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

They repeat it on BBC7 and the World Service from time to time, and you can buy the cassettes and CDs from plenty of places, so it's hardly an obscure programme.

I wana know when theyre releasing the latest series on tape/ cd coz I think I missed one episode.

Traveller in Time on his head
" How about right hand list in the bottom on < <./>/radio4/hitchhikers/</.> > ? "

Thats all very well except... I'm penniless.

You could try your local library to see if they have copies of the tapes or cds. A very cheap way to hear them!

Yeah and then I could copy them and sell them for millions. MWA HA HA HA HA!!!

Or maybe I'll buy my own to go with my collection.

The way I see it, (just an opinion, no need to lynch me for it) it is a book primarily. The radio series is simply a primitive form of it, if you will. It seems much more suited to a book, doesn't it? books are less formal, less linearly narrative. You're free to go off on tangents, like Adams often did. In a radio series, or television program, or film, you can't go on and on for a good ten minutes on such a subject as, say, various failed galactic currencies, for example. In a book, you can, and he did. It seems more natural as a book, so it seems appropriate to think of it as primarily being a book, no?

Traveller in Time on the radio4 site
"And still I can imagine the on and on going story about monetary units even in movies < <./>/cult/hitchhikers/guide/theguide.shtml</.> >"

"In a radio series, or television program, or film, you can't go on and on for a good ten minutes on such a subject as, say, various failed galactic currencies, for example. In a book, you can, and he did."

That actually originated in the radio series. Hitchhiker's is primarily a radio series, in the strictest sense of the word primary. You might feel it works best as a book, and I'm sure many of those who read the books first would agree with you, but it was originally conceived as a radio series, and as such it worked rather well.

I liked it as the book more. The books been finished, right. The radio series just trails off.

As Jim said, as it was a radio series first, that's the medium I always think back to, even though it was the TV series that really got me into it all. The first two books are simply novelisations, and it has to be said, the first book really shouldn't have been in the BBC Big Read poll (even though I voted for it out of loyalty). The first radio series (and the TV series) have a proper end to them, whereas you have to read the first two books to get that far.

The first of the books not based on previously produced material is So Long and Thanks, and I think as a book it's the best of the lot. Reacting sulkily to reader demands, Douglas lashes out by creating a beautiful romance rather than continuing the adventures of Zaphod. Arthur was possibly the hardest of the characters to write for, being the observer to events rather than necessarily the catalyst for them, so it's nice to get a story that's all about him doing something for once.

I suspect the votes Hitchhiker's got in The Big Read were more to do with the series of books than just that first one. Now if they ever do The Big Listen for the best radio productions, HHGTTG should win hands down. It broke every rule in the book about radio production because its influence was rock music, not stuffy adaptations of the literary canon.

Does anyone have the 8 disc set with the special features? It has DA explaining the inspiration behind all the effects etc. I'm sure when I started writing this point there was some relevance in it but meh.

AFAIR the radio series (not counting the new episodes, they don't continue on the original ones) ends with Zaephod and Ford being stranded on the planet of the ruler of the universe, and Arthur flying away with the Heart of Gold. Did I miss something?

Funny, IMO So Long and Thanks is the worst book of the series (not bad, simply not as good as the others. It's well written, but I don't really like the story.), and I like the last book best.

MedO

How did it start again in the new series, I'm sure it didn't follow on.

The new series starts like the third book: Arthur and Ford are stranded on earth some million years ago. In the original series this has already happend (episodes 6-8 or 6-9, can't remember exactly).

Ah I see. i'llhave to listen to them again soon some time.

Its not the heart of of gold its the robot that says that the meaning of live is some huge number

That could make sense.

so, this post is a little out of place, but reading back though this thread I just had to comment on this fact: Wowbagger would NOT be coming to insult multiple people at once. That was what he had to grit his teeth over. Come on! It seems pretty obvious that all the main character's names are not alphabetically sequential.

Well I'd be right near the top of his list.