Hitchhiker’s Guide To The Galaxy

“The Hitchhiker’s Guide to the Galaxy” started life as a radio series at the BBC, and quickly became a huge smash. Following that success, creator Douglas Adams found himself writing novel adaptations and the screenplay for this wonderful six part television show, which premiered in 1981. It was an instant success and has achieved a huge following worldwide. First seen in the mid 1980s on PBS in the US, its popularity grew greater still, and if any show ever called out for a DVD release this is it.

For those of you who aren’t familiar with “Hitchhiker” it is the story of a human, Arthur Dent, and his extraterrestrial friend Ford Prefect who flee the Earth after it’s destruction (to make way for a hyperspace bypass) and have mind-bending misadventures with compatriots Zaphod Beeblebrox and another human, the lovely Trillian. The series is filled with extremely quirky twists and turns throughout, and truly defies description. Suffice it to say that it is light years ahead of its time and never fails to provoke a laugh.

The good humor of the series is cemented by actor Simon Jones, playing Arthur, who tours the galaxy in his bathrobe (and always knows where his towel is.) Simon was one of the key cast members carried over from the radio show, and he truly is made for the part. Likewise David Dixon is perfect as the wild-eyed Ford.

Remember that this was a low budget production, so don’t expect special effects to rival “Star Wars.” Most of the effects are adequate, although I think the producers would have done well to dispense with the robotic second head of Zaphod found in the radio show and book, as the contraption that Mark Wing Davey has to wear is extremely lame, and really doesn’t further the plot. His third arm, though, is surprisingly well done. Something to note in this show are what appear to be computer generated entries from the guide, which are actually amazing pieces of first rate animation.

The second DVD is a wonderful gift from BBC Video. It contains two documentaries on “Hitchhiker” one from 1992, and one made for this release, as well as outtakes, deleted scenes, behind the scenes footage, and production notes which can be superimposed throughout the entire presentation. It has a digitally remastered stereo soundtrack, but you can also select the original mono soundtrack which I generally prefer, as when the computer, Deep Thought, speaks there is too much reverb in the stereo version to understand it easily. It also contains a tribute to Douglas Adams who died suddenly at the age of 49 immediately before the release of the DVD set.

This is still the only science fiction comedy series that truly got it right, and this DVD is an absolute treasure to own and watch. By all means, check it out today, but don’t let the Vogons read you any of their poetry!

Perfect watch for tea.

Or no tea.

Entering my pre-teen years I began to notice women more and more (and girls too, I suppose), but sadly there weren’t an awful lot in the science fiction genre. But those that did appear, you remember. And so it was that I recalled Marvin’s beach babe who throws or bounces a ball to him. A pleasant memory, now forever preserved on bluray. And I’m sure I’m not the only one who wondered who she was.

But, to the series. I was doubtful that this would look better on bluray. I mean there’s only so much fidelity you can eek out of video tape, and 16mm, especially late 70’s stock, has its limitations. And yet the series looks sharper or more detailed than it ever did in either the old VHS or DVD format. To be honest both VHS and DVD, to me at least, looked about the same, but the bluray really brings out details that were lost in the old home video releases.

Does that make it for a better viewing experience? Eh, to be honest, not really. I mean you watched it to get a glimpse of likes of the lovely Jennifer, but you more or less watched it for the story and overall production. To me the very British one-liners hold up, such as “Late? As in the late Dent Arthur-Dent? It’s a sort of threat you see…” or “Nuts to your white mice.”, and still make me laugh with the very understated delivery that is so characteristic of British society.

I like the series in all its iterations, and this bluray set really helps keep it alive. For long after were dead Simon Ward, Wing-Davey, and the lovely Jennifer will forever be preserved on bluray for generations to come.

Splurge on a copy.

Classic Douglas Adams remastered and hilarious.

I quite liked it. This is a review of the Blu-ray Special Edition. The six episodes of the TV series occupy the first of the three discs and a wide variety of Hitchhiker’s Guide to the Galaxy extras occupy the other two discs. Don’t expect any improvement in the video quality of the TV series, as another reviewer noted it was not remastered from film (which is no longer available) but from broadcast videocassettes, limiting the possible quality. If you are only interested in the TV series, save some money and get the DVD edition. There are more extras than there is TV series. I found the extras interesting and informative, though some are repetitive. The extras cover not only the TV series but include information about the two original radio series, Douglas Adams, the Infocom interactive computer game, and items produced after Adams’ death including the 2005 movie and the third through sixth radio series.

This is what the movie should have been , sad they cut funding and didn’t make it all the way through the series .. but it did cover 3 books and it was well worth watching

This is a great disk for watching when you have nothing better to do.