Ten.Ten.Ten to fire things off today, see you in 5 years, 5 months, and 10 days! Went to see the new movie adaptation of The Hitchhiker’s Guide to the Galaxy last night, and, was pleasantly surprised ;). It actually ain’t that bad… perhaps even, good! No coincidence that Adams helped write the screenplay himself.

The opening sequence with the dolphins is fantastic, set to the tune So Long and Thanks for All the Fish, perfectly setting the stage for the stories narrative style and scope. The improbability drive scenes are fewer and lesser in complexity than I would have liked (the potential!), but well done nonetheless. Zaphod is sufficiently annoying ;), and the rest of the characters seem to avoid distracting too much from the story. Marvin, who I’d always seen as blockish, reminds me of robot prototypes from sony. Deep Thought even looks pretty neat, though I’d always thought of a cave. The movie sets itself up perfectly for a sequel beginning at the restaurant at the end of the universe… there is plenty of story left, we shall see.

Nonetheless, I feel I must take this opportunity to help direct potential newfound interest in the series where it matters, specifically radio. As the story goes, “The idea that became the Hitchhiker’s Guide happened whilst Douglas Adams was lying drunk in a field in Innsbruck.” (see beginnings) This idea was realized shortly thereafter as a 1978 radio comedy on the bbc, indeed, before the now famous books.

Regardless of previous experience with the series, these original shows are a guaranteed smile and a must-listen for any and all inhabitants of the universe. Fire up your bittorrent client and grab all 12 here, while the torrent lasts.

I have never heard the 2004 reincarnation and continuation of the radio series. Amazon has it listed at £80 though not yet published. Looking forward to finding a copy.