DVD Review : The Hitchhiker's Guide to the Galaxy
Time to make room on the shelf for another essential British telly release on DVD. Douglas Adams' extraordinary sci-fi comedy, The Hitchhiker's Guide to the Galaxy (the telly version, naturally) has been given relatively royal treatment by BBC Video. The release is a two disc affair featuring the entire six episode series on disc one and a generous and brilliantly assembled selection of supplements on disc two. The first disc alone would have been a must buy but the bonus material turns the set into an orgy of britcom goodness.
The basic idea behind The Hitchhikers Guide to the Galaxy, for the dozen or so uninitiated on the planet, is that the universe is a far more crowded, diverse and hilariously absurd place then earthlings ever imagined but all but a couple of them never live to find out thanks to the planets demolition a part of galactic highway program. One of the human survivors, a chap named Arthur Dent, and our hero, ends up traversing time and space and discovering the rather unsettling true origin of mankind. Trust me, it's all well acted, brilliantly written and extremely funny. I swear.
Disc one presents, in all it's low tech, low budget glory the entire series, complete with newly remastered stereo soundtrack (as well as the original mono track). Disc two is where the fun begins for those of us who have already memorized the tv series (and radio series and books). Most DVD re-issues of classic material foolishly overlook the massive amount of contemporary material generated by the series (or film or whatever) in the first place. Interviews, promotional clips, conventions, earlier tribute shows - series like these generate tons of ephemera often overlooked by disc producers. Fortunately the producers of this set went the extra million miles or so and came up with more than just your average set of supplements.
Here's what you get:
The Making of The Hitchhiker's Guide to the Galaxy - a t'riffic documentary first unspooled on the BBC back in 1993 and a must watch for even casual fans of the series.
Don't Panic! - An additional 20 minutes of fan friendly footage that didn't make it into the original "Making of" special.
Douglas Adams Omnibus (tribute program) - A first rate review of Adam's work on Hitchhikers - a great addition to the set.
Recording of the radio series - An excerpt from a BBC Education series looking behind the scenes of the radio drama version.
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