Of Doodles, HHGTTG and the Pan-Galactic Gargleblaster
October 14, 2008 6 Comments
A couple of months ago, I bought two new Moleskine notebooks. They’re quite expensive compared to most notebooks, and I always feel a bit stupid buying them, but they just feel better to write in. I can’t explain it. I generally take one with me wherever I go, I’m no artist or poet or anything fancy like that, just for the mundane stuff like writing down dates, places etc. Whilst sat in a Research Methods lecture yesterday, I found a new use for my Moleskine, filling it with my random doodles.
On an entirely different note, I’ve always been a fan of the movie – The Hitchhiker’s Guide to The Galaxy (the one with Zooey Deschanel and Martin Freeman). Recently, I downloaded the original radio series’ of the same name, from the 1970s I think, and been listening to an episode each night before I go to bed. I love them, they’re so ridiculous and quirky and weird. This is just a small example of genius from the mind of Douglas Adams;
One of the things Ford Prefect had always found hardest to understand about humans was their habit of continually stating and repeating the very very obvious, as in It’s a nice day, or You’re very tall, or Oh dear you seem to have fallen down a thirty-foot well, are you all right? At first Ford had formed a theory to account for this strange behavior. If human beings don’t keep exercising their lips, he thought, their mouths probably seize up. After a few months’ consideration and observation he abandoned this theory in favor of a new one. If they don’t keep on exercising their lips, he thought, their brains start working. After a while he abandoned this one as well as being obstructively cynical and decided he quite liked human beings after all, but he always remained desperately worried about the terrible number of things they didn’t know about.
Andrew
What’s a Pan-Galactic Gargleblaster?
The best drink in existence is the Pan Galactic Gargle Blaster The effect of drinking a Pan Galactic Gargle Blaster is like having your brains smashed out by a slice of lemon wrapped around a large gold brick
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I loved the movie! It was perfect.
It wasn’t too far removed from the book/TV series/radio serials as to be offensive. Plus it laid rest to my main concern, in terms of character realisation, namely Zaphod Beeblebrox.
He was cool, dumb and funny, added to which the two heads thing was handled in a very clever way.
For flip’s sake, they even got the theme tune right!
As far as I’m concerned the HHGTTG was just about the best we could ever hope for from a mainstream Hollywood movie of the book/TV series/radio serials.
Roll on the RATEOTU!
PS Wasn’t the Pan Galactic Gargle Blaster eventually revealed to be Coca~Cola?
PPS That may have been a spoiler. Sorry.
Seeing the movie after reading the book, I don’t consider myself to be a huge fan of the movie. It’s OK, but the books are better. I’m tempted to buy the radio series, I stormed through the HHGTTG, trudged through The Restaurant at the End of the Universe and currently picking at Life, the Universe and Everything. I actually wouldn’t mind a refresher of the series so far tbh as well.
Does the radio series go further than the first book? The quandary, quintisential and tertiary confuse me.
Great quote by the way. I’m fairly quiet around most people so can sort of understand what Adams was getting at.
Thanks for the comments, guys.
@Jon I love the theme tune, after I’ve listened to an episode, I always go to bed humming it. Weirdly (for most fans I suppose) I saw the movie first and now listening to the radio series’. I’ve not read the books although I’ve had them for a few years. Beeblebrox’s head situation is great in the movie because and listening to the radio shows, it seems as though he is portrayed as actually having two heads (ie necks) that can talk to each other, although they never really go into detail.
I’m only on Fit the Fourteenth of the Tertiary Phase, so the coca-cola thing is a tad spoiler, but don’t worry about it 🙂
@Chris I’ve not read the books, I’m ashamed to admit. Although I plan to after listening to the whole series’. As I understand it, the original radio series consisted of two series (the Primary and Secondary phases). Then the books were written (at least some of them). Then in 2003/2004 the third, fourth and fifth series of the radio show (the Tertiary, Quandary and Quintissential Phashes) were made, under Adams, before his death. I’m not entirely sure of the exact chronology of the last few books he wrote.
Ah-ha!
There’s nothing wrong with liking the movie. I’m a huge fan of the TV series the books and the radio plays.
And…
As far as I’m concerned it’s perfect. The balance between a good movie and a faithful interpretation is made perfectly.
As for the ‘feem-toon’. For the uninitiated the theme tune is a slightly obscure Eagles track called Journey Of The Sorcerer.
And very cool it is too.
If you want I’ll post the original theme tune at http://www.crackerwax.com?
BTW, I’m listening to Journey Of The Sorcerer right now.
All six minutes, thirty eight seconds of it!
@Jon Thanks for the ‘feem-toon’ tip. Downloading it now.