Rating: 
Summary: Own it to complete your collection
Review: Remember folks--FIRST was the radio series--Very funny.Then (I believe) came the TV series--Moderately funny and represented here with cheesy effects and some aliens not looking any more rubbery than anything from "Dr. Who." Then came the books--(Funniest of all) This DVD makes me lament the apparent death of the big-budget motion picture of the material that was imminent...
Rating: 
Summary: A must have for any sci-fi video collection...
Review: I won't bother discussing the storyline here since there are plenty of reviews that have done that. People who buy this DVD set will usually do so because they have seen the show already anyway. Instead I'll tell you a bit about what to expect from the DVDs themselves. The DVDs are packaged in a 'new-style' black keep case which is larger than the single disc cases. This allows for better storage of the DVDs instead of cramming a second DVD into a case designed for one. The menus are nicely done, and are all motion video menus. On the main DVD you have the options for selecting an individual episode AND also for selecting a scene within an episode. This was a nice touch since I thought they would only do one and not both. Of course you can choose to "play all" and it will sequentially play all the episodes for you. All bonus material is on the second disc. The audio and video quality of the discs was QUITE good when you consider that this material is over 20 years old. I didn't notice any visual artifacts. The audio quality was good, although I found that the in some cases scenes with a lot of bass were harder to hear at lower volumes. (like the scene with 'Deep Thought') You can either add treble/lower bass or just increase the volume a bit. Given the age of the content, the audio was pretty good. No noticeable artifacts that detracted from the recording. If you choose the 'setup' screen you'll be met with some options. First is to choose between "remixed stereo'' or mono. If you don't have stereo speakers or a stereo TV, it is best to choose MONO here. (see below for details) You should note these are actually two distinct audio tracks on the disc, not a setting to 'adapt' the audio. Next you can choose to turn on one of the two sets of subtitles. There are standard English subtitles, and 'production notes'. In most DVDs the production notes are a few screens of text selected off the main menu. On this DVD they have instead used captions. So, it's sorta like a poor man's "Pop-up video" when the production notes are enabled. While you watch the episodes you'll see text that describes various aspects of the series and in many cases information related to the scenes themselves. The only problem on the setup menu is that when you access it, the settings LOOK like both the subtitles and production notes are turned ON. When you move your arrow to select that option you press enter on the word "ON" to turn it ON and not to turn it OFF. A touch confusing, but easy to understand once you know about it. You'll see a couple reviews where people say there was 'missing audio dialog' on the DVD. I don't believe this is the case, but in actuality it is a 'setup' problem with their DVD Player/TV. The way the DVD works is as so: The main audio for the series is stereo, but certain aspects are only played on ONE channel. The narrator usually speaks on the right channel, and the guide narrator usually speaks on the left channel. So if you have a set or TV that is not true stereo and it is not processing the audio correctly, you may not hear one of the channels. In that case, adjust your audio settings as described above to MONO and that will likely fix your problem. However I watched the DVD and ALL the audio was there. If you don't like the way they did the stereo audio, you can always switch to mono and not lose much quality. (aside from not hearing stereo) The episodes are presented in their entirety, and not 'clipped' together into one big 'movie'. So when you watch the shows you will see the start and close credits for EACH episode. On disc two, there are a number of added features. One feature, 'The Making of The Hitchhiker's Guide to the Galaxy" is a bit cheesy in that they have made it as if it is a 'mini-sequel' of sorts. It's supposedly 12 years later, and Simon Jones ('Arthur Dent') returns to find his home still intact and a pile of mail inside the door. He heads up to his bedroom and finds the Guide on his bed, and proceeds to 'watch' the making of on the Guide itself. For the most part they stick to the making of, but they occasionally cut back to him in his pyjamas There are a few Easter eggs on the discs, but I'll leave that for you to find them. Overall I was pleased with the effort. They could have done a one disc deal and people would still have purchased it. However I think this is a great set and definitely a must buy for any Douglas Adams fan.
Rating:
Summary: A fun and nostalgic DVD set
Review: I rate this DVD as five stars for those who as teenagers loved watching the Hitchhiker's Guide series on public television as I did, with all episodes shown as a marathon during the local PBS station's pledge drive well into the night. A lot of confusion over the number of episodes and scenes that either were or were not present during the various presentations of Hitchhiker's is restored to its original format in this DVD presentation -- a total of six episodes, with missing scenes like the guide entry about Vogon Poetry, and the Restaurant at the End of the Universe are included on the DVD, along with a couple of extra scenes that were not in the seven part series (which was the most complete PBS version shown). The choice of sound is either pseudo stereo, or the original mono version. Personally, I prefer to listen to the original mono version, as it is more true to the original presentation. There is also subtitled commentary with cast and production notes thoughout each episode. The story as a whole brings back a nostalgia of an era that is gone, both Douglas Adams the creator of the series, and Peter Jones as the book have sadly, passed away. Disc Two of the set has two, one-hour long documentaries. The first, a BBC program called "Omnibus" about the late Douglas Adams, the second is a documentary about the making of Hitchhiker's Guide, produced about ten years ago. Also included are some television spots and interviews with cast and crew on various tv programs, along with an uncensored blooper reel. This is a good behind the scenes DVD, as it shows this great series from several angles. People who watch this DVD may think, "But this show looks so hoky and fake! And who is that guy with the fake looking head?" Although the production looks choppy in certain scenes, and visual effects aren't great, the humor is unforgettable. All and all, a great DVD set.
Rating:
Summary: Why couldn't the DVD match the VHS?
Review: Anyone who's seen the VHS (or BBC broadcast) of "The Hitchhiker's Guide to the Galaxy" knows the format. There's live action, then an animated bit of material from the Guide with appropriate narration, then some more live action, and so on. Some of the best material in the movie is contained in those animated bits. So why does the DVD leave out huge chunks of the narration for some of these animations, and even one live action scene (describing the invention of the Infinite Improbability Drive)? If you've seen the show before you know what the images are for. If you haven't, it's a bizarre and disjointed muck-up. It's not a total sound failure. The "beep-de-beep" soundtrack music is still annoyingly there. But the words explaining what you're seeing, and why that's significant, are missing in several key sequences on the DVD. Not on the VHS, strangely enough. On the plus side, the images on the DVD are crisp and amazingly clear. But the lost pieces of narration are so highly frustrating that you'd be better off hunting down a VHS copy instead. Shoddy DVD preparation is becoming more and more of a problem (as in the "special edition" of the epic "Pride and Prejudice", too many copies of which turn up with a bright blue cast). Too bad it had to strike such a wonderfully inventive video as "Hitchhiker", where even a badly flawed copy is better than no copy at all.
Rating:
Summary: definitive version of classic satire
Review: How on Earth can this be explained to someone who has never encountered it before? Let's start by saying that a show like this could never be produced in America (although Futurama gets pretty close). The Hitchhiker's Guide was never meant to impress with flashy FX and future tech. It is, rather, a satirical allegory of modern life - the stupid fashions, the crass commercialism, the much-touted state-of-the-art gizmos that don't bloody work. Briefly, it is the story of Arthur Dent, who is rescued from the Earth just before it is blown up to make way for an interstellar highway. Still wearing his dressing-gown, he is forced into a series of adventures ranging from the merely humiliating to the frightening and pointless. The result is a unique comedy that mixes satire and farce, sci-fi and mock-umentary, into a memorable and funny experience. The presentation of this 6-part series in DVD format (in its uncut entirety) is ideal for the careful viewer, because there's a lot going on that can be missed on the first (or second, or third) viewing. The 2nd disc has a lot of interesting background material, although the completists might have prefered a more in-depth coverage of the radio series and the books of the same name. (Rejection of this series by hardcore fans, in favour of the radio and book versions, is somewhat pointless in that all were written (and closely supervised) by the author, and each format contains material not repeated elsewhere.)
Rating:
Summary: Douglas Adams Classic brought to life!
Review: I love Hitchhikers. There's no denying that. Not only was it an innovator in Sci-fi TV Comedy, it was pretty much perfectly cast and performed. Simon Jones IS Arthur Dent. The part was him, and he was the part. The humor is top-notch and constant. The animation, while done by hand, is beautifully done and perfect to get that "computer feel" they were looking for. As for the extras, they include many great bonuses about Douglas Adams, and the classic special on "The Making of" HHGTTG. Many extended scenes and extra bit not finished are included. Also, all the episodes are restored to FULL LENGTH! I wish Sci-Fi didn't have an apparent stigma with many people. The comedy in this is priceless.
Rating: 
Summary: Not the way to remember Douglas Adams
Review: This is an embarrassingly bad rendition of the HHGttG saga. The production is poor, the actors are flat, the special effects are anything but special. Rent this movie if you want to see how bad it truly is, but don't shame Douglas Adams' memory by remembering his legacy like this.
Rating:
Summary: Adequate Collection of flawed but famous series
Review: Big fans of the late, great Adams will see this as a required item. They will also generally admit that the show was hokey, the special effects were unintentionally humourous in their lack of realism, and that the whole thing never really found its pacing. I would steer newcomers away from this incarnation of the Hitchhikers' Guide and towards the brilliant radio drama and/or books
Rating: 
Summary: A Must Have For Sci Fi Fantasy Fanciers (Like That?)
Review: The only thing wrong with this is that it only covers the first season. People are still searching for the question of life after finding the answer here. Where else would you find the truth - that humans are only the third most intelligent species on Earth. What I want to know is where can I find a Dressing Gown (Bathrobe in American speak) which I can wear for years without wearing out.
Oh!, and by the way, you can buy a box set of 12 CDs of the BBC Radio show ( both series), if you know where to look.
Rating:
Summary: A Great TV Adaptation - But Beware!!!
Review: I'm a huge fan of D. Adams and the Hitch Hiker series of stories and definately would recommend them. However, I was disapointed with this particular VHS version of the TV adaptation which I remember watching on TV when it originally aired in the UK. The reason I found this version disappointing was that a lot of the really funny dialogue has been left out entirely in sections where the "Guide" explain's various things. For example, the part where the "Guide" tells you the origins of the Improbability Drive has no sound at all. You are left looking at the image of a cup of tea with some wire's in it with no mention of Brownian Motion and the like. Sadly I came to the conclusion that this edition was made for the US market and some bright spark (possibly from the Marketing Division of the Sirius Cybernetics Corporation) decided that the US populous would not understand so they just left the dialogue out. I could be wrong, but that's how it seems. DEFINATELY, look into the DVD version or another VHS edition that does contain ALL the dialogue as this is a definate Must See.
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