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The Hitchhiker's Guide To The Galaxy [1981]


RRP: £24.99
Our Price: £11.99 (subject to change)

Editorial
Amazon.co.uk Review

The original BBC radio adventures of Arthur Dent (an ape-descendant whose anger at the apparently inexplicable destruction of his home planet Earth, situated in an obscure corner of the outer spiral arm of the galaxy, is expressed in frequent irritation at friendly automatic doors and vending machines) and his travelling companions, Ford Prefect (an itinerant towel-carrying hitch-hiker originally from a small planet somewhere in the vicinity of Betelgeuse), Zaphod Beeblebrox (the notorious ex-Galactic President and patron of Eccentrica Galumbits, the triple-breasted whore of Eroticon Six) and Marvin the Paranoid Android (who's still suffering from that terrible pain in all the diodes down his left side) proved to be such a success for the BBC that its transition to TV was (almost) inevitable. In 1981 several key members of the radio cast made the move to the small screen. Simon Jones' bewildered Arthur Dent remains the central character, shambling around in his dressing gown (a fact easy to forget on radio); Mark Wing-Davey's Zaphod Beeblebrox is the same as his boastful radio persona, even if the second head utterly fails to convince. Unfortunately, newcomers David Dixon (as Ford Prefect) and the irritating Sandra Dickinson (as Trillian) are no match for their radio predecessors.

The problem here is not so much the low-budget look as the script itself, which is lovingly faithful to the radio series in a way that Douglas Adams' novels aren't. The Hitchhiker's Guide to the Galaxy was a lucid, satirical, occasionally profound, utterly unique comic invention on radio. As such, it has nothing to gain from TV. The script needs no visual elaboration--that's best left to the listener's own imagination. Only the animated renditions of the Guide itself enhance Peter Jones' wonderfully dry narration; otherwise--paradoxically, perhaps--by supplying images the concept is oddly diminished here.

On the DVD: A suitably eclectic not to say eccentric collection of extra features makes this a wholly satisfying two-disc set, neatly packaged in a fold-out slipcase. On the second disc there's an hour-long "making of" documentary from 1992 featuring contributions from the cast and crew, including Douglas Adams; and then there's even more in a 20-minute section entitled "Don't Panic!". A fascinating behind-the-scenes peek at filming as the clock runs out on studio time and a look at the recording of the original radio series complete the first part. Then navigate to the "Outer Planets" to find outtakes, a deleted scene, Zaphod's animatronic second head on Tomorrow's World and Peter Jones's witty and shambolic introduction to the first episode, plus more besides. The series itself is presented in standard 4:3 ratio and Dolby stereo. --Mark Walker

Editorial
Special Features

English
Region 2
Making Of
Extra Footage
Peter Jones Intro
Original Trailer
Communicate
Behind The Scenes
Animatronics Feature
Pebble Mill Appearance By Rod Lord And Alan J Bell
Production Notes
Out Takes
Photo Gallery
Easter Eggs

Editorial
Synopsis

The comic and cosmic adventures of Arthur, an unassuming Englishman, and Ford his outwardly average neighbor who is actually an alien. Together, they are transported on an odyssey that takes them across the farthest reaches of time, through Hyperspace, as they search for the meaning of life.
Editorial
From the Back Cover

DVD Special Features: The Making of The Hitchhiker's Guide to the Galaxy
Don't Panic! -- additional "Making of" material
An introduction to the first episode by Peter Jones, recorded live at the NFT
Communicate! -- Behind the scenes of the radio series
The original BBC2 episode one trailer
Deleted scene
Behind-the-scenes
Tomorrow's World animatronics feature on Zaphod Beeblebrox
Rod Lord and Alan JW. Bell's appearance on Pebble Mill at One
Out-takes
Photo Gallery
On-Screen Production Notes

Subtitles: English SDH
Dolby Digital Stereo
Ratio: 4:3


Hitchhiking the Galaxy One Last Time.
Review date: 2008-07-30 Rating: 10 out of 10

And then, one Monday, nearly two thousand years after one man had been nailed to a tree for saying how great it would be to be nice to people for a change, I watched Hitch Hikers on BBC 2 and changed my outlook on life, the universe and everything forever.

The script for the TV show of Hitch Hikers was virtually the script of the original radio show with some additional visual cues which, if you can improve on perfection, improved on perfection. Also perfect was the casting with Peter Jones as the Book, Simon Jones (no relation) as Arthur Dent, Stephen Moore as Marvin the Paranoid Android and Mark Wing-Davey as Zaphod Beeblebrox being retained from the radio show for the parts they had clearly made their own and David Dixon whose performance of Ford Prefect is so astoundingly good I suspect he may actually be from a small planet in the vicinity of Beetlejuice and not from Guilford after all.

Although the early 80's BBC special effects are very Doctor Who and Blake's Seven the graphics for the book are so good they give the whole show an instantly recognisable and brilliant look. Even the lack of co-operation of Zaphod's second head seemed to add to rather than detract from the sum of the whole. A brilliant TV series which due to its strong look has hardly dated over the last twenty seven years.

The bonus features don't add a huge amount to this already great package but I enjoyed watching the `Tomorrows World' feature on Zaphod's second head as I remembered watching it first time round and particularly like the way they brushed over the fact that it didn't actually work.


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Reviews


Philosophy!
Review date: 2008-02-20 Rating: 10 out of 10

I was too young to watch this series when it was first aired on the beeb.

I'm ashamed to say the book passed me by as well. I just didn't fancy it.

However tempted by a friend I got the audio book of the original series on BBC Radio. WOW! One of the best uses of a radio play I have ever heard.

The TV series is, dare I say it, even better. It has aged remarkably well.

If you like your philosophy with a twist of British humor and wild imagination you will love this.

A definite purchase!


The Hitch Hikers Guide To The Galaxy - The Complete Series
Review date: 2007-10-21 Rating: 6 out of 10

Not as funny as the Radio series or "trilogy" of 4 or 5 books but still shows whats a talented writer Douglas Adams was. His gentle wit is sorely missed

Worth owning for the extras alone
Review date: 2007-09-10 Rating: 8 out of 10

There's no doubt that Hitch Hikers Guide is one of the smartest, funniest, most original and massively influencial sitcoms ever. But few people can agree on which is the best version. The Dr Who formula seems to apply to this ultimate question; the one you like best is probably the one you first came across (Tom Baker if you really must know). For me nothing beats the radio series, a friend is fanatical abot the novels. But the massive early 80's TV audience mean this is the version that first introduced Arthur Dent and Ford Prefect to millions of fans in the UK. Personally I think the TV series starts very well but gets a little sticky towards the end and doesn't quite finish with the same flourish that the other versions do. Some of the TV performances are a little bit wooden, most likely due to the crazy constrates put on the studios of the time by the trade unions meaning retakes were often not possible (something that is covered in the DVD extras).
The often praised animated elements of the show work well and make you feel walmly nostalgic for a era when BBC micro computers ruled the world (a time that never actually existed).
I would personally recommend the radio series over this version to fans who are new to the Hitch Hikers world as it tells the story better & the second series is a truely incredible piece of story telling and narrative subterfuge. The real reason to buy this DVD is the army of extra features. This is the Rolls Royce of DVD extras, including entertaining 'making of' documentaries & commentaries as well as some amazing original archive programs of the time.
It is however a little expensive considering you only get two discs. But fans new and old will be very happy with the overall package.

Fun from out of space!
Review date: 2007-02-24 Rating: 10 out of 10

This DVD is about a typical English man woried about his house being bulldozed so that a by pass can be built through it! Coincidently, at the same time, the planet Earth is about to get blown up.

I won't spoil the rest of the film for you, however i do reccomend this film as it is highly entertaining and very different to many DVD's that i have seen. The efffects are pretty good. There are many funny moments throughout the film which will have you almost crying with laughter and i must admit i burst into laughter on many occasions.

This is well worth a watch as it is funny, entertaining and from a different planet! 9/10

Product Details/Specifications


Actor(s):
Steve Conway
Joe Melia
Cleo Rocos
Andrew Mussell
Martin Benson

Creators:
Joe Melia (Primary Contributor)
Martin Benson (Primary Contributor)

Director(s):

Recording label: 2 Entertain Video
Manufacturer: 2 Entertain Video
EAN: 5014503109226
Binding: DVD
Number of items: 1
Format: PAL,
Release date: 2005-04-18
Number of discs: 2
Aspect ratio: 1.33:1
Audience rating: Suitable for 15 years and over
Region code: 2
Running time: 180 minutes
Theatrical release date: 1982-10-30
Language: English (Subtitles For The Hearing Impaired)
Language: English (Original Language)

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