Adams, Douglas

[Draconeus]

His works include the criticaly acclaimed Hitch hiker's Guide to the Galaxy.
Let us here discuss his works, including the aforementioned one.

[Idril]

Should we discuss how disappointing the ending to Mostly Harmless was? :p :lol:

[vili]

Should we discuss how disappointing the ending to Mostly Harmless was? :p :lol:
Hey, the ending of Mostly Harmless wasn't that bad! :p

[Idril]

I found it very abrupt and unsatisfying. It seemed almost like Douglas had lost interest towards the end, he just got to a certain point in the narrative and decided he was done so he just had to...well...I'm not going to give away the end just in case someone hasn't read it yet, but you know what I mean. ;) I'm not saying I needed an 'Everybody lived happily ever after' kind of ending but it would've been nice if everyone hadn't been...well...you know. :p But other than that, I think Adams is a genius and greatly enjoy everything he's written and every character he's created, even the Vogons.

[vili]

it would've been nice if everyone hadn't been...well...you know. :p
I actually gave out a sigh of relief, as I thought the last novel was a bit here and there, and with the... well, you know :p... he sort of took care of the fact that he wouldn't need to write more Hitchhiker's books.

Although that being said, I think Salmon of Doubt was actually in the process of being turned into a Hitchhiker's novel when Adams died. And well, he had the ability to rescue the characters from all sorts of situations, so I suppose he could still have done it had he wanted. Actually, I think that the radio show was largely based on this -- create an impossible cliffhanger ending to each show, not in order to keep the audience coming back, but in order to let yourself as a writer be miserable for the next week when you are trying to come up with a way to continue the story. ;) That was, for example, how the whole idea of the Impropability Drive was born, or so the legend goes. :)

Idril, how would you rank the individual Hitchhiker's novels? While I don't like ranking books in general (perhaps a bit weird for someone running a literary awards website :p), I have always found it quite fascinating how varied answers one gets to this question from those who like Adams's work.

[Idril]

Actually, I think that the radio show was largely based on this -- create an impossible cliffhanger ending to each show, not in order to keep the audience coming back, but in order to let yourself as a writer be miserable for the next week when you are trying to come up with a way to continue the story. ;) That was, for example, how the whole idea of the Impropability Drive was born, or so the legend goes. :)

I certainly admit that ending is classic Adams, but that doesn't mean I have to like it. :lol:

As for rankings, I read all the books in one volume, except for Mostly Harmless, so for me it was like one big book but let me get my volume out and have a quick look at what's what...

ok, after a very brief scan:

1. The Restaurant at the End of the Universe simply because of the conversation they have with Marvin when they meet up with him in the parking garage and he's complaing about being left alone there for 500 million years or something like that.

3. Life, The Universe And Everything because of the conversation between Arthur and Thor at the party.

4. Hitchiker's Guide to the Galaxy

5. So Long, and Thanks for All the Fish

6. Mostly Harmless for reasons discussed above. :p

Do you consider Young Zaphod Plays it Safe as a book? It's, what, like 10 pages and completely random? If you do consider it a book in and of itself, then it would be my least favorite, even below Mostly Harmless.

[vili]

I don't think Young Zaphod is a book by any standards. :) Starship Titanic would be a closer call (Adams's story, Terry Jones's writing), but I don't think it counts in the end, either.

You really seem to be set on that Thor character. :p

I would say that my personal favourite is either The Restaurant... or So Long,..., although the latter is quite different from the rest of the novels. I have never really enjoyed Life, the Universe... as much as the rest of the series, to be honest. Hitchhiker's Guide... and Mostly Harmless are somewhere in between.

[Idril]

You really seem to be set on that Thor character. :p

I am and it has nothing to do with my Nordic heritage, it's all due to Adams, he's made Thor so sullen and completely irresistable. :p

Did you notice I my numbering? :lol: I seem to have gotten a little confused there. :blush:


I would say that my personal favourite is either The Restaurant... or So Long,..., although the latter is quite different from the rest of the novels. I have never really enjoyed Life, the Universe... as much as the rest of the series, to be honest. Hitchhiker's Guide... and Mostly Harmless are somewhere in between.

I admit that Life, the Universe... isn't the strongest of books, like I said, it's just that one scene that does it for me. The Krikkit stuff kind of drags a bit, oh and then there was that bit about that creature that Arthur has killed over and over again, that was a little trying as well so I'm not even going to try to argue with you that it wasn't the best in the bunch..but it does have Thor. ;) What book was the real cricket match in, the one that Ford and Arthur interrupt? I've been looking for it and I must just keep missing it because I can't locate it.

So Long... was really different from the last, it reminds me a little of Mostly Harmless, before the abrupt ending, just in the kind of meandering, day in the life kind of aspect to it, it's just Arthur bumbling around on his own. It wasn't that I disliked it but it was a quieter, slighty more focused work and when I'm thinking of scenes that made me laugh or characters that I enjoyed, nothing from that book ever comes to mind. It was nice to see Arthur happy and somewhat in control for a bit though.

[vili]

Did you notice I my numbering? :lol: I seem to have gotten a little confused there. :blush:
I just thought you really liked Restaurant. :p


What book was the real cricket match in, the one that Ford and Arthur interrupt? I've been looking for it and I must just keep missing it because I can't locate it.
Life, the Universe... starts with Arthur and Ford on the pre-historic Earth and then time-travelling on the sofa to interrupt the match. I think the beginning is really good, actually, but then it gets a bit less interesting as the story starts to develop.


So Long... was really different from the last, it reminds me a little of Mostly Harmless, before the abrupt ending, just in the kind of meandering, day in the life kind of aspect to it, it's just Arthur bumbling around on his own. It wasn't that I disliked it but it was a quieter, slighty more focused work and when I'm thinking of scenes that made me laugh or characters that I enjoyed, nothing from that book ever comes to mind.
Yes, it certainly is not as jam-packed with laughs as are the first three. In that way, I think it resembles the Dirk Gently novels more than it does the original Hitchhiker books. Perhaps this is because So Long... was the first novel to not be an adaptation of something Adams had already written before.

[Idril]

I just thought you really liked Restaurant. :p

Well, that's a really good theory, let's just go with that. :D ;)



Life, the Universe... starts with Arthur and Ford on the pre-historic Earth and then time-travelling on the sofa to interrupt the match. I think the beginning is really good, actually, but then it gets a bit less interesting as the story starts to develop.

Thank you, that was starting to drive me nuts. I loved that scene although I do remember the action slowing down after that but I still have no real memory of what happens next, I know they get seperated somehow...I may have to do some rereading, I think it's been a couple years since I've read it.



Perhaps this is because So Long... was the first novel to not be an adaptation of something Adams had already written before.

I am really clueless about the creation process of Hitchhiker, it wasn't until I was reading about the film being made that I discovered it was originally a radio show and I had never heard of the series either. :blush: I can't quite imagine what the tv series was like being done in the 80's, was it terribly cheesy?

[vili]

Thank you, that was starting to drive me nuts. I loved that scene although I do remember the action slowing down after that but I still have no real memory of what happens next, I know they get seperated somehow...I may have to do some rereading, I think it's been a couple years since I've read it.
It's actually been over a year since I did my last read-through of the novels, but as far as I can recall (!!spoilers ahead!!), the Krikkit soldiers come and disrupt the sporting event. Slartibartfast also makes an appearance with his bistromatic spaceship that uses the rather brilliant Somebody Else's Problem field to hide it. What follows is the story of Krikkit, Arthur's confronting Agrajag, and then the party scene. I don't quite remember why Arthur got separated, though. I trust you remember things better from the party onwards. ;)


I am really clueless about the creation process of Hitchhiker, it wasn't until I was reading about the film being made that I discovered it was originally a radio show and I had never heard of the series either. :blush: I can't quite imagine what the tv series was like being done in the 80's, was it terribly cheesy?
The TV series is not as horrible as you might imagine. The Guide itself is brilliantly done, and Zaphod's two heads are quite a lot of fun, too (far more than in the film, certainly). Marvin, though, is a bit weird, and the whole production actually has that distinct "made on the BBC backlot" feel to it. But it's by no means bad.

Try to get hold of the radio series, as it is somewhat different from the books, and not any less funny. The voice actors are all excellent, and the special effects are great. And you'll end up humming the theme song (Journey of the Sorcerer) days after you have finished with the series. ;)

[Idril]

It's actually been over a year since I did my last read-through of the novels, but as far as I can recall (!!spoilers ahead!!), the Krikkit soldiers come and disrupt the sporting event. Slartibartfast also makes an appearance with his bistromatic spaceship that uses the rather brilliant Somebody Else's Problem field to hide it.

Oh, that's right, the bistro ship. That was odd, but then again, so was everything else. I didn't really get into the whole Krikkit thing, the real cricket game was funny but I just found myself anxious to get through the rest of it as quickly as possible and get on to something more interesting.



The TV series is not as horrible as you might imagine... and the whole production actually has that distinct "made on the BBC backlot" feel to it. But it's by no means bad.

I found the series on Netflix so I've added it to my queue and put it at the top of the list so hopefully I should be getting it sometime next week.


Zaphod's two heads are quite a lot of fun, too (far more than in the film, certainly

That's good because considering all the technological advances we've had in special effectsver the last 20+ years, you'd think they could've come up with something, anything better than what they ended up with. :p I wasn't really all that thrilled with the character of Zaphod as a whole in the movie, he just wasn't quite what I had imagined and I really didn't imagine him sounding like George Bush. :rolleyes:


Try to get hold of the radio series...

I haven't been able to find it yet but I'll keep looking. ;)

[vili]

I found the series on Netflix so I've added it to my queue and put it at the top of the list so hopefully I should be getting it sometime next week.
I hope you'll like it. Netflix sounds like a life saver, I wish something like that was available here where I live. It is not that we wouldn't have online rentals here as well, but I can mainly choose between a Bruce Willis movie and a Bruce Willis movie, and while I don't have anything particular against Bruce Willis, to the best of my knowledge he didn't make that many movies with, say, Akira Kurosawa.

Although, now that I think about it, he did do one film based on Kurosawa's script. But that's not my point at all. :)


I wasn't really all that thrilled with the character of Zaphod as a whole in the movie,
Yeah, me neither.

As for the radio series, they turn up second hand on eBay every now and then. A lot of file sharing networks also tend to have them, if you are into that sort of things.

[Idril]

I hope you'll like it. Netflix sounds like a life saver, I wish something like that was available here where I live. It is not that we wouldn't have online rentals here as well, but I can mainly choose between a Bruce Willis movie and a Bruce Willis movie...

:lol: :lol: That's really too bad. Netflix really has been wonderful, there's only one New Zealand movie that I haven't been able to find on there, other than that everything else I've wanted, I've been able to find.


As for the radio series, they turn up second hand on eBay every now and then. A lot of file sharing networks also tend to have them, if you are into that sort of things.

I'll have to keep an eye out for them on e-bay. I do occasionally use file sharing networks but I try to avoid them if I can, if the guilt doesn't get me, a virus usually does. :p

I should get the series in a couple days. I'm curious to see what Trillian is like, she's another one that didn't quite fit my image of her, I just didn't think of her personality as being that 'flat'.

Is Thor in the series? ;) :p

[Idril]

The TV series is not as horrible as you might imagine. The Guide itself is brilliantly done, and Zaphod's two heads are quite a lot of fun, too (far more than in the film, certainly). Marvin, though, is a bit weird, and the whole production actually has that distinct "made on the BBC backlot" feel to it. But it's by no means bad.


I've been watching it this weekend and it really isn't all that bad. I'm not crazy about the actor playing Ford and Trillian looks a tad bit hookerish and you're right, Marvin is weird..although not necessary anymore weird than the movie version, at least he doesn't look like like he has a giant golf ball for a head. His voice is great, and I love his animosity towards the doors which the movie kind of glossed over so I'm learning to live with his painfully slow gait and awkward appearance. Zaphod and his two heads and 3 arms are great, Arthur is appropriately bumbling and clueless, Trillian, is as I said, slightly hookerish and that voice is a little much but there are so many little details the movie missed it more than makes up for the odd casting choices.

[vili]

Yeah, Trillian is an odd choice in the TV series -- I much prefer Zooey Deschanel in the film version.

You probably don't remember this, but the TV series Marvin actually makes an appearance in the movie as well. When Arthur, Zaphod and Ford are making their way through the queue in the Vogon office, they pass all sorts of odd creatures. One of them is the original BBC Marvin, to which Arthur gives a quick sort of a "have I seen you before?" type of a glance. :)

While I prefer the movie versions of Trillian, Ford and Arthur, I must say that Zaphod is far better done in the TV-series, and if push came to shove, I would also say that the Guide is done better in the series than in the movie.

In any case, I'm glad you like it. :)