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[I "lost" the post that contained the reference to HGttG]
 
Oopss. I had completely missed the reference. See, the Hitchiker's
Guide was never that popular outside English-speaking countries, and I
just "happen" to live in the US... I lived in Italy most of my life.  
 
However, I did some research and "expanded my horizons"  : ).  
 
Ciao,
Simo

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In article <g46n91hetudl02pm1dj6nlpjfln11u4o2b@4ax.com>,
 Didimo <didimo@SPAMMATUAMAMMAsbcglobal.net> wrote:
 
> [I "lost" the post that contained the reference to HGttG]
>  
> Oopss. I had completely missed the reference. See, the Hitchiker's
> Guide was never that popular outside English-speaking countries, and I
> just "happen" to live in the US... I lived in Italy most of my life.  
>  
> However, I did some research and "expanded my horizons"  : ).  
 
Well, whatever you do, don't see the Tombstone - er - Touchstoned  
Pictures theatrical version.  It is way off the mark, and much of the  
humour that makes HHG great is missing, and what remains is poorly timed  
so as to fail to be funny.
 
jt

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jt august <starsabre@att.net> wrote:
> Well, whatever you do, don't see the Tombstone - er - Touchstoned  
> Pictures theatrical version.  It is way off the mark, and much of the  
> humour that makes HHG great is missing, and what remains is poorly timed  
> so as to fail to be funny.
 
Actually, I rate the movie a B+.  Some parts (Zaphod's heads!) annoyed
me, other parts (the Whale) were mis-timed, some of the jokes would be
missed if you don't have a knowledge of the other forms, some of the new
jokes flopped, but some succeeded very well (Arthur Dent's comment on
queues), but mostly it was pretty well done and a good addition to the
HHG canon.  
 
If you go there expecting a film version of the TV series then you'll
be disappointed (I thought the TV series Heart Of Gold looked better),
but if you don't have that filter in place then it works pretty well.
 
--  
                                 Stephen  Harris
                                usenet@spuddy.org
      The truth is the truth, and opinion just opinion.  But what is what?
       My employer pays to ignore my opinions; you get to do it for free.

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In article <837q7d.uhv.ln@spuddy.org>,
 usenet@spuddy.org (Stephen Harris) wrote:
 
> If you go there expecting a film version of the TV series then you'll
> be disappointed (I thought the TV series Heart Of Gold looked better),
> but if you don't have that filter in place then it works pretty well.
 
You, sir, are the first person I have talked with who feels this way.  
And I have talked to several who read the book but never seen the TV  
serial, and all have felt the same way I did about the movie.
 
jt

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jt august <starsabre@att.net> wrote:
 
 
> In article <837q7d.uhv.ln@spuddy.org>,
>  usenet@spuddy.org (Stephen Harris) wrote:
 
> > If you go there expecting a film version of the TV series then you'll
> > be disappointed (I thought the TV series Heart Of Gold looked better),
> > but if you don't have that filter in place then it works pretty well.
 
> You, sir, are the first person I have talked with who feels this way.  
> And I have talked to several who read the book but never seen the TV  
> serial, and all have felt the same way I did about the movie.
 
I've read the books, watched the TV series, listened to the radio series,
the records, Stephen Moore reading audio books, read the scripts...  I've
been into HHHG for over 20 years.
 
Curiously, everyone I know in meatspace agrees that the film did pretty well.
 
--  
                                 Stephen  Harris
                                usenet@spuddy.org
      The truth is the truth, and opinion just opinion.  But what is what?
       My employer pays to ignore my opinions; you get to do it for free.

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"Stephen Harris" <usenet@spuddy.org> wrote in message
news:ka2s7d.la6.ln@spuddy.org...
> jt august <starsabre@att.net> wrote:
>
>
> > In article <837q7d.uhv.ln@spuddy.org>,
> >  usenet@spuddy.org (Stephen Harris) wrote:
>
> > > If you go there expecting a film version of the TV series then you'll
> > > be disappointed (I thought the TV series Heart Of Gold looked better),
> > > but if you don't have that filter in place then it works pretty well.
>
> > You, sir, are the first person I have talked with who feels this way.
> > And I have talked to several who read the book but never seen the TV
> > serial, and all have felt the same way I did about the movie.
>
> I've read the books, watched the TV series, listened to the radio series,
> the records, Stephen Moore reading audio books, read the scripts...  I've
> been into HHHG for over 20 years.
 
You forgot "played the Infocom computer game..."
 
> Curiously, everyone I know in meatspace agrees that the film did pretty
well.
>
>                                  Stephen  Harris
>                                 usenet@spuddy.org
>       The truth is the truth, and opinion just opinion.  But what is what?
>        My employer pays to ignore my opinions; you get to do it for free.
 
I'm also a big HHG fan, and have been so ever since I first read the book
and listened to the radio show back in the early 80's.  I think that HHG
doesn't work as well in a visual medium.  If I had to rate them, I'd put the
radio show first, followed by the books, then the new movie, and finally the
television series.
 
The television show was pretty good considering it was pre-CG, but Zaphod's
robotic heads and some other cheesy effects ruined it for me.  I also
disliked Trillian intensely.  I thought the radio actress was much better
(and I liked the radio Ford Prefect better as well).  As for the recent
movie, I think they did the best they could.  Arthur and Ford were fine.
Trillian was actually okay, and I didn't mind the romantic subplots.
Zaphod...well, I like Sam Rockwell, but the character is more cunning and
less stupid in the radio shows/books.  In the film he's just an airhead with
a Fabio-like mane of hair.
 
The books were good when they were based upon the radio programs with some
added/expanded material.  By the time Adams got around to writing "Mostly
Harmless" and even "So Long and Thanks For All The Fish," I felt that the
magic was gone.  His writing was better-suited to the radio scripts, IMO.
 
(One scene that I would have liked to have seen in the recent movie was the
airplane with the passengers in suspended animation because the robotic crew
is waiting for lemon soaked paper napkins...that would have been freaky!).

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Background:  I read the books, saw the TV series.  Never played the  
game or listened to the radio series.
 
My issue with the movie was this: There was simply no way to encompass
everything that happened in the books into the movie.  So, there was  
no real "good" place to end it.  They had to pick a point in the story and  
simply end it there.  The point that was picked was as good as any.
 
I do think it could have been funnier, I do think there are some  
sub-plots that could have been put back in.  I liked the dolphin song.
I wanted to see more of Marvin.  Visually, it worked well-- and this is  
from someone who cherishes the low-budget look of the TV series.
 
IMO, this actually makes a sequel a worthwhile proposition.  There's more
than enough story left, and there's plenty of fan feedback to guide
the making of the next one.  
 
It could have been a lot worse.  
 
 
 
--  
 
Aaron J. Bossig
 
http://www.GodsLabRat.com
http://www.dvdverdict.com

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In article <28GdnTgu_KPjxT_fRVn-gQ@comcast.com>,
 "Android" <androvich@NOcomcastSPAM.net> wrote:
 
> > I've read the books, watched the TV series, listened to the radio series,
> > the records, Stephen Moore reading audio books, read the scripts...  I've
> > been into HHHG for over 20 years.
>  
> You forgot "played the Infocom computer game..."
 
Which I replayed in a recent attack on my Infocom Classics CDs.  I also  
love Bureaucracy which is missing from the collections.
 
> I'm also a big HHG fan, and have been so ever since I first read the book
> and listened to the radio show back in the early 80's.  I think that HHG
> doesn't work as well in a visual medium.  If I had to rate them, I'd put the
> radio show first, followed by the books, then the new movie, and finally the
> television series.
 
I disagree.  The books rate highest in my opinion, with the brit telly  
serial next, the radio close behind and the Touchstoned movie way down  
in the pits.  It is far too Americanized, for starters.  The humour  
timing is all off, and many humourous subplots such as the argument  
between the computer guys who built deep thought and the philosophers  
who feared being put out of work.  And the execution of so much of the  
retained "book" humour is so fast talking Americanized, that unless you  
are paying very close attention, it flies past.  Just try to take in the  
battle of the Vl'hurgs vs. the G'Gugvuntt in the closing credits.  Much  
of the undertext surrounding the narrative in the book and brit tv  
serial is missing from this, axed down the the American attention span,  
and most of the laughs from it are gone.
 
Also missing from the movie ar such gems as the uncharted backwaters of  
the western spiral arm of the galaxy, Zaphod being described by  
Eccentrica Gallumbits as the Best Bang since the Big One, talk of  
digital watches and the clasic having the supervisor lie down, as you  
say, in the mud.
 
> The television show was pretty good considering it was pre-CG, but Zaphod's
> robotic heads and some other cheesy effects ruined it for me.  
 
One thing I like about brit sci-fi is that they make up for lack of  
ability to afford ILM-style effects by creating stories engaging enough  
to keep the mind going.  Even Red Dwarf is not up to Star Wars/Trek  
standards, but I enjoy it much more than those two.
 
> I also
> disliked Trillian intensely.  I thought the radio actress was much better
> (and I liked the radio Ford Prefect better as well).  
 
I still regard Sandra Dickenson as the definitive Trillian.  I also got  
to me her back in the 80's, just after she and her husband, the Cow at  
Milliways a.k.a. the 5th Dr, Peter Davidson, had had their first baby.  
Not only was she still a babe, but I got to meet with her semi-privately  
for a local TV interview I was camera opping, and she was so  
tremendously charming and witty. with the same wry temperament that made  
her an idea choice to play Trillian.
 
> =As for the recent
> movie, I think they did the best they could.  Arthur and Ford were fine.
 
Arthur here was brit, but under American direction his timing was  
horrible.  Ford was better, but I prefer the TV Ford on the whole.  So  
much more the mindset of British culture, so the humour worked far  
better.
 
> Trillian was actually okay, and I didn't mind the romantic subplots.
> Zaphod...well, I like Sam Rockwell, but the character is more cunning and
> less stupid in the radio shows/books.  In the film he's just an airhead with
> a Fabio-like mane of hair.
 
How can Trillian be an American and work?  Totally out of character.  
And Zaphod in the movie never existed in any other form of the story,  
and should not have existed here.
 
> The books were good when they were based upon the radio programs with some
> added/expanded material.  By the time Adams got around to writing "Mostly
> Harmless" and even "So Long and Thanks For All The Fish," I felt that the
> magic was gone.  His writing was better-suited to the radio scripts, IMO.
 
I thorough enjoyed all the books, save for the way the firth book of the  
trilogy ended.  Sadly, I heard rumour (perhaps wishful thinking on  
someone's part, but Adam's never denied this) that a sixth book was  
being contemplated so the saga didn't end on such a down note.  This  
will not happen now that he has passed on.
 
Which brings me back to the movie.  He was just into the first portion  
of the first draft when he passed on, and the writer who took over  
didn't seem to understand the story of HHG and the humour it entailed.  
Nor, it seems, did anyone else involved with the project.  Seriously,  
would Doug Adams have taken a minute sub story about the dolphins  
leaving just ahead of the Vogon arrival, and made it a song and dance  
opening to the movie, thus totally shifting the focus of the movie from  
the "book" to the destruction of the earth?  And does anyone who has  
only seen the movie even know that the Earth was destroyed five minutes  
before its program would have completed its execution"?
 
I shall not be adding the Touchstoned movie to my collection of HHG  
story forms.
 
I will, however, keep enjoying the Infocom Adventure version of it.
 
jt

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"Aaron J. Bossig" <linkvb06@SpammersWillBeExecuted.ptd.net> writes:
 
>I do think it could have been funnier, I do think there are some  
>sub-plots that could have been put back in.  I liked the dolphin song.
>I wanted to see more of Marvin.  Visually, it worked well-- and this is  
>from someone who cherishes the low-budget look of the TV series.
 
I felt there was a serious loose end with Humma Kavula; the POV gun, which
was even better than Hactar's junction bomb, was a great idea and I would
have liked to have seen that played up more. It seemed like that portion of
the plot was dropped on the floor.
 
The Vogons were wonderful, though. However, they should have kept the "sharp
relief" line after Arthur tells Jeltz his critical opinion. I was waiting
for that.
 
>It could have been a lot worse.  
 
I think that sums up my opinion also.
 
--
      Cameron Kaiser * ckaiser@floodgap.com * posting with a Commodore 128
                personal page: http://www.armory.com/%7Espectre/
  ** Computer Workshops: games, productivity software and more for C64/128! **
                  ** http://www.armory.com/%7Espectre/cwi/ **

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In article <fmtu7d.b1b.ln@spuddy.org>,
 usenet@spuddy.org (Stephen Harris) wrote:
 
> As I understand it, "So Long And Thanks" was written under pressure from
> the publishers and fans; Adams didn't want to write HHG any more.  And
> so when we finally got "Mostly Harmless" he brings a pretty definitive
> close to the whole thing.  No more HHG after that!
 
Except that the Earth is in the zz (double zed) quadrant, which is  
unstable.  The Earth came back once, and the is a rumour circulating  
that Adams had some idea notes for a possible sixth book.  We regretted  
leaving the Earth destroyed so definitively.  Got an excessive amount of  
grief from that.
 
jt

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jt august <starsabre@att.net> wrote:
> Except that the Earth is in the zz (double zed) quadrant, which is  
> unstable.  The Earth came back once, and the is a rumour circulating  
 
I thought it was the Plural zones that were unstable (which accounted
for Fenchurch disappearing, and the Earth re-appearing).
 
However, Adams dealt with that with the new multi-dimensional guide handling
the probabilities.  As the fifth book (almost) ends..
 
   In the darkness of the bridge at the heart of the Vogon ship, Prostetnic
   Vogon Jeltz sat alone. Lights flared briefly across the external vision
   screens that lined one wall. In the air above him the discontinuities in
   the blue and green watery sausage shape resolved themselves. Options
   collapsed, possibilities folded into each other, and the whole at last re-
   solved itself out of existence.
 
   A very deep darkness descended. The Vogon captain sat immersed in it
   for a few seconds.
 
   `Light' he said.
 
   There was no response. The bird, too, had crumpled out of all possibility.
 
The implication here is that the Earth had "crumpled out of all possibility".
 
Of course, with infinite improbability drives and time travel, it's
perfectly possible to resurrect it, but that clearly wasn't Adams'
intention at the time.
 
> that Adams had some idea notes for a possible sixth book.  We regretted  
> leaving the Earth destroyed so definitively.  Got an excessive amount of  
> grief from that.
 
Probably did, at that :-)
 
--  
                                 Stephen  Harris
                                usenet@spuddy.org
      The truth is the truth, and opinion just opinion.  But what is what?
       My employer pays to ignore my opinions; you get to do it for free.

Archived from groups: rec.games.video.classic (More info?)

In article <starsabre-751784.02133805062005@netnews.worldnet.att.net>,
jt august  <starsabre@att.net> wrote:
>I thorough enjoyed all the books, save for the way the firth book of the  
>trilogy ended.  Sadly, I heard rumour (perhaps wishful thinking on  
>someone's part, but Adam's never denied this) that a sixth book was  
>being contemplated so the saga didn't end on such a down note.  This  
>will not happen now that he has passed on.
 
Adams was writing another book when he died.  It apparently went back
and forth on being either a new Hitchhiker's novel or a Dirk Gently
one.  Although it's unfinished, it has been published, along with some
other Adams writings, under the the original working title, _Salmon of
Doubt_.  Look it up at your favorite book seller.
 
--  
lkseitz (Lee K. Seitz) .at. hiwaay @dot@ net
"Indeed, those who continue to portray the game population as
single-minded loafers are living in their own fantasy world."
     -- Douglas Lowenstein, Entertainment Software Association President

Archived from groups: rec.games.video.classic (More info?)

In article <11ae16ba1j2b377@corp.supernews.com>,
 lkseitz@see.my.sig (Lee K. Seitz) wrote:
 
> In article <starsabre-751784.02133805062005@netnews.worldnet.att.net>,
> jt august  <starsabre@att.net> wrote:
> >I thorough enjoyed all the books, save for the way the firth book of the  
> >trilogy ended.  Sadly, I heard rumour (perhaps wishful thinking on  
> >someone's part, but Adam's never denied this) that a sixth book was  
> >being contemplated so the saga didn't end on such a down note.  This  
> >will not happen now that he has passed on.
>  
> Adams was writing another book when he died.  It apparently went back
> and forth on being either a new Hitchhiker's novel or a Dirk Gently
> one.  Although it's unfinished, it has been published, along with some
> other Adams writings, under the the original working title, _Salmon of
> Doubt_.  Look it up at your favorite book seller.
 
The postings I read that I cannot track down supposedly originated from  
a close friend who was assisting Adam's family in sorting through his  
notes and such after his death.  Things were mixed together and needed  
to be separated so that the materials related directly from the first  
draft of the movie script could be turned over to Tombstone - er -  
Touchstoned.  Reportedly, some untouched notes on how to revive the  
earth from its finality were uncovered, and one of the note related to  
the plural zed quadrants.  But these notes seemed to bear no resemblance  
to the Salmon of Doubt writings he had in progress.
 
jt