The Hitchhiker’s Guide To The Galaxy (radio series)

My first experience of THGTTG was the book omnibus (at that stage only a trilogy in four parts) which I found very funny and a great ode to the wonder and infinite possibilities of science fiction. I actually assumed that the books were where it all started so I was most surprised recently (when I was bought the whole collection on disc) to find that it actually all started here, or there, on radio.

Listening to it for the first time I was amused to find Arthur Dent being played by the guy who plays Sir Walter Raleigh (“Oh, Sir Walter, really!”) in Blackadder which took some getting used to (I kept imagining him in stockings rather than a dressing gown) but Geoffrey McGivern as Ford Prefect (I thought it was Ford Perfect for years, even thought it was there in black and white) has a very cute voice, which keeps me going.

I think the one thing I’ve found disappointing is how very “Radio 4” (now an adjective in it’s own right) and pleased with itself it sometimes sounds. When I originally read the book it felt like Douglas Adams had a genuine love and interest in sci-fi whereas the Radio 4 production team’s take on his play feels like a piss-take of sci-fi and almost mocking in tone. It just sounds like a lot of posh people stood around with Martini’s guffawing about how silly sci-fi fans are.

Then again, that was the sound of the BBC back then and it’s only fairly recently that there’s been a little more regional diversity injected into the Beeb’s “voice”.

Niggles aside, the stream of consciousness humour and core themes of probability and the meaning of life, the universe and everything punch through the slight air of snobbery to keep me going as I listen in bed at night. I’m on series two at the moment (where Arthur and Ford have become almost supporting characters to Zaphod) so let’s see how I get on.

I’ve still yet to watch the television series (with a similar cast, I believe) although I’ve seen bits of the film starring Bilbo Baggins, so I think I’ll get both on DVD to compare/contrast/pontificate.