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I've always thought the original radio series worked the best. The books were a radio series rendered to paper (and different, but that's a whole other Douglas

I've always thought the original radio series worked the best. The books were a radio series rendered to paper (and different, but that's a whole other Douglas Adams story), and lost something significant in the process. Though I've read and re-read all six of the trilogy. Maybe it's just not your thing - there's always some comedy that falls flat for one, and is funniest thing ever for another. Personally I find his take on modern life, tech, and human interaction pitch perfect. Why not a fish for translation? :)

butterfi 7y ago
I totally agree. I remember hearing HHGTTG on PBS radio the same way I remember seeing Star Wars for the first time. Completely mind blowing for a 12 year old. Both HHGTTG and Monty Python were like secret knowledge in my school and if you met anyone who had even heard of either, you knew you had found a kindred spirit.
- DavidAdams 7y ago
  Incidentally, did you ever listen to the NPR Star Wars radio drama? https://www.npr.org/2015/12/18/460269884/that-time-npr-turned-star-wars-into-a-radio-drama-and-it-actually-worked https://www.npr.org/2015/12/18/460269884/that-time-npr-turne...
jfengel 7y ago
Personally, I felt the novels worked better than the series, at least for the original series. A lot of great jokes were invented after the series. Sometimes a joke on the radio seems unfinished, as if he didn't really know how his own joke worked until afterwards. (Or maybe he had it right all along but it didn't get into the script. He was famously late with his assignments.) The second series in particular didn't seem to work very well. He never translated the Lintilla plotline into the novels, and I feel that's for the best. The actors, of course, were brilliant, and the Radiophonic Workshop production was amazing. I've really enjoyed the way they resumed the series, and you'd hardly know there was a two decade gap between series 2 and 3. I can definitely understand being in love with it. But as a matter of taste, I feel like the book versions of the first two series (the ones where the show preceded the novel) were actually better.

butterfi 7y ago

I totally agree. I remember hearing HHGTTG on PBS radio the same way I remember seeing Star Wars for the first time. Completely mind blowing for a 12 year old. Both HHGTTG and Monty Python were like secret knowledge in my school and if you met anyone who had even heard of either, you knew you had found a kindred spirit.

DavidAdams 7y ago
Incidentally, did you ever listen to the NPR Star Wars radio drama? https://www.npr.org/2015/12/18/460269884/that-time-npr-turned-star-wars-into-a-radio-drama-and-it-actually-worked https://www.npr.org/2015/12/18/460269884/that-time-npr-turne...

jfengel 7y ago

Personally, I felt the novels worked better than the series, at least for the original series. A lot of great jokes were invented after the series. Sometimes a joke on the radio seems unfinished, as if he didn't really know how his own joke worked until afterwards. (Or maybe he had it right all along but it didn't get into the script. He was famously late with his assignments.) The second series in particular didn't seem to work very well. He never translated the Lintilla plotline into the novels, and I feel that's for the best. The actors, of course, were brilliant, and the Radiophonic Workshop production was amazing. I've really enjoyed the way they resumed the series, and you'd hardly know there was a two decade gap between series 2 and 3. I can definitely understand being in love with it. But as a matter of taste, I feel like the book versions of the first two series (the ones where the show preceded the novel) were actually better.