3. Lord of the Rings
J.R.R. Tolkiens opus---
The Lord of the Rings---while fantasy, must be included on this list; fantasy is the cousin to Science fiction and there are fewer stories that have been adapted to so many mediums. The Lord of the Rings has achieved success as a novel, as an animated film, as a live action feature film, as comic or graphic novel and also as a radio drama. Also produced for BBC Radio 4, 26 episodes comprised the telling of this tale from March to August of 1981. Ian Holm---who would appear in Peter Jacksons film series as Bilbo Baggins---stars as Frodo alongside other well-known actors such as William Nighy. The serial has been re-edited into hour long episodes for re-broadcast as well as released on cassette and later compact disc. It was most recently released after the success of the Peter Jackson film trilogy.