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

It's worth pointing out the the Film is very different from the TV Series in style and atmosphere. Generally, people who like one hate the other.

I missed that bit out...

True though, apparently Altman absolutely hated the TV series.

The movie is one of my alltime favorites, nice entry. I had not heard the bit about the second take of the shower scene, funny stuff.

I consider the TV series to be like Lawrence Welk covering a Janis Joplin song ...

I actually liked the TV series - but there again - I saw that long before I ever saw the film... I think you've got to take the two versions completely separately, it's no use comparing them, despite the fact they're supposedly based on the same book.

I liked them both as well. But they do have there similarities and differences. It is possible to compare them as well, but not the normal things youd expect them to be compared on.

You also, to my knowledge, didn't mention that the only character to appear in both the film and the tv programme was Radar.

If I really wanted to be pedantic... (and why not ) I could say the only _actor_ to be carried over from film to tv was Gary Burghoff... But quite a few of the _characters_ made it across.

Well I hadnt really noticed anyone else, although I have only seen the film once. Pray tell, who else.

Character wise?

Hawkeye... Film - Donald Sutherland, TV - Alan Alda
Hotlips... Film - Sally Kellerman, TV - Loretta Switt (sp?)
Father Mulcahy... Film - Rene Auberjonois, TV - William Christopher
Also, Frank Burns and Col. Blake were in the Film and the TV show, but If I remember correctly they were phased out of the TV show eventually.

Actorwise you're right as far as I know, Radar (Gary Burghoff) was the only actor who starred in both versions.

Just to correct myself and to produce even more complete trivia...

I just found out that there were actually three actors who were involved in both versions...

Gary Burghoff - Radar (Film and TV)
Timothy Brown - Film - Cpl Judson (whoever he was and TV - Spearchucker Jones (must have been very early on though!)
and
G. Wood (no idea what his first name was) who played General Charlie Hammond in the film and in three separate episodes of the TV series)...

Now there's some useless information for you (thank god for the IMDB)

Spearchucker was the black doctor in a couple of the earliest episodes but he was dropped when they found out there were no black surgeons in the Korean war.

Ah never noticed General Hammond in the film but it was a while since I saw it.

i'm not a 'pro from dover' but this is a GREAT entry. the book is different from the movie, and the movie is different from the teevee series....and there is also a stage play which is somewhat different, but the 'Hawkeye,''Hot Lips' and 'Father Mulcahey' characters are the ones that lasted in all until the telly finale which was, at the time, the most-watched show in America. it is still in re-runs daily on one network or another.

Paramount comedy shows them every day.

Also Klinger was around for the duration although he wasn't in the first 3 or 4 episodes.

i'd have to pull the book off the shelf or rent the movie, but Klinger was Radar's replacement on the teevee show, a character Jamie Farr was allowed to create.
much as i loved the book and the movie, the teevee series evolved as actors left is about the best way i can put it.....frank burns into major winchester, henry blake into colonel potter, trapper john into b.j. honeycutt.....
it was fun to 'do' the play, too, because one never knew what the actor who played hawkeye was gonna do or say, night by night.....and we used to sleep on the cots on nights we didn't wanna go home, the whole lot of the cast.
we made the whole tent theatre the 'swamp.'
improv.

He was Radars replacement but he was also a general Coreman before Radar left. He stopped wearing dresses properly after Radar left I think but normally he could be seen with a pair of earings or a hat on.

yes, in the teevee series, the character of Klinger evolved from corpsman to (when Gary Berghoff left) company clerk.
the book is a static entity, as is the movie. the teevee show grew, lost, grew again.
not many have done that.

I didn't understand the last bit.

In the TV show there were a few episodes where Klinger was stand in Clerk when Radar was on RnR. That was the sign that Radar was leaving.

gary burghoff as 'Radar' was the one that announced to col. henry blake he had enough 'rotation points' to be discharged, and also announced that col. blake's transport had crashed "and there were no survivors." that's the teevee series.
harry morgan as col. sherman potter then came in, and a year or so later, 'Radar' went home, too, back to iowa. in the book, the MASH unit collected funds to send the Swamp houseboy ho-jon to hawkeye's college---in the teevee series, they sent another kid to help Radar on the farm.
there is also a series of books using some of the characters where 'Radar' becomes 'robspierre' and is a zillionaire, so there are many versions of the original book and movie.

When Radar told everyone that Henry Blakes plane was shot down he was the only character who new, to get a genuine reaction from the cast.

"Radar, put a mask on" was alan alda's line as hawkeye, and supposedly that was the first and only take of the scene. the only sound after that was hawkeye throwing a 'bullet fragment' into a metal bowl.
great episode, one of the many 'classics' from the teevee show.
(someone has digitally remastered 30-some shows, added footage that was shot, but not aired, with some sly ad-libs by the characters. over here, the hallmark channel was showing them, so i'd think there was a DVD available.)

Yep M*A*S*H was ace.