Hitchhiker's Guide to the Galaxy

[Andrew Bichard]

In today's Guardian Newspaper here in the UK, there was an article about the BBC's announcement that it was planning to turn Douglas Adam's second and third Hitchhiker books into radio shows. (The first book was originally awritten as a BBC radio show in the early 1990s and later adapted for television using the same cast). Many of the original cast will reprise their original roles.

The article goes on to say that this has only become possible recently, because only now have the rights to all three books come under common ownership, the new owner being Disney.

The article also says a movie is planned for next year.

Does anyone know more? Disney? Miramax? Cartoon? Live actors? Original cast? New cast?

Andrew

 

[Horace Horsecollar]

Info: http://movies.go.com/movies/H/hitchhikersguidetothegalaxythe_2002/

Official site: http://hitchhikers.movies.go.com/main.html

 

[Magix]

Holy Zarquon! Thanks for the link to the official site, Horace! Just read the "interview" with the writer and it sounds like he's really taken the right approach to working with Douglas' material. Oh, heavens, I can't wait until this movie comes out.

Thanks also, Andrew, for the info on the new radio series. It would be terrific to hear it! Wonder if David Dixon will be part of the cast? I do love him as Ford Prefect in the TV series.

I've got my towel and I'm ready for the movie.

 

[ford family]

Actually, to be pedantic, the BBC radio and TV shows were based on the first two books ("Hitch-hikers Guide to the Galaxy" and "The Restaurant at the End of the Universe"), as will the Disney film. The new BBC radio show will be based on the last three books, "Life, The Universe and Everything","So long, and thanks for all the Fish" and "Mostly Harmless".

ford family

 

[Andrew Bichard]

Originally posted by ford family
Actually, to be pedantic, the BBC radio and TV shows were based on the first two books
ford family

I always thought the BBC radio series came first, then the books, not the other way around.

I finally found a link to the article in the Guardian regarding the new radio shows.

http://books.guardian.co.uk/news/articles/0,6109,1244607,00.html

The new radio series based on Life, the Universe & Everything, will be broadcast on BBC Radio 4 in six parts starting in September , with a further eight part series planned for next year based on the remaining two books.

Most of the original radio cast will reprise their original roles, including Geoffrey McGivern as Ford Prefect (sorry Magix). The new series will also feature the voice of Douglas Adams.

I would guess the series will be repeated on BBC World Service on short wave.

Andrew

 

[dcentity2000]

Here's some trivia: if the BBC World Service acts as a beacon of "all's well" for the Royal Navy. If it ever stops broadcasting, all of the United Kingdom's Ballistic Submarines (Vanguard class) will, upon surface, launch off their salvo of nuclear warheads if no contact can be made with the UK - all 192 of them, each one five times more powerful than the original bomb that America dropped

Kinda takes the fun out of listening to it, really.



Rich::

 

[PKS44]

Originally posted by Andrew Bichard
I always thought the BBC radio series came first, then the books, not the other way around.

You are correct...the radio series came before any of the books.

 

[rwodonnell]

Originally posted by dcentity2000
Here's some trivia: if the BBC World Service acts as a beacon of "all's well" for the Royal Navy. If it ever stops broadcasting, all of the United Kingdom's Ballistic Submarines (Vanguard class) will, upon surface, launch off their salvo of nuclear warheads if no contact can be made with the UK - all 192 of them, each one five times more powerful than the original bomb that America dropped

Kinda takes the fun out of listening to it, really.



Rich::

I'm not sure if you're being serious, but I don't see any evidence in your language or emoticons or whatever to suggest you aren't, so assuming you are serious, I must say this can't possibly be true. I looked at snopes.com but could not find anything with any of the search terms I used, so unfortunately I can't point to documentation that this is a hoax. What exactly would be their target(s) anyway?

 

[Andrew Bichard]

Originally posted by rwodonnell
What exactly would be their target(s) anyway?

Belgium obviously!

Andrew

 

[dcentity2000]

I'm being serious! It's been this way for ever so long, it's just a cheap way to alert the colonies (as were) that the homeland was in trouble



Rich::

 

[Phoebesaturn]

Originally posted by dcentity2000
Here's some trivia: if the BBC World Service acts as a beacon of "all's well" for the Royal Navy. If it ever stops broadcasting, all of the United Kingdom's Ballistic Submarines (Vanguard class) will, upon surface, launch off their salvo of nuclear warheads if no contact can be made with the UK - all 192 of them, each one five times more powerful than the original bomb that America dropped

+

Sorry that is pure #@%!

 

[Magix]

Originally posted by Andrew Bichard
Belgium obviously!

Andrew

Ummmmbaaaa!!! You said a very bad word!!! That should have been moderated!

Oh, and those who said the radio series came before the books are absolutely correct.

 

[dcentity2000]

No, it's not "#@%!". The world service was useful from this point of view especially during the cold war, when America and Russia armed up like mechanical porcupines and the UK found itself laden with warheads, bang smack between the two countries. It was a cheap radio beacon, also useful for entertaining the British (stiff upper lip, what! ) abroad who preferred the link to home. The World Service gets pretty much everywhere, or at least used to. Useful as an indicator as to whether the broadcasters were still about.

Also fun to know is that the London Underground has military use stations under the BBC Broadcasting house and - during WWII - under (that's right, UNDER) Goodge Street (now I believe, sealed up). There are also rumoured ones about Buckingham Palace and Parliament, although those really are just rumours. Abandoned deep level lines in London eventually got used during the war as safe houses for the military.



Rich::

 

[Phoebesaturn]

Sure it is...Nuclear missiles are not automatically launched by any means. There are so many problems with the basic logic of that idea that it boggles the mind why anybody would believe or repeat such nonsense.

Originally posted by dcentity2000
No, it's not "bs". The world service was useful from this point of view especially during the cold war, when America and Russia armed up like mechanical porcupines and the UK found itself laden with warheads, bang smack between the two countries. It was a cheap radio beacon, also useful for entertaining the British (stiff upper lip, what! ) abroad who preferred the link to home. The World Service gets pretty much everywhere, or at least used to. Useful as an indicator as to whether the broadcasters were still about.

 

[mom2rb]

I read the books when I was in high school, in the 80's. Was there another radio show before the one in the early 90's?

 

[dcentity2000]

Originally posted by Phoebesaturn
Sure it is...Nuclear missiles are not automatically launched by any means. There are so many problems with the basic logic of that idea that it boggles the mind why anybody would believe or repeat such nonsense.

Didn't say automatically, silly billy



Rich::

 

[Phoebesaturn]

Originally posted by dcentity2000


Didn't say automatically, silly billy



Rich::

Yeah according to you if the BBC world service goes down England starts Nuclear War and shoots these nukes at who? Why? How do the codes get entered? Lets hope there is not a power outage. Still not buying it.

 

[Andrew Bichard]

Originally posted by mom2rb
I read the books when I was in high school, in the 80's. Was there another radio show before the one in the early 90's?

Hitchiker was first broadcast as a radio play in 1978 and was later adapted into a book.

I remember listening to those shows in 1978 and in my opinion, they were better than the television adaptation in the early 1990's.

I still listen to those shows on CD. ( they were issued as a CD box set of 6 which is now discontinued) I would guess they will be re-issued once the new series goes on air.

Andrew

 

[Distriv]

Originally posted by Phoebesaturn
Yeah according to you if the BBC world service goes down England starts Nuclear War

Originally posted by dcentity2000
. . .will, upon surface, launch off their salvo of nuclear warheads if no contact can be made with the UK. . .
Rich::

Read all of the post. From my understanding, it acts as an early warning system. Am I correct in assuming this Rich?

On the topic of The Hitchiker's Guide, I really have high hopes for the movie. I hope they don't screw it up.

 

[Sarangel]

All right, gang, this has gotten 1) Waaayyy off topic and 2) impolite.

I'm closing the thread.

Sarangel