Life, Douglas Adams and H2G2

H2G2 Live on Tour in UK, the site and first dates

2011-12-22T07:39:00.000-08:00

The Hitchhiker's Guide to the Galaxy Radio Show Live will tour the UK from the 8th June. Already 18 dates have been confirmed and you can start booking now.

The Hitchhiker's Guide to the Galaxy Radio Show Live will star the original radio series cast including Simon Jones (Arthur), Susan Sheridan (Trillian), Geoffrey McGivern (Ford), Mark Wing Davey (Zaphod) and Stephen Moore (Marvin).

The show will be adapted, written directed by Dirk Maggs who already directed for Radio 4 the radio adatpations of the last three H2G2 books and the two Dirk Genlty books.

The show will only be available latter as downloads and CD (but no DVD). According to Dirk Maggs, "show downloads will only be available to people who've attended that night's show *BUT* there will be a special CD recording for general release which will be extra specially super in ways we are still dreaming up!".

For the dates, and links to websites where you can start the booking frenzy, please go on the official website :

http://www.hitchhikerslive.com/

Tickets for Douglas Adams virtual 60th birthday Party for sale !

2011-12-01T10:09:00.000-08:00

You can now buy tickets for Douglas Adams virtual 60th birthday party that will take place at the Hammersmith Apollo in London the 11th March 2012!

"11 March 2012 would have been Douglas Adams’ 60th Birthday. To celebrate this event, Douglas' family and friends, in association with 'Save The Rhino' (one of Douglas' favourite charities) are holding a very special birthday celebration in his honour at the Hammersmith Apollo in London. The event will feature science, music, comedy and interviews with some very special guests, including Brian Cox, Robin Ince, Terry Jones, Dara O’Briain, Stephen Mangan and many more."

http://www.hmvtickets.com/events/4602

UPDATE :

there is an official website : http://douglasadamstheparty.com/

Among the guests, there are :

- Terry Jones and Michael Palin (Monty Pythons)
- David Gilmour and Nick Mason (Pink Floyd)
- Gary Brooker (Procul Harum)

And many more...

Douglas Adams' virtual birthday party & Hitchhiker Live 2012

2011-11-03T10:10:00.000-07:00

Here are some brand new informations about two upcoming events that any Douglas Adams' fan won't want to miss.

It's the first time we get info about the Douglas Adams' virtual birthday party.

"1) March 11th 2012:
DOUGLAS ADAMS' VIRTUAL BIRTHDAY PARTY - Douglas's family and friends are organising a splendid one-off in aid of Save The Rhino at the Hammersmith Apollo in London to celebrate Douglas's 60th. Tickets will be available. On stage various guest including Pythons, Professors and Plank Pluckers from Douglas's musical friends. More info soon on that from James and me."

We already announced here the upcoming Hitchhiker's guide to the galaxy Live show that will tour in the UK but Dirk Maggs give us more informations on the show and confirmations about the people involved.

"2) June/July 2012:
THE HITCHHIKER'S GUIDE TO THE GALAXY - LIVE!
Our first UK Tour.
Based on the five Hitchhiker novels by Douglas Adams, Adapted written & directed by Dirk Maggs.
Performed live on stage by Simon Jones, Geoffrey McGivern, Susan Sheridan and Mark Wing-Davey, with the voice of Stephen Moore as Marvin the Paranoid Android (we are debuting a new-look Marvin). Live Band led by Philip Pope. Live Effects by Ken Humphrey and Dirk Maggs. Guest Voices Of The Book to be announced. Tickets hopefully on sale by Christmas - we are working hard this week to get bookings finalised. Poster will be sorted soon as well. It's going to be quite something and - though being performed radio-style - very visual too. Just about the most exciting thing I've worked on since we were last all together. Hope you can come."

Jane Belson, Douglas Adams' widow, passed away

2011-09-07T05:47:00.000-07:00

Polly Adams and Jane Belson (oil on Canvas, 2010, Philip Morgan)

Jane Belson just passed away, peacefully during her sleep, this morning 7th september 2011, about ten years after her husband Douglas Adams. She was 59 years old and suffered from cancer for many years.

Jane Belson married Douglas Adams on November 24 1999. They had a daughter Polly born in 1994.

Polly wrote on her twitter account : "I wouldn't change the last 17 year for the world. I could never have asked for a better role model or friend. Rest in peace, mummy."

The H2G2 game is in fact an Ipad/Iphone app!

2011-08-14T10:12:00.000-07:00

Ok, some of you may be disapointed by this news ("What? there won't be an other Hitchhiker game?? But i'm waiting since 1985") but others will be very please to know that, according to Wired.com, Hothead Games is working on an Hitchhiker app for Iphone and Ipad, involving Simon Jones (Yes! Arthur Dent himself!) that "will, essentially, be your own copy of the Hitchhiker’s Guide to the Galaxy — the device from the stories, not the stories themselves. "

"I mean, you can pull up Wikipedia on your smartphone, but will it tell you about the Babel Fish or the Ravenous Bugblatter Beast of Traal? Well, OK, of course it will, because it’s largely written by geeks. But will it tell you about them with cartoons on a soothing green background and tell you about them aloud in Simon Jones’s voice? I think not. "

"The app will be all about the Hitchhiker’s universe, as though you really were using the Guide. Like the Star Trek PADD app that came out recently for iOS, the Hitchhiker’s app will be somewhat interactive, but will not go so far as to be a game. That’s despite the fact that the company that’s producing it, Hothead Games, is (as its name would subtly suggest) primarily a maker of games."

Of course I still wish they make a new computer adventure game from Hitchhiker, but this is great news too. Many tried along the year to make their own Hitchhiker book using a mobile device and wikipedia (see this example : http://io9.com/389983/now-you-can-have-the-real-hitchhikers-guide-to-the-galaxy), but even if wikipedia is often "apocryphal, or at least wildly inaccurate," it is certainly not as funy as the real Guide.

According to an other site, the Application will be ready "this fall. The price will be $0, and it appears as if future entires will be paid downloads". I'm not great fan of additional paid downloads, as it can rapidly become a lot more expensive that what you would have wished to pay for the application. It means also that the free content could be quite limited, and some additional content would be produced only if people are willing to pay for it. If you've got to pay for each entry of the guide you would like to see it would be quickly annoying. Even if it would be quite funny (ir you're a masochist) to pay 0,79 euros for the entry about the planet earth !

Well, anyway, i'm a bit masochist, and I can't wait to install the app on my ipad. I already bought my Don't Panic Ipad case and installed my don't panic wallpaper. Come on guys, i'm ready !!

Don't miss original Hitchhiker TV Series artwork on ebay

2011-07-22T15:53:00.000-07:00

Rod Lord has put a lot of new incredible items on ebay and continues to put new ones each week. So if you're interested with incedible collector items for The Hitchhiker's Guide to The Galaxy TV series, you have to watch very closely this list :

http://shop.ebay.co.uk/rodlord/m.html?_trksid=p4340.l2562

If you don't want to miss any item posted by Rod Lord on ebay join Rod's H2G2 mailing list http://www.rodlord.com/pages/hhgg.htm

New original Hitchhiker TV Series artwork on ebay

2011-07-05T14:41:00.000-07:00

Rod Lord has put on auction four more Hitchhiker's guide to the galaxy TV series artworks. Be careful it's just three day long auctions.

H2G2_ AW_011 : Babel Fish Sequence (early design)

"An item from the early stages of the Babel Fish sequence, the first half of which constituted the initial pilot test piece for the BBC.This item is an early "key" pencil drawing on 305x252 mm animation paper made by Rod Lord in the early stages of planning and layout for the part of the sequence where the Babel Fish turns head on in the centre of screen while a human head appears on the left and an Alien head on the right."

http://cgi.ebay.co.uk/ws/eBayISAPI.dll?ViewItem&item=290584173244&ssPageName=ADME:L:LCA:GB:1123

H2G2_ AW_012 : Babel Fish Sequence (early design)

"An item from the early stages of the Babel Fish sequence, the first half of which constituted the initial pilot test piece for the BBC.
This item is an early "key" pencil drawing on 305x252 mm animation paper made by Rod Lord in the early stages of planning and layout for the part of the sequence where the Babel Fish turns head on in the centre of screen while a human head appears on the left and an Alien head on the right.
The drawing on the left fixed with masking tape is an early stage of the change from the earlier more rounded style to the more "digital" feel of the final animation.
On the back of the drawing is an early stab at a similar change for the Alien's brain."

http://cgi.ebay.co.uk/ws/eBayISAPI.dll?ViewItem&item=290584177955&ssPageName=ADME:L:LCA:GB:1123

H2G2_ AW_013 : Babel Fish Sequence (early design)

"Items from the early stages of the Babel Fish sequence, the first half of which constituted the initial pilot test piece for the BBC.
These two animation cells were traced by Rod Lord and intended for the part of the sequence where the Babel Fish turns head on in the centre of screen while a human head appears on the left and an Alien head on the right.
When these cells were traced the intention was to paint them on the back in the conventional animation technique and use them as artwork layers under the rostrum camera using normal top lighting. They never got painted because the whole approach to technical production changed."

http://cgi.ebay.co.uk/ws/eBayISAPI.dll?ViewItem&item=290584571172&ssPageName=ADME:L:LCA:GB:1123

H2G2_ AW_014 : Babel Fish Sequence (early design)

Items from the early stages of the Babel Fish sequence, the first half of which constituted the initial pilot test piece for the BBC.

This package represents the initial design work for the shift from the early more rounded style to the straighter more digital feel used for the finished work.

1 - A pencil drawing on 305x252 mm animation paper for the Babel Fish.
2 - A pencil drawing on 305x252 mm animation paper for the innards.
3 - A pencil drawing on 305x252 mm animation paper for the skeleton.
4 - An animation cell with a painted outline of the Babel Fish intended for the early intention of conventional top-lighting under the rostrum camera.
5 - An animation cell with a painted mask designed to be used over the outline for when the innards layer would be added.

http://cgi.ebay.co.uk/ws/eBayISAPI.dll?ViewItem&item=290584182030&ssPageName=ADME:L:LCA:GB:1123

H2G2.com's future : the bright side of life?

2011-06-22T09:15:00.000-07:00

On 24 January 2011, the BBC announced cuts of 25% to its online budget and that it wanted to close or dispose of 200 websites... including H2G2.com. The H2G2 researchers soon gathered in The H2G2 Community Consortium to try to save H2G2.com

After months of anguish, yesterday, 21th June, The BBC have confirmed the success of the three-way bid by Robbie Stamp, the Community Consortium and Noesis.

As you certainly know, Robbie Stamp was the former chairman of The Digital Village, the e-company co-founded by Douglas Adams and which released the Starship Titanic computer game and launched h2g2.com in 1999.

Other members of the winning team are Noesis Systems (http://noesify.com/) is an international social media provider and the the h2g2c3 (the interim H2G2 comunity consortium comitee!) which acts on behalf of the h2g2 community.

It's great to have Robbie Stamp on board again, ant the team seems very enthusiasts.

"Our primary objective in this first phase will be to transition h2g2 from the BBC onto Noesis servers. This part of the operation has been dubbed 'No Researcher Left Behind'. We will migrate entries and conversations to Noesis servers and match researchers with their personal spaces. More details of this project are forthcoming, but in the meantime, Don't Panic.

Once h2g2 is running stably and researchers settled into our new home, Phase Two begins and it will be time to focus our attention on building traffic, publishing more official entries more quickly, improving user experience and seeking ways to build revenue, which are likely to include sponsorship and advertising. The original h2g2 was supported by advertising.

Volunteerism has always played a major role in the success of h2g2. Soon teams of volunteers will be assuming the duties currently performed by BBC staff: http://www.bbc.co.uk/dna/h2g2/brunel/A85803384

An overview of the current volunteer schemes can be found here: http://www.bbc.co.uk/dna/h2g2/A42623219. Your help is very welcome.

If Phase Two is successful then it is the clear intention to move to Phase Three, which will mean the creation of a fully commercial 'for profit' entity, with its own Board. This company will assume operational control of the site, will be granted an exclusive world wide license to develop the assets held by the Foundation and will be able to seek external investors.

The Commercial 'trading arm' will be mandated to return a percentage of profits and/or a royalty to the Foundation, which will also be free to fund raise to support its activities in the way that any Charity would be.

It also is our intention to find a 'felt fair' mechanism to reward researchers building the Guide, should we all have created significant value at some stage in the future. Indeed now we have won the bid, we are working with the lawyers to establish the deeds for the Trust and to create the best way of doing just that.

The Community will also have the right to elect a Board Member to the Commercial Company and to elect a Trustee to the Charity Board.

At this stage we would intend that some paid staff be taken on to work full- and part-time with the volunteers. There will also be business development activities as we look for partners, sponsors and advertisers.

Alongside the development of the site, the emphasis in Phase Three will very much be on mobile development. It is this phase, the ability to deliver the Hitchhiker's Guide to the Galaxy on smart phones, that will really take us a big step closer to realizing Douglas's original vision.

One thing that h2g2 has always done very well is develop writers. Through the Hitchhiker's Guide to the Galaxy Foundation we can develop writers not only through the tried-and-true Peer Review process here on the site but also through schools, online tutorials and other charitable trusts. As more writers join our ranks we can build our Guide to Life, The Universe and Everything faster.

This strategy gives us a chance to build on Douglas Adams's original vision. It shows deep respect for and includes the Community, is broken down into realistic steps and has social responsibility at its heart with the creation of the Foundation."

The full text is here : http://www.bbc.co.uk/h2g2/forums/A639056/conversation/view/F77636/T8244180

Upcoming new H2G2 videogame

2011-06-05T07:31:00.000-07:00

This was announced on towel day. Hothead Games will release a new game adaptation of the Hitchhiker's Guide to the galaxy... almost thirty years after the famous Infocom text adventure.

Right now we don't have any further informations. We don't know what kind of game it will be or on which platform it will run, and even when it will be actually released!

Hothead's most famous game is DeathSpank, a game released on XBoxlive and PSN for Xbox 360 and Playstation 3 : "Created by Ron Gilbert, the legendary mind behind Monkey Island, DeathSpank is the rarest of the rare: an honestly funny, fun video game" according to Hothead games! Here is a review at ign : http://uk.xboxlive.ign.com/articles/110/1106111p1.html

Hothead Games has also released "Bunny and the Zombie Slayer" and "Chromanoids" for iphone, and also "Precipe of darkness", an episodic RPG/Adventure based on the popular comic strip "Penny Arcade" (pc/mac/PSN/XboxLive).

Hothead games has launched a website (well a webpage right now) for the upcoming Hitchhiker's Guide to the galaxy game that you can see here

Happy Towel Day 2011 !!

2011-05-25T06:09:00.000-07:00

Check http://www.towelday.org - There are Towel Day events everywhere in the world !!!

Don't forget your towel !

Ten years...

2011-05-11T13:07:00.000-07:00

Douglas Adams passed away the 11th May 2001 in California. He was only 49 years old. He had so many things do yet. He is still dearly missed by his family and his fans.

Hitchhiker Live 2012 : Exclusive interview with Dirk Maggs !

2011-04-28T12:56:00.000-07:00

Dirk Maggs (the guy in the middle of the picture) during the rehearsals of Hitchhiker Live at the Hitchcon in 2009

Dirk Maggs, who is going to adapt and direct the upcoming Hitchhiker Live event that will tour the UK in 2012, has agreed to answer a few questions in exclusivity for douglasadams.eu.

Read Dirk Maggs' answers about the upcoming HITCHHIKER'S GUIDE TO THE GALAXY RADIO SHOW - LIVE

H2G2 live will tour the UK in 2012!!!

2011-04-25T04:23:00.000-07:00

Some days ago, James Thrift, Douglas Adams' brother, announced that we should "Watch out for some fantastic Hitchhikers news on it's way soon!"

Simon Jones finally announced it on Radio 3 on Monday 25th : "THE HITCHHIKER'S GUIDE TO THE GALAXY RADIO SHOW - LIVE !" will be "a major UK touring event for 2012".

The show will star all the main original cast still alive including SIMON JONES as ARTHUR DENT GEOFFREY McGIVERN as FORD PREFECT STEPHEN MOORE as MARVIN SUSAN SHERIDAN as TRILLIAN and MARK WING-DAVEY as ZAPHOD BEEBLEBROX.

The show will be adapted, written and directed by DIRK MAGGS (yes the genius who did Hitchhiker Live at the Hitchcon and also adapted and directed the three last books of H2G2 for Radio 4 and also the two Dirk Gently books). PHILIP POPE will be the musical director.

Of course, this is great news for all Hitchhiker fans! I hope to publish an interview with Dirk Maggs very soon on http://www.douglasadams.eu.

Here is the press release : "Arthur Dent is having a bad day. Both his house and his planet have been demolished. The girl he really - really - fancies is on the third arm of a two-headed alien. His best friend isn't from Guildford after all, but a small planet near Betelgeuse. He can't find a decent cup of tea because there's no such thing any more. And he's still wearing his dressing gown.
Next year, UK theatre audiences will be able to experience the world's favourite sci-fi comedy at first hand, by those who helped create it, from the Heart Of Gold to the Restaurant At the End Of The Universe, performed live on stage by Simon Jones and the original Hitchhiker's cast, re-creating their iconic characters in a radio-style show filled with laughter, really wild sound effects and drinks with extremely silly names.
Douglas Adams's legendary comic sci-fi saga is packed with unique cultural and comedy 'firsts'. It spawned six best-selling novels, five award-winning BBC Radio series, a Television series and a blockbuster movie. Translated worldwide, it was voted Number One Audiobook Ever and one of the Best Loved Books In Britain. Its unique, irreverent and hilarious views on everything from Tea-making to Towels have won it an ever-growing band of devoted readers, listeners and viewers. This self- contained adventure will introduce newcomers to Babel Fish, Marvin the Paranoid Android and the Ultimate Answer to Life, The Universe And Everything, while delighting Hitchhiker fans of all ages.
Directed by Dirk Maggs - Douglas Adams's choice to conclude the saga in its original medium - The Hitchhiker's Guide To The Galaxy Radio Show Live will explode on tour in the UK in 2012.

Whatever else you do in 2012, make sure you know where your towel is ..."

Note that the event will soon have its own website here : http://www.hhgglive.com

Dirk Genlty TV series : the BBC orders more episodes

2011-03-31T09:10:00.000-07:00

At last, here's some good news (or bad news if you didn't like the pilot). BBC Four has ordered three more one hour long instalments of Dirk Gently. The pilot, broadcast in december, was well received even if some critics and viewers complained because the pilot was not a straight adaptation of Dirk Gently's novels.

According Digital Spy, The programme's star Stephen Mangan has now confirmed that the BBC has asked for some new episodes.

Writing on his Twitter page, he said: "Dirk Gently gets recommissioned! BBC Four have asked for 3 x one hours... No news yet on what they will be about/which bits of the books will be there/when they will be on. (sic)"

Mangan also joked: "That's the good news, the bad news is that Gok Wan will be playing Dirk and Kay Burley will be Richard MacDuff."

When he signed for the part, Mangan said: "I've been a fan of Douglas Adams ever since the Hitchiker's [Guide To The Galaxy]radio series which I used to record as a child and listen to over and over again in my bedroom. It's such a thrill now to be playing one of his brilliant characters. Dirk is a chaotic, anarchic force of nature with a totally unique take on the world. He is described as 'lazy, untidy, dismissive and unreliable'. I've absolutely no idea why they thought I'd be right for the role."

We're still not sure if the Cold Feet actress Helen Baxendale and Darren Boyd, will also be part of the new episodes as Susan and Richard.

Some articles :

http://www.guardian.co.uk/media/2011/mar/31/dirk-gently-to-return-to-bbc4
http://www.guardian.co.uk/media/2011/mar/31/dirk-gently-to-return-to-bbc4

"Shada" will be novelized and published in march 2012

2011-03-25T03:55:00.000-07:00

That's great news for Douglas Adams and Dr Who fans. "Shada" is a lost story written by Douglas (it was partly filmed but it was stopped because of a strike). In 1992, its recorded footage was released on video using linking narration by Tom Baker to complete the story (with a booklet of the full script). Part of the shada storyline was included in the first Dirk Gently book.

According The Guardian, "Large parts of the story had already been filmed on location in Cambridge before industrial action at the BBC brought production to a halt. The drama was never finished, and in the summer of 1980 Shada was abandoned – although various later projects attempted to resurrect it.

Douglas Adams's Doctor Who series are among the very few which have never been novelised, reportedly because the author wanted to do them himself but was always too busy. Gareth Roberts, a prolific Doctor Who scriptwriter, has now been given the job.

Publisher BBC Books declared the book "a holy grail" for Time Lord fans. Editorial director Albert De Petrillo said: "Douglas Adams's serials for Doctor Who are considered by many to be some of the best the show has ever produced. Shada is a funny, scary, surprising and utterly terrific story, and we're thrilled to be publishing the first fully realised version of this Doctor Who adventure as Douglas originally conceived it."

Ed Victor, the literary agent representing the Douglas Adams estate, said: "The BBC have been asking us for years [to allow a novelisation of Shada] and the estate finally said, 'Why not?'" Having Roberts novelise the Adams script was "like having a sketch on a canvas by Rubens, and now the studio of Rubens is completing it," he added. The book will be published in March 2012 as a £16.99 hardback."

Good news is that Gareth Roberts is an experienced writer who already wrote a lot of doctor who stories and who also worked a little in comedy for the Fast Show.

Last october, 2|entertain announced that they will release Shada on DVD.

Big Finish has also released an audio version in 2003 with Paul McGann as the doctor.

H2G2 back on stage at Glasgow (24th march-2 april)

2011-03-24T12:56:00.000-07:00

The Hitchhiker's guide to the galaxy is back on stage! It's great news after years of shortage (apart from the great Hitchhiker Live events in 2008 and 2009, H2G2 have been quite rare on stage since Disney bought the rights of the movie in 1998).

You can read here an article about the diverent versions of Hitchhiker on stage.

The Hitchhiker's guide to the galaxy will be on stage at the Ramshorn Theatre from the 24th mars to the 2 april thanks to the Strathclyde Theatre Group.

AGNERS GLASGOW INTERNATIONAL COMEDY FESTIVAL
Strathclyde Theatre Group with Radio Theatre Group
Thursday 24 March - Saturday 2 April@ 7.30
THE HITCH-HIKER’S GUIDE TO THE GALAXY
by Douglas Adams
directed by Susan C. Triesman @ Bruce Downie
PEOPLE OF EARTH YOUR ATTENTION PLEASE!
A rare opportunity to witness the hilarious legendary BBC series: the one that pushed back the boundaries of radio comedy. DON’T PANIC! Bring your towel!! An epic adventure in time and space including some helpful advice on how to see the Universe for less than 30 Altairian dollars a day. Imagine being in the studio for the first ever recording!!
There is nothing funnier than the original radio scripts by the great comic genius, Douglas Adams. Meet Deep Thought and find the Answer to Life, the Universe and Everything! Meet Marvin the Paranoid Android!! Spend quality time with Arthur Dent, Ford Prefect, Zaphod Beeblebrox,Trillian and Slartifartblast!!!
Tickets: Mon – Tues £7/4 Wed – Sat £10/7
Advance booking: www.ticketsoup.com

Islington's people plaque : vote for douglas adams

2011-02-08T05:06:00.000-08:00

Douglas Adams lived in several flats in Islington (the famous Borough of London). Here is the presentation on Islingon council website : "Douglas Adams was best known for his Hitchhiker’s Guide to the Galaxy radio series and books. His other works include the Dirk Gently and Meaning of Liff books and his defence of biodiversity, Last Chance to See. He moved to Upper Street in 1981 and to Duncan Terrace in the late 1980s. His works contain frequent local references – Hitchhikers, for example, includes a character named ‘Hotblack Desiato’ after a local estate agent, key characters who met at an Islington party… and scenes in a prehistoric cave in the borough. Adams died of a heart attack aged 49."

Even if you are not british you can vote for Douglas Adams. Voting closes on 28 February 2011.

As explained on the site "Islington’s green plaques celebrate historic people, places and events in the borough.

The selection panel have now shortlisted the ten nominations listed below and it's up to you to decide. The five nominations that receive the most votes will be awarded an Islington People's Plaque."

To vote, please go here and fill the form (very easy, it will takes just a few seconds of your time) :

http://www.islington.gov.uk/online_survey/peoples-plaque-voting.asp

"42: Douglas Adams' Amazingly Accurate Answer to Life, the Universe and Everything" also hits the shelves!

2011-02-07T13:05:00.000-08:00

Peter Gill has just published his "42 : Douglas Adams' amazingly accurate answer to life the universe and everything" (published by "Beautiful books").

If you ever wanted to know anything about 42, then this book should be a nice choice. And it seems to be a must-read for the Hitchhiker and Douglas fans.

Here is a review published in The Guardian : http://www.guardian.co.uk/books/2011/feb/03/douglas-adams-42-hitchhiker#start-of-comments

And another one in The Independant : http://www.independent.co.uk/life-style/history/the-meaning-of-life-42-things-about-42-2205734.html

A presentation on the publisher's site : http://www.beautiful-books.co.uk/books/144-42-douglas-adams-amazingly-accurate-answer-to-life-the-universe-and-everything.html

"I was Douglas Adams' flatmate" hits the shelves

2011-02-02T00:46:00.000-08:00

"I was Douglas Adams flatmate" is sadly not just about Douglas Adams as you can guess if you read the full tittle "... And other encouters with legends". This book, based on a Radio 4 series, also tells you about Ernest Hemingway, Sam Peckinpah, Johnny Cash, Tina Turner, Morrissey,...

I haven't read the book yet but this could be quite an interesting read.

In this collection of interviews, Andrew McGibbon talks to a close friend or collaborator of each of these often near-mythical figures. We hear the story of how Johnny Cash became the Man in the Black Suit from his tailor, Manuel; we hear about Les Dawson’s literary aspirations from his joke writer, David Nobbs; Jon Canter, flatmate, recounts the time he spent living with Douglas Adams as he turned from aspiring writer into international star; and in the final chapter, the author tells his own story of his brief spell as the drummer for Morrissey.

Brought sharply into focus through stories and recollections of incidents and day-to-day details, I Was Douglas Adams’s Flatmate offers intimate portraits, full of anecdote and detail, that show the subjects in a different light, close-up and often very personal. Because, while the legends encountered may be or have been extraordinary people whose public lives have been well documented, they still suffered ailments, drank to excess occasionally, bumped their heads and fell in love."

11 Early designs of the Babel fish on ebay

2011-01-18T00:45:00.000-08:00

The great Rod Lord has put some new stuff on auction on ebay. This time this is no less than eleven drawings of the Babel Fish made during the preparation of the Hitchhiker's Guide to the Galaxy TV series.

"I have come across a few items from the early stages of the Babel Fish sequence, the first half of which constituted the initial pilot test piece for the BBC.

These items were part of the early design process and use the initial slightly more cartoony design for the Babel Fish before I "straightened" it all up for the actual finished sequence to give a more digital feel.

This item offered for auction is a pencil drawing on animation key paper (31x25 cm) and is one of an animation of 11 turning the Babel Fish from side view to front view. There should be a number 12 but I haven't found that yet. If I do come across it at a later date I will offer that too.

I am offering these as separate items rather than a single package with the intention of giving as wide an opportunity as possible to an interested group rather than confining ownership of all to one individual.

This will come with an accompanying authenticating letter embossed with the Pearce Studios Ltd seal.

I will sign the drawing - and the letter of course !"

To find Rod Lord's drawings on ebay, clik this link.

Exclusive interview with Adrian Sear, record engineer on the Hitchhiker LPs

2011-01-15T03:30:00.000-08:00

Interview Adrian Sear, The Hitchhiker's Guide to The Galaxy
envoyé par nbotti.

At last! I made this interview with Adrian Sear, record engineer on the Hitchhiker LPs, more than one year ago, the day before Hitchcon in October 2009! May he excuse me for being so late (but as all good douglas adams' fans i love deadlines!!).

Adrian Sear was record engineer on The HItchhiker's Guide to the Galaxy LP (1979) and its sequel "The Restaurant at the End of the Universe" (1980).

Despite Hitchhiker's huge success on radio, at the begining the BBC didn't want to market the radio series. So producer Geoffrey Perkins and Douglas Adams spoke to a couple of record companies. They finally got a deal with Original Records, a small independant label. As the BBC owned the original version, they had to record a new version of Hitchhiker.

30 years after this recording, Adrian Sear tell us about this famous records, sadly never released on CD

New original Hitchhiker TV Series graphics on ebay

2011-01-13T12:40:00.000-08:00

Rod Lord who made the graphics on the Hitchhiker's Guide to the galaxy TV series has put some original artwork on ebay. This is incredible stuff so if you've got enough money, you won't want to miss such an opportunity.

The auction ends the 17th January. Click this the link to go to the auction.

According to Rod Lord's description on ebay :

"This package is made up of :

1 - The original storyboard for this sequence.
2 - One of the masters used under the Repromaster to animate Arthur and Ford away into space at the start of the sequence.
3 - The key animation guide for the first 12 positions of this animation.

This package will come with an accompanying authenticating letter and description embossed with the Pearce Studios Ltd seal.

I will sign each item - including the letter of course !

I will include a full description of how this animation was generated and used. The large Rotring pen drawings on celluloid which were the starting point for the animation were auctioned at Hitchcon 2009."

The Ninth Douglas Adams Memorial Lecture

2011-01-12T03:13:00.000-08:00

On Thursday 10 March 2011, Professor Brian Cox will give the Ninth Douglas Adams Memorial Lecture at The Royal Geographical Society.

Brian Cox is a physicist but also a popular television presenter & radio broadcaster due to his ability to present science in an engaging manner.

As you probably already know "since 2003, Save the Rhino has held an annual Douglas Adams Memorial Lecture around the time of his birthday to raise money for rhino conservation projects, as well as tackling environmental crime and the trade in wildlife parts."

You can have more details on the event, and buy tickets on Save the Rhino International website here

Update. Article about Hitchhiker on Stage

2011-01-11T12:55:00.000-08:00

The Hitchhiker's guide to the galaxy has been adapted on stage many times since its first ever stage adaptation at the Institute of Contempory Arts (ICA) in London, between 1 and 9 May 1979.

I have added numerous pics and you can also download three full theatre programmes.

You can find the article in the "H2G2 the myth" section of the douglasadams.eu website.

If you have some informations that i didn't publish about the Hitchhiker's stage adaptations, please get in touch, and I'll update the article accordingly.

The Dirk Gently TV series pilot, my review

2010-12-18T02:08:00.000-08:00

I'm one of those Douglas Adams fans who always thought that Dirk Gently would be a great TV series. In a world dominated by insipid detective shows, Dirk Gently would be like a breath of fresh air.

Dirk Gently is a fascinating detective who believes in "the fundamental interconnectedness of all things" to solve the whole crime, and find the whole person. He's a dishonest, but poor, sod whose most regular income comes from the old and lonely women who are looking desperately for their cats. But even if he's a failure, Dirk Gently has certainly a kind of panache.

As you know Dirk Gently appeared in two and a half novels. Some would believe than a pilot would be based on the first book but…. no.

The screen writer Howard Overman (who created the rather good « Misfits » but also wrote for the not so good TV shows « Merlin » and « Hotel Babylon ») has chosen a different path. The TV pilot has its
fair amount of veiled messages to the books and mainly the first one (Dirk Gently's Holistic Detective Agency). Yes, Richard Mac Duff, Susan and Gordon Way are all here. But they are not really what they are in the book.

OK, Gordon way is a millionaire, but he doesn't meet his end thanks to an electric monk's erratic behavior (there is no monk, some of the characters lives in Monk Street and we see Dirk painting on a board where there is a kind of a plot involving an electric monk and Coleridge – wait it rings a bell !). Gordon is deeply in love with Susan (who is not his sister). Richard MacDuff is not Susan's brother
neither. In fact he is also love with Susan. He is her long time boyfriend since the university. Oh and they all were student in the same college. Sadly for them, Dirk was there too.

The story involves murders, cats, a time machine, tea and a exquisite old lady. So yes, it's a Dirk Gently story. But is it a good one?

MMhh, yes. In fact I quite enjoyed that TV pilot. Of course Stephen Mangan is not the Dirk Gently you would have chosen at first sight. But he's quite good as a self confident, tricky and dishonest
detective who uses others (the poor Richard McDuff who is a stooge, and Janice, the secretary - who first quits before coming back, too afraid he doesn't even care).

The only one to mock him is Susan. But she isn't absolutely right about him. She knows he's a crook, but not that he is a genius in his own right.

The plot is enjoyable, there are some good gags, and the realization is dynamic, even if some could think there's a lot of talking and not so much that make really sense (but that’s very Douglas Adamsy, isn’t it ?).

Of course there are a few weakness : the characters are just sketched out (Gordon, Gilks and Janice are truly ghost-like) , the plot has its faults (come on, an iPhone battery that will still work 15 years later - it's even less realistic than a time machine!), the realization doesn't avoid some (quite fashionable) flashy effects (that will look old in a few years) - presumably to hide the effects of a tight budget
- and even at least one obvious goof (the half full then quite empty beer glass when Dirk and Richard take a sip of beer in a pub).

But what are these few weak points, when you enjoy so much a TV pilot that could really become a great TV series. Give some depth to the characters, create a few tricky plots, give more money to the
production, then you'll be able to create a classic.

TV productions can be such a bore. Give Dirk a chance!

Dirk Gently, the 16th december on BBC4 : watch the trailer

2010-12-06T12:57:00.000-08:00

Dirk Gently, the TV series pilot, will be broadcast the 16th december at 9 PM. This TV adaptation has been written by Howard Overman and stars Stephen Mangan as Dirk Gently, Helen Baxendale & Darren Boyd.

Here is a nice preview from the folks at crimetimepreview.com : "Happily, the Beeb’s new Dirk Gently will have most viewers' laughing gear moving in the right directions. It's succinct at one-hour long, has a fine cast and is a good production all round, with a jaunty Sixties-tinged, crime-movie score.... There are some nice sight gags, but most of all Adams's absurd, imaginative humour comes through nicely as the conventions of crime fiction are playfully tweaked (much credit should go to writer and Bafta-winner Howard Overman). Where Sherlock Holmes deduces, Dirk Gently reduces the universe's chaos to a unified theory of guilt."

If you cant' wait for the broadcast, you can join the event on facebook here

You can also watch the trailer here on youtube

Hitchhiker's guide to the galaxy, this year's book for Vancouver

2010-10-20T03:26:00.000-07:00

Vancouver is a froody place. "The Hitchhiker's guide to the galaxy" was chosen by Vancouver residents as the book the whole city should read this fall.

"This year's One Book, One Vancouver winning book was chosen by Vancouver residents. For three weeks in June, Vancouverites voted online and at the Library's 21 branches for the book they think we should all read this fall.

The choices were: The Hitchhiker's Guide to the Galaxy by Douglas Adams, The Absolutely True Diary of a Part-Time Indian by Sherman Alexie or The Adventures of Sherlock Holmes by Sir Arthur Conan Doyle.

And in a vote closer than the hairs on the head of a ravenous bugblatter beast of Traal, you chose Douglas Adams' The Hitchhiker's guide to the galaxy! "

Vancouver's public library is organizing several events from the 1st September to the 20th November. The book will be brought to life for audiences around the city through an array of fun events and contests, including writing workshops, a film screening, a high-tech Innovation Expo and a Vogon Poetry Slam!

Here is the program of the events

(thanks to daveh for the info)

Happy 42day!!

2010-10-10T02:42:00.000-07:00

Today is the 42day. An event which won't happen again before one hundred years. So this is a very special day you don't want to miss.

42day has of course it's own website where you'll get all the informations you want and need.

Wherever you live, there is probably a 42 event somewhere, or if there is not, create one! Here are the list of the main events which will happen today : 42day around the world.

The Twitter Tag for the event is #42day

42 day is also on Facebook.

Note : to celebrate the 42day, my website domain name is down (douglasadams.info) because i wanted to change my webhosting provider. I got mixed up and now it's a mess. So please use http://www.h2g2movie.com/ till i've solved the issue

Dirk Gently TV series : Lead actors revealed

2010-10-05T15:48:00.000-07:00

As you know, a TV production of Dirk Gently is currently being filmed for BBC4 as one off which should be broadcast during this winter. If this one off is a success, then Dirk Gently could become a TV series. Argh, fingers crossed!!

Now some major casting news have been revealed. Most importantly, Stephen Mangan is Dirk Gently. Mangan has already played a major comic character Adrian Mole in "Adrian Mole: The Cappuccino Years" (2001). He also played in other british TV series as "Free agents" and "Never better".

Darren Boyd plays Richard Macduff (a young software engineer working for WayForward Technologies that Dirk met in the first DG book and who would be something like Dirk's sidekick in the tv series). Darren Doyle is also known for his parts in some british tv series as Steve Coogan's "Saxondale", "Green Wing" and "Whites".

Helen Baxendale is playing Richard’s girlfriend Susan. She played in Cold Feet, and already played with Sptehn Mangan in "Adrian Mole : the cappuccino years" where she played Adrian's first love, Pandora. She also played in Friends (the part of Emily during 14 episodes in seasons 4 and 5).

Jason Watkins is Detective sergent Gilks. He played previously in at least two excellent british TV series : "Being Human" and "The Life and Times of Vivienne Vyle"

Janice Pearce (Dirk's secretary) is played by Lisa Jackson (walking the dead, bright young things).

Dirk Gently is produced by ITV Studios in association with The Welded Tandem Picture Company and will be directed by Damon Thomas ("The First Men In the Moon", "Crooked House"), written by Howard Overman ("Misfits", "Merlin", "Vexed"), and produced by Chris Carey (here is his twitter account). Saurabh Kakkar is Executive Producer for ITV Studios and Eleanor Moran and Jamie Laurenson are Executive Producers for BBC.

The DNA & H2G2 memorabilia page on facebook

2010-09-19T02:54:00.000-07:00

I've just opened a page on facebook for all the Douglas Adams and The Hitchhiker's guide to the galaxy fans who want to share their memorabilia with others. Post the pics there and give us details about your rare DNA & H2G2 stuff.

We're not trekkies or Elvis Presley fans, H2G2 and DNA memorabilia is not massive, but there a are of course a lot of collectible, rare and unique stuff, and after years of collecting stuff, i thought it would be nice to share with other fans.

After all, our motto is Share and enjoy, isn't it?

The Dirk Gently TV series based on new stories

2010-09-01T02:21:00.000-07:00

Well, we knew that you couldn't base an entire TV series on just two books (and the first chapters of a third one) but even the 60 minutes long TV pilot won't be a straight adaptation of the books as SFX releals in an exclusive interview with writer Howard Overman.

“I’m aware that it’s a bit of a poison chalice... What I did was take the character, Dirk Gently, and his detection method, and write a new story. It has elements from the book, obviously, in it, but it’s kind of a different story. Because if you’ve ever read the book, the story in there isn’t really adaptable for TV. Especially not on the budget we’ve been made to do it on, because it involves an alien planet and all sorts of weird and wacky ideas."

So will it be an understated adaptation with just a bit of Douglas Adams (Dirk Gently and his quirky and weird methods) and a more traditional (and less costly) detective story ? Well we certainly hope that this Dirk Gently adatpation won't be too classic even if doesn't involve an alien planet!

Dirk Gently TV series on BBC4 this winter!

2010-08-30T13:55:00.000-07:00

At last! This is the great news we were all waiting for since Hitchcon 09 where Ed Victor, Douglas Adams' agent, told us that there was a Dirk Gently TV series project under consideration at the BBC.

The news came from an article on bbc.co.uk the 24th august about BBC Four's new season : "Dirk Gently, the bumbling detective creation of The Hitchhiker's Guide to the Galaxy author Douglas Adams, will come alive on the screen for the first time in a mystery that stems from his attempted rescue of a cat from an old lady's house."

Then, the day after, guardian.co.uk published an article with some more informations : "BBC4 will also dramatise Adams's 1987 novel about anti-hero Dirk Gently next year. Adams was writing a third Dirk Gently book, The Salmon of Doubt, at the time of his death in 2001.The books have formed the basis of a play and a BBC Radio 4 series but have never before been filmed for TV. ITV Studios is shooting a one-off pilot for BBC4, adapted by Misfits creator Howard Overman."

James Thrift, Douglas Adams' brother, wrote on the DAC forum, that "I (too) had reservations, until I saw the script. Good feeling about this one."

Many thanks to DaveH from the ZZ9 Plural Z Alpha fan club for this incredible news.

Mostly Harmless issue 115 sent to ZZ9 members

2010-04-04T09:45:00.000-07:00

A few weeks ago, I received my copie of Mostly Harmless issue 115. As usual there are some nice articles so here is a list of all the good things you miss if you're not a member of ZZ9 Plural Z Alpha :

- First you really want to read "History of the kamikaze briefing sketch" by David Haddock. The Kamikaze sketch is a famous sketch co-written by Douglas Adams and Chris Keightley and performed for the first time at the 1976 Footlights production "A kick in the stalls" which was directed by Douglas Adams. David Haddock interviewed Chris Keightley so we've got a detailed and nice article on the subject.

- There is also the second part of the interview with Eoin Colfer (by John Coxon). Here, Colfer talks about his writing for Hitchhiker "I did have to dense myself a bit, you know, put more jokes per page), the quintessential phase ("I just didn't want to listen to that, I just didn't want to get confused"), the writing of the catch-up ("can you imagine trying to put Hitchhiker's in two pages?" and the writing of the ending of the book.
- A mixed and detailed review of "And another thing" by Lidia Dockray.
- A nice hitchcon report by Keira Vallejo and an Islington slouch (Super Saturday tour) report by me (well a large chunk is missing but it should be printed again in the next issue of Mostly Harmless).
- The towel corner
...

There is also details about The Year of the Plank. 2010 has been designated "the Year of the Plank" with the aim being to raise enough money to dedicate a plank on Brighon Pier to Douglas Adams (I'll try to write an other blog post about this because it's a nice project).

Exclusive interview with Eoin Colfer

2010-03-27T13:19:00.000-07:00

Here is a exclusive 20 minutes long interview with Eoin Colfer about "And Another thing", the sixth part of "The Hitchhiker's guide to the galaxy" (H2G2). It was recorded in Paris the 12th march. I hope you will enjoy it.

Eoin Colfer about "And Another Thing" H2G2 6
envoyé par nbotti. - Films courts et animations.

'The Doctor and Douglas' on Radio 4 the 2nd april

2010-03-27T04:54:00.000-07:00

The documentary 'The Doctor and Douglas' will be broadcast on BBC Radio 4 at 11:00 on Friday 2nd April. The host is John Culshaw and the interviewees are: Steven Moffat, Lalla Ward, Nev Fountain, Frank Halford, David Fisher, Anthony Read, Michael Hayes and John Lloyd.

Now you can listen to the documentary on the BBCiplayer.

The Douglas Adams Portal

2010-03-20T06:56:00.000-07:00

I've launched a new Douglas Adams & H2G2 Portal with links to articles, websites, pages, videos, interviews,...

http://www.douglasadams.info/directory

You are welcome to propose your own links.

My aim is to create a directory where you will be able to find all the interesting links about Douglas Adams & his work.

An upcoming "I was Douglas Adams' flatmate" book?

2010-03-08T04:04:00.000-08:00

In 2006, The comedy writer Jon Canter fondly recalled how his accidental role as faithful servant to Douglas Adams and a host of other amusing chaps inspired his first novel.

http://www.telegraph.co.uk/culture/book ... alaxy.html

Jon Canter was also interviewed by Andrew McGibbon about the experience on BBC Radio 4, 16 Dec 2008, 11:30. You can still listen to the interview here :

http://speechification.com/2008/12/22/i ... flat-mate/

At the begining of 2010, a strange book appeared on amazon.co.uk which would be published on august 2010 "I Was Douglas Adams' Flatmate" by Andrew McGibbon

http://www.amazon.co.uk/I-Was-Douglas-A ... 910&sr=8-1

I quickly got in touch with Faber & Faber regarding the upcoming book. Here is their answer :

"It is due to be published February 2011. The whole book doesn’t focus on just Douglas Adams; it’s more of a compendium of ‘significant others’ to celebrities."

So it's more a companion book to the radio4 series 'I was..." which featured "i was douglas adams flatmate". I suspect that the title won't be "I was douglas adams flatmate" then but it should be an interesting read nevertheless.

Exclusive interview with Rod Lord!!

2010-01-26T02:52:00.000-08:00

Rod Lord is the genius who made the Hitchhiker's guide to the galaxy TV gaphics! You can read an exclusive interview on my website (also illustrated with rare pictures) :

http://www.douglasadams.info/en_index.php?p=en_bonus_interview_rod_lord

Original items from TV series graphics on ebay : Gargle Blaster package

2010-01-12T12:41:00.000-08:00

Rod Lord, the genius who made the computer graphics, has put on ebay some original artwork and you really shouldn't miss it. End of auction : 17 Jan, 2010

"H2G2_ AW_003 : Gargle Blaster package

This package is made up of :

1 - The photographic lith film that was back-lit under the rostrum camera.
2 - The rostrum camera set-up key that has the rostrum track calibrations stuck on it.
3 - The camera dope sheet in Rod Lord's hand writing.

This will come with an accompanying authenticating letter and description embossed withthe Pearce Studios Ltd seal.

I will sign each item - including the letter of course !

This is the first item I came to in the first box I opened. The hand writing on the camera key and dope sheet is definitely mine but my memory does not deliver who designed this and put together the original black on clear from which the camera artwork was made. This may be somewhere among the huge quantity of stuff in one of the other boxes - if I stumble across it at some point I will make that available.

It is entirely possible that Kevin Davies did this. Kev - if this is so you'll get a %age of whatever this raises ... if anything !

Kevin very probably did the dark room work, registered it with punched 35mm film, and did the black paint spotting on the film.

I'm vaguely surprised that the calibrations on the tape from the camera track stuck onto the key do not show farings or "easing in and out". That would normally have been the practice.

But perhaps it was decided that a sudden start and finish looked more "electronic".

Who did the camera work ? Who knows ? Could have been me - or Kevin - or John Percy? To determine that we would need to still have the camera sheet which went with the can to Rank's film labs for processing. Sadly that is long lost with all the other camera sheets from that time.

I will continue to dig my way gradually through the pile and list on eBay anything that looks viable - ie not just wadges of lith film welded together !"

The auction is here

UPDATE : the item was sold 120,00 GPB

What to expect in 2010?

2010-01-06T02:50:00.000-08:00

In 2009, we got a fast-paced year with the 30th years anniversary of the first book and the publication of “And another thing”, both celebrated with Hitchcon 09, which was the biggest hitchhiker event for a long time. We were lucky enough also to enjoy the publication of a sequel to “Last chance to see” with a new book and a BBC TV series thanks to Stephen Fry and Mark Carwardine.

So what can we expect in 2010? Well I probably forgot some events and I will edit the post if necessary but there are just two events listed right now :

- Thursday March 11th. Eighth Douglas Adams Memorial Lecture. Marcus du Sautoy, the mathematician, Oxford professor and host of BBC TV series "The Story of Maths", talking about 42

- "The Doctor and Douglas", a radio documentary about Douglas Adams and Doctor Who (see previous news) in March or April.

What we could hope for :

- The official announcement of a Dirk Gently TV series (at Hitchcon 09, Douglas Adams agent Ed Victor have confirmed that talks are now in progress with the BBC about a TV-show based on the Dirk Gently novels).

- The announcement of a radio adaptation of "And another thing" by Dirk Maggs (this would be a great idea even if you don’t like Colfer's book).

- “Hitchhiker live” (as seen at the Hitchcon) could become a real show touring across the UK – and why not the world???

- Well, I don’t know if it’s a hope or a fear here, but maybe Penguin will announce a new Hitchhiker book by Eoin Colfer or another writer (Colfer said it would be a great idea to ask some other writers to pen Hitchhiker books – he said Iain Banks, Neil Gaiman and M Atwood could do it). But were the sale figures of “And another thing” that impressive? I don’t think so. And the readers’ reactions to Colfer effort were not that enthusiastic (even if I was not against the project in the first place, I must admit that my own copy gather dust on my bookshelves, my bookmark stuck on page 190).

- Disney won’t make a second movie, so it would be cool if they return the rights of Hitchhiker, so we can have again some new stuff and big projects in the Hitchhiker universe (plays, TV series, a second movie but not produced by Disney). Let’s remember that for all the Hitchhiker events in the recent years (the new radio series, Hitchhiker live,…), there is a big discussion with Disney lawyers.

- ZZ9 Plural Z Alpha (the official H2G2 and Douglas Adams fan club) announces that they will organize their own Hitchcon in 2011 (come on dear ZZ9, you now you want it!)

Upcoming Douglas Adams & DrWho doc on Radio4

2010-01-05T12:14:00.000-08:00

Simon Barnard of Wise Buddah productions is currently working on a documentary "The Doctor and Douglas" about Douglas Adams and his relationship with Doctor Who. It should be broadcast in March/April on BBC Radio 4.

He will probably talk to most of the people who worked with him on Who, but also other figures from Douglas Adams' life including his former teacher Frank Halford

Douglas Adams' bath sold for 1,592.42 pounds sterling

2009-12-03T01:59:00.000-08:00

Douglas Adams' bath, kindly donated to Save The Rhino by Jane Belson and Polly Adams, has been sold on ebay for £1,592.42. Did they add "42" at the end on purpose? A funny coincidence anyway and a nice price for this bath which was shown at the Hitchcon 09.

The Vogon Commander Kwaltz in bronze created for the Hitchhiker movie was sold on ebay at £500.

Buy a Vogon!

2009-11-24T07:41:00.000-08:00

Thanks to Save the Rhino, you can also buy Vogon Commander Kwaltz in bronze on ebay. This Vogon model was created specially for the film adaptation of The Hitchhikers Guide to the Galaxy. Sculpted by Jamie Courtier for Jim Henson’s Creature Shop, it is a scale representation of Vogon Commander Kwaltz.The start price is 500 pounds but it is an exeptional item and can be sent worldwide (contrary to the bath)!
The acution ends 02 Dec, 200920:45:09 GMT.

Click here to see the auction on ebay

Buy Douglas Adams’ Bath and think like a genius!

2009-11-24T04:55:00.000-08:00

Save the Rhino has put Douglas Adams' bath on ebay. Auction finishes the 02 Dec, 2009. The start price is 100 pounds. Of course, you'll have to go in London to take the bath and bring it home.

If you were at the Hitchcon, the bath was on display and the fans had the opportunity to take a picture of themselves in the bath.

Many people ask writers where they get their ideas from

Douglas Adams always maintained that when he ran out of ideas he took a long bath. This is that bath

Here's your opportunity to lie where genius lay, to soak up some of the inspiration that created the galaxy's favourite science-fiction comedy series, in a beautiful wrought-iron bath!

Recently removed during a bathroom refit

Douglas’s widow Jane Belson kindly donated this bath to be part of Hitchcon’09 at London’s Royal Festival Hall, in celebration of 30 years of the great man’s most famous creation: The Hitchhiker’s Guide to the Galaxy, and the publication of And Another Thing – The Hitchhiker’s Guide to the Galaxy Part Six of Three by Eoin Colfer

Think like a genius - take a bath!

Kindly donated by Jane Belson and Polly Adams

Collection only

Here is the link to the ebay auction

An unexpected H2G2-tribute by the NASA

2009-10-24T00:59:00.000-07:00

It was probably one of the best tribute to Hitchhiker for its 30th anniversary. While the LCROSS spacecraft crashed towards the moon on 9 October, its twitter feed quoted the words of the spermwhale that fell towards its death on the planet of Magrathea:

“And what's this thing coming toward me very fast? So big and flat and round,
4:34 AM Oct 9th from web

it needs a big wide sounding name like 'Ow', 'Ownge', 'Round', 'Ground'!”
4:34 AM Oct 9th from web

“That's it! Ground! Ha! I wonder if it'll be friends with me?”
4:34 AM Oct 9th from web

How cool is that? Thanks NASA! (and thanks to Jan for the info)

Here is LCROSS's twitter page
And here is LCROSS's website

"Last chance to see" event sold out!

2009-10-20T02:58:00.000-07:00

Stephen Fry and Mark Carwardine have made this fabulous sequel to the Douglas Adams's book "Last chance to see". The book and DVD of the TV series are now avalaible in all the good shops.

Save the Rhino has organised a special event with Mark Carwardine and Stephen Fry and it will take place on Tuesday 27 October 2009 at 19:30 at the Royal Geographical Society, London.

Congrats to those who bought the tickes because now the event is sold out!

Join Rod Lord's mailing list

2009-10-14T12:09:00.000-07:00

Rod Lord is the genius who did the wonderful graphics for the Hitchhiker BBC TV series. Those who were at the Hitchcon had the opportunity to talk to him and buy some prints. There was even an auction for an original piece of artwork (that i sadly lost).

On Rod Lord's website, you can get a lot of details on Rod's work on Hitchhiker, watch a video interview, order some prints and also add your details to a new mailing list to be kept informed of when items of original artwork are to be posted on eBay or new items or features added to the site.

http://www.rodlord.com/pages/hhgg.htm

Webchat with Eoin Colfer : the video online

2009-10-14T06:53:00.000-07:00

The 9th october, a few days before the Hitchcon, Eoin Colfer answered to some questions asked by the fans (the first one is mine!). Here is the video of the webchat :

"And Another Thing" on Radio 4

2009-10-13T09:19:00.000-07:00

Since monday 12th october, Stephen Mangan reads extracts from "And another Thing" in ten episodes on Radio 4 everyday at 22h45. You can listen to the episodes on the BBC iplayer during 7 days after broadcast.

http://www.bbc.co.uk/programmes/b00n4yrp

And remember that you can also listen to Eoin Colfin's interview on Front Row

http://www.bbc.co.uk/iplayer/episode/b00mzyxp/Front_Row_08_10_2009/

The Hitchcon 09 & ZZ9 celebration party videos and pictures are here!

2009-10-12T01:36:00.000-07:00

You can watch the pictures of this incredible event here : http://picasaweb.google.com/Grand.Ordre.de.la.Serviette/Hitchcon09#

The video of Hitchcon 09 is here : http://www.dailymotion.com/video/xaslyj_hitchcon-09

And you can watch the video of ZZ9's party at Captain's Cabin on the saturday night :
http://www.dailymotion.com/video/xas53p_the-hitchhikers-guide-to-the-galaxy_creation

And now the pics of ZZ9's tour in Inslington and visit to Douglas Adams's grave.
http://picasaweb.google.com/Grand.Ordre.de.la.Serviette/ZZ9SuperSaturday#

Mostly Harmless issue 114 sent to ZZ9 members

2009-10-08T01:57:00.000-07:00

"Mostly Harmless" is ZZ9 Plural Z Alpha's quarterly magazine (ZZ9 is the offical DNA and H2G2 fan club). Issue 114 has just been sent to ZZ9 members. If you're not a ZZ9 member, you can join here.

The current edition includes some interesting stuff :

- The first part of a long interview with Eoin Colfer who answers with a lot of details to John Coxon's questions. In this first part, Eoin talks about the characters ("I think I went for Restaurant and took that kind of stage development... so when I started the book, that's whre they are and they're very recognisable as characters from the original series, especially the first two books"), Douglas' unique style of writing, one-liners, humour, deadlines, sequels, Hitchhiker as a cult (It's like a mainstream religion rather than a cult. I think there are a few people who might have gotten away with this without the faithful worrying about it, and I'm not one of them").

- David Haddock and friends try to remember what they were doing 30 years ago when the book was published

- "And another book about the science of Douglas Adams..." by Alexander Pawalk who is busily writing a book called "Die Wissenchaft bei Douglas Adams" (The science of Douglas Adams) which will be published in january 2010

- "Hitchhiker's and philosophy. Part two : the ethics of entertainment" by Nicholas Joll

- Reviews of "The rough guide to the Hitchhiker's guide to the galaxy", "Dont panic" (5th edition) and two reviews for the first half of "And another thing" (one very positive, and a "could have been better" one)

Let's remember that as a ZZ9 member, you have access to their merchandise, which include the world famous Beeblebear, a Don't panic towel, and other fun stuff.

Don't forget to bookmark ZZ9's website

New Hitchhiker Trivia iphone app

2009-10-01T00:24:00.000-07:00

Perfect Storm Software has just released an iphone app called "Ask me again : Hitchhiker's guide to the galaxy edition". At first you are delighted! But once you've bought it (for 0,79 euros - a 50% off introductory sale), and tried it, you'll be disgusted.

It's not even pretty, but the worst thing about this Hitchhiker trivia is that there are just 30 questions split in 3 difficulty levels : "Junior shouting officer", "Hitchhiker" and "hoopy frood". In the junior officer section, you even have to reply seriously to that question : "The answer to the great question of life, the universe and everything is...?". I won't tell you the answer because i don't want to spoil the fun.

This kind of trivia game should have 200 questions at least, and it shouldn't be too difficult to make trivia questions with Hitchhiker. The creators promise "live content updating" but they release their app with 30 questions so maybe they will release ten more questions per year - if you're lucky.

Perfect Storm Software, which describe itself on its website as "a company born from a common desire to achieve excellence" is very similar to the infamous Marketing Division of the Sirius Cybernetics Corporation, and should be best described as "a bunch of mindless jerks that were the first ones up against the wall when the Revolution came."

H2G2, part 6 : Quizz Eoin Colfer on webTV show the 9th October

2009-09-23T02:37:00.000-07:00

I just got this email. This is the opportunity to quizz Eoin Colfer on a webTV show that will be broadcast friday 9th October.
Click here to submit questions before the chat. For more information visit www.6of3.com

"People of Earth! Don’t Panic!

Quiz the author of the latest book in the celebrated Hitchhiker’s Guide to the Galaxy series, ‘And Another Thing...’

WebTV Show date: Friday 9th October

WebTV Show time: 2.30pm

Do you know the answer to life, the universe and everything?* Can you make a Pan-Galactic Gargle Blaster? Do you know where your towel is? If this makes sense then you must be aware of the science fiction comedy phenomenon Hitchhiker’s Guide to the Galaxy. If not then where have you been for the past 30 years?

To mark the three decades since publication of the first book in Douglas Adams' bestselling Hitchhiker's series, a new book is being released that continues the adventures of eternal pessimist Arthur Dent, his alien best friend Ford Prefect and the two headed Galactic President Zaphod Beelbebrox.

The book – ‘And Another Thing’ - has been written by the bestselling author of Artemis Fowl, Eoin Colfer. Artemis Fowl has sold over 18 million copies worldwide and is published in 44 countries. Fully sanctioned by Jane Belson, the widow of the Hitchhiker's series creator Douglas Adams, And Another Thing is available in all good bookshops from Monday 12th October.

Colfer will be touring around the UK promoting and signing copies of his new book beginning with Hitchcon'09 on Sunday 11th October at the Royal Festival Hall in central London where a gathering of the largest number of Hitchhiker fans ever will take place. The public will have the opportunity to hear Eoin read from And Another Thing... for the first time, as well as enjoy a host of Hitchhiker related events including a live re-creation of the classic radio plays with the original cast of actors

So for the devout ‘Uberhitchers’ that have waited their entire lives to question a Hitchhiker’s author, or the ‘Artemis Advocates’ that supported Colfer’s appointment, or anyone else interested in what is sure to be the literary event of the year – why not log on to our webchat and submit your questions to our very special guest? Colfer will also be revealing when his book tour will be coming to a city near you.

Eoin Colfer joins us live online at http://www.webchats.tv/chat/people_of_earth_dont_panic on Friday 9th October at TBC to discuss ‘And Another Thing’

ZZ9's Celebrations of the 30th Anniversary of the H2G2 book saturday 10 october

2009-09-20T11:57:00.000-07:00

ZZ9 Plural Z Alpha is Douglas Adams and H2G2 official fan club. If you come to Hitchcon'09 in London the 11th october, you don't want to miss ZZ9's own celebrations the day before.

Events include :

- Inslinghton slouch (13:00)

"Douglas Adams lived at a number of addresses around the Islington area from the mid Seventies, with a few years spent on the west coast of America writing film script drafts. Of special interest for this trip will be a walk past the address where Douglas wrote the first Hitchhiker's Guide to the Galaxy book (we have cleared this with the current owner). After that we will probably pop on the tube to nip down to the Angel tube station as Adams used the Islington area for inspiration for the Hitchhiker and Dirk Gently books. Other places we will wander by include the office of estate agents Hotblack Desiato, the Regent's Canal where Dirk Gently sent Richard McDuff swimming, the location that inspired Fenchurch's door in So Long and Thanks for All the Fish, and more."

- Captain's Cabin Party (19:00)

"The Captain's Cabin is a pub of interest to Hitchhiker fans. It is just around the corner from the site of the Paris Theatre where the first two radio series were recorded. This historic location is now a branch of LA Fitness. After recording sessions at the Paris, cast and crew often retired to the Captain's Cabin for liquid refreshment. ZZ9 will be upholding this tradition and hope to have some special guests to mix and mingle with as we make a weekend of Penguin's Hitchcon'09 event. All welcome, we are booked in upstairs from 7pm, and they serve food until 9pm. There may be a talk and/or a pub quiz if we are really together and hoopy. We have a habit of staying in pubs until they close so pop along any time after seven."

Ful details here : http://www.zz9.org/events/zz930book.html

Sorry for the inconvenience

2009-09-17T05:20:00.000-07:00

The last few days were quite difficult to manage. Due to bandwidth limitation and the fact that there are a lot of visitors on my website for some weeks, the site went down for several hours. Now it's back and I hope you appreciate the brand new design and the new content (I will still work a lot on the content during the next few months to improve it so if you have comments to share you're welcome).

I launched my first website about H2G2 and Douglas Adams in 2001, had four websites in 2005 (voyageurgalactique.com, douglasadams.info, h2g2radioseries.com and h2g2movie.com) and now back to two (one in french and one in english - which are very similar and share the same forum). It will be of course much easier for me to manage the new bicephalous entity. And thanks to a friend (Ash222), I feel that the design is just right

For a few days yet, when you go on douglasadams.info, you'll have a page in french. But you can click on the british flag and everything should be all right (or just use the adress http://www.douglasadams.info/en_index.php). Anyway this is going to be fixed anytime soon. I really apologize for the inconvenience.

6of3.com : full features are online

2009-09-17T05:04:00.000-07:00

6of3 is the official website of "And another thing", H2G2 part 6. It has been launched some weeks ago but now all the features are online. it includes a video introduction by Eoin Colfer, a timeline, ringtones, a presentation of the authors and books, and a competion (only for UK residents) to find the greatest Hitchhiker fan ever, a community section , and more. And of course you can still tweet the galaxy if you haven't done it yet.

And remember that on panmacmillan homage, you're greeted with a special H2G2 page to celebrate the 30th anniversary of Hitchhikers and announce the new editions with DIY covers, new forewords and exclusive content.

PAN Macmillan press release on H2G2 reissues

2009-09-08T07:28:00.000-07:00

On 12 October 1979 the most remarkable book ever to come out of the great publishing corporations of Ursa Minor (and Earth) was made available to humanity – THE HITCHHIKER’S GUIDE TO THE GALAXY

The Hitchhiker’s Guide to the Galaxy went straight to Number 1 in the UK bestseller list and over 15 million have now been sold worldwide. Well over 2 million copies in the UK alone.

Join the nationwide re-read with Pan’s stunning special editions, re-released one month before the publication of And Another Thing… the sixth book in the trilogy by Eoin Colfer.

All five works have been reissued in a stunning new cover look. Each edition contains brilliant new forewords from famous Hitchhiker fans: Russell T Davies, Terry Jones, Simon Brett, Neil Gaiman and Dirk Maggs. A super limited edition first print run of The Hitchhiker’s Guide to the Galaxy features a Don’t Panic Design-it-Yourself cover and limited edition stickers.

On offer are all the versions of each book: paperback at £7.99, audio download, iPhone app and ebook.

In addition, from now until the anniversary on 12th October, www.panmacmillan.com will showcase the stunning new editions of the Hitchhiker trilogy of five, plus the following:

• A DIY cover video, with Marvin decorating his copy of The Hitchhiker’s Guide to the Galaxy
• An iGoogle theme so that you can personalise your Google homepage with the new stickers
• Tweets from Marvin the paranoid android on Twitter… “Lovely day today. If you like that sort of thing. Personally I can take it or leave it.” (Or follow him here: www.twitter.com/MarvinsMoan)

Then, in October, bring your towel and raise a glass of Pan Galactic Gargle Blaster for 30 years of The Hitchhiker’s Guide to the Galaxy, A Trilogy in Five Parts.

Anniversary celebrations include Hitchcon ’09, the biggest party the unfashionable end of the galaxy has ever seen, on London’s Southbank on Sunday 11th October. Join the largest gathering of Hitchhiker fans ever, watch Hitchhikers live on stage and take part in the mega-signing. For further details see http://www.southbankcentre.co.uk.

"Last chance to see" the book hits the shelves

2009-09-02T06:35:00.000-07:00

The long awaited book, "Last chance to see - on the foosteps of Douglas Adams" hit the shelves the 3rd September. The original "Last chance to see" book was published in 1990 and was co-written by Douglas Adams and zoologist Mark Carwardine. It's a great book, very funny and also very clever.

This time, Mark Carwardine went for a worl tour of endangeard animals with Stephen Fry who was one of Douglas Adams's best friends

"Join Britain's best-loved wit and raconteur, Stephen Fry, as he follows in his great friend Douglas Adams' footsteps with zoologist Mark Carwardine, in search of some of the rarest and most threatened animals on Earth. In the 1980s celebrated writer Douglas Adams teamed up with zoologist Mark Carwardine and together they embarked on a groundbreaking expedition, travelling the globe in search of the world's endangered animals. Twenty years later, comic genius Stephen Fry is returning with Mark to see if the species still exist. A major BBC television series follows the two on six separate journeys which take them to the Amazon basin, East Africa, Madagascar, New Zealand, Indonesia and Mexico to look for a flightless parrot, the Amazonian manatee, man-eating Komodo dragons, man's closest living relative, the northern white rhino and an animal so bizarre it seems to have been assembled from bits of other creatures. These are not just travels to the four corners of the world, but a journey in time to open our eyes to what humans have done to the Earth in the 20 years since the original Last Chance to See expeditions. It is a unique insight into the disappearing world around us, by one of the most extraordinary, informed, enthusiastic and amusing partnerships."

The Guardian has published some nice extras including an article by Stephen Fry and long extracts of the book.

The last chance to see TV series starts Sunday 6th September on BBC2 at 8pm.

The TV series DVD is due for release on 19/10/2009.

Hitchcon 09 : Full Program and booking informations!

2009-08-15T02:32:00.000-07:00

"With other out-of-this-world entertainment throughout the day – including special free screenings of the Hitchhiker’s series in The Clore Ballroom – this is one event no self-respecting lover of classic British comedy will want to miss.

Day pass £32.50 when you book tickets to all events."

- Photo call - Riverside Terrace 11.30 AM Admission free

Start the day at a photocall of the largest number of Hitchhiker's fans ever. Remember to wear your dressing gown and bring along a towel.

- Session 1: The Douglas Adams Chat Show Royal Festival Hall 12.30 PM - £12.50

A full panel of Hitchhiker’s experts and friends of Douglas Adams discusses the great man and his work.

- Booksigning The Clore Ballroom 1.30 PM Admission free

Mega-signing of the fantastic new edition of the first five Hitchhiker's novels.

- Sessions 2 & 3 (And Another Thing... & Hitchhikers Live On Stage!) Royal Festival Hall 3 PM - £25

Session 2 - And Another Thing...
Eoin Colfer, bestselling author of Artemis Fowl, gives an exclusive reading from his new Hitchhiker's novel - the sixth book in the series. Introduced by Ireland’s multi-platinum selling band The Blizzards, playing their single inspired by And Another Thing...

Session 3 - Hitchhikers Live On Stage!
Arthur Dent, Ford Prefect, Zaphod Beeblebrox, Marvin The Paranoid Android and Trillian are set to appear in person - Improbability Drive permitting - along with intergalactic plutonium rock band Disaster Area, to recreate classic moments from the saga, joined by special guests including Eoin Colfer.

- Booksigning: Eoin Colfer - The Clore Ballroom 5.45pm - Admission free

Buy the new sixth book in the series a day before everyone else and get it signed by Eoin Colfer."

You can book here on Southbank center website

Hitchhiker convention the 11th october in London

2009-08-14T09:02:00.000-07:00

As read on the bookseller.com "A “Hitchhiker’s Guide to the Galaxy” convention will take place in October to mark the 30th anniversary of the famous Douglas Adams series (11th October) and publication of the authorised sequel from Eoin Colfer, And Another Thing . . .
“Hitchcon 2009” is a highlight in a co-ordinated campaign being jointly organised by Adams’ publisher Pan Macmillan and Colfer’s publisher Penguin. Pan Macmillan is to reissue the Adams backlist on 1st September, 42 days before the anniversary date—as Adams fans know, the number 42 is “the answer to life, the universe and everything”.
The special editions, which include a “DIY” jacket for The Hitchhiker’s Guide that readers can customise with a sheet of stickers, will be available only for one year. They include new introductions from the likes of Russell T Davies, Neil Gaiman and Terry Jones, and previously unseen material from Pan Macmillan’s Adams archive.
This includes the original press release for The Hitchhiker’s Guide to the Galaxy and synopses of the novels written by Adams.
Macmillan senior commissioning editor Julie Crisp said: “We have such a history with him, and we wanted to focus on material that hadn’t been seen.”
Macmillan’s marketing includes a promotion with the magazine SciFi Now, and material for bookshops includes dumpbins, window stickers, posters and bookmarks. Meanwhile, Marvin the Paranoid Android will be Tweeting.

Hitchcon will take place at the Royal Festival Hall on London’s South Bank on Sunday 11th October, with appearances from Simon Jones, the actor who first played Arthur Dent, and other members of the original cast. Colfer will also do the first reading from his book at the event.
Meanwhile, Penguin is collaborating with Universal Music label Island Records for the release of a tune inspired by And Another Thing . . . with Irish band The Blizzards. The song is to be released as the “official” single for the book in October.
Penguin is also to launch a website, www.6of3.com, offering competitions, games and ringtone downloads, in September. “Large-scale announcement advertising” is also planned, while a range of videos with Colfer will be seeded across the internet, and material also fed across TV and radio stations.
Colfer will do events from 11th to 17th October, including bookshop appearances in Glasgow, Birmingham and Manchester, Forbidden Planet in London (Wednesday 14th October 2009 - 6pm-7pm) and Easons in Dublin, and the Cheltenham and Manchester literary festivals."
We can add :

- The Official H2G2 fan club ZZ9 Plural Z Alpha will be having a slouch and party in London on the Saturday
- The upcoming publication of "The Rough Guide to The Hitchhiker's Guide to The Galaxy" by Marcus O’Dair in October.

And another thing (the first half): my review

2009-08-08T10:32:00.000-07:00

I've just finished reading the first half of "And another thing", the sixth book in "The Hitchhiker's guide to the galaxy" written by Eoin Colfer.

First I'd like to thank Penguin and Eoin Colfer's website for organizing this giveaway and for risking sending to fans half of the book three months before its publication (the 12th October). I always thought that was quite risky as they could get very bad reactions from the fans and utterly bad reviews on the net. Now here is the question: are they right to be so confident about the quality of Eoin Colfer's new book?

Just a few words first about the controversy between fans. Some of them really want to read this book and there are others who won't read it even if their life was at stake and depended on it.

Douglas Adams, the original author of "The Hitchhiker's Guide to the Galaxy" (H2G2) died in 2001. The last installment of H2G2 ("Mostly Harmless") was published in 1994 and surprised and shocked a lot of fans because the end of the book was utterly dark. But those who understand Hitchhiker know that H2G2 was not founded on an optimistic and innocent kind of humour. A story which begins with the destruction of the Earth to make way for a bypass can hardly be called harmless. A few times, Douglas Adams expressed regrets for such a dark ending to his famous trilogy in five parts. He had a love/hate relationship with "The Hitchhiker's Guide to the Galaxy" which made him so famous, and felt trapped just like a rockstar who would be famous for just one song (or five). But he also was very protective regarding his work (as Howard Zimmerman explains in a foreword to the DC comics adaptation, "Essentially, Douglas wanted no changes to his original prose whatsoever.... The single, major concession I got from Douglas Adams was to allow us to Americanize the British spellings. And this was a hard won battle").

The five Hitchhiker's books are all very different and it is not at all an homogeneous set. The first one is the closest to the original radio series (which for me remains the canon). The second book ("The Restaurant at the End of the Universe" has a lot of new stuff but remains very close to the spirit of the radio series and the first book (the reason why many fans think it is the best). The third one, "Life, the Universe and Everything" is based on a script Douglas wrote for “Doctor Who”. So it's quite different from the two first books and has a plot! But it is also more classical stuff and lacks the sheer originality of the two first books. The fourth book ("So Long and Thanks For All the Fish") is a love story on Earth! A lot of fans don't like this book for this reason but it has always been a favourite of mine. And finally, the fifth book, ("Mostly Harmless") is the darker book in the series and its end seemed to wipe out a possibility for a sixth book.

So, everyone was quite taken aback when Penguin one year ago announced that there will be a sixth book of Hitchhiker and that it will be written by Eoin Colfer, an Irish writer well known for his best selling series for teenagers, "Artemis Fowl". And quite a number of fans decided straight away that it was a terrible idea and that they won't read a Hitchhiker book not written by Douglas.

I feel myself uncomfortable with the concept, as Douglas Adams’ unique style of writing (including his penchant for run-on sentences) and sheer original ideas are quite an important factor in the pleasure you get from reading H2G2. But I love the characters so much that I couldn't help but feel excited at the idea of having them back in new adventures. And I'm still happy when there are opportunities for a few headlines about Hitchhiker and Douglas Adams. I really hope that he and his work will be even more famous in 20 years than they are now.

So I was quite happy to get last week a proof copy of this much awaited book. But now I have finished reading half of the book, which are my feelings on the subject?

Well let's get it straight, it's not Douglas Adams. Eoin Colfer has his own sense of humour, and way of telling stories.

Regarding our heroes. Well they are back (he resisted the temptation to get Marvin resurrected - in the first half at least) but of course sometimes they act and think differently than in Douglas' books. So it can be disturbing the few times it happens. But mainly, I think he got it right. Eoin Colfer also brought back some of the excellent secondary characters you get in the Hitchhiker's series. And he didn't make bad choices.

The plot. Hmm, I would say that the plot is also here very, very thin and to be straightforward not very interesting. There is a kind of plot but more like in the movie and less than in "Life, the Universe and Everything". It's more an excuse of for a plot. And Colfer is very Adamsy when he breaks the continuity of the story with a lot of extra stuff; guide notes, and so on...

Is it funny? If you read Hitchhiker to have a good laugh, maybe you're going to be disappointed. I didn't find it very funny. There are some good funny moments (mainly at the beginning) but Colfer's ideas being less original than Douglas’, you are less surprised. And he has not the same grip on comic timing than Douglas had.

There are also some dialogues which are not Douglasy at all, like most of the stuff around Random's teenage problems and the kind of love story between Trillian and °°°° (a legendary character of the Hitchhiker series, even if it's the first time that we see him that much!). And some speeches are anyway a bit long. I didn't find any great conversations like the ones between Prosser-Arthur, Marvin-Frogstar Robot or even Shooty-Bang Bang-Zaphod.

I don't want to give the feeling that it is a bad book. It is not. But maybe I was expecting too much. And let's keep in mind the fact that it is just the first half of the book with all the transitional bits that were needed (this book has been written in a way that you could read it without reading the other books first - there's a resumé of the previous book at the beginning - but I really, really hope that new readers will read the other books first, or at least afterwards). I don't feel in anyway that it's a shame, or an insult to Douglas Adams' memory; it's a nice fan fiction. Take it or leave it, but if you like Hitchhiker, give it a chance.

EDIT (the 23th august 2009) : I've been quoted on several websites saying that "The new Hitchhiker book is not very funny". I feel a bit taken out of context (and most of these websites don't even put a link back to my website so that people can read the entire review). Maybe some other people will find it very funny (I'm not the judge of what's funny and what's not) and it's annyway not the main quality of the Hitchhiker's series from my point of view. "So long..." and "Mostly harmless" are not funny books, there is a dark and sceptical tone in Douglas'writing that I love. And of course you can't find exactly the same thing in Colfin's writing.

And another thing : first extract and fist review

2009-07-29T13:37:00.000-07:00

Now that Penguin sent the first eight chapters to some lucky bast°°°s who won a copy of the proof, the first reviews (for these eight chapters) begin to appear on the web.

Here is an extract posted by my friend Kevin Davies who chose it because it sounds a lot like douglas adams :

"From "And Another Thing..." by Eoin Colfer, Chapter One:

...Ford Prefect found himself deposited in a room composed of blue sky.

A familiar figure sat in the opposite corner.

'Ah,' said Ford, remembering.

Guide Note: Remembering is generally a two-stage process involving dialogue between the conscious and subconscious parts of the brain. The subconscious opens proceedings by throwing up the relevant memory, an act which releases a spurt of self-congratulatory endorphins.

'Well done, matey,' says the consciousness. 'That memory is really useful right now, and I couldn't remember where I'd put it."

'You and me pal,' says the subconscious, delighted to have its contribution acknowledged for once. 'We're in this together.'

Then the conscious reviews the memory in its in-tray and sends a message down to the sphincter telling it to prepare for the worst.

'Why did you remind me of this?' it rails against the subconscious. 'This is awful. Terrible. I didn't want to remember this. Why the zark do you think I shoved it to the back of my brain?'

'That's the last time I help you out,' mutters the subconscious and retreats to the darker sections of itself where nasty thoughts are housed. 'I don't need you,' it tells itself. 'I can make myself another personality out of these things you've discarded.' And so the seeds of schizophrenia are sown with kernels of childhood bullying, neglect, low self-esteem and prejudice.

Luckily, Betelgeuseans don't have much of a subconscious, so that's all right then.

---"

An here is the first intelligent review posted by a guy called Roger Plunkett (Humanracer) on several forums and blogs :

"The book is very good but not excellent. I don’t think this will win converts among those who have decided that without Adams, the book will disappoint. The book is written in such a way that it follows on from Dirk Maggs radio adaptation of book 5, as well as book 5 itself.

Firstly the negatives. The guide sections are generally well written but prefaced only by “guide note”, whereas Adams wrote “The Hitchhikers Guide has a lot to say on the subject of..”. The guide sections in Adams books had a much stronger character. 6 of 3 also suffers from too much sentimentality. We hear about Trillian’s guilt about leaving Random, Arthur’s love for his daughter, Random’s sadness about not having a home etc. Of course this may have been in an Adams novel since he was happily married with a daughter at the time of his death but Hitchhikers works best when it is farcical and even romantic moments in earlier books were played out in a humorous fashion. I would have liked this novel to have been written in the spirit of the first two books, with sentimentality swapped for humour. This is something that was also partly missing from the 5th book. Nearly every paragraph in the first two books was coated with Adams humour and read like a real comedy. Here Colfer spends too much time stating what is happening (Arthur did this, Trillian felt like this etc). Adams kept such explanations to minimum, and when it was used, it was always an excuse for Adams to get another gag in. Of course there should be a reconciliation between Trillian and Random but I think Adams would have made it funny rather than twee. Another criticism is that some of the characters dialogue is a little off. I don’t think Arthur would call someone “mate”, and he wouldn’t use the word “arsehole”. In fact there is a lot of semi swearing in this book. The plot moves along slowly, having finished half the book, the characters are still trying to get out of the same situation they found themselves in after the first few chapters. The book is shaping up to be the longest of the series. Finally, referencing Doctor Who seems a bit far fetched.

The positives?. It’s very well written and while the book is not a laugh out loud novel, the book is a pleasant read and less depressing than book 5. Everything depends on the second half though, the book set up some great concepts which could lead to a great conclusion. There are hints that Arthur still has feelings for Trillian and perhaps this should be explored more in the second half, though hopefully with a lot of humour. A lot of major and minor characters are back, which would please Hitchhiker fans. I actually think the dialogue would be more suited to a radio show since a lot of it would sound far funnier if read out in a humorous manner.

So overall a very good effort which could have been better. The book will please some fans and disappoint others. I may reassess my view after reading the second half.

I have been a big supporter of this project, but it has always been my intention to give a honest and fair review.

Let me know what your other half thinks!"

Be a Vogon, destroy the earth (and other news)

2009-07-24T13:39:00.000-07:00

There have been some great news latelty about the upcoming 6th book of H2G2 written by Eoin Colfer.

First, Penguin has just distributed a few preview copies of this sixth book on Eoin Colfer's official website. You could read on the website's blog that "Penguin have just announced that they are releasing a strictly limited run of proofs of the first half of Eoin’s Hitchhiker’s Guide to the Galaxy sixth instalment And Another Thing … These proofs are special in that they’re printed in newspaper form, numbered and will almost certainly be collector’s items." You just had to send an email with your adress (you had to live in UK or Ireland!). We still don't know who are the lucky b****ds but this a very courageous move from Penguin. They must be sure of the quality of this book if they give copies of the first half of the book three months before it's published.

Second, Hyperion Books, the american publisher of "And another thing..." is very active too. Eoin Colfer is now at the San Diego Comic Con so we should have a video of his talk about Hitchhiker quite shortly (we have already a short interview here). Hyperion which has already opened some weeks ago a page on Twitter and has now launched a mini website whith an online game where you can train as a Vogon to destroy the earth.

Last chance to see event the 27th October in London

2009-06-08T13:43:00.000-07:00

"On Tuesday 27 October Stephen Fry and Mark Carwardine will update us on their quest to find the Northern white rhino; the Northern white rhino lived, until recently, in Uganda, southern Chad, south-western Sudan, the eastern part of Central African Republic, and north-eastern Democratic Republic of Congo. However this has all changed and the Northern white rhino is unfortunately right on the brink of extinction due to poaching, civil unrest and corruption. Four individuals were seen in Garamba National Park in the Democratic Republic of Congo in 2006, but none have been seen there since, and no where else in the wild. There are 11 in captivity, in the Czech Republic and California, but they're not breeding. It is a desperate situation for the Northern white rhino so join us at the Royal Geographical Society in October to hear more about Stephen and Mark's journey."

Tuesday 27 October 2009 The Royal Geographical Society, London 7.30pm (doors open 6.30pm)

For more informations about this event, Check Save The Rhino Website

Don't forget Towel Day : 25th May 2009!

2009-05-21T13:55:00.000-07:00

"As explained on Towel-day.com :

"What? Carry your towel the whole day with you, wherever you go.

When? Every year at May 25th.

Where? Of course everywhere you go!

And why? May 25th is the commemoration day for the Douglas Adams, the author of the world-celebrated book The Hitchhiker's Guide to the Galaxy, who unfortunately passed away 2001."

Don't forget to take a picture of you and your towel and to post it all around the web.

This year, we're going to make something huge for the Towel day here in Paris.

We found the perfect Deep Thought at Gare du Nord in Paris and we're going to play the 42 scene in front of it for towel Day. There will be a video and some pictures for those who'll miss the event but if you can come it would be great.

We'll meet in the Gare du Nord main hall on monday 25th at 20h30 with our towels.

For those who don't believe we've found Deep Thought here is a picture :

"Salmon of doubt" on radio but without Dirk Maggs

2009-05-07T13:50:00.000-07:00

The british magazine "The Stage" has announced that "Spice World writer Kim Fuller has been enlisted to adapt and complete Douglas Adams’ final and unfinished Dirk Gently novel for BBC Radio 4.

The writer will use information provided in the existing chapters of The Salmon of Doubt - which Adams was working on at the time of his death - to create a six-part drama, which will be the third in a trilogy of Dirk Gently series ordered by Radio 4 from production company Above the Title in 2007.

Fuller, who as well as writing the Spice Girls movie was behind the BBC’s S Club 7 series Miami 7, was brought in to adapt The Salmon of Doubt after Dirk Maggs, who penned the previous two Dirk Gently outings, parted ways with the production company at the end of last year. "

I'm not really sure that it is a good news to tell the truth. The previous Dirk Gently series have been written by Dirk Maggs, a great writer and director well known for his work on radio and who also wrote and directed the three last Hitchhiker's radio series. He knew perfectly well Douglas Adams' unique work.

"Salmon of doubt" is an unfinished book and the new writer would have quite a fair amount of new writing to do.

And if that Fuller has already done a lot of writing, it doesn't seem to be that good.

You can check his work on imdb at http://www.imdb.com/name/nm0298279/

He wrote an episode of "red dwarf" and stuff for "spitting image" but it's the closer we can get from Hitchhikers. He wrote "spice world" and things that seem dreadfull like "from justin to kelly"!! WHY and HOW did they choose him? A curious choice after Dirk Maggs.

Anyway, if it's really bad, Radio 4 won't broadcast the new series... At least, I hope so.

You can read the article on The Stage's website here

Cover Art for Hitchhikers 6 “And Another Thing” Revealed

2009-03-30T13:57:00.000-07:00

Being deprived of internet access for now three weeks, I publish the news 20 days after it was revealed on Eoin Colfer's website.

Well anyway here is the cover for those who still haven't seen it :

The publication of Hitchhiker's sixth book will be also the opportunity for new editions of the previous titles :

"And Another Thing… by Eoin Colfer is published in hardback from Michael Joseph on 12th October 2009 ISBN 9780718155148, £20

New anniversary editions of Douglas Adams’ original titles will be available in paperback at £7.99 from Pan with new introductions from notable people in the Hitchhiker world, including Russell T Davies, Dirk Maggs and Terry Jones and with an afterword from Simon Brett, the original commissioner of the radio series on 4th September 2009"

Well I wouldn't say that Russel T Davies is part of the Hitchhiker world but never mind. It will be interesting to read these introductions and Simon Brett's afterword.

Eoin Colfer has almost finished writing Hitchhikers part 6!

2009-01-26T13:59:00.000-08:00

Very far away from Douglas Adams well known craft for missing deadlines, it seems that irish writer Eoin Colfer will finish Hitchhiker' guide to the galaxy sixth part in time. "And another thing" should be finished at the begining of february and published as expected in october. In his hoopy new year video message, Eoin Colfer speaks mostly about Hitchhikers. He shows his christmas present to the camera, a nice little towel with the "penguin logo" (the new Hitchhikers publisher) and the phrase "a hoopy frood always knows where his towel is".

He seems a bit worried about the "controversial" sixth Hitchhikers book. "Some people are going to burn it in their fireplace", he says, "but you know there's not much I can do about that. All I can do is write the best book that I know how to write, that is in equal parts reverential towards the brilliance genius of Douglas Adams but also an other part of it will be just me. So I'm going to bring my own brand of humour and fast pacing and adventure to it... But in these books there are no rules. Everything can happen, absolutely everything... So I've been working on that for the last six monts and I hope to finish it by the begining of februrary I hope. And I jsut gonna have to sit back nervously and see what everybody thinks. So if I can convert 80% of the people, you know that's not going too bad...".

Watch Eoin Colfer hoopy new year message

Win a bronze Vogon statue!

2008-12-03T14:02:00.000-08:00

Save the Rhino has put up for auction a handcrafted model of Commander Kwaltz by Jim Henson's Creature Shop. Standing 18cm tall and weighing over 6kg, it's a real beauty (if such thing can be said about vogons). It was the same statue that Save The Rhino tried to sell during the last douglas adams' lecture but the starting price (2000 pounds) was too high for biders even if it's really worth its estimated price of £5,000).

The is 500 tickets to buy at a ticket price of £10. You can buy several if you want.

Here is the link for the raffle : https://rogavi.com/prize/15/

(thanks to DaveH for the news)

Bad news. Dirk Maggs won't make "the salmon of doubt" radio series

2008-12-01T14:01:00.000-08:00

Dirk Maggs who succesfully adapted and directed the three new phases of the Hitchhiker's guide to the galaxy radio series, the two Dirk Gently books, has decided he won't write and direct the last Dirk Gently radio series which was going to be based on the unfinished "salmon of doubt".

Dirk Maggs finally decided to cancel his contact with Above The Tittle which produced the new Hitchhiker's radio series and the Dirk Gently radio series for BBC 4.

It is of course awfully bad news. The last Dirk Gently radio series was scheduled for a broadcast next year and is probably going to be cancelled as I don't think an other director could do Dirk Magg's writing and directing job.

Here is the letter he sent to our friends of the DAC (douglas adams continuum) :

"Dear DAC

I have found it necessary to terminate my contract with Above The Title Productions, to write and direct Dirk Gently Series 3.

I am very relieved to move on, though sad not to realise the conclusion I was working towards for Douglas's unfinished trilogy.

I'd like to say particular thanks to members of the Continuum for their warmth, humour and honest criticism in the past, it has been much appreciated and great fun.

I'm happily moving on to lots of new ventures in various media, including BBC radio comedy and drama through Perfectly Normal Productions.

All best wishes for the future - and thanks again, froods.

yours ever Dirk"

Last chance to see is back (too)! (EDIT : with official webiste)

2008-09-21T14:05:00.000-07:00

After the Hitchhiker's Guide to the galaxy, we learn that there will be a new Last chance to see book. This sequel will be written by Douglas' friend Stephen Fry and zoologist Mark Carwardine. At the time, Douglas and Mark also made a radio series. But this time there will be also a TV series. The illustrated book, Last Chance to See: The Return, will be published in hardback in October 2009 priced £20. The programme will be broadcast on BBC2 at the same time.

So in October 2009, we'll get a new H2G2 book, a new LTCS book, and a new LTCS TV series. There sould be too the third Dirk Gently's adaptation on Radio 4 at the same time!

And Douglas is not even here to miss all these deadlines. Sad!

For more infos about the new LTCS book and TV series :

http://www.thebookseller.com/news/67361-hc-buys-tie-in-to-new-stephen-fry-show.html

In october 08, the BBC has launched a new mini website about the series with some nice extras (interviews, pictures and extracts from the original radio series) http://www.bbc.co.uk/lastchancetosee/

Eoin Colfer on the Hitchhiker's guide to the galaxy

2008-09-17T14:08:00.000-07:00

It is interesting to read this text written by Eoin Coffer, the writer of the sixth installment of the Hitchhiker's guide to the galaxy :

"From Penguin Press:

I first read the Hitchhiker’s Guide in my late teens when Ted Roche, a libertine friend of mine, pressed it into my sweaty palms and hissed at me with fanatical intensity that I must read it or be ridiculed forever by the school literati. Relax, dude, I remember saying with eighties’ insouciance. Ridicule is nothing to be scared of.

But I was scared. Petrified in fact. If one was not a sportsman, the only other circle to belong to was the readers’ circle. Places were limited and expulsions were swift and ruthless. If one had not read the livre du jour then one would not be offered book swapsies on Friday. If this happened, then a person might be forced to turn to his own siblings for conversation.

So, in this spirit of quasi-persecution I scuttled home after double chemistry and found a quiet bathroom where I could settle down and read what I was certain would be a thinly veiled version of Star Wars. Vogons destroy the Earth and a single hero survives. Please. I could almost write the rest myself.

Never have I been so happy to be proven wrong.

The Hitchhiker’s Guide to the Galaxy was like nothing I had read before, or since for that matter. If you have read it then you know exactly what I am talking about. If you haven’t then read it now, moron. The problem is the hyperbole puts people off. If it’s so popular then it must be middle of the road, brimming with clichés and easily digested on the sands of Ibiza.

All false assumptions. The Guide is a slice of satirical genius. A marvel of quantum tomfoolery. A dissection of the absurdities of our human condition. A space odyssey that forces us to face ourselves and collapse in hysterics. Imagine if Messrs. Hawking and Fry were locked in a room with the entire cast of Monty Python and forced to write a book which would subsequently be edited by Pink Floyd, then the result would need a lot of work before it could be cut from Douglas Adams’ first draft.

For the next couple of decades I followed the exploits of Arthur Dent and his intergalactic troupe as they stumbled through space and time befuddled and bereft, drinking tea in the face of impossible odds and generally failing to find enlightenment at every turn. It’s like a quest for the holy grail where the grail is neither holy nor grail-shaped. I travelled with Arthur Dent as he lost his planet, learned to fly, found love, made sandwiches, got to know his daughter, found his planet again briefly and finally got blown to atoms.

Blown to atoms! Surely not, but no need to panic, Douglas Adams would surely reassemble Arthur somehow in the next book.

But as we all know, the next book never came and the legions of Hitchhiker fans were left with their hearts beating a little too quickly for all eternity.

It became a whimsy of mine to finish the story, just for my own peace of mind. I often wondered how Douglas Adams would have resurrected his beloved characters. And now, almost quarter of a century after first reading Hitchhiker, I have been given the incredible opportunity of writing the next chapter in the saga myself. In an actual book rather than in my head.

My first reaction was semi-outrage that anyone should be allowed to tamper with this incredible series. But on reflection I realised that this is a wonderful opportunity to work with characters I have loved since childhood and give them something of my own voice while holding onto the spirit of Douglas Adams and not laying a single finger on his five books.

Once again I am terrified by a Hitchhiker book and this time it is my own. I feel more pressure to perform now than I ever have with my own books, and that is why I am bloody determined that this will be the best thing I have ever written. And if it isn’t then I will make sure that the cover is extremely pretty.

For the first time in decades I feel the uncertainty that I last felt in my teenage years. There are people out there that really want to like this book. Ted Roche is one. I will track him down in eight months time, with a proof copy in my sweaty grip, press it into his hands and tell him with fanatical intensity that he really has to read this book. Then I will sit on the corner of his sofa until he is finished and await the verdict.

©Eoin Colfer Wexford, September 2008"

H2G2 part 6 : a new book will be published in october 2009 !

2008-09-16T14:10:00.000-07:00

I was of course quite taken aback when I learnt the news. British publiser Penguin has commissionned Eoin Colfer, author of the Artemis Fowl series, to write a sixth instalment of the Hitchhiker's Guide To The Galaxy series.

According to The Press Association, the irish writer said he was "terrified" by the prospect of creating a new Hitchhiker book almost a quarter of a century after being introduced to what he described as a "slice of satirical genius" in his late teens.

He said: "My first reaction was semi-outrage that anyone should be allowed to tamper with this incredible series. But on reflection I realised that this is a wonderful opportunity to work with characters I have loved since childhood and give them something of my own voice while holding on to the spirit of Douglas Adams".

He added: "I feel more pressure to perform now than I ever have with my own books, and that is why I am bloody determined that this will be the best thing I have ever written. Being given the chance to write this book is like suddenly being offered the superpower of your choice. For years I have been finishing this incredible story in my head and now I have the opportunity to do it in the real world. It is a gift from the gods."

More news on the BBC : http://news.bbc.co.uk/2/hi/entertainment/7619828.stm

You can also listen to the anouncement on Penguin's website (it's a sound clip where Simon Jones plays Arthur Dent) : http://www.penguin.co.uk/static/cs/uk/0/today/index.html

It's an incredible news and I won't say I'm very pleased by the news. But, hell, nobody asked.

Stephen Fry : "I miss Douglas both as friend and technology guru"

2008-09-06T14:13:00.000-07:00

Saturday 6th September, Stephen Fry wrote a column in the Guardian and on his forum, about a new media player. And of course, as he explains, "It is rare for me to contemplate new gadgetry without a pang of regret for the early passing of Douglas Adams." He adds : "Some Christians have What Would Jesus Do? as a motto; I have What Would Douglas Think?"

You can read his column on his website here.

Geoffrey Perkins died in a car accident

2008-09-01T14:14:00.000-07:00

It's a very sad news for all hitchhiker's fans and british comedy fans alike. The great Geoffrey Perkins has died from a car accident friday 29th August. According to the Daily Telegraph, Geoffrey Perkins was hit by a truck on Marylebone High Street in London. He was just 55 years old.

Geoffrey Perkins began his career on Radio 4 and then BBC Radio Light Entertainment where he produced The Hitchhiker's guide to the galaxy original radio series from the second episode (Fit the Second) in remplacement of Simon Brett.

As written in the Daily Telegraph orbituary, "Early in 1978 Perkins, at 25, took over from Simon Brett as producer of The Hitch-Hiker's Guide to the Galaxy, the science-fiction based comedy being devised by Douglas Adams, a famously slow writer with a history of missed deadlines. Perkins had to chivvy Adams along, and while Adams's old Cambridge friend John Lloyd was drafted in to write large sections of the later episodes, it was Perkins who helped Adams finish the scripts. Drawing on the resources of the Radiophonic Workshop, Perkins also marshalled his sound sources into weird new forms, and devised a range of voice treatments for the actors playing aliens that broke new ground.

The result was one of the funniest and most original comedies of postwar radio, winning critical and popular acclaim and – by appealing to both high- and low-brow tastes – managing to alter entrenched public perceptions of Radio 4. "The intellectuals compared it to Swift," noted Perkins, "and the 14-year-olds enjoyed hearing depressed robots clanking around.""

Geoffrey Perkins then edited the original Radio scripts, played Arthur's producer in the quandary phase, and finally played the Narrator part during the 30th anniversary live performance of the second episode in London last march.

I had the pleasure to meet him during the 30th anniversary celebration and he kindly signed my original radio scripts book.

Apart from Hitchhikers, he was one of the most influencial comedy producer for twenty years. He was BBC head of comedy from 1995 to 2001. He produced such legendary shows as "Spitting image", "The fast show", "Father Ted", "The friday night live",...

On leaving the BBC (he was quite annoyed with BBC's bureaucracy), he joined Tiger Aspect productions. He recently procuded "Benidorm" (for ITV). His latest production for the BBC with Tiger Aspect, Harry and Paul, with Harry Enfield and Paul Whitehouse, starts next week.

By nbotti, Wednesday 21 May 2008 at 15:02 :: H2G2 general news Sunday 25th May is of course the Towel Day. So don't forget to bring your towel

2008-05-21T01:44:00.000-07:00

By nbotti, Wednesday 21 May 2008 at 15:02 :: H2G2 general news

Sunday 25th May is of course the Towel Day. So don't forget to bring your towel with you all the day. If you want to get more informations about towel day, here is the official website :

http://www.towelday.kojv.net/

The day before, Saturday 24th May, ZZ9 PLural Z Alpha, the officiel H2G2 fan club, organizes a guided visit in Cambridge : "Cambridge Slouch 13:00 meet at Cambridge Railway Station and we will decide what to do, as it depends on the weather. Recent Cambridge slouches have visited various Douglas Adams related locations in the city (his birthplace, his college, places where he performed in plays and revues), the Botanic Gardens to see the flowering of the Amorphophallus titanum, the Fitzwilliam Museum to see an Egyptian Book of the Dead, gone punting, and had the odd pint in various public houses.'

ZZ9 it's here!

Milliways: Infocom's Unreleased Sequel to Hitchhiker's Guide to the Galaxy !!

2008-05-18T01:45:00.000-07:00

Andy Baio, an independent journalist and programmer living in Portland (USA), has just published on his website a detailed article about "Restaurant", the aborted sequel to the Infocom classic text adventure game "The hitchhiker's guide to the galaxy".

He gives a lot of details and you can even play an unfinished version of Restaurant!

"From an anonymous source close to the company, I've found myself in possession of the "Infocom Drive" — a complete backup of Infocom's shared network drive from 1989. This is one of the most amazing archives I've ever seen, a treasure chest documenting the rise and fall of the legendary interactive fiction game company. Among the assets included: design documents, email archives, employee phone numbers, sales figures, internal meeting notes, corporate newsletters, and the source code and game files for every released and unreleased game Infocom made.

For obvious reasons, I can't share the whole Infocom Drive. But I have to share some of the best parts. It's just too good.

So let's start with the most notorious — Milliways: The Restaurant at the End of the Universe, the unreleased sequel to Infocom's The Hitchhiker's Guide to the Galaxy. For the first time, here's the full story: with never-before-seen design documents, internal emails, and two playable prototypes. Sit back, this might take a while."

The article has provoked a lot of reactions from the people involved in the game at the time (Steve Meretzky, Michael Bywater,...).

Andy Baio's Blog is here

Don't miss the article. It's history!

Douglas in BBC Comedy map of Britain the 17th May

2008-05-06T01:33:00.000-07:00

According to Frank Halford, Douglas Adams' former teacher "I have just been told that the BBC programme to which I contributed a minute or so, will be shown on May 17th. It will be included in a series called, "The Comedy Map of Britain."... It merely shows me walking from the playground into the form-room where I taught Douglas". There will be probably other Douglas Adams related content in this episode of the BBC series.

The show is currently being broadcasted on BBC Two each saturday at 9.40pm.

BBC Comedy map mini website

You can now watch the video here , in the "Norwich to Hastings" section.

Exclusive interview with Frank Halford !

2008-04-16T01:55:00.000-07:00

When I was at the Hitchhiker's guide to the galaxy 30th anniversary celebration, Robbie Stamp introduced me to Frank Halford, Douglas' famous teacher who gave him a ten out of of ten for an english essay when he was ten years old. This 77 years old retired teacher is a marvelous man, so I couldn't miss the opportunity to interview him for this website.

You can find the interview in the Douglas Adams section of this website (in the extras).

"Son of Rambow" reviews and interviews

2008-04-08T01:57:00.000-07:00

"Son of Rambow", Hammer & Tong's second movie after "Hitchhiker's guide to the galaxy" is now in theaters in british cinemas since the 4th April.

Of course there are references to Hitchhiker's including this surprising statement from Garth :

"- Did the success of your previous film, Hitchiker’s Guide to the Galaxy, afford you better financial clout for this one? - Garth I thought it would have. I mean, it went to number one and I thought, great. If anything it made it harder though, it took over a year of going to see everyone in the UK and getting turned down repeatedly, it was almost impossible to get people to stop thinking about the sci-fi film and buy into this. That’s why the money came from France in the end." http://www.screenjabber.com/sonoframbow_feature

83% at the tomatometter

http://uk.rottentomatoes.com/m/son_of_rambow/

8,1/10 sur imdb http://www.imdb.com/title/tt0845046/

EMPIRE ON LINE

A potentially disposable, tongue-in-cheek First Blood pisstake turns out to be a deeply effective, surprisingly touching tale of family and childhood friendship. If you only see one Rambo movie this year, make sure it’s this one.

Four stars out of five

http://www.empireonline.com/reviews/review.asp?FID=134768

You can also watch video interviews with Garth Jennings and Jessica Hynes on http://www.empireonline.com/interviews/

YAHOO.CO.UK

"Son Of Rambow is so loveable it could give heart-warming movies a good name... Son Of Rambow is delightful, nostalgic, but never schlocky - if you only watch one Stallone-related film this year, make it this one. Unlike John Rambo's misfiring latest, Son Of Rambow hits the bullseye."

Four stars out of five. http://uk.movies.yahoo.com/s/Son-Of-Rambow/review-3812516.html

BBC

"A joyous spirit of mischief is ever-present and Jennings has an eye for brilliant visual gags too... Crucially, their rapport feels totally authentic, so beyond the belly laughs and sunny 80s nostalgia, this is a portrait of friendship which is truly tender and moving."

Four stars out of five.

http://www.bbc.co.uk/films/2008/03/31/son_of_rambow_2008_review.shtml

Video http://www.bbc.co.uk/films/bbci/new_bbci/?video5

INDIELONDON

"YOU’VE got to hand it to Garth Jennings for persevering with Son Of Rambow, a deeply personal labour-of-love that emerges as one of the feel-good British treats of the year." http://www.indielondon.co.uk/Film-Review/son-of-rambow-review

Interviews : http://www.indielondon.co.uk/Film-Review/son-of-rambow-garth-jennings-interview

Video Interview with Garth Jennings and Jessica Hynes (you can see some Hitchhiker's guide to the galaxy toys behind Garth when he's talking) http://www.kewego.co.uk/video/iLyROoafYJvn.html

TIMEOUT

"Garth Jennings’s last film, ‘The Hitch-hiker’s Guide to the Galaxy’, had visual imagination to burn, but was less sure-footed when it came to plot and character. It’s a pleasure, then, to find that his follow-up shows just as much wit and verve in its production design, while also succeeding as storytelling: ‘Son of Rambow’ is a schoolboy yarn with a bracing emotional honesty that packs a real kick."

Four stars out of six http://www.timeout.com/film/reviews/84083/Son_of_Rambow.html

Garth Jennings interview http://www.timeout.com/film/features/show-feature/1642/

EYE FOR FILM

"The script sizzles with humour, but more importantly, like Danny Boyle's Millions, it carries an emotional weight. Keeping the cast small means the characters of Will and Lee are well fleshed out and, though firmly rooted in British culture, their experiences are universal. Sure to be a box office smash."

Five out of five http://www.eyeforfilm.co.uk/reviews.php?film_id=12122

Interview http://www.eyeforfilm.co.uk/feature.php?id=510

TWITCHFILM

Interview http://twitchfilm.net/site/view/garth-jennings-talks-son-of-rambow/

"Son of Rambow" released in UK the 4th April, in US the 2nd May

2008-03-21T02:00:00.000-07:00

The new Hammer & Tongs movie is going finally to hit theatres in UK and US very soon. "Son of Rambow" will be released in UK the 4th April and in US the 2nd May.

The movie had some great reviews when he was shown at The Sundance Film Festival last year and at The London Film Festival last october.

Hammer & Tongs has also organized a competition to celebrate the release of their movie."Submit your own original short film about anything. Literally, anything! Be creative and have fun with it. The folks over at Hammer and Tongs will be judging the videos and the winning submission will have their short film placed in the Special Features section of the Son of Rambow DVD"

Visit the "Son of Rambow" website

H2G2 radio series 30th anniversary : the review & some pictures!

2008-03-15T02:01:00.000-07:00

The Hitchhiker's guide to the galaxy 30th anniversary live performance was a great success. The historical event, which occured just after the Douglas Adams 6th Memorial lecture on wednesday 12th march at the Royal Geographical Society, was sold out.

First surprise of the evening : John Lloyd (who co-wrote with Douglas the episodes 5 and 6 of the original radio series - and later "the meaning of Liff") introduced the lecture.

The lecture by Steven Pinker ("The stuff of thought : language as a window into human nature) was smart and rather funny. I didn't understand everything because 1) I'm french and 2) i didn't have glasses and couldn't read what was on the screen.

James Thrift, Douglas' brother, made a wonderful job as the auctioneer during the fundraising auction for Save the Rhino and the Environnemental investigation agency. Sadly the rare handcrafted model Vogon wasn't sold. 2.000 pounds was however a worthy price for this masterpiece!

It was really very moving to hear "the journey of the sorcerer" and see most of the original cast performing the second episode of the Hitchhiker's radio series (sadly Mark Wing Davey - Zaphod - could not be here).

On stage we had Simon Jones (Arthur), Geoffrey Mc Givern (Ford), Susan Sheridan (Trillian), Stephen Moore (Marvin) from the original cast. Roger Gregg played Eddie (a role he already performed in the new H2G2 radio series). Philip Pope was Prostetnic Vogon jeltz. And we had two fine guests : Michael Cule who was the Vogon guard in the TV series and not least than Geoffrey Perkins (who directed the original radio series and became afterwards one of the biggest british TV producer) as the voice of the book.

All the cast made an excellent work and the result was really enjoyable. Dirk Maggs who directed the performance wanted it to be as close as possible as the original... and it was a success, a very moving event for all the fans of the original show. Thank you to Dirk (but also to James Thrift who co produced the live performance).

For those who have missed this event, I should add that the great Kevin Davies (auhtor of H2G2 TV making of and artistic director of the illustrated guide) has filmed the performance. So let's cross our fingers.

You can see exclusive pictures of the evening HERE.

Don't forget to be in London the 12th March!

2008-02-26T02:05:00.000-08:00

I hope you already have bought your tickets. Please don't forget to be in London the 12th March for the annual DNA memorial lecture. You'll have the opportunity to :

- listen to a fascinationg lecture (Steven Pinker: “The Stuff of Thought: Language as a Window into Human Nature”)

- watch original radio cast members of Hitchhikers performing live extracts of the more fabulous radio series in the world

- buy an auction Item - A rare handcrafted model of Vogon Commander Kwaltz (see picture below)

- Have a nice meal in a great restaurant with other fans and celebrities (but you'll have to pay £35 for the meal)

You can book for the evening on Save the Rhino website

12th March = Incredible 6th Douglas Adams Memorial Lecture with the 30th anniversary of the first broadcast of H2G2 radio series

2008-01-30T08:40:00.000-08:00

The Sixth Douglas Adams Memorial Lecture (Steven Pinker: “The Stuff of Thought: Language as a Window into Human Nature”) will be followed by an incredible event. To mark the 30th anniversary of the first broadcast of "The Hitchhiker's Guide to the Galaxy" the original cast will be doing a very special 20 minute script reading following the lecture.

Among the original cast, here are the actors who should be here : Simon Jones (Arthur), Geoffrey McGivern (Ford), Mark Wing Davey (Zaphod), Susan Sheridan (Trillian), Roger Gregg (Eddie), Stephen Moore (Marvin).... and a very special guest as The Voice of the book (could it be Stephen Fry???).

The event will take place Wednesday 12 March 2008 at 7.30pm (doors open at 6.30pm), Royal Geographical Society, South Kensington, London

you can read more about the event and make reservations on Save the Rhino's website.

I don't know about you, but I won't miss this event for all the money in the world.

Exclusive interview with Dirk Maggs, director of Dirk Gently radio series

2007-10-03T08:49:00.000-07:00

A few hours before the broadcast of Dirk Gently's first episode on Radio 4, its director Dirk Maggs kindly answered to a few questions. He reveals a lot of interesting facts, so don't forget to read this interview. You can find the interview in the radio series section of this website.

Dirk Gently radio series : Radio 4 mini website redesigned

2007-10-01T08:44:00.000-07:00

The Radio 4 mini website about the new Dirk Gently radio series has been redesigned and updated. It is not as good as the Radio 4 mini website about Hitchhiker's but it is well done and there is some good stuff including the excellent Dirk Maggs' production diary and also a great 9 minutes long interview with Doulgas Adams about Dirk Gently's first book.

You will be able to listen to the first episode Wednesday 03 October at 18:30 GMT on Radio 4.

Dirk Gently radio series : pics and trailers

2007-09-26T08:46:00.000-07:00

The first series of Dirk Gently is soon going to be launched this october. You can now see the pics, watch the video trailer and listen to the audio trailer on Above the Title website. You can keep a look on BBC Radio 4 website even if the website have not been updated lately. Keep in mind the excellent website Radio 4 made for the new Hitchhiker's guide to the galaxy radio series. Let's hope they'll do the same for Dirk Gently.

H2G2 lottery : And the winner is....

2007-08-21T08:47:00.000-07:00

James Thrift !! James is Douglas' brother so he probably deserved this towel.

Thanks to everybody for your support!

The first H2G2 lottery

2007-08-05T08:48:00.000-07:00

I've got to pay the fees my webhosting, and I've decided to organise the first H2G2 lottery. You pay five euros and you will have the possibility to win a great and rare french H2G2 towel. To take part in the lottery, you just have to click on the banner on the front page and make a donnation of five euros via paypal. You don't need a paypal accound, but you need a valid credit card.

If you take part in this lottery, you will help this website and have the opportunity to win a great prize.

Close date : 20th August at midnight.

Son of Rambow got a $8 millions deal in Sundance & mostly good reviews

2007-01-30T08:52:00.000-08:00

Son of Rambow, Hammer & Tongs second movie after H2G2, was shown at the Sundance festival. It got mostly excellent reviews and made big news thanks to a huge $8 million distribution deal with Paramount Vantage. But SoR failed to win any prize at the Sundance competition.

Here are some of the reviews :

For CNN.com, SoR is the second best movie of the Sundance festival : "An irresistibly inventive, slapstick celebration of preteen DIY moviemaking from Hammer & Tongs ("The Hitchhiker's Guide to the Galaxy"). "Rushmore" meets "The Science of Sleep" in early 1980s middle England."

Firstshowing.net gives 8.5/10 to SoR. "Another film that ramped up its buzz at the festival after the first few screenings, Son of Rambow makes a triumphant debut and lasting impression... This is one of the few I'm very much looking forward to watching again.".

Cinematical : " Son of Rambow feels as real as Will's fantasies of flying dogs and walking planes, but it's also as joyful and inventive and exuberant, as funny and heartfelt as every child's dreams; it's a brilliant celebration of the exuberance and thrill of bad storytelling, of making art, of having dreams."

Variety writes that SoR is a "modestly eccentric entertainment" though "as to be expected from Hammer and Tongs, bright and witty physical and visual touches spill off the screen".

According to Hollywood Reporter, SOR " is pumped up with all the right kids' ingredients: slapstick, fantasy, alienation and severe adult authority figures. But screenwriter and director Garth Jennings has slammed them all together with little cohesion, and further slackened the story with atonal nastiness and gratuitously stick-thin side characters.

Dirk Gently on radio !!!

2007-01-29T08:51:00.000-08:00

We have been waiting for months, and now it's official : BBC Radio 4, which has broadcasted all the Hitchhiker's radio series from the first episode in 1978, have commissioned Dirk Maggs and Above The Tittle to make a 18 episodes radio adaptation of the Dirk Gently books. There will be three series (with 6 episodes each) and the broadcasting will begin in next october.

I can't tell you how happy I am. Dirk Maggs has made an incredible work with the last three series of Hitchhiker's and will certainly make some wonderful work with Dirk.

I think that the Dirk Gently series will include the unfinished book "salmon of doubt" as there are three series, and maybe Dirk will write the end of the story, but i'm not sure right now.

An exclusive US DIRK post mortem by Scot Burklin

2007-01-06T08:53:00.000-08:00

Scot Burklin played Dirk Gently in the US premiere of DIRK which was staged in Los Angeles last autumn. As you certainly know, the production was a big success. Scot and his friends got a great review from Variety and a "thumbs up" from Arvind Ethan David, one of the authors of this well known stage adaptation of the first Dirk Gently book.

Scot kindly wrote for us a post mortem about this US production where he shares his feelings about the whole adventure.

To read the post mortem, please go in the Dirk section of this website and click on extras.

Douglas Adams related stuff on archive.org

2007-01-05T08:55:00.000-08:00

Archive.org is an incredible website where you can get some rare audio, video and text stuff free to download.

Here are some good stuff I found about Douglas :

- Interview. Shockwave Radio Theater November 9, 1993 with guest Douglas Adams

- A TV documentary from 1988 about computer games. Douglas Adams is interviewed about Bureaucracy

Archive.net also features "wayback machine" which allows you to browse through 85 billion web pages archived from 1996 to a few months ago. Very handy if you want to find some internet websites which are not online anymore like MJ Simpson's Planet Magrathea,

Son Of Rambow scheduled at Sundance

2007-01-04T08:57:00.000-08:00

Hammer & Tongs new movie "Son of Rambow" will be screened at the famous Sundance Festival the 22, 23 and 24 January.

More details on Sundance website here

"A nostalgic trip back to the 1980s, Son of Rambow is an inventive valentine to an era where, for the first time in history, young minds had access to technology that allowed them to create their own stories while paying homage to their larger-than-life heroes from the movies that inspired them.

Will, who isn't allowed to watch TV or go to the movies, expresses himself through his drawings and illustrations until he finds himself caught up in the extraordinary world of Lee Carter, the school terror and crafter of bizarre home movies. Carter exposes Will to a pirated copy of the first Rambo film, First Blood, which blows his mind wide open. Against his family's orders, his imaginative little brain begins to flower in the world of filmmaking. Will and Lee become popular at school through their films, but when a French exchange student, Didier Revol, arrives on the scene, their unique friendship and precious film are pushed to the breaking point.

Garth Jennings and Nick Goldsmith, aka Hammer & Tongs, the creative visionaries behind The Hitchhiker's Guide to the Galaxy, utilize a vast array of visual techniques to perfectly capture the moment in time when anything was possible and dreams could be recreated with a home video camera, a few props, and a ton of imagination.— Trevor Groth"

H2G2 on Blu-Ray disc the 23th January

2006-12-13T08:58:00.000-08:00

he Hitchhiker's guide to the galaxy is one of the first Disney Buena Vista movies to be released on the new video format, Blu Ray, 50GB and dual-layer discs. It will be realeased on the 23th January 2007 along with other BVI titles like Chicago, The Guardian and Casanova. It will be released in US and Japan (I'm not sure about other countries).

Commenting on the announcement, an official from Buena Vista stated, "BVWHE is thrilled to kick off 2007 with this 50GB slate of Blu-ray releases. We're movingforward into an exciting future with these dual-layer discs, which offer the maximum capacity for bonus materials and expanded content. We continue to forge new frontiers with our Blu-ray discs and to further explore the seemingly limitless boundaries of creativity the format allows. We've just begun to cultivate the future growth of our industry with Blu-ray."

It is quite ironic because it seems that the Blu-Ray H2G2 disc will include no new material not even the "Don't crash" documentary which is still avalaible only on the UK 2 DVD set.

Some links :

More details CDJapan (with japanese cover) Amazon.com

Fifth Douglas Adams Memorial lecture on 15th March 2007

2006-11-21T08:59:00.000-08:00

Gareth Suddes, from the excellent "Another chance to see" blog, had the new first.

"Details have been announced for the Fifth Douglas Adams Memorial Lecture. The presentation will be made by Dr Richard Leakey and is entitled "Wildlife management in East Africa – Is there a future?".

"Richard Leakey is a paleontologist, archaeologist, conservationist an author of several books including the acclaimed wildlife management book Wildlife Wars: My Battle to Save Kenya's Elephants. In this talk Dr Leakey will draw on his own experiences in Kenya as founder and Director of the Kenya Wildlife Service and as the Head of Kenya's Civil Service to reflect on the successes, current problems and future challenges facing wildlife management in East Africa. "

The lecture will take place at 7.30pm on Thursday 15 March 2007 at the Royal Geographic Society, 1 Kensington Gore, London SW7. Tickets will be £12, with a pay bar before and after the Lecture, and they are available now from www.savetherhino.org or Zoe at Save the Rhino, Email: zoe_AT_savetherhino.org."

Full details here

Out of the trees in London the 2nd December !

2006-11-20T09:00:00.000-08:00

A long-thought-lost comedy will be on show at National Film Theatre's (London, UK) : "Out of the Trees" (BBC 1976), Graham Chapman (from Monty Python's fame) and Douglas Adams' comedy pilot which features Maria Aitken and cast members from Adams' Hitch-Hikers Guide to the Galaxy (Simon Jones and Mark Wing-Davey).

According the guys at Some of the corpses are amusing : "So what was Out Of The Trees? It was a comedy sketch show starring Graham Chapman and a team of semi-unknowns including Simon Jones and Mark Wing-Davey (later to play Arthur Dent and Zaphod Beeblebrox in Hitch Hiker's ) along with Roger Brierly, Tim Preece, Maggie Henderson, Jennifer Guy, Maria Aitkin and Marjie Lawrence. Sub-titled 'The End of the Road Show' , it was recorded in October 1975 and broadcast only once, at 10pm on January 1976. And if the show itself lives up to the script then we have a lost classic here, guys".

more infos about Out of the trees here

For more infos about the event, check right here

William (new voice of the guide) Franklyn has died aged 81

2006-11-15T09:01:00.000-08:00

I'm deeply sorry I missed the info, but William Franklyn has passed away at the end of october from a prostate cancer. As the BBC says "His 50-year career encompassed TV, radio, film and stage, appearing in episodes of The Avengers and The Scarlet Pimpernel among many others. He also appeared in television shows such as Top Secret, Splitting Heirs and Ooh, You Are Awful".

He will be best remembered by us of couse for his work on the new Hitchhiker's radio series. He was the voice of the book in the Tertiary, Quandary and Quintessential phases. He replaced his old friend Peter Jones who was of course the legendary voice of the book in the original radio series and in the BBC TV series.

H2G2 Tertiary phase Audio DVD launched!

2006-10-09T09:02:00.000-07:00

Just a quick news to help you remember that the H2G2 tertiary pahse audio DVD is now avalaible on bbc shop or on amazon.co.uk or in any good shop in UK. No date for a US release yet and no indication about the release of audio DVDs for quandary and quintessential phases. Everything is possible if they sell enough DVDs of the tertiary phase in the UK market.

There was a press launch on Tuedsday 3rd October in London with Dirk Maggs and Geoffrey McGivern.

US premiere of DIRK tonight and on stage in LA till the 3rd December

2006-09-29T09:03:00.000-07:00

The US premiere of Dirk, the play, will be staged tonight by Road Theatre in Los Angeles at 8 PM (local time).

DIRK will play September 29 to December 3, 2006, playing Thursdays, Fridays and Saturdays at 8 p.m. and Sundays at 2 p.m. The production will be dark on November 24 for Thanksgiving.

Where? -

The Road Theatre Company 5108 Lankershim Blvd. North Hollywood CA 91601 (2 blocks South of Magnolia in the NoHo Arts District) Note: Listings should be under main heading of Road Theatre Company not Lankershim Arts Center

When? -

Previews: September 26th, 27th & 28th at 8 p.m. Opens:Friday, September 29th at 8 p.m. Runs: Thursday, Fridays and Saturdays at 8 p.m. and Sun. at 2 p.m. Closes: Sunday, December 3rd Dark: Friday, November 24th for Thanksgiving

TICKET RESERVATIONS: (866) 811-4111 OR BUY TICKETS ONLINE: www.roadtheatre.org PRESS RESERVATIONS: Call Marci Hill (310) 877-2868 LADCC, ADA, OVATION VOTER RESERVATIONS: Call (818) 761-8829

Preview Tickets: Opening Night Gala Tickets: Regular Tickets: $15 $35 $20