Need a lift? Hop in! (Hitchhiker's Guide to the Galaxy, The)

Member Name: SWSt

Product:	Hitchhiker's Guide to the Galaxy, The
Date:	24/03/09 (104 review reads)
Rating:

Advantages: Consistently funny, strong cast, great blend of sci-fi and humour

Disadvantages: Dodgy special effects, some prefer original cast

This programme represents one of the defining moments of my childhood - the first thing I remember sitting down with my dad to watch. Childhood memories have a habit of being deceptive... when you revisit them, you realise nostalgia has given them a golden glow they don't deserve. That's certainly not the case with Hitchhiker's, which is still funny today.

There's no doubt that in its day, Hitchhiker's was a hugely innovative programme. Up until that point, most science fiction was decidedly po-faced, trying to baffle the viewer with pseudo-scientific jargon in order to cover up the holes in the plot and involving lots of dully choreographed fights with men in rubber monster suits. Hitchhiker's took that and added jokes.

The plot behind the programme is deliberately vague, loose and silly. The Earth is destroyed to make way for a hyperspace bypass and a single human survivor escapes the blast, along with an alien friend. Outside of that, writer Douglas Adams has the freedom to veer off into pretty much whatever weird and wonderful direction he chooses.

For Hitchhiker's plots are things that happen to other, lesser programmes and they don't need to make much sense. Try and think about this logically and your head will feel as though you have had one Pan-Galactic Gargle Blaster too many. What it allows the show's writer to do, though, is turn his rather warped sense of humour on to all manner of subjects, from language to human behaviour to society generally. The humour is perfectly judged - a mixture of dry, caustic wit, casual observation of the absurdities of life, the sheer stupidity of technology, clever language and visual gags, along with a sprinkling of good, old-fashioned slapstick. It will appeal to all ages, as the humour is very broad. Kids can enjoy the more obvious gags, whilst adults will appreciate some of the more subtle ones. It's one of those shows that you can re-watch and laugh at different things each time. Frankly, if you don't find yourself laughing out loud at several points during each episode, you might want to check your pulse. There is a very real chance you might be dead.

Hitchhiker's real strength is that it is consistently funny. Of course, there are particular highlights, but it rarely feels flat. The TV series is actually more consistently amusing than the books. In written form, there are longish sections where the plot takes over to give a more traditional, more serious structure. The TV series dispenses with these, compressing the humour and giving a more even, more entertaining experience. By nicking the best elements of the early books, the programme hits some truly sublime heights.

It helps that the series is well cast. Peter Jones is superb as the Voice of The Book - striking precisely the right balance between being authoritative, and yet light-hearted enough to make the funny lines work. His delivery is absolutely impeccable and you really start to look forward to his "interruptions". Simon Jones is great as the permanently bewildered Arthur Dent, the last surviving earthman, making him suitably idiotic, yet likeable. David Dixon is good as Ford Prefect, Arthur's alien friend, although he does sometime become a little anonymous. And it's impossible to mention Hitchhiker's without mentioning Stephen Moore's Marvin the Paranoid Android. Marvin - a brilliant character brought to life superbly by Moore.

Indeed, so strong are the characters, it's hard to imagine anyone else playing them... something which the disappointing film version failed to overcome. Still, lest you think I'm becoming too gushy, there are two slightly weak links: Mark Wing-Davey's Zaphod Beeblebrox and Sandra Dickinson's Trillian can be a little dull.

Hitchhiker's scores points for being amazingly good at predicting IT developments. The technology? That would be the iphone or e-book. The Guide? Think Wikipedia or the internet. The Babel Fish? Why do you think there's an online translation tool called that? Adams' ideas may have seemed far-fetched and exotic, but many now have some basis in reality.

It was also influential in other ways, showing science fiction didn't have to be for geeks and blokes with no girlfriends. It paved the way for future sci-fi comedy hybrids, including Red Dwarf and, er, Hyperdrive. Arguably, without Hitchhiker's there might have been no Discworld.

But let's not get too carried away. There are some elements of the series which have dated badly. This is particularly true of the computer graphics and special effects. The Book graphics may have looked cutting edge in 1981, but now they look like they were done on a BBC Micro (ironically, they were actually hand drawn!) The Vogon Ship and Zaphod's second head also betray the show's low budget. Still, these are easily overlooked and actually add to the charm, since special effects are not central to the story.

Some people may also bemoan the change of actors. Although most of the cast from the original radio broadcasts return, two (Ford and Trillian) have changed. I guess this depends on which you experience first. I saw the TV show before the broadcasts, so have no complaints. People who head the broadcasts first prefer the original actors. I guess that's just down to taste.

There's one final criticism which identifies me as a sad pedant who needs to get out more: the series has some pretty poor grammar at times. The title sequence is rendered as "Hitchhikers Guide to the Galaxy" and whichever way you look at it, needs an apostrophe somewhere. You could debate where it goes (is "Hitchhikers" meant to be singular or plural), but it definitely needs one. Similarly, the lines of on-screen "Book" text have the odd spelling mistake for the eagle-eyed viewer to spot (occassionally for example, instead of occasionally). OK, this doesn't stop the programme from being funny, but these things matter to sad people like me!

Hitchhiker's is a bit like James Bond. It's had so many incarnations that everyone has their favourite interpretation. Some prefer the original radio broadcasts, others the books, yet others this TV series. There might even be a few who prefer the film, but thankfully they are mostly locked away, and are no danger to right-thinking Dooyooers.

This is a brilliant, funny, inventive gem of a programme which has stood the test of time surprisingly well, thanks to its genuinely funny scripts. Far superior to the film in all but special effects, if you've never seen it, buy it on DVD and prepare yourself for a bonkers treat!

This reminds me of a joke I used to love as a kid and thought I might inflict it on you.

A taxi is flagged down by a three-eyed, no-armed, one legged alien. The taxi driver takes one look at him and says "Aye aye aye. You look 'armless. 'Op in."

Cue groans...

Basic Information
----------------------
The Hitch Hiker's Guide to the Galaxy
1981
BBC TV
6 Episodes (33 minutes each)

© Copyright SWSt 2009

Summary: Sci-fi seen through a warped mind!