Idril Celebrindal
Tol Eressea
Calling all fans of the BBC's 1981 Lord of the Rings radio play! It's time to get moving on our discussion of this popular radio adaptation of LOTR. (Apologies for the delay in pulling this together and major thanks to Patty for her gentle reminders about it!)
I am a longtime fan of the BBC LOTR and would love to share my appreciation of it with everyone here at TORN, especially with new listeners. In this discussion, we can look individually at each episode of the radio play, then step back occasionally to examine different aspects of it, especially those that apply to the entire series. I'd also like to take a look at extensions to the radio play, such as the additional material that Ian Holm recorded for its re-release and the adaptation that Brian Sibley later did of the Tom Bombadil chapters (which were skipped in the original).
I'd like to keep the tone of discussion friendly, accessible and fun. Comparing the different dramatizations of LOTR (the BBC and Mind's Eye radio plays plus the Bakshi, PJ and Rankin-Bass movies) is fine, but I don't want this to degenerate into squabbling over which one is best (or worst, as the case may be).
To give everyone time to get their hands on a copy of the radio play and start listening to it, let's start the discussion three weeks from now (June 2). Each week, we can discuss a new episode. The schedule also includes "interludes" to discuss things like music and songs, how the series is structured, what's been left out and why, what's been added and why, and so forth. These apply to the series as a whole and can be done as we're going along. I've scheduled them every couple of weeks, but they can really be done at any time that's convenient. If there's something you want to discuss that isn't included here, feel free to propose a new interlude!
If you'd like to lead one of the discussion sections, reply to this thread. Don't be shy! Any way you want to discuss this is fine. Be as informal (or formal) as you like.
Schedule
Episode 1 (The Shadow of the Past) -- June 2
* Interlude: Dramatic structure
Episode 2 (The Black Riders) -- June 9
Episode 3 (The Knife in the Dark) -- June 16
* Interlude: What's missing and why?
Episode 4 (The Ring Goes South) -- June 23
Episode 5 (The Mirror of Galadriel) -- June 30
* Interlude: What's been added and why?
Episode 6 (The Breaking of the Fellowship) -- July 7
Episode 7 (The King of the Golden Hall) -- July 8
* Interlude: Voice casting and acting
Episode 8 (The Voice of Saruman) -- July 14
Episode 9 (The Two Towers) -- July 21
* Interlude: Music, song and sound effects
Episode 10 (The Choice of Master Samwise) -- July 28
Episode 11 (The Battle of Pellenor Fields) -- August 4
Episode 12 (Mt. Doom) -- August 11
Episode 13 (The Grey Havens) -- August 18
Miscellaneous/Additions/Wrap-up -- August 25
Resources
Thanks to AragornJax for most of these listings.
I am a longtime fan of the BBC LOTR and would love to share my appreciation of it with everyone here at TORN, especially with new listeners. In this discussion, we can look individually at each episode of the radio play, then step back occasionally to examine different aspects of it, especially those that apply to the entire series. I'd also like to take a look at extensions to the radio play, such as the additional material that Ian Holm recorded for its re-release and the adaptation that Brian Sibley later did of the Tom Bombadil chapters (which were skipped in the original).
I'd like to keep the tone of discussion friendly, accessible and fun. Comparing the different dramatizations of LOTR (the BBC and Mind's Eye radio plays plus the Bakshi, PJ and Rankin-Bass movies) is fine, but I don't want this to degenerate into squabbling over which one is best (or worst, as the case may be).
To give everyone time to get their hands on a copy of the radio play and start listening to it, let's start the discussion three weeks from now (June 2). Each week, we can discuss a new episode. The schedule also includes "interludes" to discuss things like music and songs, how the series is structured, what's been left out and why, what's been added and why, and so forth. These apply to the series as a whole and can be done as we're going along. I've scheduled them every couple of weeks, but they can really be done at any time that's convenient. If there's something you want to discuss that isn't included here, feel free to propose a new interlude!
If you'd like to lead one of the discussion sections, reply to this thread. Don't be shy! Any way you want to discuss this is fine. Be as informal (or formal) as you like.
Schedule
Episode 1 (The Shadow of the Past) -- June 2
* Interlude: Dramatic structure
Episode 2 (The Black Riders) -- June 9
Episode 3 (The Knife in the Dark) -- June 16
* Interlude: What's missing and why?
Episode 4 (The Ring Goes South) -- June 23
Episode 5 (The Mirror of Galadriel) -- June 30
* Interlude: What's been added and why?
Episode 6 (The Breaking of the Fellowship) -- July 7
Episode 7 (The King of the Golden Hall) -- July 8
* Interlude: Voice casting and acting
Episode 8 (The Voice of Saruman) -- July 14
Episode 9 (The Two Towers) -- July 21
* Interlude: Music, song and sound effects
Episode 10 (The Choice of Master Samwise) -- July 28
Episode 11 (The Battle of Pellenor Fields) -- August 4
Episode 12 (Mt. Doom) -- August 11
Episode 13 (The Grey Havens) -- August 18
Miscellaneous/Additions/Wrap-up -- August 25
Resources
Thanks to AragornJax for most of these listings.
- Wikipedia: http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/The_Lord_of_the_Rings_%281981_radio_series%29
- Ellen Brundige's review: http://www.istad.org/tolkien/sibley.html
- Wellinghall, a site dedicated to the series that includes a helpful transcript: http://www.tolkienradio.com/
- Brian Sibley's site: http://briansibleytheworks.blogspot.com/
- Your local bookstore
- Online retailers like amazon.com, barnesandnoble.com, etc.
- Used copies are available from amazon.com, ebay and other resellers.
- Borrow it from your library, a friend or family member
