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

Was it a toad or a frog he had as a..err..familiar? I think there was an Aussie actor in it as the Dad figure on the farm( ex spitfire pilot in real life )..ummm..I should know this...bugger the guy just published his autobiography here. Yeah,yeah,yeah...got it..Bud Tingwell(i think)

I see 1970's has been voted the best TV decade so far.

Rhynch,any self respecting catweasel fan would have known that catweasels TOAD was called TOUCHWOOD,and he could do .
Lets bring catweasel back on the tele,but not at the same time as neighbours.

Yes i hang my head in shame at my ignorance The damm show used to get moved to different timeslots all the time, it was very hard to keep up with it. Neighbours, hmmmmm... we often wonder what u-lot see in it! I don't think i have ever met anyone who actually watches it(or at least will admit to it) Still its good for export dollars i suppose. apart from the 60's is there any other decade?.(Wha!)

I can't remember exactly which Saint books I've read, but the most recent one I did was called "The Saint to the Rescue". It's got a cover which links it to "The Return of the Saint" (see, we're still on topic) although I'm sure it can't be based on actual episodes, as some of the stories just wouldn't work on TV. However, there's at least two stories in it where the Saint lets people get away with murder because the murdered person was blackmailing them, and he considers blackmail the worst of all crimes.

Interesting from a social historical perspective, you say...? Sounds like what I thought of "Pride and Prejudice": best as a study into the lives of the rich in the contemporary setting. I mean, it was an OK romance novel, but I didn't think it was brilliant. Unlike Dickens.

How's THAT for off topic?

Hey Rhynch,Do you remember that ozzy movie,Goodbye Mr pork pie,the guy hired a mini,then he robbed a bank{I think}, then the police chased him across Ausralia with the media,and the public rootin for him to make it,One of the many good movies to come out of the ozzy studios.,By the way, I was only jesting about neighbours,Don't stigmatise me, Im new to H2G2.
The 70's decade was the best decade for me because we never had a tv in the 60's

Dammed if I do!! You sure about the Title? I,m gonna go searching for it now..bugger..just like a name you can't remember and it just nags an nags at you until you go crazy or work it out Goodbye Mr Pork Pie ..you say??..Hmmmm.. Ok thanks for the sleepless night..grrrr...(lol)

Hey LQ! *takes binoculars out and peers through them* we're so far off topic I can't see the rest of the posters!

I keep meaning to read Pride and Prejudice, Sense and Sensibility and all those other books with 'and' in the middle, Jayne Eyre beckons too. Don't think i've read any Dickens (I presume you mean Charles, not Monica ) I nearly appeared in a stage version of A Christmas Carol once and all the silly names he gives his characters really put me off. Which one would you recommend I start with to get over my phobia?

Lx

Rhynch,My good lady has informed me that the name of the ozzy movie was actually, goodbye pork pie, not goodbye Mr pork pie,Don't loose sleep over it,It was just one of those movies that depicted the australian spirit.

Thanks mate I looked it up on google and sorta went (wha!!?) Never bloody heard of it but i know the guy Bruno Lawrence who starred in it (now dead i think). Australians don;t really support their film industry too well i,m afraid, which could be because a lot of crap aussie movies are made but the odd gem pops up every now an again. If you havent seen >>The Castle<< then give it a go and yes their are actually people like that here Its a hoot!!..cheers

Sorry for the delay in getting back to you Langly, but we're now technically back on topic by talking about Dickens - he was in today's episode of Doctor Who

Anyway...I was indeed talking about Charles Dickens (don't ever remember hearing of Monica Dickens...), but I'm afraid I've only actually read two of his books: "Hard Times" and "Bleak House". "Hard Times" is in some ways a good starting point, as it is considerably shorter than most of his books, and the names aren't usually too ridiculous (let's see, Gradgrind, Bounderby, Sparsit...not too awful). Then again, that is a part of his writing: he names his characters, to an extent, to fit their personalities. JK Rowling does the same to an extent, and has been compared.

"Hard Times" is also good regarding Bounderby - Dickens very effectively created a character you'll love to hate (I wrote about that for my English GCSE coursework ). On the other hand, a lot of people find it boring, and one of the characters (can't remember his name offhand) is completely incomprehensible. But he's not in it for too much of the time.

What I do like is Dickens' dry sense of humour. If you like that sort of thing, it's excellent.

"Pride and Prejudice" is the only Austen I've read, and while I might read some more, it's not a direct priority, unless I suddenly have to study it. I could do with reading "Jane Eyre", especially as I've read Jasper Fforde's "The Eyre Affair" - understandable enough without reading "Jane Eyre" first (though it helps if you know the ending to it...which I didn't first time I read TEA), but most likely all the better with.

Oops, seem to be drifting again...

Last I checked Goodbye Pork Pie was a New Zealand film. Not an oz one.

Yes your probably right of course! Bruno Lawrence was An NZEDER.Also it explains my complete ignorance of it. Sadly us Australians can be like everyone else in the world,if we didn,t make it,we never watched it. Still ..with out Google how would you ever know about Bruce Spence?..cheers...(more a man than a Martini dude)

Love the way threads die out by lack of use. As a lad I remember ...Bill+ Ben Flower-Pot-Men!! Ahh, the dulcet tones of the voice over!!...what a hoot!...

Strictly for the late wakers amongst us(us not you!)

I read the Dick Clements article in the Sunday Times at the weekend, an aurthor of many classic TV series, the Avengers, Persuaders, he says we were the best of the world's Tv, I wonder, his heyday though, he was not above taking themes from American comics, tree houses ext, back in the days when planing authorities in Britain would not allow you to do such a thing, all the rebels are now part of the establishment. He writes inventive stories but not for British TV anymore, his output is for American TV, and he is now in his seventies. He blames the accountant ruling Tv studios for the demise of the shows he used to make, we would have back in the past have made a thing like 24 Hours but today we would only make 3. Disillusioned, I believe we still have a want of quirky series but maybe the touble is we have too many TV channels, possibly ITV that is going into a hand cart with viewers could reverse its own fortunes if it brought back such stories, they seem to be too heavily invested in James Bond films and any time a series doesn't fly they dust one off for viewing, the special product of holiday viewing is diluted and over seen now. Come back Lew Grade your spirit is needed.