I was first exposed to the "Hitch-hiker" series when I attended the 1979 World Science Fiction convention.
The convention that year was in Brighton, England. When I got my ballot for the Hugo Award I saw this radio show listed among the nominees and thought it a bit of ballot box stuffing by the host country.
When I got to the convention it seemed as if at least one quarter of the people I met were encouraging me to check out the show. Each would tell me a comedy bit from the show, but no spoilers.
The show ran twice: once broken up into two three hour sittings and then a six hour marathon. I missed the first runthrough but caught the second. Douglas Adams came on beforehand and talked about the genesis of the story and he answered questions.
It was incredible. Funny is hard to do in science fiction: some stuff that was intended serious turns out ridiculous, and the comedy bits often fall flat.
Once I got back to Texas, I told all my friends about this great show I had heard. I would have to wait a year to get my first tapes -- a two tape set that covered the first four episodes. Eventually there were the books, the TV series, and more books. Oh, and two albums (a double and a single) that covered the first six episodes.
One of the fun things about all these versions was their inconsistency. The chief one of these was what happened to our heroes after they left the Restaurant at the End of the Universe. In both the radio and TV versions, they steal a spaceship. But in the former it belongs to the commander of an alien battle group and in the latter it was Hotblack Desiato's stuntship.
So, considering this changeability, I wasn't too upset with any changes to the storyline. Even the slight changes to the characters didn't bother me. I got 80-90 per cent of the original version, and most of the rest was consistent with what I've come to expect from the series.
I once saw Stephen King. This was just before "The Shining" came out. My friend Larry Lankford asked King if he was concerned about what Kubrick might do to the story. He said no, that there was always the original book.
That's the way I feel about this movie. It was as good as I could have expected from a Disney movie: tone down the cynicism of the original a bit, and give it a happy ending. But, at the end of the day, there's always the TV show, those records, the books and the original radio incarnation. There's more bits, funny lines, and adventures waiting for the newly initiated.
I kind of envy them the journey. But I hope that they won't forget to bring their towels.
Nine stars. Can't wait for the DVD.
The convention that year was in Brighton, England. When I got my ballot for the Hugo Award I saw this radio show listed among the nominees and thought it a bit of ballot box stuffing by the host country.
When I got to the convention it seemed as if at least one quarter of the people I met were encouraging me to check out the show. Each would tell me a comedy bit from the show, but no spoilers.
The show ran twice: once broken up into two three hour sittings and then a six hour marathon. I missed the first runthrough but caught the second. Douglas Adams came on beforehand and talked about the genesis of the story and he answered questions.
It was incredible. Funny is hard to do in science fiction: some stuff that was intended serious turns out ridiculous, and the comedy bits often fall flat.
Once I got back to Texas, I told all my friends about this great show I had heard. I would have to wait a year to get my first tapes -- a two tape set that covered the first four episodes. Eventually there were the books, the TV series, and more books. Oh, and two albums (a double and a single) that covered the first six episodes.
One of the fun things about all these versions was their inconsistency. The chief one of these was what happened to our heroes after they left the Restaurant at the End of the Universe. In both the radio and TV versions, they steal a spaceship. But in the former it belongs to the commander of an alien battle group and in the latter it was Hotblack Desiato's stuntship.
So, considering this changeability, I wasn't too upset with any changes to the storyline. Even the slight changes to the characters didn't bother me. I got 80-90 per cent of the original version, and most of the rest was consistent with what I've come to expect from the series.
I once saw Stephen King. This was just before "The Shining" came out. My friend Larry Lankford asked King if he was concerned about what Kubrick might do to the story. He said no, that there was always the original book.
That's the way I feel about this movie. It was as good as I could have expected from a Disney movie: tone down the cynicism of the original a bit, and give it a happy ending. But, at the end of the day, there's always the TV show, those records, the books and the original radio incarnation. There's more bits, funny lines, and adventures waiting for the newly initiated.
I kind of envy them the journey. But I hope that they won't forget to bring their towels.
Nine stars. Can't wait for the DVD.
