The Hitchhiker's Guide to the Galaxy: The Tertiary Phase
Submitted by Reviewer (not verified) on 8 October, 2005 - 06:53.
Some Book Reviews
| Douglas Adams: The Hitchhiker's Guide to the Galaxy |
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| Author | Douglas Adams | | Made | The Audio Partners | | Date | 2005-04-10 | | Media | Audio CD | | Catalog | Book | | Sales Rank | 83431 | | Availability | Usually ships in 24 hours | | List Price | US$29.95 | | Our Price* | US$19.77 |
*Price subject to change |  |
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Reviews:| Rating 4.5/5 from 11 reviews | | BBC Radio Recordings | | Rating: 4/5 2006-02-16 | This would be a much better series in a copleat box set of the radio series. It would be even better (5 Star rating) if the first two portioins of the radio brodcasts were availble on CD in the USA.
I look foward to listing to the first two sets of CD's when they become availble.
Tom | | this is a great radio version of the guide | | Rating: 5/5 (3 out of 4 think this is helpful) 2006-01-12 | Somtimes people get stuck of somthing they like and expect the next effort to be the same. Other time people get mad at the new effort for being the same as the last.
Personaly I find the The Tertiary Phase has all the same of the old and great new stuff to enjoy.
This version of the book "Life, the Universe and Everything" harkens back to the original radio shows. Most of the original cast is back as well as small tribut to Adams by using some of the voice over he used in a book on tape. There are great elements such as the patry the never ends, The man who gets an award for the most gratuitous use of the word #@%@%$%, the kriquett warriors, bistro math(a mathematical method that is based on how to split up a check at a restaurant) and such. It is a great buy and I reccomend trying to get the first two parts as well. | | Lots of Hope, Little delivery | | Rating: 1/5 (6 out of 16 think this is helpful) 2005-09-27 | I've been a fan of Hitchhiker for a long time, so naturally bought the CDs for Tertiary Phase.
I only heard the first two CDs of the set, and haven't developed the interest to finish. Why?
First, note that the original person who did the voice of the guide died, and the replacement just doesn't compare - at all.
The plot seems to be zany for zany sake, and not funny. The talking mattress doesn't help the plot but is more of a distraction.It's like the author just hobbled the book together in a hurry to make some easy money. I don't think his soul was in it. Too bad, because I would have loved for the series to go on. | | The "Real" Hitchhikers Guide, as good as ever! | | Rating: 5/5 (5 out of 7 think this is helpful) 2005-09-14 | This BBC radio performance is fantastic. A disasterously incomprehensible last act does little to diminish the return of Hitchhikers in pure form. The return of the "real" Arthur Dent and friends (Simon Jones et al) is a welcome and amazing experience, and the soundscape is a perfect match to the original Hitchhikers' series from so many moons ago -- which is really amazing when you consider that the old series was put together on old fashioned magnetic tape. The sonic environment of the Hitchhikers universe is as curious as you may remember it - and even a bit improved upon, as more advanced stereo means you can even hear characters circling one another, or running about through the swishy tall grass of a field trying to catch a fast-moving couch, or engaging in repartee with their other head (for those who have more than one).
Not as funny as the original series? Perhaps, but Douglas Adams' books evolved through the years, becoming more philosophically searching (his fascination with the possible comedic implications of quantum mechanics on mere mortals) and less slapstick. And frankly I am pleased that this evolution in tone is carried through to this radio rendition. Though make no mistake, this series is still a comedic romp.
I've just listened to this Teriary Phase and am immediately ordering up the next two Phases courtesy of Amazon.co.uk. It saddens me that author Douglas Adams is no longer with us, but his cast and crew have made the best possible gift of his talents to the rest of the world through this performance. Bravo. | | I Cried, I Laughed, I Cried Some More | | Rating: 5/5 (6 out of 8 think this is helpful) 2005-07-30 | When I found this item on the audiobook rack at my local bookstore (the one with the cafe stapled onto it) it took me at least an entire minute to figure out what it was I was looking at. I thought it must be a reissue of the original radio episodes (from 25 years ago) or a new reading by somebody or other. Gradually it dawned on me like a sledgehammer through molasses that this was an all-new radio series based on the third Hitchhiker's book performed by the (surviving) original radio cast, four years after the untimely death of author Douglas Adams.
"Mine," I judged as soon as I sorted out just what the hell it was. I was delighted to find that Stephen Moore was still alive and had returned to voice Marvin the Paranoid Android again. Peter Jones has unfortunately passed on, but makes a posthumous appearance in this new series, as does Douglas Adams himself!
From the moment I popped it in my CD player and began listening to it, tears bubbled into my eyes. Here again was that wonderful old theme song (an Eagles tune, isn't it?) and, my God, the same BBC announcer from 25 years ago! Okay, so I first heard the original shows fifteen years ago, but still, did I expect to ever hear another series?
Ultimately I've loved this Tertiary Phase. Adams wrote the first episode (before getting distracted by Hollywood again) and the entire series is well done. The music and sound effects are all you could hope for. The original cast is again brilliant and sound almost exactly as they did 25 years ago. The new cast members are excellent as well, with Richard Griffiths (Mr. Dursley from the Harry Potter movies and Swelter from Gormenghast) taking over the role of Slartibartfast. I've listened to the whole thing four times now, and like it better with each listening.
The worst I could say critically is that the pace is the tiniest bit sluggish, the performances the slightest bit geriatric, the energy just a little less than the original shows, and the humour, well, a tad bit less. Not enough to affect my rating however. I've been dying to know if the BBC was going to do adaptions of the final two Hitchhiker's books...
...and they have! The Quandary and Quintessential Phases have already been broadcast, with the same cast and producers as the Tertiary Phase. They should both be available commercially within the next six months or so. Just enough time for me to have another bath. |
Editorials:Book DescriptionThe brand new third installment of Douglas Adams's classic time travel tale, The Hitchhiker's Guide to the Galaxy Tertiary Phase, is now available on audio. The long-awaited CD—which revives the BBC's popular radio series with this new six-part dramatization of Adams's book Life, the Universe and Everything—features 25 minutes of exclusive and previously unheard footage and features the author himself playing the role of Agrajag. The plot picks up where the second radio series left off: Arthur Dent and Ford Prefect escape from prehistoric Earth on a time-traveling sofa while a pack of homicidal robots blow up Lords Cricket Ground. Armed only with a rabbit bone, a worn dressing gown, and a spaceship that looks remarkably like an Italian bistro, Arthur embarks on an intergalactic journey to save the universe. Several members of the original BBC Radio 4 cast reunited for this special audio production, including Simon Jones as Arthur Dent, Geoffrey McGivern as Ford Prefect, Susan Sheridan as Trillian, Mark Wing-Davey as Zaphod Beeblebrox, and Stephen Moore as Marvin the Paranoid Android. Richard Griffiths, Chris Langham, Joanna Lumley, and cricket commentators Fred Trueman and Henry Blofeld also star in this brilliant satire replete with incisive comedic wit.
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