Questions about Hitch Hikers Guide.

[drew]

I never read these books, but I'd like to before I see the Movie.
I have the capability of getting my hands of 5 of them (From my father in law)

Questions:
1) Is there More than 5, or is that it?

2)Is the movie going to be based on the whole series, or just the 1st book.

-Thanks, drew

[Cail]

It's a trilogy of 5 books.

My understanding is that the movie is just about the first book.

[Avatar]

Yeah, but IMO, it could as easily have done without the 5th one. Just didn't really like it.

--A

[drew]

It's a trilogy of 5 books.

My understanding is that the movie is just about the first book.

Thanks,
I'm tosed up between reading them next, or checking out Mordants Needs.

[Cail]

I'm about 100 pages into Mirror of Her Dreams and it's pretty good so far. That being said, HGTTG is a much funner read, with each successive book being less fun. Still overall good reads though.

[Sheriff Lytton]

The Mordant's Need books are a superb read. I'd describe them as an adult fairy tale, but with SRD it's never quite that simple....

As for the Hitchiker's Guide books - well, where to begin ?

The film is apparently based loosely upon the first book, some of the screenplay work he did over the last 10 years of his life, and whatever else the people making the film see fit to throw in.

As for the five books in the series:

The first three ("The Hitchiker's Guide to the Galaxy", "The Restaurant at the End of the Universe" and "Life, the Universe and Everything") are absolutely sublime. Douglas Adams could do things with logic, timing, bizarre coincidence and the satirising of sci-fi that no-one else could even dream of. (Robert Sheckley & Kurt Vonnegut are in the same mould, although Adams had a cool detatchment entirely his own).

Anyway, I can't recommend those books highly enough as they're the most refreshing and funny things I've ever read.

I can't remember right now which of the first two books it's in, but there's a bit in which he uses the most impeccable logic to argue that the universe is unpopulated and then goes on to discuss a system of galactic currency which consists of the "Ningi" and the "Pu". I won't even contemplate spoiling it for you or anyone else yet to read it, but every time I read it, I cry with laughter.

Anyway, the fourth book "So Long and Thanks For All the Fish" is a good book, but very surreal and dreamlike and a complete departure from the first three.

The fifth one "Mostly Harmless" is just a very bleak book indeed.

It's a shame he died when he did as he'd acknowledged the shortcomings of "Mostly Harmless" and was talking about writing a sixth book to end the series. Reading what he'd written for "The Salmon of Doubt" before he stalled it looked as though time away from novel writing had helped and jokes/twisted logic were very much back at the forefront of things.

I'm viewing the film with trepidation right now, because it never got made all the time he was alive, despite years of effort on his part. I could be wrong, but it seems to me that now Douglas Adams is dead, the movie industry can finally take the sort of liberties with his work that he wouldn't entertain while he was alive.

I'll still go and see it though, and I really hope I'm wrong !

But just in case it fails to satisfy, I have the original radio series on CD. It more than compensated for the mistake that was the TV programme, so I'm taking my Walkman to the cinema for emergency assistance if the film sucks.

[danlo]

Restaurant and Fish KICK!!!

[Myste]

The best thing about the fifth book was

Spoiler

Arthur Dent finally being happy as a Sandwich-Maker

. It was just so perfect, and so nice to see him happy for once.

I really enjoyed Fish, but agree that the first three are really where the best stuff shows up. I mean, the Babel Fish is quite possibly one of the most fabulous inventions ever.

"I refuse to prove that I exist," says God, "for proof denies faith and without faith I am nothing."

"Well," says Man, "the Babel Fish is dead giveaway, so where does that leave you?"

"Oh sh*t," says God, and disappears in a puff of logic.

[Cail]

The description of Vogon poetry kills me every time I read it. I'm misquoting, but it's something to the effect of a man trying to fight off a pack of wolves while gargling.

I'm being cautiously optomistic about the film.

[The Pumpkin King]

The best thing about the fifth book was

Spoiler

Arthur Dent finally being happy as a Sandwich-Maker

. It was just so perfect, and so nice to see him happy for once.

I really enjoyed Fish, but agree that the first three are really where the best stuff shows up. I mean, the Babel Fish is quite possibly one of the most fabulous inventions ever.

"I refuse to prove that I exist," says God, "for proof denies faith and without faith I am nothing."

"Well," says Man, "the Babel Fish is dead giveaway, so where does that leave you?"

"Oh sh*t," says God, and disappears in a puff of logic.

Ahh, yes. The Sandwich Maker, and Perfectly Normal Beast. That was incredible. Most of the books are, really.

[Sheriff Lytton]

Here's the bit that always kills me.

The Universe — some information to help you live in it.

1) Area: Infinite.

The Hitch Hiker's Guide to the Galaxy offers this definition of the word "Infinite".

Infinite: Bigger than the biggest thing ever and then some. Much bigger than that in fact, really amazingly immense, a totally stunning size, "wow, that's big" time. Infinity is just so big that by comparison, bigness itself looks really titchy. Gigantic multiplied by colossal multiplied by staggeringly huge is the sort of concept we're trying to get across here.

2) Imports: None.

It is impossible to import things into an infinite area, there being no outside to import things in from.

3) Exports: None.

See imports.

4) Population: None.

It is known that there are an infinite number of worlds, simply because there is an infinite amount of space for them to be in. However, not every one of them is inhabited. Therefore, there must be a finite number of inhabited worlds. Any finite number divided by infinity is as near to nothing as makes no odds, so the average population of all the planets in the Universe can be said to be zero. From this it follows that the population of the whole Universe is also zero, and that any people you may meet from time to time are merely the products of a deranged imagination.

5) Monetary Units: None.

In fact there are three freely convertible currencies in the Galaxy, but none of them count. The Altairan Dollar has recently collapsed, the Flaninian Pobble Bead is only exchangeable for other Flaninian Pobble Beads, and the Triganic Pu has its own very special problems. Its exchange rate of eight Ningis to one Pu is simple enough, but since a Ningi is a triangular rubber coin six thousand eight hundred miles across each side, no one has ever collected enough to own one Pu. Ningis are not negotiable currency because the Galactibanks refuse to deal in fiddling small change. From this basic premise it is very simple to prove that the Galactibanks are also the product of a deranged imagination.

6) Art: None.

The function of art is to hold the mirror up to nature, and there simply isn't a mirror big enough — see point one.

7) Sex: None.

Well, in fact there is an awful lot of this, largely because of the total lack of money, trade, banks, art, or anything else that might keep all the non-existent people of the Universe occupied.

However, it is not worth embarking on a long discussion of it now because it really is terribly complicated. For further information see Guide Chapters seven, nine, ten, eleven, fourteen, sixteen, seventeen, nineteen, twenty-one to eighty-four inclusive, and in fact most of the rest of the Guide.

Now that's how I like my logic to misapplied. Anyone got change of a Pu ?

[CovenantJr]

Heh.

The first three are great, but Fish is probably my least favourite. It's too strange, and even after several reads between the ages of 11 and 23, I still don't know why

Spoiler

Fenchurch floats.

I detested Mostly Harmless the first time, then quite liked it the second time. It's definitely the bleakest of the five. I liked

Spoiler

Arthur coming over all parental when he followed Random into the woods - how touching

but I didn't like

Spoiler

the new Guide.

[Myste]

Heh.

The first three are great, but Fish is probably my least favourite. It's too strange, and even after several reads between the ages of 11 and 23, I still don't know why

Spoiler

Fenchurch floats.

I think

Spoiler

Fenchurch floats because she represents the disconnect between Earth Mark One and Earth Mark Two. Her feet don't touch the ground

because

Spoiler

her head can't contain both Earths at the same time.

[MsMary]

Yeah, but IMO, it could as easily have done without the 5th one. Just didn't really like it.

--A

I agree, Avatar. There was some good stuff in the 5th book, but parts were a big letdown for me.

The best thing about the fifth book was

Spoiler

Arthur Dent finally being happy as a Sandwich-Maker

. It was just so perfect, and so nice to see him happy for once.

I really enjoyed Fish, but agree that the first three are really where the best stuff shows up. I mean, the Babel Fish is quite possibly one of the most fabulous inventions ever.

"I refuse to prove that I exist," says God, "for proof denies faith and without faith I am nothing."

"Well," says Man, "the Babel Fish is dead giveaway, so where does that leave you?"

"Oh sh*t," says God, and disappears in a puff of logic.

Ahh, yes. The Sandwich Maker, and Perfectly Normal Beast. That was incredible. Most of the books are, really.

Yes, these parts were great.

One of my favorite characters in the Hitchhikers Guide (he's not in the 5th book, as I recall) is Slartibartfast. The name still makes me giggle.

[Myste]

I paraphrase:

"What's your name?" asked Arthur.

"My name is unimportant," said the strange old man. "Now come with me into the heart of this dead planet."

"Er, thanks a lot, but I'd really like to know your name first."

"My name...is....Slartibartfast."

"Slarti-what?!"

"I told you my name was unimportant."

[The Pumpkin King]

Ahhh...I need to read it again.

Hitchhiker's Guide is awesome.

[MsMary]

I paraphrase:

"What's your name?" asked Arthur.

"My name is unimportant," said the strange old man. "Now come with me into the heart of this dead planet."

"Er, thanks a lot, but I'd really like to know your name first."

"My name...is....Slartibartfast."

"Slarti-what?!"

"I told you my name was unimportant."

Haha. Awesome.

[theDespiser]

i havent read Hitchhikers guide yet, but ive read So long and thanks for all the fish, life the universe and everything, and restaurant at the end of the universe..i liked em all...

i HAVE seen the BBC series of Hitchhiker, though...i thought it was hilarious

[Gadget nee Jemcheeta]

The BBC's Hitchhiker... ah, it was the best of times, it was the worst of times..

[Sheriff Lytton]

The bits from the guide were fantastic. The bits with actors in were flawed on many occasions, although I enjoyed the first episode, especially Arthur and Mr. Prosser.