In the days of old, radio was the TV of its day with shows that spanned from the local ballroom to science fiction. Movies such as A Christmas Story and Woody Allen's Radio Days help convey what an impact they where for those generations that sat in front of the tube-warmed box that invited these programs into their homes.
Then came Television that all but killed those golden days of story telling and many of those programs are only distant memories to all those that enjoyed them. But the BBC (British Broadcasting Company) has kept people that have a yen for radio programs entertained to this day. Sure, NPR gives us some radio shows, but the BBC has done so in earnest. The most powerful program was Douglas Adams SF comedy The Hitchhikers Guide to the Galaxy that spawned a trilogy of five books (only Adams could do that) a six part TV program and a comic series. But we are not going to take a look at his work in this re-review, instead we will look at the BBC's 1988 effort to convert J.R.R. Tolkien's The Hobbit.
One of the things that bothers me with books on tape is the fact that they are either abridged or if they are not, who can handle a person reading to you for about twelve hours? I have always been a fan of taking a book, and then faithfully produce it as a radio play. The BBC has done this with The Hobbit, the prelude to the classic Lord of The Rings trilogy and has been nice enough to let Bantam Books release it in the US on both tape and CD for us to enjoy.
As with the book, the story is centered around a Hobbit named Bilbo Baggins and his adventures with thirteen dwarfs who wish to reclaim their underground kingdom from an evil dragon named Smaug. Both the narrator and Bilbo keep the listeners informed of what is going on as the action takes place, which if done wrong could be annoying, but is masterfully done in this production. Along with an excellent cast, all music is done with medieval instruments in the style that was done in the middle ages.
Some problems do arise in this production though. One; sometimes the action gets "too intense" and it is hard to understand just what the heck is going on with all the commotion. Too much orc screaming and dwarf yelling can make it hard to understand who is doing what in that particular seine. Two; the volume levels can change on a person rather fast, where a conversation between Bilbo and Gandolf is so quiet that you have to turn the volume up as high as you can, then BOOM, the action starts to happen and you blow your speakers out. OK, maybe not that bad, but it can be quite annoying. Three; this is not really a big complaint, just a humorous side note, some of the goblins sound rather like Daleks from Doctor Who. Well, what can a person say, this is the BBC after all.
Overall, this is a great prelude to be enjoyed by the whole family, if so inclined. It is also a nice production to warm a person up for the upcoming Hobbit movie coming around 2011. A side note, the BBC has also done the Lord of The Rings as a radio play that can also be purchased at your local book store.
The radio play runs 240 minutes and is distributed by Bantam Books. Enjoy!
Eirik Farwanderer
16 December, 2009 Anno Domini.
Then came Television that all but killed those golden days of story telling and many of those programs are only distant memories to all those that enjoyed them. But the BBC (British Broadcasting Company) has kept people that have a yen for radio programs entertained to this day. Sure, NPR gives us some radio shows, but the BBC has done so in earnest. The most powerful program was Douglas Adams SF comedy The Hitchhikers Guide to the Galaxy that spawned a trilogy of five books (only Adams could do that) a six part TV program and a comic series. But we are not going to take a look at his work in this re-review, instead we will look at the BBC's 1988 effort to convert J.R.R. Tolkien's The Hobbit.
One of the things that bothers me with books on tape is the fact that they are either abridged or if they are not, who can handle a person reading to you for about twelve hours? I have always been a fan of taking a book, and then faithfully produce it as a radio play. The BBC has done this with The Hobbit, the prelude to the classic Lord of The Rings trilogy and has been nice enough to let Bantam Books release it in the US on both tape and CD for us to enjoy.
As with the book, the story is centered around a Hobbit named Bilbo Baggins and his adventures with thirteen dwarfs who wish to reclaim their underground kingdom from an evil dragon named Smaug. Both the narrator and Bilbo keep the listeners informed of what is going on as the action takes place, which if done wrong could be annoying, but is masterfully done in this production. Along with an excellent cast, all music is done with medieval instruments in the style that was done in the middle ages.
Some problems do arise in this production though. One; sometimes the action gets "too intense" and it is hard to understand just what the heck is going on with all the commotion. Too much orc screaming and dwarf yelling can make it hard to understand who is doing what in that particular seine. Two; the volume levels can change on a person rather fast, where a conversation between Bilbo and Gandolf is so quiet that you have to turn the volume up as high as you can, then BOOM, the action starts to happen and you blow your speakers out. OK, maybe not that bad, but it can be quite annoying. Three; this is not really a big complaint, just a humorous side note, some of the goblins sound rather like Daleks from Doctor Who. Well, what can a person say, this is the BBC after all.
Overall, this is a great prelude to be enjoyed by the whole family, if so inclined. It is also a nice production to warm a person up for the upcoming Hobbit movie coming around 2011. A side note, the BBC has also done the Lord of The Rings as a radio play that can also be purchased at your local book store.
The radio play runs 240 minutes and is distributed by Bantam Books. Enjoy!
Eirik Farwanderer
16 December, 2009 Anno Domini.
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