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When his planet is demolished to make way for a hyperspace
bypass, Earthman Arthur Dent embarks upon an incredible journey
through space, time and infinite improbability...
Over
the years I had come to take The Hitchhiker's Guide to
the Galaxy, in all its many forms, for granted. Of course,
I knew it had been funny in its day, but I thought that I
had watched/read/listened to it quite often enough already.
Saddened by the untimely death last year of writer Douglas
Adams, I was briefly tempted to catch the repeats of the television
series, but instead I thought I'd wait for the DVD to come
out...
I
had forgotten just how good this show was! Not just funny
(Adams' Cambridge Footlights influence was never more evident
than during the Pythonesque philosophers versus Deep Thought
sequence) but also poignant (the end of episode six). It is
also a visual and aural delight.
Sure,
certain aspects of the story worked better in the original
radio version, and some should never have been attempted on
television with 1980s' technology and a BBC budget. I'm referring,
of course, to Zaphod Beeblebrox's animatronic extra head,
which doesn't look even slightly convincing. In addition to
that, certain lines of dialogue, such as Arthur (Simon Jones)
reading out the warning: "please do not press this button
again", could have worked better as sight gags in the visual
medium.
In
most other respects, however, the production team get things
absolutely right, starting with the casting. Simon Jones and
Mark Wing-Davey (as Zaphod) work just as well in their roles
on telly as they did on the radio. The same is obviously true
of Peter Jones (as the voice of the Guide) and Stephen
Moore (as the voice of Marvin), as they are heard but not
seen.
David
Dixon, inheriting the role of Ford Prefect from Geoffrey McGivern,
accentuates the alien character's weirdness. His costume emphasises
Adams' initial concept of a variation on Doctor Who - an alien
who would much rather go to a good party than save the galaxy.
Together with his (contact lens enhanced) unearthly eyes,
Dixon's performance brings to mind a miniature version of
Tom Baker!
Sandra
Dickinson's American accent makes for a curious departure
from the previously British character of Trillian, but nevertheless
the actress makes the most of the script's least developed
main character.
The
special effects (aside, of course, from "that head") are the
best that could possibly have been achieved at the time, including
matte shots, model work and pioneering video-editing techniques
that still hold up well today. However, the real highlight
of the television show has to be Rod Lord's incredible animated
sequences, which ably illustrate Peter Jones' dryly comical
narration. Prepare to hit your freeze-frame button to fully
appreciate the intricate details and the witty annotations.
Paddy Kingsland's sound effects and evocative incidental music
retain a similarly timeless appeal, just as they did on the
radio series.
Disc
one of this double-pack contains the fullest edits that are
known to exist of the six episodes. These incorporate scenes
that were cut from the original transmissions but reinstated
for the 1992 VHS release, and vice versa. Viewers have the
option of listening to the episodes with their original mono
soundtrack or with a digitally remastered stereo version.
As
if the 199-minute running time of the main feature was not
enough, the second disc contains a wealth of extras. The highlight
of these is Kevin Davies' hour-long Making of... documentary
from 1993. Davies (who assisted Rod Lord in the creation of
Hitchhiker's animations) lavishes as much care, attention
and affection upon his subject matter as he did during the
production of his Doctor Who 30th anniversary documentary
(also in 1993).
Disc
two also contains further interview and archive material that
didn't make it into the documentary. This includes out-takes,
a deleted scene from episode two (which has not been incorporated
into the main feature owing to the presence of an on-screen
timecode), behind-the-scenes footage, and the original BBC
2 trailer. See in full the Tomorrow's World feature
about Zaphod's second head. Learn about Mark Wing-Davey's
extra penis! And in case you were wondering, it is the expletive
outbursts of actors fluffing their lines during out-takes
that have upped this product's certification from a PG to
a 15!
Although
there is no feature-length commentary, the on-screen production
notes (akin to those on the Doctor Who DVDs) are not
only extremely informative but also capture the humorous spirit
of the show.
With
a total running time in excess of five hours, this is a pristine
presentation of the most remarkable - certainly the most successful
- saga ever to spring from the inventive mind of the late
Douglas Adams.
Richard
McGinlay
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