h2g2 The Hitchhiker's Guide to the Galaxy: Earth Edition

I have always thought that Blake's 7 was one of the best sci-fi shows ever made it may not have had the big budget like star trek but it did have great storys.

Agreed. Now the DVDs of the first season have finally been released I can relive one of the most influential shows of my youth. There were some extremely thought provoking storylines. Avon was possibly my first ever hero.

I have heard that there has been some trouble with the dvds not playing right have you had any trouble?
Paul Darrow Did a very good job has Kerr Avon have you read the interview?

Having checked out your page i see you are a newcomer to H2G2 so hello and welcome i hope you like it here.
The interview i was talking about is on my page in my journal i also wrote this http://www.bbc.co.uk/dna/h2g2/classic/A504622 on Blake 7 for the site newspaper THE POST please feel free to read them and let me know what you think.
You should also look up Granny Weatherwax* who is also a big Blake 7 fan.

*She gets her name from the Disc world novels By Terry Pratchett have you read any?

Hi! You prompted me to join after I read your interview and saw your posting! My brothers met Paul Darrow a year or so ago (at a Dr. Who convention actually), I remain steeped in jealousy.

There is one point during one of the episodes where the screen freezes for a couple of seconds on the Blake's 7 DVDs. I put this down to my DVD player though which is prone to such things. I haven't come across anyone else having any problems. It's worth buying the entire first series to see how to make a teleporter bracelet according to Blue Peter (and to remember why you could never make anything from that show, you just didn't have silver tape, the infamous double-sided sticky tape or a handy adult just waiting to sandpaper the edges of a cut-up platic bottle....).

Indeed I have read many Terry Pratchett books. I have a soft spot for Death which is probably not a phrase you hear every day

First things first sorry i took so long to reply i have been having a few computer proplems*.

I am flattered that my interview inspired you to join H2G2 i hope you stay around it is a very nice site.
I found Paul Darrow to be a very nice person it is sometime since we did the interview and he was the only Blake 7 star we met Unless you count Colin Baker i would love to meet Michael Keating,Villa was a great coward who worked well with Avon.

Has for having a soft spot for death I must say Mort was the first Disc world book i read I have now read them all appart from the latest one which i hope to read soon.I quite like the Death books and have often been told i look like him**


*I need a new one
**Well when hes been warmed up

You think a new computer will solve your computer problems.....good luck with that.....

I think Vila and Avon were the perfect counterparts. There was mutual respect from both characters for their respective skills depsite the cutting and often hilarious insults they threw at each other. I think everyone has a bit of Vila in them. Unfortunately I got the cowardice part rather than the usefulness at opening doors part. What always impressed me about the show is how unwilling they were to give in to nice happy endings. That and most of the set seemed to be made from kitchen appliances

Mort was also the first Pratchett book I read which is possibly why I'm so fond of Death. A looong time ago some friends (despite my best efforts I have particularly wonderful friends) stood in a very long queue to get me a signed copy of Reaper Man (they randomly wandered past the signing session and thought it would be a nice surprise), consequently that remains one of my favourite books.

I have a backlog of the last 3 Discworld books to get through. They are on the ever increasing pile of books I keep buying under some bizarre rationale that I will actually have time to read them all one day. To aid that effort I've just re-read the Dirk Gently books for the nth time.

Have you read Good Omens (Pratchett/Gaiman)?

I hope a new computer will solve the troubles i am having it would be a step in the right direction at leased i would be able to switch it on and it would come on this one keeps resetting it self then telling me i have files that have bad dates*it can take up to 20 minutes to start up.
I did start to read good omens** last year but it was a library book and just after i started it i got hold of The wee free men and read that instead i keep meaning to go back and start it again but working nights i have not been to the library much this last year.
I quite like the Dirk Gently books I think long dark tea-time of the soul is the best of the two i could not get past the fact that the first one was written as a doctor who story. Dirk does seem to get away from that in the second book .I have the tapes with Douglas Adams reading Long dark tea-time of the soul he did a very god job.

I sometimes think i need to read more then again most people i know think i read to much i have also started to cheat and buy talking books there good to listen to on the bus on my way to work.


*They think they have bad dates you should have seen some of mine .

**I was enjoying it as well

I see, you have hit upon the classic problem of when computer "dating" goes bad...sorry, it's even worse if you knew I laughed out loud when I thought of it.

I agree, LDTTOTS is more outright funny, plus, when lending it to people you don't have to explain Coleridge poems to them in advance in the hope they will not read the book and go huh? I liked the bit about the sofa in the first book though, having once got a desk so jammed in a doorway I had to climb over it for a couple of days I got a new appreciation for it.

Gaiman wrote a book called American Gods which, whilst not as directly funny as the Dirk Gently books, and also set in the mid-west of the US, it had some similar concepts (Gods needing reinforcement from human belief being the main theme). It's worth checking out for those times when you have a month long vacation with nothing to do but lie around reading. People think I read a lot because I own a lot of books. It's a popular misconception.

Working nights has got to hurt. Although I'm so bad at mornings it might not be a bad idea....

So then, favourite Doctor? The first Dr. Who story I saw was the first Tom Baker story (I cried when the giant robot got his comeuppance) so it has to be Baker, but I confess to having a soft spot for the Castravalva story with Peter Davison, it made me want to go and buy books of Escher artwork.

"Wonderful chap all of him" A little quote from Nick Courtney when asked who his favourite doctor his.I do like them all The only one that i did not like was Mc Coy Yet one of my favourite storys his Rememberance of the daleks.
Has for favourite story there is two many to choise just one The first Dalek story Dead planet(now called the Daleks by most people)and Tomb of the Cybermen are great storys from the early days of doctor who.for Jon terror of the autons the first master story played by Rodger Delgado.Tom Baker did so many Genesis of the Daleks,Pyramids of Mars,and The Deadly assassin all stand out as great storys.for Peter i am tempted to say Earthshock just because adric dies but the five doctors was a better story as was Resurrection of the Daleks.Colin was such a nice person to meet but i remeber the first time i saw Caves of Androzani i thought NO WHAT HAVE THEY DONE but he grow on me by Attack of the Cybermen Vengeance on Varos Mark of the Rani The Two Doctors And Timelash* I think they had but together the best season ever shown.Paul mc Gann never got much of a chance on TV but has done some good audio tapes and might be coming back in the new series?


*Paul Darrows second doctor story of course

I bet your sorry you asked now!

Not at all sorry You know how many people in the mid-west of the USA have even heard of Dr. Who, Blake's 7 etc.....? I have a picture of Daleks on my notice board at work just to see how many people will comment...

I actually never really got into Sylvester McCoy although I feel I never gave him much of a chance (and I don't think he got the scripts he deserved). I loved the film with McGann (and I liked McCoy in the beginning of the film which is what makes me think I should give him mor credit for the role). I wished McGann had had a longer slot as the Doctor. I do like Eccleston as an actor but I still can't picture him in the role, it will be interesting to see how it works out....

Ahh, Timelash. Naturally I loved it because of Paul Darrow (he hammed up the role rather splendidly!), plus, I'm sure I'd read HG Wells not long before that story aired so I enjoyed the homage to Time Machine. I think it's a shame Colin Baker left amongst all of the BBC politics, I liked his cynicism in the role.

I was not in existence for pre-Baker Doctors but courtesy of long summers off when I was a student and my brother's extensive video collection I caught up on a lot. I loved Pertwee's gadget-orientated Doctor, he had such a wonderful stage presence. Actually Carnival of Monsters sticks in my head as a favourite story. I was impressed by Troughtons's off-the-wall Who, you were never quite sure what direction he was going to go, and who knew Frazer Hines was going to end up in a soap opera for half his life?!! I thought recuurecting the roles later in The Two Doctors made for a great story. I've not seen many Hartnell episodes unfortunately, I think I was a little scared of him actually. Talking of scared. The Daleks never really bothered me (until later episodes when they had figured out stairs), but Davros pretty much creeped me out. I was always a little more troubled by the Sontarans. And the Autons. Oh my, was I scared of those. I was nervous walking past shop window displays for a very long time....I pretty much loved all episodes with The Master, such a wonderful adversary. I also loved the Key to Time series, I liked that sequential stories had a common thread.

The episode where Adric died was a real shock. Bad things didn't happen to Dr. Who or his companions, at least nothing they couldn't get out of by the next episode. I was used to people dying in Blake's 7 but not Dr. Who!!

Did you ever see Sapphire & Steel? I recently bought the DVDs, I only remembered the first 2 stories for some reason but they are pretty odd. Interesting idea and if you can get past the zero budget they are very interesting.

And yes, I'm going for the record longest posting on h2g2.....!

Did I do anything but watch TV in my youth? Nothing worth mentioning.....

If you think you have watched to much TV you should take a look at this http://www.bbc.co.uk/dna/h2g2/classic/F33772?thread=49528 And thats just the sci-fi shows with films and comedys and none sci-fi dramas i think i must have spent more time in front of the TV then anywere else. Paul Mc Gann has done quite a few doctor who storys on the audio tapes and there very good i have just got Minuet in hell in which he stars with Nicholas Courtney it was very good i also got Spare parts a Cyberman story with Peter Davison in which he goes to Mondas before the Cybermen have come to power.This is set after Adric has died.* Saphire and Steel has to go down as the only show to get it wrong in the opening titles** but other then that i thought it was a great show very good. *I just watched the DVD of Earthshock with the extra episode i dont know if you have seen it but it is worth getting the DVD just to see that. **Saphire and Steel are not elements

A word to the wise: Should you randomly find yourself in an American baseball park, never, ever, ever eat one of the hotdogs. Baseball season started on Monday, I speak from bitter experience .

Anyway. Yes, I was also amused by the title sequence. Jet = fossilised monkey puzzle tree. Not so much an element. As bad as I was at chemistry even I could figure that out.
But more importantly, what was that creepy floating head-like figure in the title sequence?!!

So picking randomly from your (impressive) list: The incredible hulk taught me the word "metamorphosis", who says TV can't be educational? The Invaders was a classic, that programme took itself WAY too seriously, I loved that the title sequence claimed "it began" several different ways (so which was it?!!).

There were many on that list I haven't seen and many I'd forgotten all about! We had to read "Z for Zachariah" at school which seems a little bizarre now.

Have you picked up the DVDs of Red Dwarf? They are pretty good value for money, a nice package, some entertaining extras etc. The episode "Backwards" played "forwards" is worth checking out.

I just got the first 2 series of Red Dwarf on DVD i will be getting the rest ASAP.
Z for Zachariah is one i said i have not seen but my cousin says he watched it with me so maybe i just don't remember it that well which is quite unlike me.
I was reading Hulk comics long before the TV series came along but enjoyed it just the same even though it was more like the fugitive
then the Hulk.
Invaders started with"How does a night begin?For David Vincent Architect returning home from a buisness trip,it began a few minutes past four on a lost tuesday morning looking for a short cut he never found.It began with a welcoming sign that give hope of black coffee.It began with a closed deserted diner and a man to long without sleep to continue his journey.In the weeks to come,David Vincent would go back to how it all began many times."
A great opening just the same to say so much in just a few lines but still get the hole plot in classic.
I think i am safe from the hotdogs at baseball games* I have never been to the USA and don't think i will ever get the chance if i win the lottery i would love to go to New York**and maybe a few over places but some how i don't think it will happen.

*Pork pies at football matchs now thats a different matter(Theres a C.M.O.T.Dibbler in every town)

**I have friends in New York

paul darrow is VERY nice indeed in the flesh.
I met him and got his autograph when he was playing Sam Vimes in Guards, Guards at The Belgrade Theatre in Coventry.
He was happy to sign autographs, he even signed a liberator stun gun for a fan. the only other famous cast member in Guards, Guards was the guy who used to be Billy Boswell out of Bread and he wouldn't sign any autographs at all the stuck up twat!

sorry about the delay, i got caught in a space / time conflict.

Blakes 7 still brilliant, all u need is 20 gallons of grey paint and a good plot. Better than any hollywood makeover any day.

Soz I've not been updating my entries, but I caught stress from a burger or possibly a pan-galactic gargle blaster.

keep in touch

Paul