The Hitchhiker's Guide to the Galaxy was something I had as a kid on cassette tapes as a kid (remember those?) and I listened to them so much over the years that they wore out. So I went out and found these audio CDs. I was actually surprised to discover that there were three more seasons available on radio from the BBC. When the tapes came out, they just had the first two. These are the original dramas, with the original voice acting talents. They sadly lost some of the actors, so the voices for some of the characters (like the voice of the Guide) have changed in "Life, the Universe, and Everything" through to "Mostly Harmless". But it has most of the same actors and everyone involved does a great job. You get the feeling this was a "labour of love" as they would say in the UK. This is a radio drama, not an audio book, so it has music and sound effects that really enhance the experience.
The Details: The Complete Radio Series comes in a box with a hinge at top for storing all of the CDs. They also contain all 5 individual jewel cases plus one bonus jewel case. This is actually very useful for me because I am someone who cannot leave a jewel case out on a surface without it developing a crack.
Primary Phase: Radio Drama of "The Hitchhiker's Guide to the Galaxy". Original complete drama with insert that contains letter by Geoffrey Perkins, track listing and cast credits.
Secondary Phase: Radio Drama of "The Restaurant at the End of the Universe". Original complete drama with insert that contains second letter by Geoffrey Perkins, track listing and cast credits.
Tertiary Phase: Radio Drama of "Life, the Universe and Everything". This one says it has been specially extended by 20 minutes for CD. It is pretty close to the plot of the book. Along with the usual cast list and track listing, it contains two letters, one from Dirk Maggs and another from Bruce Hyman. They explain the long road to getting Hitchhiker's onto the radio again.
Quandary Phase: Radio Drama of "So Long, and Thanks for All the Fish". This is only 2 discs as opposed to three. These episodes have also been extended for CD. This story doesn't quite follow the 4th book, but it is pretty close. The stuff that is different mainly involves Vogons. If you want to know why they decided to change the story in the radio dramas for the Quandary and Quintessential Phases, read the inserts. The one in the Quandary Phase has three: Dirk Maggs, Simon Jones, and the third by both Bruce Hyman&Helen Chattwell. As always, there are cast lists and track lists.
Quintessential Phase: Radio Drama for "Mostly Harmless". The case states these episodes have also been specially extended for CD, but doesn't say by how many minutes. There are 2 discs here. This drama is probably the most dramatically different from the book, and although I enjoyed it, purists of the book might be alarmed. I was lucky enough to actually hear Douglas Adams read from "Mostly Harmless" in person and meet him afterwards at the book signing, and from what he said that evening, I think he would have approved of this radio version. The usual suspects (Dirk Maggs, Simon Jones, Bruce Hyman, and Helen Chattwell) are back in this insert to discuss what it was like to work on this radio drama and why they made the changes to the plot that they did. So if you are curious about it, read them. As ever, cast lists and track lists!
Bonus Disc: This contains two short BBC radio shows: "Kaleidoscope" from 1980 by Rob Buckman, which has interviews with all sorts of people about the Hitchhiker's Guide, including Douglas Adams and Ken Campbell, and "Six Characters in Search of an Answer:Arthur Dent" by Barry Cryer from 2002 features interviews with Douglas Adams, Simon Jones, and Geoffrey Perkins. They have never been released on CD before. The first one is about Hitchhiker's in general, and the second one is about Arthur and why he is so popular. It is short but a nice extra for fans.
It was very nice to find these discs and the company shipped them to me quickly and in great shape. I enjoyed the chance to catch up with my old favorite episodes and was thrilled to discover three more series I had never heard before, as well as a bonus disc. If you like the Hitchhiker's series, you will enjoy these CDs. They are funny and sillly and smart and everything we love about Douglas Adams. Somewhere, Douglas Adams is smiling and drinking tea in a bathrobe while listening to these CDs.
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