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74 of 76 people found the following review helpful:
5.0 out of 5 stars
The Guide to The Hitch-hikers Guide to the Galaxy, 13 Mar 2004
THE SERIES:
Some reviewers have described this TV series as a poor reflection on the radio series. Although I can see I am in the minority, I think it is an improved version of that series. Take the script: Firstly, with Douglas Adams knowing how the series would progress, certain lines are removed, allowing the character of Ford Prefect and The Guide itself to make a lot more sense. Secondly, Douglas Adams rewrote much of the sixth episode to add a much better storyline which he later went on to use in the second book.
After the Script, there's the Cast: Simon Jones, Peter Jones, Mark Wing-Davey, Stephen Moore and Richard Vernon return to play their original roles- very, very well of course. Whilst the major additions of David Dixon and Sandra Dickinson fall into place well. In my opinion, David Dixon was a better choice than Geoffery McGivern would have been, and Sandra Dickinson acted very well. As for the effects- who's concentrating on the effects? Some of them are actually quite good, but does anybody complain about the sets in Blackadder or Fawlty Towers? And of course there's The Guide itself- Peter Jones' brilliant narrative accompanied by some good looking false computer effects. Although many people don't like these effects, I think they are really very good looking, and one of the major selling points of the series.THE DVD:
One of the major things to talk about is the soundtrack. The new stereo is excellent compared to the old mono track which has also been left on. The picture quality is amazing. Also worth noting is that the series does not include cuts made for the 1992 video or the TV Broadcast. The extra features, too numerous to list, are also very good. The documentary (Not made for the DVD) is like a whole new episode of Hitch-hikers, with Peter Jones, Simon Jones, David Dixon, Martin Benson and Marvin returning to do fifteen minutes worth of acting. The documentary includes contributions from almost everybody- including Adams himself. There is also a second part to this documentary, which includes bits not included in the original episode. The other extra feature worth noting is a nine minute introduction to the series from Peter Jones (You can finally see what he looks like!) The smaller extra features- Tomorrow's World, Pebble Mill etc. are good to see, but unlike the documentaries and Peter Jones, you wouldn't watch them more than once. The DVd also includes a run of adverts, a photo gallery, an originally cut scene (Which Imust admit- I didn't understand at first) and on the first disc- an easter egg feature. What I should tell you about this is it's kind of hard to get too, and what you'll get in the end is a film (With no sound) of what the title sequence was originally going to look like (It did look better than the one they stuck with) followed by a bit of text which was eventually left out of the guide entry on PanGalacticGargleBlasters
On the series itself there are trivia subtitles- which are quite interesting, and using the 'Play All' feature, there are two special DVD inserted parts- A small pre-series gag, and before episode 2, a script for an never recorded scene. Aesthetically, this is a gem- a nice box with nice menus- and I don't think there's much more to say on that I've had this DVD for six months and it is one of the best DVDs I have ever purchased- If you've read the books but never seen the TV series- buy this- If you are thinking of going to see the film- buy this instead. If you're a life-long fan- what are you reading my review for- Just buy it
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DVD ~ Martin Freeman
by Douglas Adams
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