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Summary: My Introduction to Science Fiction
Review: I first saw "The Hitch-Hiker's Guide to the Galaxy" twenty years ago, when I was in Grade Two. This was one of the programmes that got me interested in science fiction and space in general. That same year, I also became a "Doctor Who" fan, another show Douglas Adams had worked on. As a matter of fact, Adams said the character of Ford Prefect was a reaction against the Doctor. We know the Doctor is always rushing around saving everyone from certain doom. Adams said that if Ford was faced with the choice of saving the world or going to a really good party, he would naturally go to the party.Needless to say, I was a bit too young to appreciate the gags the first time round. I didn't realize there was anything conspicuous about the name Ford Prefect, for instance. But on seeing the Vogons demolish the Earth I was hooked. With subsequent viewings I enjoyed the show more and more. Based on the radio series, whose title comes from "A Hitch-Hiker's Guide to Europe", this show gives us the answer to Life, the Universe and Everything without revealing the question. The story itself is practically writhing with plot twists as Arthur and Ford confront all kinds of irony and misfortune on their travels through space and time. The computer graphics used to illustrate the Guide are cleverly engaging, and these heighten the impact of crazy events and mad coincidences that riddle the story. With its morbid humour, dismal outlook and overall wackiness, "The Hitch-Hiker's Guide to the Galaxy" is unforgettable. As far as television goes the series definitely deserves a place in the realm of great science fiction.
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Summary: Like Python in Space
Review: If you liked Monty Python, then you'll love this story about poor Arthur Dent, who wakes up one morning to find that his planet is to make way for a new hyperspace by-pass!
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Summary: Fantastic...Hollywood needs this
Review: A hollywood remake would be wonderful, though this was excellent in itself. I have watched it 20 times!
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Summary: Cooky, but fun
Review: I think it's interesting to see the series visually, but in a sense it takes away from the books themselves. Reading the books, you develop a mental image of the characters and how they speak and act, and it kind of kills that image when you watch the DVD's. On the other hand, I like having it as a novelty item, something more from the "hitchhikers trilogy"
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Summary: This video...Mostly Harmless
Review: [Entry] The Hitchhiker's Guide To The Galaxy video... The time: 6:30. Time for the destruction of Earth: 11:46:00. Estimated time remaining 05:16:48. As the countdown continues, and the dawn sun rises over the British countryside, the narration describes the story of the title book, which is "more popular than the Celestial Home Care Omnibus," better selling than Fifty-three More Things To Do In Zero Gravity, and more controversial than Oolon Colluphid's trilogy of philosophic blockbusters." However, for those already not versed with the Douglas Adams books that this video is based on, it's about Arthur Dent, who with his friend Ford Prefect, flees minutes before the Earth's destruction. Ford, a native from Betelguese and not from Gilford, is a field researcher for the guide. They go from a Vogon ship, the one that destroys Earth, to the Heart Of Gold, a sleek ship with the Infinite Improbability Drive stolen by Ford's cousin, the two-headed three armed Zaphod Beeblebrox, and Trillian, a girl Arthur once met at a party in Islington. Don't mistake her for a dumb blonde--she's an astrophysicist and smarter than she sounds. There's also a chronically depressed robot Marvin, who has the brain the size of a planet (metaphorically speaking). They end up at the planet Magrethea, which used to built custom-made planets, and Milliways, where one can witness the end of the universe. The six-part series covers key parts of the first Hitchhiker's book, and only a few parts of The Restaurant At The End Of The Universe, such as Milliways, the stunt ship, the Golgafrincham's B Ark, and the planet they are going to colonize. Oh, and if the incidental music sounds like that used in the Doctor Who stories Logopolis and Castrovalva, that's because it's the same stock music by Paddy Kingsland. The book illustrations and animation appear courtesy of a Mac computer to give a real sense of what the guide is like. All the leads work out well, especially Simon Jones as the flustered Arthur. The lines, many duplicated to a tee from the books, will be lost on those who haven't read them, but the concepts of the Dish of the Day and the story involving Deep Thought the second-best computer ever built, will garner laughs for those same people. And the Guide's entries are not only amusing but serve as an interlude between scenes. The spaceship models, especially that of the B Ark, are well realized. British film and TV buffs will recognize these: Richard Vernon (Slartibartfast) appeared as the stuffy stockbroker in A Hard Day's Night. Aubrey Morris (the Ark captain) is best known as Mr. Deltoid, Alex's counselor in A Clockwork Orange. Colin Jeavons (Max Quordlepleen) appeared in the first two stories of the Francis Urquhart trilogy (House of Cards and To Play The King) as Tim Stamper. Hotblack's bodyguard is played by none other than Dave Prowse (Darth Vader). And the ominous voice of the Deep Thought computer is by Valentine Dyall, the Black Guardian from Doctor Who. But whoever thought Peter Davison (the Fifth Doctor Who) as the Dish of the Day? He has to be seen to be believed. Speaking of which, Davison's then-wife Sandra Dickinson plays Trillian. Goofs: Zaphod's second head has occasional lines and it's easy to tell it's a mockup. In the pub, Ford says there's only 3 mins 5 secs left till the Earth ends. The clock reads 11:39 AM. Either the clock or Ford is wrong. A not bad realization of parts of Adams' meta-sci-fi books, but it's best for those who have read the books. Submitted by Guide researcher DJHamlow Prefect having drunk all of a supersized Pangalactic Gargleblaster. [Entry ends]
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Summary: What people don't understand
Review: People who can't hear the computer speaking have a non-stereo TV and are listening to the stereo track! All you have to do is go to the options menu and set audio to the original mono track. Admittedly, it's not ideal that the default is set on stereo, but most people nowadays have stereo TVs.
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Summary: DVDs are better?
Review: Well from the reviews I have read about the DVD HHGTTG I will sick with the VHS tape it has all of the computer audio. The tape has a running time 194 min (where the DVD is only 180 min). The sound on this tape is good, for a tape made in 1981 and re-releasted in 1993. If anyone would like to get this tape the UPC is 086162579936. The cover box art has a hand (hitching) and the green guy over a field of stars. If they come out with a good DVD maybe I will buy it.
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Summary: Incomplete! (Not!)
Review: When I heard that the DVD came out, I had to get one. Upon playing it the first time, I was very disappointed that Peter Jones' narration during the graphics sequences, which fill the viewer in on vital aspects of the story that one would have to have read the books to otherwise know, had apparently been left out. Watching the graphics scenes without narration is about as enlightening as inspecting a lorryload of fetid dingo's kidneys. I ejected the disk, put it away and vented my frustration in a nasty review here. Someone read the review and clued me in via their own review to the fact that unless you have a stereo DVD player and TV, you will miss the narration unless you first select MONO in the setup. I did so, and Peter Jones' melodic voice came through just as I had heard it in the radio series in my dorm room twenty-something years ago. The audio default is stereo, which I think was an unfortunate decision on someone's part. One would normally conclude that if there is any audible audio, then the setup would be correct. Not so in the case of this otherwise excellent DVD! Undoubtedly many people have missed that, like I did.
Rating: 
Summary: Decent diversion only if you loved the book
Review: This is a low-budget British television science fiction show that lasted 6 episodes. The quality is exactly what you'd expect, given my first sentence. I got my share of laughs from it because I've read the books a few times and THHGTTG is one of my all-time favorites. If you don't know and love the book, steer clear!
Rating:
Summary: Great DVD
Review: This DVD is great. Its got the tv shows plus loads of extras. The special effects are what make it so good. Zaphod's second head looks real! Marvin is depressingly good. And the best part is the exerpts from The Guide. Share and enjoy!
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