Radio series vs TV series

I think that the radio series was better than the TV series but not because you imagine what was going on. The reason it fares better than the show is that it has not dated in any way. The sound effects are as fresh as ever and the use of stereo in masterful. The show however doesn't fare as well in this department as the visual effects have dated and look cheap by modern standards (I know it was low-budget but they still look ropey) and the sound is brought down by using mono.

The main improvement that the radio series has on the show is that the casting is far better. Even the simple characters were a lot funnier in acting terms on the radio show. Even the Prosser character was better on radio as Bill Wallis gave him a funny voice but Joe Melia played him disappointingly straight on the show. The character of Trillian dramatically changed via the switch because on radio she sounded very intelligent and charming but for the show they turned her into a blonde, squeaky-voiced ditz. The character of Ford Prefect also had dramatically differences. On radio, Geoffrey McGivern managed to be both strange and hilarious at the same time but on the show David Dixon did manage to be strange but his performance was too straight for the character that Ford was meant to be.

Apart from that all the performances were spot on and what both mediums achieve is an enduring ability to make people laugh.