The Lord of the Rings was a book series by J. R. R. Tolkien.
I.M. Foreman had been reading The Lord of the Rings shortly before meeting the Eighth Doctor. She said that it was very long, but she liked the final line. When the Doctor mentioned travelling with someone named "Sam", Foreman was reminded of a character from Rings. The Doctor, for his part, was reminded that Fitz had been talking about Rings. (PROSE: Interference - Book One)
John Waters produced an Oscar-winning film that was a drag adaptation of Lord of the Rings. Bette Davis played Sauron, Joan Crawford played Gandalf the Witch, and Noël Coward played Aragorn. Ron Von Arnim provided the monster special effects. (PROSE: Mad Dogs and Englishmen)
In Stockbridge, Andrew Harper asked Nyssa if the novel she was writing was like Lord of the Rings. (AUDIO: Autumn)
The Sixth Doctor's TARDIS was attacked by a Nazgûl and later forced by Astroabus to quote the book in the Cabinet of Astrolabus. (COMIC: Once Upon a Time-Lord)
While working at a garden centre, Fitz had a conversation with a woman and convinced her that the character of Frodo had been named after a woman with whom Tolkien had had a relationship. (PROSE: The Taint)
The walls of Rick Pirelli's room were covered in movie posters, including one of Lord of the Rings. (PROSE: Forever Autumn)
Behind the scenes
- Individual characters from The Lord of the Rings have also been referenced, though none of these references explicitly makes the connection between these characters and either J. R. R. Tolkien's books or the film adaptations.
- Rose Tyler once called Chip "Gollum", (TV: New Earth) and the Eleventh Doctor called himself Gandalf. (TV: Meanwhile in the TARDIS)
- Ram Singh compares April MacLean's situation to Frodo. (TV: Brave-ish Heart)
- The Saxon Master also calls the elderly Tenth Doctor Gandalf during the Year That Never Was. (TV: Last of the Time Lords)
- The underground lair of a group of Zygons and their Skarasens in 1890s London reminded Sam Jones of a hobbit hole. (PROSE: The Bodysnatchers)
- Ram identifies Frodo as coming from an "old movie" his dad Varun Singh likes. (TV: Brave-ish Heart)
- The film version of The Return Of The King is referenced in PROSE: The Tomorrow Windows.
- Actor Ian McKellen dressed as Gandalf in the 50th anniversary story, The Five(ish) Doctors Reboot, referencing filming on The Hobbit.