Our ongoing series reviewing audio adaptations of Science Fiction, Fantasy, and Horror works. Note that these reviews may contain spoilers.
By John J. Joex
Rating: 5 out of 5 Stars (Highest Rating)
(Queue British accent) The Hitchhiker’s Guide to the Galaxy has this to say about the original radio version of the series:
This is the definitive version of the series and if you have not heard it you have not really experienced The Hitchhiker’s Guide to the Galaxy. And for those who say the books and/or the television series or that dreadful movie are just as good, they are nits! And they deserve to spend eternity in the bowels of the planet Krikkit listening to Vogon poetry after which they will be served as an hors d’oeuvres to the Ravenous Bugblatter beast of Traal!
Okay, maybe the Hitchhiker’s Guide to the Galaxy does not really say that, but the fact is that you need to experience this in its original incarnation, the radio series that first aired in Britain in 1978 then later in the United States on NPR in 1980. I don’t believe that I really need to describe the series, as I assume pretty much every Science Fiction and Fantasy fan is familiar with it, but I will give a brief recap of what the first radio serial covered. This one introduces us to the eternally suffering Arthur Dent who finds himself staring down a construction crew ready to demolish his house to make way for a new bypass (but the plans had been on display for some time in the basement of the local planning office in a locked file cabinet in an unused lavatory). Amidst this, Arthur’s friend Ford Prefect, who as it turns out is actually an alien from Betelgeuse, arrives to warn him that the Earth is about to be destroyed to make way for a new hyperspace bypass (but the plans had been on display on Alpha Centauri for over fifty years). Arthur and Ford escape by hitching a ride on the Vogon spaceship using a sub-ether electronic thumb, much to the dismay of the Vogons who first torture them with bad poetry then jettison them out of the airlock. Facing sure death, they are rescued at the last second against impossible odds (“no, just very improbable”) by the spaceship the Heart of Gold which runs on the Infinite Improbably Drive (“Ford, you’re turning into a penguin! Stop it!”). Commanding the Heart of Gold is president of the galaxy, and all-around trouble-maker, Zaphod Beeblebrox who actually stole this ship. Also on board are the Earth woman Trillian (who Zaphod stole away from Arthur at a party several years prior) and the manically depressed robot Marvin the Paranoid Android. Zaphod has plans to take the ship to the legendary planet of Magrathea where they will get more than they bargained for as they learn the answer to Life the Universe and Everything and then get catapulted far into the future to the Milliway’s, the Restaurant at the End of the Universe. Following that and after another diversion through time, Arthur and Ford discover the true origins of Earth. And all of that in only six episodes!
I first stumbled upon this series during its original run on NPR back in 1980. Three years earlier, Star Wars had generated a boom for the Science Fiction genre and it started to show up everywhere including the radio. The Alien Worlds anthology series hit the airwaves in 1979 followed shortly by a radio adaptation of the first Star Wars movie (watch this column for an upcoming review of that one). So while milling about NPR, one day this odd little series called The Hitchhiker’s Guide to the Galaxy showed up. At first, I was dumbfounded and just didn’t know what to make of it. But I know that I started laughing early and did not stop until it ended (and still kept chuckling long after that). I had never encountered anything quite like this before, and few of its imitators could ever rise to the levels this series achieved with its first season (and the second season kept the laughs coming as well).
Part of the success of Hitchhiker’s Guide to the Galaxy lies in the fact that it does not shoot for an obvious parody of one particular genre work like Spaceballs would do in the 80’s. This one skewers the genre as a whole taking on the pretensions and grand concepts of Science Fiction along with all of the leaps of logic that follow. This gives it more of a timeless appeal as you do not have to know any one particular genre work or era to enjoy its humor. And that humor draws heavily from the irony and absurdity implicit in many Science Fiction concepts while it also immerses itself in the minutia and doldroms of everyday life and all with a cheeky British, Pythonesque bent to it. Plus, and probably most important, Douglas Adams just knew how to write good lines, a rare gift indeed. And all of this comes to life with the original cast that first introduced us to these characters such as Peter Jones as the book, Simon Jones as Arthur Dent (the only person who should ever play the role), Geoffrey McGivern as Ford Prefect, and Stephen Moore as Marvin, the Paranoid Android.
The Hitchhiker’s Guide to the Galaxy has lived on through many versions including a book (good, but some of the humor just does not translate), a television series (well worth checking out), a comic book series (never saw it and didn’t even know about it until recently), and a movie (the less said about that, the better). And each time it has been subjected to modifications to the story to fit the medium. But of all of these, the radio series stands out as the best version (with the television series as a close second). If you have experienced any or all of the other incarnations but missed out on the original version, now is the time to give it a listen. And if somehow you are an unlucky soul who has never encountered The Hitchhiker’s Guide the Galaxy, then grab your towel and your Pan-Galactic Gargle Blaster and prepare yourself for a ride through the infinite reaches of time and space you will never forget!
The first series (referred to as the Primary Phase) is widely available on CD as are the other phases as well all the way up to the fifth series (the Tertiary through Quintessential Phases were actually done last decade, long after the books that inspired them). The Primary Phase CDs also come with a great documentary on the creation of The Hitchhiker’s Guide the Galaxy which is a must-listen for fans of the series. You would think that making a radio series is pretty simple, just have the actors read some lines then throw in some sound effects, but there’s a lot more to it than you realize. You can get the Primary Phase CDs from Amazon.com or Barnes and Noble for around $20 or less and you can also download it from Audible.com and eMusic.com (where you will get the best price because it will cost you $10). This one gets my highest recommendation and all Science Fiction and Fantasy fans should experience the original radio version of the series at some point.
Buy The Hitchhiker’s Guide to the Galaxy Radio Series on CD from Amazon.com:
