In 1981 the UK radio station BBC Radio 4 broadcast a dramatization of J. R. R. Tolkien's The Lord of the Rings in 26 half-hour stereo installments. Like the novel on which it is based, The Lord of the Rings is the story of an epic struggle against the Dark Lord Sauron of Mordor, the primary villain of the work, who created a Ruling Ring to control the nineteen Rings of Power, and an alliance of heroes who join forces to save the world from falling under his shadow.

Each of the original 26 episodes received two broadcasts per week, individual evening broadcasts of the 30 minute episodes with an hour long "omnibus" repeat on Sunday mornings – standard practice for many BBC radio serials even today.

The 26-part series was subsequently edited into 13 hour-long episodes. The re-edited version was released in 2002 on CD.

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