reader4 One would think that if you were buying a DVD of "The Hitchhiker's Guide To The Galaxy," you would be interested in watching "The Hitchhiker's Guide To The Galaxy." "Not at all" was how much the BBC cared about this evident fact. The VHS tape was recorded at EP speed, and looked terrible! Now, on the 2-DVD set, it is still over-compressed and of mediocre quality.They could easily have done the transfer at 2-hour, hi-res format, putting the first four shows on Disk 1 and the other two plus some extras on Disk 2. This is what I was expecting when I saw it was a 2-disk set. Instead, to my horror, they crammed the entire 6 episodes onto a single DVD, at four-hour format, and the second disk consists completely of extras.So if you're most interested in seeing the same clips and the same interviews repeated again and again with slightly different editing, and sleep-inducing out-takes of actors blowing their lines and then saying the "F" word, this set is for you.Otherwise, I wish I could say, look elsewhere. Unfortunately, this is the only game in town.I can't believe it's now over $40! I felt ripped off when I paid $26! They should have made a version available with a single disk, for those of us who are actually interested in the program, rather than a bunch of souvenirs from the Douglas Adams Fan Club. That way, at least you'd know how poor the quality was going to be before you shelled out the ridiculously high price.To give the set its due, it does look better than I've ever seen it before, either on PBS or the VHS tape. I could read things in the computer graphics that I have never been able to make out before. And, with closed captioning, I was able to get a few lines that I'd never caught.And there is at least one interesting thing in most of the extras. The "Peter Jones Introduction," buried down at the bottom of the second screen, is the best of the lot, the only one that's good all the way through."The Hitchhiker's Guide To The Galaxy" is the funniest show that's ever been on TV. It's really too bad that hoodwinking as much money as possible out of the public was the BBC's only goal, and that they have treated us and the program so shabbily.

pgr-fw One can claim that this was so good for it's time, or otherwise make excuses for it, but as a piece of entertainment this show is pretty weak. I'm not one to gripe about weak special effects, so I won't. That could be overlooked given budgets and production pressures. Quality entertainment doesn't require it.Something that is required in great comedy is a surprise. If you've read the book there's absolutely nothing surprising about the show.At least nothing surprising in a good way. Some say it's "campy" or "corny". I don't think it even rises to that level. A funny face, a gesture, even a raised eyebrow could have made the transition to tape worth the trouble; instead we got mailed in performances. They spoke the lines, they stood in the right spot, but that's about it. Arthur was flat, Trillian played as an airhead, but Ford was the worst. In this series he comes off as a rather affable, friendly fellow, not the deeply misanthropic (or should I say mis-pan-sentient) Ford Prefect that we love from the book. The properly two-headed Zaphod at least gave it a shot, and Marvin had potential.If you're taking a class on the history of low budget television production, this is a good vehicle. If you're looking for an evening or two of entertainment, you'll be better off with, dare I say it, the movie. It at least gave me a reason to keep my eyes open, if only to see where they mangled the original story.

Lee Eisenberg A quarter century before Douglas Adams's (happy birthday, Douglas!) famous book became the movie that most of us probably know, BBC made this quirky miniseries based on it. True, much of the miniseries is hard for us Americans to understand, but it still works to just luxuriate in the pure wackiness of it and consider what our role in the universe really is. Parts of "The Hitch Hikers Guide to the Galaxy" do come across as a little silly - namely the whole "resistance is useless" sequence - but they probably intended it to be far out, so it's all good.Anyway, it's just a pleasure to see these people being totally outrageous in their humor. Some of those numerical coincidences still have me befuddled! But no matter, if ever I have to answer a really hard question, I'll just remember that the answer is...42. All in all, a classic. I like the movie version better, but this one is still pretty neat. Up in that great spaceship in the sky, Douglas Adams must be proud to have been known for this.

joanstribling I thoroughly enjoyed working on 'Hitch Hiker's Guide to the Galaxy' as the Make-up,Hair,Prosthetics Designer for which I received a Design and Art Director's Award. It was a privilege to work with Douglas Adams,Alan J.W. Bell and John Lloyd; enabling me to discuss and use my 'Design' in-put on the program. It was a rewarding team-effort. I worked closely ,as a Make-up,Hair,Prosthetics Designer,with Special Effects and Costume Design. Given the limitations of time and money 'Hitch Hiker's Guide to the Galaxy proved to be a a success. I am currently working as a Freelance Make-up,Hair Prosthetic Designer / Artist and am London and Devon based.I have just finished 2 film projects for the BBC.