Gift Set combines two of the BBC dramatisations – 1968 The Hobbit (5 CDs) and the 1981 The Lord of the Rings (12 CDs) in a single box with a holographic rendition of John Howe’s The Fall of Gondolin. ISBN-10: 0739310119. The CDs within the box are the same as RHCD205 (some actually are RHCD205 cases) but with a new printed card sleeve over them.

USA	2008	BBC Audiobooks America	CD x 12	ISBN: 9781602834927
	Trilogy box set contains 3 foldout sleeves each of 4 CDs. Also includes map.

USA	2009.09.08	BBC Audiobooks America	CD x 21	ISBN: 9781602836617
	The JRR Tolkien Collection box set contains the BBC dramatisations of 1968 The Hobbit (4 CDs – no music), the 1981 The Lord of the Rings (12 CDs), the Tales From the Perilous Realm productions (3 CDs) as well as JRR Tolkien: An Audio Portrait documentary by Brian Sibley (2 CDs). There is also included a foldout map of Middle-earth at the end of The Third Age by Christopher Tolkien, commonly found in The Lord of the Rings. ISBN-10: ‎1602836612

UK	2009	BBC Worldwide Ltd	CD x 21	ISBN: 9781602836617
	The JRR Tolkien Collection box set contains the BBC dramatisations of 1968 The Hobbit (4 CDs – no music), the 1981 The Lord of the Rings (12 CDs), the Tales From the Perilous Realm productions (3 CDs) as well as JRR Tolkien: An Audio Portrait documentary by Brian Sibley (2 CDs). This UK version of this release does not include a map and may have been intended for libraries only.

UK	2011	AudioGo Ltd	CD x 19	ISBN: 9781445861500
	The Lord of the Rings – The Hobbit combines two of the BBC dramatisations – 1968 The Hobbit (5 CDs) and the 1981 The Lord of the Rings (14 CDs) in a single box. Each volume is held in printed fold out card sleeve (with slot pockets) and with track listing and other notes. All within printed card box sleeve. Includes 2 PDF maps (one for each story). No catalogue number.

UK	2012	AudioGo Ltd	CD x 4	ISBN: 9780563536550
	The Fellowship of the Ring, AudioGo re-issue using the same ISBN as the 2001 but with new artwork. Double jewel case holds 4 CDs and a booklet which has The Ring Goes Ever On by Brian Sibley. Included in gift pack box 9780563528883 below.

UK	2012	AudioGo Ltd	CD x 4	ISBN: 9780563536574
	The Two Towers, AudioGo re-issue using the same ISBN as the 2001 but with new artwork. Double jewel case holds 4 CDs and a booklet which has The Recording of the Rings by Jane Morgan. Included in gift pack box 9780563528883 below.

UK	2012	AudioGo Ltd	CD x 4	ISBN: 9780563536598
	The Return of the King, AudioGo re-issue using the same ISBN as the 2002 but with new artwork. Double jewel case holds 4 CDs and a booklet which has biographical notes on JRR Tolkien. One CD contains the music. Included in gift pack box 9780563528883 below.

UK	2012	AudioGo Ltd	CD x 12	ISBN: 9780563528883
	AudioGo re-issue using the same ISBN as the 2001 but with new artwork. Soft card box around 3 quad-CD jewel cases – each also released separately as: 1 The Fellowship of the Ring 9780563536550 2 The Two Towers 9780563536574 3 The Return of the King 9780563536598 Booklets include: The Ring Goes Ever On by Brian Sibley. The Recording of the Rings by Jane Morgan. Biographical notes on JRR Tolkien. Includes CD containing the music.

WWW	2018	BBC Studios Distribution Ltd	Digital Online	–
	Digital streaming edition available on platforms like Audible & Storytel etc.

Cast

Aragorn (Strider)	Robert Stephens
Arwen	Sonia Fraser
Barliman Butterbur	James Grout
Beregond / The Black Rider / Guard	Christopher Scott
Bilbo Baggins	John Le Mesurier
Boromir	Michael Graham Cox
Celeborn	Simon Cadell
Ceorl	Michael McStay
Daddy Twofoot	Leonard Fenton
Déagol / Bill Ferny / Orc Captain	Graham Faulkner
Denethor	Peter Vaughan
Elanor Gamgee	Harry Holm
Elrond	Hugh Dickson
Éomer	Anthony Hyde
Éothain / Otho Sackville-Baggins / Ruffian	John Livesey
Éowyn	Elin Jenkins
Faramir	Andrew Seear
Farmer Cotton	Alan Dudley
Farmer Maggot / Ruffian	John Bott
Frodo Baggins	Ian Holm
Gaffer Gamgee	John Church
Galadriel	Marian Diamond
Gamling	Patrick Barr
Gandalf	Michael Hordern
Gimli	Douglas Livingstone
Glorfindel / Various	John Webb
Gollum / Sméagol	Peter Woodthorpe
Gorbag	David Sinclair
Gríma ‘Wormtongue’	Paul Brooke
Gwaihir	Alexander John
Halbarad	Martyn Read
Haldir / Nazgûl / Nob / Minstrel	Haydn Wood
Háma / Nazgûl	Michael Spice
Ioreth	Pauline Letts
Legolas	David Collings
Lobelia Sackville-Baggins	Diana Bishop
Lord of the Nazgûl	Philip Voss
Meriadoc ‘Merry’ Brandybuck	Richard O’Callaghan
Narrator (USA)	Tammy Grimes
Narrator (UK)	Gerard Murphy
Peregrin ‘Pippin’ Took	John McAndrew
Odo Proudfoot / Orc	Sean Arnold
Radagast	Donald Gee
Rosie Cotton	Kathryn Hurlbutt
Samwise Gamgee	William ‘Bill’ Nighy
Saruman	Peter Howell
Shagrat	Christopher Fairbank
Singer (Dream Voice / Bilbo’s Last Song)	Matthew Vine
Singer (The Bard)	Oz Clarke
Singer (The Eagle / Voice of Lothlórien)	David James
Ted Sandyman / Snaga	Gordon Reid
The Mouth of Sauron	John Rye
Théoden	Jack May
Treebeard	Stephen Thorne
Uglúk	Brian Haines

Crew

Music arranged, composed & conducted	Stephen Oliver
Music performed	New Chamber Soloists with Susan Bradshaw
Singers	David James, Matthew Vine and Oz Clarke with the Ambrosian Singers and members of the cast.
Radiophonic Sound	Elizabeth Parker
Produced & Directed	Jane Morgan & Penny Leicester
Production Secretaries	Angela Heard and Maggie McNamara
Technical Presentation	Peter Novis and David Greenwood assisted by Richard Beadsmoore, Tim Sturgeon, Diana Barkham and Paul Pearson.
Adapted	Brian Sibley and Michael Bakewell

Broadcast History

1981 Original Broadcast

Originally broadcast from 8 March to 30 August 1981 in 26 weekly episodes of ~30 minutes each (repeated mid-week). For use in the Radio Times, artist Eric Fraser created an original illustration, for each episode.

#	Broadcast	Repeat	Title	Eric Fraser RT Art
01	1981.03.08 12:00	1981.03.11 22:30	The Long Awaited Party
02	1981.03.15 12:00	1981.03.18 22:30	The Shadow of the Past
03	1981.03.22 12:00	1981.03.25 22:30	The Black Riders
04	1981.03.29 12:00	1981.04.01 22:30	Trouble at the Prancing Pony
05	1981.04.05 12:00	1981.04.08 22:30	The Knife in the Dark
06	1981.04.12 12:00	1981.04.15 22:30	The Council of Elrond
07	1981.04.19 12:00	1981.04.22 22:30	The Fellowship of the Ring
08	1981.04.26 12:00	1981.04.29 22:30	The Mines of Moria
09	1981.05.03 12:00	1981.05.06 22:30	The Mirror of Galadriel
10	1981.05.10 12:00	1981.05.13 22:30	The Breaking of the Fellowship
11	1981.05.17 12:00	1981.05.20 22:30	The Riders of Rohan
12	1981.05.24 12:00	1981.05.27 22:30	Treebeard of Fangorn
13	1981.05.31 12:00	1981.06.03 22:30	The King of the Golden Hall
14	1981.06.07 12:00	1981.06.10 22:30	Helm’s Deep
15	1981.06.14 12:00	1981.06.17 22:30	The Voice of Saruman
16	1981.06.21 12:00	1981.06.24 22:30	The Black Gate is Closed
17	1981.06.28 12:00	1981.07.01 22:30	The Window on the West
18	1981.07.05 12:00	1981.07.08 22:30	Minas Tirith
19	1981.07.12 12:00	1981.07.15 22:30	Shelob’s Lair
20	1981.07.19 12:00	1981.07.22 22:30	The Siege of Gondor
21	1981.07.26 12:00	1981.07.29 22:30	The Battle of Pelennor Fields
22	1981.08.02 12:00	1981.08.05 22:30	The Houses of Healing
23	1981.08.09 12:00	1981.08.12 22:30	Mount Doom
24	1981.08.16 12:00	1981.08.19 22:30	The Return of the King
25	1981.08.23 12:00	1981.08.26 22:30	Homeward Bound
26	1981.08.30 12:00	1981.09.02 22:30	The Grey Havens

1982 ’13 Episode’ Edit

Re-edited into 13 ~60 minute episodes which required some minor editing, and re-recording of narration. Broadcast weekly from 17^th July to 9^th October and from 8^th March 1987 and again from 1^st January 2002.

01	1982.07.17 15:30	1987.03.08 14:30	2002.01.05 14:30	The Shadow of the Past	56:23
02	1982.07.24 15:30	1987.03.15 14:30	2002.01.12 14:30	The Black Riders	56:23
03	1982.07.31 15:30	1987.03.22 14:30	2002.01.19 14:30	The Knife in the Dark	57:01
04	1982.08.07 15:30	1987.03.29 14:30	2002.01.26 14:30	The Ring Goes South	54:46
05	1982.08.14 15:30	1987.04.05 14:30	2002.02.02 14:30	The Mirror of Galadriel	55:34
06	1982.08.21 15:30	1987.04.12 14:30	2002.02.09 14:30	The Breaking of the Fellowship	56:34
07	1982.08.28 15:30	1987.04.19 14:30	2002.02.16 14:30	The King of the Golden Hall	55:25
08	1982.09.04 15:30	1987.04.26 14:30	2002.02.23 14:30	The Voice of Saruman	56:42
09	1982.09.11 15:30	1987.05.03 14:30	2002.03.02 14:30	The Two Towers	58:55
10	1982.09.18 15:30	1987.05.10 14:30	2002.03.09 14:30	The Choices of Master Samwise	59:07
11	1982.09.25 15:30	1987.05.17 14:30	2002.03.16 14:30	The Battle of Pelennor Fields	57:13
12	1982.10.02 15:30	1987.05.24 14:30	2002.03.23 14:30	Mount Doom	58:03
13	1982.10.09 15:30	1987.05.31 14:30	2002.03.30 14:30	The Grey Havens	58:43

2001 ‘Trilogy’ Edit

Further edited into a ‘trilogy’ format of 4, 4, & 3 CDs with new frame-narrative prologues and epilogues for each ‘volume’ (The Return of the King only had a prologue) recorded by Ian Holm as Frodo.

Vol 1	The Fellowship of the Ring
CD01-1	The History of the Ring	8:45
CD01-2	A Long-Expected Party	9:26
CD01-3	The Precious	8:30
CD01-4	One Ring to Rule Them All	13:39
CD01-5	The Shadow of the Past	7:31
CD01-6	The Treachery of Saruman	11:54
CD01-7	The Black Riders	5:05
CD01-8	Goodbye to Bag End	3:55
CD02-1	The Road Ever Goes On	7:31
CD02-2	Mushrooms!	7:24
CD02-3	A Conspiracy Unmasked	5:50
CD02-4	Strider	12:10
CD02-5	A Letter from Gandalf	9:12
CD02-6	A Raid on the Prancing Pony	7:08
CD02-7	Weathertop	7:59
CD02-8	A Knife in the Dark	8:20
CD03-1	Flight to the Ford	4:17
CD03-2	Many Meetings	13:36
CD03-3	The Council of Elrond	14:34
CD03-4	The Nine Walkers	7:49
CD03-5	Cruel Caradhras	8:05
CD03-6	At the Dwarf Gates to Moria	12:39
CD03-7	A Journey in the Dark	11:03
CD04-1	Drums in the Deep	8:17
CD04-2	The Bridge of Khazad Dûm	6:21
CD04-3	Lothlórien	11:18
CD04-4	Mithrandir	4:12
CD04-5	The Mirror of Galadriel	10:26
CD04-6	Farewell to Lórien	9:18
CD04-7	The Great River	3:46
CD04-8	The Breaking of the Fellowship	11:55
CD04-9	Epilogue	3:38
		4:35:34
Vol 2	The Two Towers
CD05-1	Prologue	3:51
CD05-2	The Departure of Boromir	6:59
CD05-3	The Uruk-Hai	5:36
CD05-4	The Riders of Rohan	7:29
CD05-5	Treebeard	13:38
CD05-6	Galadriel’s Rope	4:47
CD05-7	The Taming of Sméagol	10:40
CD05-8	Gandalf the White	5:35
CD05-9	The Last March of the Ents	2:25
CD05-10	The King of the Golden Hall	8:49
CD06-1	Follow Sméagol	4:12
CD06-2	The Dead Marches	2:58
CD06-3	Forth Eorlingas!	8:40
CD06-4	The Two Gollums	7:56
CD06-5	The Rumour of War	5:34
CD06-6	The Battle of Helm’s Deep	15:26
CD06-7	The Road to Isengard	5:13
CD06-8	The Voice of Saruman	9:24
CD06-9	The Palantir	8:26
CD07-1	The Black Gate is Closed	11:48
CD07-2	The Grey Company	7:46
CD07-3	The Stone Of Orthanc	4:03
CD07-4	Of Herbs and Stewed Rabbit	15:39
CD07-5	Faramir Shows His Quality	6:12
CD07-6	The Paths of the Dead	8:35
CD07-7	The Forbidden Pool	9:29
CD07-8	The Steward of Minas Tirith	9:05
CD08-1	Mordor Casts its Shadow	10:02
CD08-2	Forth Rode the King	6:49
CD08-3	The Stairs of Cirith Ungol	10:51
CD08-4	The Siege of Gondor	2:53
CD08-5	The Shades of Dunharrow	3:50
CD08-6	Gollum the Sneak	5:47
CD08-7	Shelob’s Lair	8:17
CD08-8	The Choices of Master Samwise	6:18
CD08-9	Epilogue	4:02
		4:29:05
Vol 3	The Return of the King
CD09-1	Prologue	5:24
CD09-2	Galadriel’s Star-Glass	2:40
CD09-3	Denethor Waits and Watches	5:42
CD09-4	The Tower of Cirith Ungol	12:07
CD09-5	The Gate of Gondor	8:30
CD09-6	The Battle of Pelennor Fields	8:48
CD09-7	The Pyre of Denethor	6:37
CD09-8	Aragorn Returns	5:35
CD09-9	The Houses of Healing	15:01
CD10-1	Trapped	2:12
CD10-2	The Last Debate	3:15
CD10-3	The Land of Shadow	3:23
CD10-4	Lord Faramir and Lady Eowyn	3:08
CD10-5	Mount Doom	10:24
CD10-6	The Mouth of Sauron	6:40
CD10-7	The Crack of Doom	10:43
CD10-8	Long Live the Halflings!	4:41
CD10-9	The Steward and the King	5:47
CD10-10	The White Tree of Númenor	6:57
CD11-1	The Day of Departure	4:18
CD11-2	Many Partings	9:11
CD11-3	Don’t Adventures Ever Have an End?	8:15
CD11-4	Homeward Bound	8:50
CD11-5	The Scouring of the Shire	4:15
CD11-6	Sharkey	6:01
CD11-7	The Mallorn Tree	4:49
CD11-8	Rose And Elanor	4:20
CD11-9	The Grey Havens	10:28
CD11-10	Closing Credits	2:43
		3:10:41
	The Music
CD12-1	The Lord of the Rings	5:11
CD12-2	O Elbereth Gilthoniel	2:35
CD12-3	The Road Goes Ever On	7:14
CD12-4	In Western Lands Beneath The Sun	1:14
CD12-5	Seek For The Sword That Was Broken	4:26
CD12-6	Shadowfax	2:54
CD12-7	O Lórien	2:42
CD12-8	Forth Rode The King	3:13
CD12-9	The March of the Ents	2:21
CD12-10	The Battle of Pelennor Fields	3:17
CD12-11	Lament For The Fallen	4:35
CD12-12	Gil-Gilad Was An Elven King	1:22
CD12-13	In Caras Galadhon	2:53
CD12-14	The Tree Lords	5:09
CD12-15	Gwaihir’s Song	1:46
CD12-16	Long Live The Halflings	2:27
CD12-17	The Healing of the Shire	2:44
CD12-18	Bilbo’s Last Song	3:36
CD12-19	Bilbo’s Last Song (Demo Version)	1:11
		1:00:51
Bonus CD	Microphones in Middle-earth
CD13	“The Making of…” documentary	1:09:53

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