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Arthur Dent is stranded on prehistoric Earth with one-time
researcher for the guide Ford Prefect, except Ford has gone
walkabout leaving Arthur with no-one to talk to but the trees.
Just as he's making an executive decision to go mad, Ford
returns blabbering about sub-ether waves and the space/time
continuum. A Chesterfield sofa appears and starts swirling
around. When Ford has them chase it and jump on it deposits
them through time to the middle of Lords cricket field, during
an Ashes match between England and Australia. It turns out
that it's the day before the Earth is due to be demolished
to make way for an interstellar by-pass. Slartibartfast shows
up in a strange new spacecraft, but so does a team of cricket-clad
homicidal robots called Krikkits. As Arthur and Ford make
their escape, Slartibartfast appears overly desperate to obtain
the Ashes. Very soon Arthur finds himself dragged along on
a reluctant journey to save the universe, and he doesn't even
have time for a nice cup of tea and a cucumber sandwich...
For
anyone who is related to Zem the mattress and can only remember
events for the length of one day, the Tertiary Phase
is the third of five radio adaptations of The Hitchhiker's
Guide to the Galaxy books written by everyone's mad uncle
- Douglas Adams. The first two were broadcast to great acclaim
in 1978 and, 25 years later, we welcomed the first of three
Hitchhiker serials (adapted and directed by Dirk
Maggs) covering books three to five. For those
of you like me who prefer proper titles, the Tertiary Phase
is Life, The Universe And Everything.
When
I first received this disc, along with other review material,
I only had time to notice the 5.1 Surround plastered on the
cover. As if crystal clear Surround Sound isn't exciting enough
for a radio serial, when I came to check out the contents
I discovered there was significantly more on offer. Having
already reviewed the Tertiary
Phase back in 2004, my interest this time was
not so much in the story and performances but in the sound
quality and extras.
Yes,
extras! This is a DVD video with both audio and video content.
What that means in practical terms is you can put this in
your TV's or computer's DVD player (which, let's face it,
are the more likely location's you'll have a 5.1 speaker system)
and relax to sounds which comes at you from around the room.
The switching isn't constant, so you don't get too used to
it; instead it's used to great effect in the most significant
places. This isn't the same old thing again, it's something
completely new and the result is truly amazing. While you
listen, on-screen information reminds you of the episode and
indeed the chapter you're up to.
Audio
extras consist of the Pick of the Week radio intro,
seven other trailers, Bits & Bloopers (entertaining
outtakes), and The Krikkit Song in its entirety (including
on-screen lyrics). Video extras include the Online Trailer
and four other featurettes: Together Again (Arthur
& Ford), Marvin and Zem, The New Voice of the Guide,
and Stereo Heads (Zaphod & the use of sound). All of
these segments are entertaining but are far too short. Every
one of them leaves you wanting more. There is also a small
photo gallery.
As
far as I'm concerned this should become the standard format
for audio henceforth, as you can listen to it in the comfort
of your own "Chesterfield" sofa. However, there is still room
for the CD releases (or at least MP3) which will suit listeners
on the move. 8 for the episodes, and an additional point for
the extras and in particular the forward thinking.
Ty
Power
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£18.99
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