Microphones in Middle-earth...the BBC Lord of the Rings

[Mithalwen]

Originally Posted by davem

Mithalwen & I have been praising this series on various threads here over the years & I'm sure she will be as thrilled as I am about Brian's appearance here on the Downs.

Thrilled? I nearly fainted when I had a quick look at lunchtime and have been in a similar state to Sam on hearing he would go to meet the elves all afternoon!

As Dave has said, we have been praising this on other threads for years so to get any discussion going was wonderful (I will be participating more, I was anticipating some time off, or at least a reduced workload which hasn't yet materialised). I still can't quite believe it.

I was quite young when it first came out - I heard the hour episodes and am afraid I made my own recordings which I listened to endlessly (I bought the true recordings as soon as I could! and are one of the few things I wouldn't lend anyone!). I did have the music cassette which I wore out.

The series had a great effect on me . It turned me into a Radio four listener younger than most ) and also a fan of Counter tenors [ on a side issue that has been raised I would point out that it is not unusual to use the countertenor voice for non-human roles - eg Oberon in Britten's Midsummer Night's Dream].

It may even have been the radio series that led me to finish reading the LOTR. I had been given it after reading the Hobbit (after the Jackanory production) but had stopped at the end of the Two Towers the second half of which had been a long bleak haul for a very young reader. Those chapters I found so difficult are perhaps my favourite parts of the Radio production - the interaction between Frodo, Sam and Gollum (and Faramir) was just perfect.

Although I listen to the series at least a couple of times a year, and know the plot I still find myself on tenterhooks. I hope you will stay around because once I have calmed down I shall have as many questions as Pippin. But don't let taht put you off!

[Brian Sibley]

Originally Posted by Mithalwen

Thrilled? I nearly fainted when I had a quick look at lunchtime and have been in a similar state to Sam on hearing he would go to meet the elves all afternoon!

Er... thanks...

[ArathornJax]

Well, today I listened to the journey from Crickhollow to the Prancing Pony to Bree, then through the Midgewater Marshes to Weathertop.

What I enjoyed:
I really enjoyed how though by-passing the Old Forest the four hobbits make it clear that they are "going off the road" and going through the Old Forest on their way to Bree. This gave me the possibility that the events on the book on the Old Forest occurred, while allowing the adaptation to move on. I enjoyed this and again, this is something I wish the movies could have done.

I love Barliman's character and the actor doing his voice nailed it. I know that Gollum may be the Gollum others hear when they read the series, this is what I hear for Barliman's voice.

I enjoyed the 'fiddle" in the Prancing Pony and felt it was a good back drop since inn's have been associated with music and "fiddles" at least here in the US. I was glad that the song was included because I think it shows Frodo in a different light than at any other time during the journey. I enjoyed the Inn scene.

I know there is a thread on Aragorn, and I still have not seen or heard someone who is Aragorn for me. Robert Stephens does a very good job with Aragorn, but I still haven't found the Aragorn in my mind. Not sure why.

The journey from Bree to Weathertop I felt is done nicely and moves the story forward. I love the Gil-Galad song by Sam, and it was this song that got my daughter to read LOTR. Before hearing this, she felt it was something for me and my son and she wanted to read her own fantasy selections/choices, for which I'm glad I've worn off on her).

Questions on this Segment:

I understand the need to cut Tom Bombadil out of the adaptation but was the hobbits conservation about going through the Old Forest to avoid the riders and the road a way to allow listeners familiar with the story the notion that the advents of the Old Forest occurred, while allow for the story to move forward?

Tolkien himself said that Tom was important or he wouldn't have kept him in the story. What do you think we lose by taking Tom out of any adaptation, and what is gained?

Perhaps this leads to another question, what was the process for deciding what to add in, what to not include to the story? Is there still anything you would want to add if you still could to the adaptation, or are you happy with the overall product now?


I look forward to listening again tomorrow.

[Brian Sibley]

Originally Posted by ArathornJax

I really enjoyed how though by-passing the Old Forest the four hobbits make it clear that they are "going off the road" and going through the Old Forest on their way to Bree. This gave me the possibility that the events on the book on the Old Forest occurred, while allowing the adaptation to move on. I enjoyed this and again, this is something I wish the movies could have done.

Well done! You got it!!

I don't think anyone has ever picked up on that before. That is why, when I later did the Bombadil/Barrow-Downs episodes in my radio dramatisation, Tales of the Perilous Realm, I felt that I was able to just tell listeners what had happened on that pat of the journey they didn't hear!

I was disappointed that we weren't able to get the original cast back together (it was several years later and Ian Holm was already spending quite a lot of time in Hollywood) because, sadly, this meant that it could never really work for anyone who had listened to the original LOTR broadcasts and didn't make much sense on its own to anyone who hadn't!

Originally Posted by ArathornJax

I love Barliman's character and the actor doing his voice nailed it. I know that Gollum may be the Gollum others hear when they read the series, this is what I hear for Barliman's voice.

Me too! James Grout: superb!

When I was shown the first sneak footage of Jackson's FOTR and I saw the scene where Barliman peers over the top of the bar at the hobbits when they enter 'The Prancing Pony', I was convinced they had lifted the voice from the radio serial! Unfortunately, as with many 'minor' characters in the film trilogy, there was so little of Mr Butterbur on the screen that he was never able to develop...

Originally Posted by ArathornJax

I enjoyed the 'fiddle" in the Prancing Pony and felt it was a good back drop since inn's have been associated with music and "fiddles" at least here in the US. I was glad that the song was included because I think it shows Frodo in a different light than at any other time during the journey. I enjoyed the Inn scene.

I just wish that Ian had been able to SING 'The Man in the Moon'.

I remember the agonies and frustrations (for him and composer Stephen Oliver) at the recording session... Speaking the lines didn't quite work for me and I always found myself asking: "WHO is playing the fiddle?" and "How do they KNOW what song he is going to perform?"

Originally Posted by ArathornJax

Questions on this Segment:

I understand the need to cut Tom Bombadil out of the adaptation but was the hobbits conservation about going through the Old Forest to avoid the riders and the road a way to allow listeners familiar with the story the notion that the advents of the Old Forest occurred, while allow for the story to move forward?

As I say, above: you got it in one!

Originally Posted by ArathornJax

Tolkien himself said that Tom was important or he wouldn't have kept him in the story. What do you think we lose by taking Tom out of any adaptation, and what is gained?

I think Dave and others have already said most of what can be said about this... What is lost? A fascinating character... A episode of unexpected dangers... A indication that TREES are not always what they seem to be... An oasis of peace at Tom's house providing a moment's respite on the trail... An opportunity to know that there are those (or at least one) who is untouched by the power of the Ring...

What is gained by cutting Tom? Keeping up the momentum of Frodo's flight and the Riders' pursuit... In Tales of the Perilous Realm, these chapters took TWO half-hour episodes, so, if it had been included in the original broadcasts, these scenes would have needed to be compressed to a point of being, probably, meaningless...

Originally Posted by ArathornJax

Perhaps this leads to another question, what was the process for deciding what to add in, what to not include to the story? Is there still anything you would want to add if you still could to the adaptation, or are you happy with the overall product now?

Dave discussed the process in one of his first posts: it was, basically, down to me (with suggestions from Michael Bakewell, and the producers Jane Morgan and Penny Leicester); the arrangement of the material after the breaking of the Fellowship follows, as closely as possible, the dates given by Tolkien in his appendices.

Of course I would do it differently NOW... But, yes, I am happy with it as it stands - except for the mistakes, which irk me, and one or two moments where I wish we'd had more time - either for the script to escape being cut or to have been able to better perfect a scene... But, then, I've lived with it for 27 years!!

[Estelyn Telcontar]

Since Mac lives, as I do, in Germany, I'd like to point out that there is yet another possibility for obtaining the recordings here. der hörverlag has LotR, Hobbit, Sil, and Perilous Realm available not only in German translation, but also in the original English: LotR They can be ordered in bookstores and are usually delivered within a day or two.

[Brian Sibley]

Originally Posted by Estelyn Telcontar

Since Mac lives, as I do, in Germany, I'd like to point out that there is yet another possibility for obtaining the recordings here. der hörverlag has LotR, Hobbit, Sil, and Perilous Realm available not only in German traslation, but also in the original English: LotR They can be ordered in bookstores and are usually delivered within a day or two.

Cool cover art! I'll have to buy a copy!

[Estelyn Telcontar]

The cover looks like it must be a John Howe illustration, though I haven't yet found the small print that says so. However, in the booklet I did find that the introductory words are written by: Brian Sibley!


edit - I found the small print. It is by John Howe.

[davem]

Originally Posted by Brian Sibley

I was disappointed that we weren't able to get the original cast back together (it was several years later and Ian Holm was already spending quite a lot of time in Hollywood) because, sadly, this meant that it could never really work for anyone who had listened to the original LOTR broadcasts and didn't make much sense on its own to anyone who hadn't!

I've said before that I've always felt that the Old Forest/House of TB/Barrow Downs section is pretty self contained, with a beginning, middle & end, & can be done as a stand alone story. Nigel Planer as Frodo took a bit of getting used to if you know him as Neil from the Young Ones.

I was pleased that in the LotR adaptation you took into account that we hadn't been told that Merry had a sword from the Barrow & that when he stabs the Witch King his sword only serves as a 'distraction' (I think the Witch King says something like 'Halfling, you sting like a flea!').

One thing I will always be grateful to you for is in showing (as with Faramir later) that this episode, & Tom in particular, can work in a dramatisation. It annoys me when people simply dismiss the possibility as an excuse for not attempting it. The fact is that an adaptor who knows what they're doing can make the episode work well. Its the same with Faramir - the movie makers' constant refrain that they 'had to change Faramir's character because he woudln't have worked in a movie' always irked me. Tolkien's Faramir does not have to be changed into a thug (the beating of Gollum) who's only concern is getting Daddy's approval in order to be believable. In short, I think your adaptation worked so well because you clearly both loved & trusted Tolkien, whereas the movie makers always seemed afraid to just do that, & as a result a lot of stuff was changed unnecessarily or simply invented as a way of avoiding taking any 'risks'.

And I'll always be grateful for the fact that the Balrog in your adaptation didn't have wings

[Brian Sibley]

Originally Posted by davem

And I'll always be grateful for the fact that the Balrog in your adaptation didn't have wings

It didn't?

[Lalwendë]

Originally Posted by Brian Sibley

I think Dave and others have already said most of what can be said about this... What is lost? A fascinating character... A episode of unexpected dangers... A indication that TREES are not always what they seem to be... An oasis of peace at Tom's house providing a moment's respite on the trail... An opportunity to know that there are those (or at least one) who is untouched by the power of the Ring...

What is gained by cutting Tom? Keeping up the momentum of Frodo's flight and the Riders' pursuit... In Tales of the Perilous Realm, these chapters took TWO half-hour episodes, so, if it had been included in the original broadcasts, these scenes would have needed to be compressed to a point of being, probably, meaningless...

Now here's a thorny question. If you had been given a whole extra hour of Auntie's time, would you still have cut out Tom?

At least, speaking as an out and out Tom-nut, you did the cut coherently. What bothered me with the films was that where a change had to be made, it so often messed about with the integrity of narrative and character. It might be fun to listen to the early episodes but with the further adaptation of the three Tom chapters inserted into place.

[TheGreatElvenWarrior]

Originally Posted by davem

And I'll always be grateful for the fact that the Balrog in your adaptation didn't have wings

How do you know that? I don't think it said...

I was thrilled when I listened to the BBC radio adaptations, my mom was gracious and bought them for me for Christmas... I think I converted my cousin... we listened to TH and FoTR! She loved it, I on the other hand, was amazed at the closeness to the book! Although I was disappointed that there was no Barrow-Downs, but that is understandable, and one of my favourite parts of the book (The journey to Crickhollow) was there too!!!!

[davem]

Originally Posted by TheGreatElvenWarrior

How do you know that? I don't think it said...

Well, the Balrog may or may not have had wings in the original broadcast, but if so they must have been digitally removed when it was re-edited into 13 episodes - I've checked my cd's & there isn't a sign of wings on the Balrog - even when I use a large magnifying glass. Actually, I don't remember there being wings on the Balrog back in 1981 when I first heard the series - though I only had access to a small transistor radio at the time. I haven't heard the re-edited/remastered version which came out at the time of the movies, so I can't say whether wings have been added for that version to bring it in line with the Jackson films - they may have.

Apparently there were some Moria scenes in the original broadcast where the real Boromir was missing due to the actor having other commitments (apparently a passing cleaner had to be brought in to stand behind Aragorn to make up the numbers but luckily he didn't have any lines), & there was one infamous scene during Helm's Deep where Legolas is facing the wrong way & it appears he is shooting at his own side because the producer had inserted the audio tape in the wrong way round during a late night recording session. I've heard that these problems have been fixed for the latest version, but I can't be certain of that.

Of course, none of that may be true....

PS, to get serious again, I'll be starting the discussion on Episode Four tomorrow, so if everyone wants to get listening ASAP....