Customer Reviews

The Hitchhiker's Guide To The Galaxy (1981)

5 star:		(39)
4 star:		(9)
3 star:		(8)
2 star:		(1)
1 star:		(4)

 

 

I love science fiction. In fact, I love it so much that I will even watch cheesy, low-budget, so-bad-it's-funny productions like the 1979 version of H.G. Wells' The Shape Of Things To Come. So when, flipping through the channels one fateful day, I came across a British production with shoddy props and laughable effects, I stayed to watch rather than flipping on. As it turns out, it was a PBS marathon of The Hitchhiker's Guide to the Galaxy, and in fairly short order, I was laughing myself silly. Instead of something laughably bad, I had discovered something hysterically funny. You see, The Hitchhiker's Guide to the Galaxy is a bit of that inspired, lunatic British comedy which many people love, and the rest just don't "get." It's not about the effects, nor about the production values. It's not even about the plot or the acting. What makes me laugh till it hurts is the utter deadpan attitude with which Adams skewers any target careless enough to cross his path:

"The Encyclopaedia Galactica defines a robot as a mechanical apparatus designed to do the work of a man. The marketing division of the Sirius Cybernetics Corporation defines a robot as 'Your Plastic Pal Who's Fun To Be With'. The Hitch Hiker's Guide to the Galaxy defines the marketing division of the Sirius Cybernetics Corporation as 'a bunch of mindless jerks who'll be first against the wall when the revolution comes.'" (p. 73)

There are so many digs, at so many of the insanities of modern life, that it's simply not possible to do justice to the work. It overflows with wit, and even if you only catch one joke in three, you'll be holding your sides. The original radio series has spawned five books, a television series, a computer game, and a movie, and has inspired countless mailing lists, newsgroups, web sites, and other forms of expression. If you've been wondering why IBM called their chess-playing computer "Deep Thought", or what a Zaphod Beeblebrox is, or why it is that some people have to struggle to keep from laughing out loud on meeting somebody named Arthur Dent, or what the big deal is about the number 42, this is the place to look for answers.

I was in university when this burst onto TVO and we were gripped by its originality... I would say that it has aged a bit, and the ending still leaves me as unsatisfied as I was originally, but it remains great fun. The extras are good, but I found the set-up structure very awkward to operate. Still, it remains light-years ahead of the recent, re-made version. I would recommend it for the younger generation which only knows the series from the novels (and I bought those when there were only three in the series!).

It has THE cheesiest effects ever -ok, maybe not cheesier than Dr Who, but certainly on par- But it beats the movie remake by a galaxy! It gives much more of the storyline and captures the light-hearted humor of the novel; the characters are much more sympathetic and it is just all-around way more enjoyable than the grim, plodding, and non-sensical movie version.

The video is based on the TV series, which is based on the books and the radio play. The radio play is hilariously satirical and very creative. The TV series was on PBS years ago and pops up every so often. Great story. The characters in the TV series don't quite measure up to the radio play but are good anyway. The story does measure up and the cheesy special effects only add to the fun. It's a Monty Python-esque view of space and travel in general with great commentary on our society and its peculiarities. The Hitchhiker's Guide is all you need to travel the universe and is essential when your planet is destroyed to make way for a hyperspace bypass. The Guide is many things: a primer on Vogon poetry, a guide to using the Babel fish, and a calming influence with it's friendly "don't panic" on the cover. The best character in the show may be Marvin the paranoid robot but Arthur Dent, Ford, Trillian and Zaphod are just right for fans of the books and play. The restaurant at the end of the universe is the place to be seen. All this and mice make the world go 'round. Zany and original. A definite find! It really can't be fully explained within the limits of a short review. Now if someone will only put out the radio show on CD!

I read the books and, if you can belive it listened to the LP, before I had seen the T.V. version. all were fun . there was ,I belive, a very old dos based computer game. Douglas Adam's still makes me laugh

First, to answer the questions i would ask about this item before buying it: The first disc (190 minutes) contains all 6 episodes from the original TV series; image and audio-wise, it's what you would expect for a TV production of that vintage. The other disc (130 minutes) contains an hour-long making-of documentary from 1993, another 20 minutes of outtakes from it (mostly reminiscences from the cast and crew), a very nice profile of Douglas Adams done shortly after his death, and several other "backstage" items that will interest fans of the series -- and at this price, who else would buy this DVD set? It's cheaper than the 14-CD set of the complete radio series (which of course was the original format of the show) but rather expensive for its content. If you're a Douglas Adams fan and like to read, then the books are a better deal. But the TV version does have its own excellence (especially in the way it adds graphics to Adams' script) and is worth watching repeatedly. And this certainly is a major improvement over the old VHS tape of it. Just don't forget your towel!

I taped this series on VHS in the 1980s. Slowly but surely the tape deteriorated with mold and fungi growing out of it. Good old English climatic conditions. Never did I think then I would see the like again. But low and behold there it was, in all it's glory. With the swiftness of a speeding arrow it winged it's way to me less than a week after the money was prised from my credit card. And what a joy to behold. Modern youth have been spoilt with cutting edge special effects at the cost of good story telling. For those who think the props/scenery are cheesey, I say unto you , when was the last time you were on a Vogon destructor vessel ? Or conversing with an animal that wants you to eat him ? Not recently I think will be the answer. Look beyond the superficial and you will find true quality, warts an' all !
Although not the entire story a well crafted snippet and worth every cent.

A great item for the fans.
Technologies used in this are so much fun to see with our perceptions!
Amuzing to compare with the movie as well.

This is the original BBC tv series and is every bit as good as I remember it. The effects may be a bit weak by today's standards but remember it was made over 25 years ago, before the days of computer graphics when the BBC's SFX department was bit of a joke. especialy in science fiction series like Blake's seven and Doctor Who. Not so here, they pulled the stops out and visually created a lot of sceneces that had previously only exisited in Douglas's mind. I only wish they had continued with the series of books as they did on the radio.

When the film was about to come out I thought I buy the TV series 1st so I could compare and see what it was all about, so I did and I wasn't disappointed. It was one of the most enjoyable TV programes I have ever watched. It was funny, silly and well written. I have not got around to buying the film yet because I thought I would be disappointed. It's everything you want in a in TV sci-fi or any TV programme. A must watch it's brilliant and the perfect guide to the world.