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...
I definitely prefer the movie and I like the book as well. The TV-series was kind of funny but the visuals were so bad and the acting and such was pretty stiff. People may still like the TV-series but honestly the movie gives a bit more respect to the books and I feel it captures the mood better even though it has its own plot. The characters in the movie were much more enjoyable and their acting was better.
Actually I'll be frank: The TV-series had some pretty bad acting from Trillian and a couple of the other main characters which really took away from it.
Now why I think the book and the movie are at equals is because while the book was funny and odd, it didn't have a well structured plot. So the movie was good because it actually made a good plot. In opinion read the book so that you can enjoy the movie more.
I just watched the movie. I kept reading that the acting in the movie was better than the TV series. I didn't see this at all. The movie seems to speed through the scenes and the dialogue seems forced.
shareI think the mini-series was, hands down, much better. Granted, the special effects in the movie were much better.
shareThe mini-series. I hated the film! I only watched the film once when it played in my local cinema (which I saw for free as I was also employed there at the time so at least I can take solace in that I didn't have to pay to sit through it). It's hard for me to recall everything I disliked about it as it was so long ago but I remember disliking Mos Def as Ford. I found him to stale and preferred David Dixon. Also the way Arthur was portrayed was more fun in the mini-series. I just liked his beleaguered middle class twit in comparison to Martin Freeman's amiable every-man. Can't see why Adams felt the necessity to introduce the romance between Arthur and Trillian either. Hardly surprising after this travesty that they was never filmed "The Restaurant at the End of the Universe"!
I'll try to talk about what hasn't been mentioned yet. All this talk about how the TV series stayed true to the book is odd to me. Does anyone remember the ending of the book? The ending of the series is ending of the SECOND book tacked on. I know the ending was added to the previous radio series and that must have been exciting at the time to have these new scenes. But in my opinion, this was a poor way to end the series. The series should have ended as the book ended. You know, the book that the series was named after? Zaphod and Trillian disappear? Marvin, my favorite character, basically dies and that's it? The movie's ending at least was truer to the book's ending with the mice and the Vogons. The TV series was fun and exciting but peters out at the end. I did like that they added the Restaurant scenes and it should have ended there.
The movie's cast was a bit better. Most of the TV cast is superior. But let's face it. The TV Trillian was AWFUL. I know Douglas Adams picked her himself but he made a huge mistake. Really, what the hell happened there? David Dixon was good but there was nothing particularly odd about him. He wore a goofy sweater and jacket. Ooooohhhhh. He seemed like a normal guy. Ford isn't supposed to fit in that well. Mos Def at least tried to be quirky. Plus, a black man with an American accent in a small English town? You get that people would wonder behind his back "how did he get here?" It's been pointed out a million times before that Mos Def is an actor-turned-rapper, NOT the other way around. I thought he did a good job.
That being said, the movie is boring as hell. It just lurched along from one scene to the next. Hardly any story or character development. The ending was truer to the book but wasn't exciting because I didn't care about them. The Hollywoodization of it killed any chance of it standing out in any way. Marvin was Disneyfied into Twiki from Buck Rogers. Despite some negatives, overall, the TV series is far superior and remains a classic.
George Carlin: It's all bullsh-t and it's bad for ya.
Actually the ending of the TV series is exactly the same as the ending of the first Radio series which was before any of the Books were written.
Let Zygons Be Zygons.
I said that the ending was in the radio series. But I said that I wished that the ending of the TV series followed the the ending of first book instead.
George Carlin: It's all bullsh-t and it's bad for ya.
Actually, you're both right and you're both wrong.
The radio series had our heroes escaping from the Restaurant at the End of the Universe in the Haggunenon's spaceship. The Haggunenon Captain (don't ya just love cut-and-paste?) evolves from a comfy chair into the Ravenous Bugblatter Beast of Traal and threatens to eat them, at which point another crew member accidentally evolves into a teleport.
The TV series followed the book's version of those scenes. In other words, the heroes escape in Disaster Area's stunt ship. Yadda yadda yadda up to the malfunctioning teleport.
From there, it was half-way through episode/fit six and the crash-landing of the Golgafrincham Ark Fleet, Ship B, onto pre-historic earth.
The bit that always bugged me was in the radio series, whist talking amongst themselves about how to escape, Arthur offers to share his pocket Scrabble set. I even bought one for myself - such was/is my fandom!! Anyway, meanwhile, back on pre-historic earth, Arthur is trying to teach the caveman to play Scrabble. THAT'S where the set came from, see?!?! For the TV show, they had to pretend that Arthur had MADE a set. Actually, that's pretty funny now I come to think of it. He went to all that effort just so Ugg could spell "libary" with one "R"!
Instant optimism with NASA Further Up Yonder: http://youtu.be/AmS20epgSOYshare
Regardless of the exact origin of the TV series ending, I preferred the ending in the book and that's how I wish the series ended. The movie at least tried to end it the same way.
George Carlin: It's all bullsh-t and it's bad for ya.
Not sure about that. It would have made the TV series only about 4 episodes long! But maybe you have a point: they could have extended the series to include the second book?
Since the movie didn't get the success it should have, that story (Restaurant at the end of the Universe) will probably never be filmed.
I'm actually least familiar with the second book - it's years since I read it. How does it differ to the second radio series?
Instant optimism with NASA Further Up Yonder: http://youtu.be/AmS20epgSOYshare
Yes the TV series is in fact much closer to the version recorded on the Albums than it is to the Radio version.
Let Zygons Be Zygons.
Do you have the original LP too? Have you stuck to the copyright warning?
"When the events on this album take place, only those who have not made a copy of this LP stand a chance of being rescued."
Sadly, that does not include me as I copied onto MP3 file last year!!
Instant optimism with NASA Further Up Yonder: http://youtu.be/AmS20epgSOYshare
Yes I have, and no I won't be rescued either.
Let Zygons Be Zygons.
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Best to worst:
Radio series (all 5 phases)
Novel series
Movie
Mini-Series