I'm an aerospace engineering student at soton uni (and no, this does not mean im a geek). I spend my...
I'm an aerospace engineering student at soton uni (and no, this does not mean im a geek). I spend my time studying (i wish) and chilling/partying with my mates. I am a fairly relaxed person i.e. i take each day as it comes.
Member since:06.05.2001
Reviews:16
Members who trust:4
Ok, before I get going on this opinion, I must confess I’ve never read this book, only listened to the tape. I have the tape of the first series, the radio 4 version, and although I have often considered reading the book, which we do own, the temptation to be lazy, lie back and enjoy the tape always won.
In September I wrote an opinion on Blackadder (TV) one of my other favourite comedies, and in fact there is a similarity between these two comedies. I may be confusing some people here as the storyline is completely different, but…………. Both the Hitchhiker’s Guide and Blackadder use a similar form of sarcastic comedy, and both are incredibly clever, every time I listen to this I hear something new, a clever phrase I missed before.
So enough about the wonderfulness of this book, and a bit about the actual storyline. We start our story in the middle of one normal Thursday, with our perfectly normal human Arthur Dent, who is in the middle of protesting against some bulldozers trying to knock down his house. The clever bit, the twist? Arthur Dents best friend
Ford Prefect is in fact actually an alien from a small planet somewhere in the vicinity of Betelguese. Don’t worry, I am not giving anything away, this is one of the first facts you discover when you listen to the tape
And where does the Hitchhiker’s Guide to the Galaxy come in? Well Ford Prefect just happens to be working on the new revised edition, in fact, that his why he came to Earth in the first place. The Hitchhiker’s Guide to the Galaxy is renound for it’s front cover, which has Don’t Panic written on it in large friendly letters. Although the Hitchhiker’s Guide is not necessarily the most accurate encyclopaedia it prides itself in the fact that where it is inaccurate it is widely inaccurate.
Arthur Dent and Ford Prefect are two of the main characters, but not much further into the story we meet Trillian, a super clever, beautiful earth women who Arthur once tried to chat up, and Zaphod Beeblebrox, a super cool dude, well, getting there anyway. And of course, there is Marvin, the paranoid android, personally my favourite character. He is depressing, and his logic is even more depressing. The really depressing part is that my friend said I was really like him!
The characters are one of the best parts of The Hitchhiker’s Guide. The fivein characters and their situations are great. All completely different, yet all somehow linked, part of the improbability factor. Also, you met the Vogons, an evil race who get pleasure from hurting, irritating and killing people. They are also extremely ugly. Another of the brilliant races is the race of mice, a race of super-intelligent pan-dimensional human beings. Sound weird, well it is, but it’s also incredibly funny and fantastic. There are wacky worlds, and cool worlds, worlds that you’d really like to visit.
Ooops, I’m raving again, but I do really enjoy this. In the middle of that rave, I mentioned the improbability factor. What is it? Well, Zaphod is driving a stolen spaceship that jsut happens to be fitted with the latest technology, the improbabilty drive, which means when activated the ship passes through every conceivable part of every conceivable galaxy almost simultaneously, before coming to rest at a pre-programmed point.
Now, is the book or tape better? Well, having never read the book that is a bit hard to say. However, as I’m useless at spelling and attempting to write an opinion containing words such as ‘Zaphod’ and ‘Betelguese’ that I have only ever heard before, I have found it necessary to pick up a copy of the book. Strictly speaking, I have picked up the second book, ‘The Restaurant at the End of the Universe.’ I have now read most the book, and for the most part I have to say that I prefer the tape. According to the front of my book, it was adapted from the tape, not the other way round, as I had always thought before.
There are some passages in the book that I enjoyed that weren’t on the tape, but on the whole the extra bits sometimes got rather tedious, and I definitely felt that the actual scene inside the restaurant at the end of the universe was portrayed much better on tape. The spontaneous responses of the actors were much better, and you got the full affect of everyone talking over one another. Also, I think that tapes portrayal of the host is much better, well, much funnier if I’m being honest.
Peter Jones reads the book superbly, and I think the other characters are read brilliantly, with the correct mix of sarcasm and over-enthusiasm that is what makes it so clever. There are an awful lot of ‘pingy’ sounds as my friend called them, that being all she could here from my Walkman last time I was listening to it. They are part of the story, different types of sounds coming from all the different futuristic instruments.
I could go on forever, I still have not mentioned the ‘Heart of Gold’ their spaceship, or the Syrius Cybernetics incorporation, but I really should wrap it up now. Before I finish I would like to pay my respects to Douglas Adams, the author who managed to create the wackiest universe in the world and make it believable.
I’ll stop now; I hope I haven’t bored you with my ranting and raving. Thanx for reading my op. Jayne.
How helpful would this review be to a person making a buying decision? Rating guidelines
Advantages: Hilarious, Classic, Well-written, Well-acted, generally brilliant. Disadvantages: Not in a terribly convenient format for listening to one episode at a time
Advantages: Hilarious, Classic, Well-written, Well-acted, generally brilliant. Disadvantages: Not in a terribly convenient format for listening to one episode at a time
Dec 19th, 2001
very helpful by (81%):
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somewhat helpful by (6%):
