New Hitchhiker's Guide Radio Series Announced

AllieA writes "The BBC has announced that they will be adapting the final three Hitchhiker's Guide to the Galaxy books for radio, with this 'tertiary phase' including Life, the Universe, and Everything; So Long and Thanks for All the Fish; and Mostly Harmless. Members of the original radio series cast, including Simon Jones, Geoffrey McGivern, Mark Wing-Davey, Susan Sheridan, Stephen Moore and announcer John Marsh, will all take part in the new series, set to start next spring and be completed before the end of 2004."

Comments

Will it do the books justice?

[Max Romantschuk]

I'm fully aware that the guide started as a radio series in the first place... But I'm still not sure that radio, nor film, can do the books justice. The surreal whimsical quality is just very hard to convey.

For those who have seen the utterly horrible adaptation of Michael Ende's A Neverending Story, read the book. Really, you should.

I guess I'm just getting old and cynical or something, but I'm still quite sceptical they'll pull it off.

Re:Will it do the books justice?

[Max Romantschuk]

Will it do the books justice? Maybe not, but I think it still might be good. The movies don't do much justice to The Lord of the Rings (I found LotR:TT to do more injustice than justice to the book) but they are still worth seeing, ain't they?

You make a good point, although I would argue that the LotR movies do the books justice to a much greater degree than most movie-to-book renditions I've seen.

I guess the fundamental difference is that LotR is a farly simple linear story, whereas the HHGTTG is largely non-linear, surreal, and sometimes comletely off the track ;)

But as you say, it still might (and probably will) be good.

Re:Will it do the books justice?

[Kevan_moran]

There was also a play that was on in London in the late 70's. After the radio show but before the TV show.

Some of my friends went to see a 'final' dress rehearsal and it overran by a couple of hours. They were serious hardcore fans and even they hated it.

So yes, you can the the material and deliver it badly. I hope they do well this time.

And yeh, Peter Jones - you don't want to be late, as in the late Arthur Dent, it's a threat you know, I'm told they can be quite effective.

Completely deadpan delivery.

radiophonics workshop

[Anonymous Coward]

I hope the BBC radiophonics workshop is involved once again, since there is no mention of them in the article.

Re:Shameless fanboy

[Joel Rowbottom]

ISTR that Douglas himself had a 'dream cast' for the movie, which (from memory) included:

• Simon Jones as Arthur (naturally)
• Jeff Goldblum as Ford
• Eddie Murphy as Zaphod

I can't remember who the preferred choices for Marvin and Trillian were, but I'm sure you can dig for it somewhere.

And before someone volunteers Danny John-Jules as Zaphod, no no no no no - he's great as Cat but if he played Zaphod, it'd just be the cat with two heads.

Hmm, cat with two heads. Let me get my hacksaw...

Re:Who's William Franklyn?

[Anonymous Coward]

Lots more info here

Re:Who's William Franklyn?

[Wildfire Darkstar]

Personally, I wonder if they'll bother explaining it at all. I wonder because I also can't help but wonder how close of an adaptation this is going to be. If they hedge closely to the books, they'll need to either go to some length to explain the very different place that the second radio series ended up when compared to the Restaurant at the End of the Universe novel, or disregard much of the second radio series entirely. Specifically, they'll need to explain what happens to Ford and Zaphod, reintroduce Trillian, and write-out one or two characters who existed only in the radio play, and never appeared in any of the books.