All the episodes from the popular BBC adaptation of the Douglas
Adams' novel. Unbeknownst to its inhabitants, Earth is to be
demolished to make way for an intergalactic highway. Arthur Dent
(Simon Jones), an unassuming Englishman, is whisked off the
planet to safety by his alien neighbour Ford Prefect (David
Dixon), and launched on a dizzying journey through space and time
(with only a towel, and a fish to help them), culminating in the
discovery of the meaning of life itself. A 'Making of...'
documentary included in this box set increases the original
certificate from PG to 15.
From .co.uk
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The original BBC radio adventures (
/exec/obidos/ASIN/0563477024/${0} ) of Arthur Dent (an
ape-descendant whose anger at the apparently inexplicable
destruction of his home planet Earth, situated in an obscure
corner of the outer spiral arm of the galaxy, is expressed in
frequent at friendly automatic doors and vending
machines) and his travelling companions, Ford Prefect (an
itinerant towel-carrying hitch-hiker originally from a small
planet somewhere in the vicinity of Betelgeuse), Zaphod
Beeblebrox (the notorious ex-Galactic President and patron of
Eccentrica Galumbits, the triple-ed whore of Eroticon Six)
and Marvin the Paranoid Android (who's still suffering from that
terrible pain in all the diodes down his left side) proved to be
such a success for the BBC that its transition to TV was (almost)
inevitable. In 1981 several key members of the radio cast made
the move to the small screen. Simon Jones' bewildered Arthur Dent
remains the central character, shambling around in his dressing
gown (a fact easy to forget on radio); Mark Wing-Davey's Zaphod
Beeblebrox is the same as his boastful radio persona, even if the
second head utterly fails to convince. Unfortunately, newcomers
David Dixon (as Ford Prefect) and the irritating Sandra Dickinson
(as Trillian) are no match for their radio predecessors.
The problem here is not so much the low-budget look as the script
itself, which is lovingly faithful to the radio series in a way
that Douglas Adams' novels aren't. The Hitchhiker's Guide to the
Galaxy was a lucid, satirical, occasionally profound, utterly
unique comic invention on radio. As such, it has nothing to gain
from TV. The script needs no visual elaboration--that's best left
to the listener's own imagination. Only the animated renditions
of the Guide itself enhance Peter Jones' wonderfully dry
narration; otherwise--paradoxically, perhaps--by supplying images
the concept is oddly diminished here.
On the DVD: A suitably eclectic not to say eccentric collection
of extra features makes this a wholly satisfying two-disc set,
neatly packaged in a fold-out slipcase. On the second disc
there's an hour-long "making of" documentary from 1992 featuring
contributions from the cast and crew, including Douglas Adams;
and then there's even more in a 20-minute section entitled "Don't
Panic!". A fascinating behind-the-scenes peek at filming as the
clock runs out on studio time and a look at the of the
original radio series complete the first part. Then navigate to
the "Outer Planets" to find outtakes, a deleted scene, Zaphod's
animatronic second head on Tomorrow's World and Peter Jones's
witty and shambolic introduction to the first episode, plus more
besides. The series itself is presented in standard 4:3 ratio and
Dolby stereo. --Mark Walker
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From the Back Cover
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DVD Special Features: The Making of The Hitchhiker's Guide to the
Galaxy
Don't Panic! -- additional "Making of" material
An introduction to the first episode by Peter Jones, recorded
live at the NFT
Communicate! -- Behind the scenes of the radio series
The original BBC2 episode one trailer
Deleted scene
Behind-the-scenes
Tomorrow's World animatronics feature on Zaphod Beeblebrox
Rod Lord and Alan JW. Bell's appearance on Pebble Mill at One
Out-takes
Photo Gallery
On-Screen Production Notes
Subtitles: English SDH
Dolby Digital Stereo
Ratio: 4:3
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