Not to step on my own last post, which I think was good, but last night upon searching I found that the old 1981 BBC version of The Hitchhiker's Guide To The Galaxy can be found on youtube. In pieces, surely, but as far as I know it is there to the third episode. That's as far as I got last night.
It is only about a million times better than that piece of unbelievable shit that was released in 2005.
We were all excited about the new version. We thought they would just take the old BBC show and make it with, you know, a budget. Jazz it up, prettify it. We did not know that the Hollywood plan was to piss all over Douglas Adams.
If you're not familiar with the BBC version, you will notice the difference almost right away in that the narrative and dialogue is lifted straight from Adams' pen. Something which, apparently, it is now impossible to do.
I've owned the BBC version for some time. It's fantastic, even if I wish they'd been able to do more.
ReplyDeleteThe remake was not great, but at least old Marvin made a cameo in the queue scene.
It strikes me as odd that the Guide received such a crappy sendup when his writing is so very easy to visualise, even the expositive narration.
A bit like Pratchett, in that sense. I'm a huge fan of both authors, but wish film/television producers would stop trying to muck about with it.
It worked for a reason. Figure that reason out.
Arduin: hear hear.
ReplyDelete