Which do you think is better? I know the purists (i.e. my parents) tend to prefer the old mini-series and the radio show (nothing beats the book, in my opinion) but I thought the new movie was much better produced, scripted, acted, and structured than the mini-series. I don't think I want to argue this point, I'm just curious what the general opinion is.
I'll post this on the movie board too...
The TV mini-series wins hands down. I started reading the books in 1983, and dreamed of a theatrical version. I saw the mini-series on TV Ontario, and loved it, but still wanted a film. Have read any number of articles and interviews of DNA in which he expressed frustration over the delays in making a film.
Then the film came out.
Arthur well done by Martin Freeman.
Zaphod was American but great.
Zooey Deschanel as Trillian - very sweet.
Mos Def as Ford Prefect - WTF?????????
And, heresy though it is to say, DNA's added characters and storylines did nothing for me.
Never play around with the original. Even the creator should remember that.
IMHO.
Well Raleigh at least we agree they should not have fooled with the origianl. I think you are a tad confused. David Dixon who played Ford in the televsion series was unutterably awful. Geoffrey McGivern who voiced Ford in the radio show was PERFECT. I agree the movie wa pretty bad. The story did not need to change, you can go back to the original, I never liked the teleison series, I thought it was very disappointing in fact though this movie was worse.
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I didn't like Mos Def either. Dixon kicks his ass without any help.
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Maybe I have a unique insight as I was in on things before it even hit the airwaves.I was working with Geoff McGivern when he was recording the Radio 4 series and so of course listened to it, bought the books,watched the TV series and then the film.
All are different and quite splendid in their own ways as they are all different media . The best ever IS the original first radio series , even series 2 on radio was different in that they had more time and money to spend and bigger names.
so check out the radio version - the pictures are always better on radio !!!!
The old mini series is far better. I watch it every year and still enjoy it greatly. I watched the movie once and have never seen it since.
shareI totally agree and to other Posts: The effects of the original TV Series didn't matter because it got the cast, acting and humor spot on. I read the books first and to me the TV Series is the most faithful to them. I actually Ford in the Tv Series, David Dixon, was the best there has ever been, although I would have liked to see the Ford from the radio series portray Ford on TV.
shareThe BBC series was a lot better.
However the film version was a lot better than initially feared.
Its that man again!!
I've never heard the radio series but I've read the books (loved them), watched the movie (enjoyed aspects of it) and now I've seen the BBC TV series. It was well-written but the production values distracted from the script. Yes, it's low-budget, yes, it's BBC but surely they could've done better for a much loved satire piece? It's not like I'm against low budget TV series, I enjoy plenty of BBC series but most of them aren't sci-fi/fantasy and so they hold up better (yes, even some classic Doctor Who). I'd be the first person to want an intelligent script and interesting characters over great visuals but this takes it too far - the visuals are awful! (besides the Hitchhiker's Guide to the Galaxy book which was good fun and well done). Also, it's possible for a TV series to be too true to the original work - case in point eg. The Narnia BBC series. I think this TV series has the same problem. What works in book form (or radio for that matter) doesn't always work visually.
Simon Jones was decent but I preferred Martin Freeman.
David Dixon was much better than Mos Def but still a bit dull.
Mark Wing-Davey was okay, better than Sam Rockwell's awful interpretation.
Sandra Dickinson was neither intelligent-looking nor sounding - I didn't like her at all. Zooey Deschanel looks better and is more appropriate to the character but she's still not all that good an actor.
Richard Vernon looked like a reject Gandalf. I thought Bill Nighly handled this part beautifully.
Peter Jones was quite good but Stephen Fry was even better.
I loved Bill Bailey as the whale.
Is the original radio series better, worse or about as good as the original book?
[deleted]
I read the books in 2002 and so my first alteration on that I saw (I looked for it after reading the books) was the BBC version. I thought it was kind of campy and outdated, but enjoyed it. Then along comes the movie and I liked the movie, especially after reading that it wasn't an adaption, but a different version of the story. I tend to like it more. I like the style, the actors, and pretty much everything about it, though... the books are still far superior.
The radio series is pretty good, too. I just heard it and am listening to it again for things I didn't catch the first time around. (Partly because I had people talking to me at the time.)
Overall, I'd say:
1. The Books
2. The movie
3. The radio series
4. The miniseries.
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i haven't read the book or heard the radio series, although i'd like to to see/hear both, but i did see the movie and miniseries
while the movie obviously had much better production quality, that is really the only way it is better than the miniseries in my opinion. even with the beautiful Zooey Deschanel and great Sam Rockwell & Alan Rickman, the movie was pretty awful. it, perhaps unavoidably due to time restraints, suffered from atrocious pacing and an outright bad storyline. they cut out so much that it didn't work at all. not too mention they focused on all the wrong things. while the miniseries obviously suffered from a low budget at times, they made it work and created a completely unique feel. of course that's just my opinion and i'm sure i'm missing out on a lot with the books
The TV version is leagues better than the film.
The TV version contains SO much more material from the books/radio eps, plus the casting was on the money...who cares about the cheesy effects/sets, etc? They add a wonderful comic book/cartoon element to the whole affair...I just finished watching the series with a neighbor (who adored it) and it's just no contest...yes, the film had oodles more money going for it, but the casting was flat, dull and unimaginative (Zaphod's second 'head' in his neck?! PLEASE! Even the cornball version in the TV series at least portrayed it as a SECOND HEAD, making Beeblebrox look EXACTLY as I had pictured him when I listened to the radio serial the first time..plus, Mark WD IS Zaphod...PERIOD...;)
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I have to say that I agree with everybody who has said they prefer the television series because it is more faithful to the books/radio series.
I had various reservations about the film, but I think the biggest was the inclusion of the romantic relationship between Arthur and Trillian. The whole point in the original story was that they never had a romantic/sexual relationship. Even when it is discovered that Arthur is the father of Trillian's daughter, Random, we find it was by anonymous sperm donation. To cause the characters to fall in love spoils the sad irony of Arthur Dent's bad luck and makes for an unpleasantly gooey Hollywood ending. Adams would be turning in his grave! Plus, let's not forget that Arthur eventually finds happiness with Fenchurch.
As for the casting, I couldn't believe how terrible it was. I like Martin Freeman, but he is not Arthur Dent. I think Freeman would have been far more suitable as Ford Prefect, as he has the small and strangely cute look, in a similar way to David Dixon. I would have cast Jack Davenport as Arthur, as he is physically a better fit, and has a suitably worried face.
Mos Def is perhaps the most unsuitable and ridiculous example of casting I have ever seen. No, I'm not being racist, he's just got completely the wrong attitude, and has no idea how to do irony in the way that Geoffrey McGivern and David Dixon did.
Alan Rickman was suitably dour, though nobody beats Stephen Moore as Marvin. I would have liked to have seen Rickman as Majikthise - true it's only a small part, but very effective. I'm sure he could have been suitably stroppy.
Well since I'm here...
I've followed H2G2 since the original Radio 4 series (or maybe its first re-run). It was compulsory listening, and if you couldn't recite significant portions verbatim then you were kicked out of the playground.
Certainly, the Radio series was the original, and contains some of the most memorable scenes which were not repeated in other media (AFAIR) - "not an electronic sausage" or "lemon scented napkins" anyone?
Of the versions I am aware of, in chronological order:
1. The original Radio series.
2. The Book.
3. The Records (which wasn't the Radio series).
4. The TV series.
5. ...was there a computer game at some point?
6. The Movie.
The Records (vinyl!) seemed to be a re-recording of the series with the original cast; the story was basically the same, but somewhat simplified or abridged to fit (H2G2 was a double LP, and Restaurant a single LP). I felt somewhat cheated by this version because of that. I think these should be still in a box in my garage - shame I don't have a record player anymore...
While mentioning records - anyone remember that Marvin produced a "novelty" single sometime in the early eighties, following the TV series? "I'm only a robot and I know my place; A metal servant to the Human Race; I know they'll disconnect me by-and-by; ...". The B-Side was a track by Disaster Area! (again, box, garage).
BTW, the TV series Marvin cameos in the Movie.
((Damn, really trawling my memory now - better avoid the playground...))
For what its worth, I found the movie version enjoyable (repeat watchable). I could believe the characters - and the casting did work for me, even though it may have lost some the satire from the earlier forms - those forms will always be around.
((The radio series still has the best visuals...))