Bad news for TV viewers who wanted to watch something slightly more original than the typical detective show. BBC4 has finally decided to axe Dirk Gently, the TV series freely adapted from the Douglas Adams books.
We learnt the news from the series star Stephen Mangan who wrote on his Twitter account that "It gives me no pleasure whatsoever to report that the BBC have decided not to make any more Dirk Gently".
As a Radio Times article point out "The pilot episode was watched by almost 1 million viewers when it first aired on BBC4 in December 2010. But a series of three hour-long episodes shown in March this year saw an initial average audience of 844,000 fall to less than 600,000 by the final instalment. "
If you want to bring Dirk Gently back on screen (we can always dream), you can sign the petition on avaaz.org
Happy Towel day to everybody. If you don't want to spend this special day alone, go to http://www.towelday.org and check if there's something happening in a place not to far away from you.
Have a nice day !
As you probably already know The Hitchhiker’s Guide To The Galaxy Radio Show, Live! will tour the UK from the 8th June to the 21th July. A special event with all the main actors from the original cast (Simon Jones, Geoff McGivern,...). The great Peter Jones, who was the voice of the book, won't be able to attend, being dead for now more than ten years. Dirk Maggs, director of the show, solves the issue in an original way : Each show will feature a special guest as the Voice of the Book.
Three names have been already confirmed. Billy Boyd has been confirmed as the first guest Voice of the Book, appearing in Glasgow on both 8th and 9th June. John Lloyd, is voice-of-the-book for the Cambridge dates (16 and 17th July) and Neil Gaiman will be the guest Voice of the Book for the final tour date in Edinburgh on 21st July.
For more informations (and a list of all dates), check the official website :
Nick Webb just passed away the 10 or 11th April 2012. He first met Douglas Adams in 1978 and managed to sign a book deal with Douglas Adams for Pan Books shortly after the radio series' huge success (the BBC declined to sign a book version of the Hitchhiker's Guide to the Galaxy because radio adaptations didn't sell !).
Even if professionally it was his last contact with Douglas (he left Pan Books shortly after he signed Douglas), they remained very good friends.
In 2003, he published Douglas Adams' authorized biography "Wish you were here".
I personally met Nick Webb in person in 2004 on the filming of the Hitchhiker's Guide to the Galaxy movie. He offered me twice hospitality when I came in London, and had the luck to have great breakfasts with him. He was one on a kindest man I ever met. I saw him for the last time a few weeks ago during Douglas' Virtual 60th.
Imagine... An all star cast giving a stirring homage to a long-time dead writer in front of 3.000 enthusiastic fans.
Imagine dancing rhinos, some scientists doing one man shows, Terry Jones explaining how he almost got killed with other Pythons by a drunk Adams, impressions of Tom Baker (Dr Who) and of famous scientists, forgotten sketches written or co-written by Douglas almost forty years ago, feelings and situations for which no words exist (till now), a Dalek who may have killed Marvin, David Gilmour (Pink Floyd) playing the solo part on "Whiter Shade Of Pale" voiced by the still mighty Gary Brooker (Procol Harum),... Yes, all that happened olive during a three hour long show the 11th March 2012 for the from now on legendary Douglas Adams Virtual 60th Party.
Such an enthusiasm for Douglas Adams 60th anniversary is an incredible thing. We owe a lot to Dirk Maggs (the guy who among other things directed the last three Hitchhiker radio series) and James Thrift (Douglas' brother) who decided to bring this dream to reality.
It was really thrilling to be in front of the Hammersmith Apollo, with hundreds of people, waiting for the doors to open. Doors on the top on which you could read in large and friendly letters the words "Save the Rhino presents Douglas Adams - the party".
And an incredible party it was indeed. Even if there were parts that were less good than expected (I was a slightly disappointed by the Hitchhiker sketch without Marvin but with a Dalek - it should have been funnier -, and by Terry Jones' interview - it should have been deeper), it was a high quality top notch event. One of great moments was John Lloyd quoting passages of "The Meaning of Liff", and also other feelings and situations that were unnamed till this evening and have been written by fans for the event. "The Meaning of Liff" concept was surprisingly irresistible on stage.
There was also great moment involving Will Adams and Martin Smith (Douglas Adams’s Cambridge-era writing partners) performing a sketch (the Hole in the Wall Club) that they had co-written with Douglas.
Of course maybe best moment came at the end, with David Gilmour, who stayed during all the show in the audience with his family (three rows behind me!), finally climbing on stage to play "Wish you were here" on an acoustic guitar. An event that I dreamt to listen one day since I watched the video were he sang "Wish You Were Here" during the Service of Celebration held for Douglas at St. Martin-in-the-Fields, on 17th September 2001. Gilmour stayed on stage to play guitar on two other songs with an all star band including Gary Brooker and other musicians loved by Douglas (Robbie McIntosh, Margo Buchanan, Paul Wix Wickens,...).
It was also great to see Douglas' family on stage at the end looking the screen an extract of the Hitchhiker TV series where Douglas get naked and go away into the sea.
The Show ended quite logically on "What a Wonderful World" sung by Louis Armstrong. Thank you Douglas!
Douglas Adams' family with the band on stage (photo Dr Sinister)
A scene from the Hitchhiker's guide to the galaxy TV series (Picture Dr. Sinister)
I am now waiting with great impatience for the other big event of 2012: "The Hitchhiker's Guide to the Galaxy Radio Show Live!" which will tour in UK from beginning of June to the end of July.
Other reviews or pages about the event you might like to read :
2012 will be obviously a great year for all Douglas Adams fans and particularly march 2012 with not less than the Douglas Adams 60th Birthday Party (the 11th March), the broadcast of the new TV episodes of Dirk Gently (from the 5th March) and... the publication of "Shada" the 15th March !
Shada is a famous Dr Who story that Douglas Adams wrote but whose filming was never completed due to a strike at the BBC.
"Numerous attempts have been made to “finish it off” over the years. A 1992 video release edited together the existing footage with linking narration; Big Finish produced a webcast starring Paul McGann’s Doctor in 2003; there’ve also been a couple of fan-written novelisations. This officially-sanctioned adaptation by new series scribe Gareth Roberts attempts to create a definitive version" writes SFX.
