The 'live' version of The Hitch-Hiker's Guide to the Galaxy

[lovingboth]

This was broadcast on R4 recently. It's a lot better than the film (what isn't?!) but it shows just how good the original scripts were, because lots of the changes they've made to the stuff that hasn't been edited for time isn't as good.

Sample: in this, the Vogon captain isn't reading his own poetry, but Paula etc Jennings'. Why? What does that bring to it? You'd save a couple of seconds by not mentioning it and wouldn't need to change his 'So I write poetry..' to 'So I read poetry..'.

Sample loss: the reply to "I'd notice the difference (to having my brain removed and replaced with a simple computer)!", "No you wouldn't, you'd be programmed not to."

Comments

[porsupah.livejournal.com]

I need to download that sometime. I was actually listening to it for part of the broadcast (ie when I remembered it was on), before setting off for a quite memorable day of dining with my mother, whom I'd invited to the city for the weekend.

The edits you note do sound a bit odd, I'd agree - still, every version of the Guide's always been different, so I'm pretty cool with it either way, even if some lines have rather become ingrained in the popular psyche, like the whole Arthur Dent exchange with Mr Prosser. ^_^

Did you see the live tour a year or so back? Superb. Again, another retelling - but damn, how cool does it get? Almost all the original cast, up there on stage, performing live just feet away.