Forty-two may be the answer to life, the universe, and everything, but is the book really better than the movie when it comes to "The Hitchhiker's Guide to the Galaxy"? Join me as I navigate through Douglas Adams' beloved science fiction comedy and its 2005 film adaptation starring Martin Freeman, Zooey Deschanel, and the voice of Alan Rickman.
My relationship with this interstellar adventure has been nothing short of a cosmic journey itself. From absolutely despising it in middle school to gradually appreciating its unique charm over multiple readings, I've come to understand why this particular brand of British humor divides audiences so dramatically. Whether you're encountering the absurdist tale of Arthur Dent's space adventures for the first time or you're a longtime fan, this episode offers fresh perspectives on both versions of the story.
We'll explore the fascinating evolution of "The Hitchhiker's Guide" from its origins as a BBC radio show to its various adaptations, and dive deep into the key differences between the book and film. Does the addition of a romantic subplot between Arthur and Trillian enhance the story? How successfully does the film translate Adams' abstract humor to a visual medium? And of course, which version comes out on top in this intergalactic showdown?
The universe is a vastly bizarre place, filled with infinite improbabilities and peculiar aliens, but perhaps the strangest mystery of all is why some people find this story hilarious while others are left completely cold. Whether you're a fan of science fiction, British comedy, or simply curious about this cultural phenomenon, grab your towel and don't panic – this episode has something for everyone.
All episodes of the podcast can be found on our website: https://booksvsmovies.buzzsprout.com/share
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Episode Transcript
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Speaker 1 (00:00):
Welcome to Books vs Movies, the podcast where I set
out to answer the age-oldquestion is the book really
always better than the movie?
I'm Yuvia, an actress and booklover based out of New York City
, and today I will be discussingthe Hitchhiker's Guide to the
Galaxy by Douglas Adams and its2005 adaptation, the
Hitchhiker's Guide to the Galaxy, directed by Garth Jennings and
(00:20):
starring Martin Freeman, yacineBey, sam Rockwell and Zooey
Deschanel.
Hi everyone, so I do apologizefor the delay in episodes.
So I just got back from Texas.
Yeah, I was visiting family inTexas Orlando and I went and we
went to my sister-in-law'sgraduation, we went to our
(00:41):
nephew's baptism so very, verynice Two weeks away.
And even though it was twoweeks, it just flew by.
But now we're back and we camestraight into a bug situation.
Yeah, we have no idea what'sgoing on.
My roommate called us or calledme, and was like I think I have
bed bugs and thankfully it'snot bed bugs.
She keeps waking up with likebug bites.
(01:04):
Thankfully it's not bed bugs.
She keeps waking up with likebug bites, but it's not bed bugs
.
And we had like two differentexterminators come in and both
of them said it's not bed bugs,so like it could just be.
One of the exterminators foundlike a beetle shell in her fold
of her mattress and then theother exterminator found carpet
beetles.
And while the one beetle shellthat the other exterminator
(01:28):
discovered could be causing thebites, the carpet beetles might
not be causing bites, but theydo have little hairs on them
that my roommate might beallergic to, which could be
causing the hives.
So we don't know if they'rehives, we don't know if they're
bites, but now I'm getting bit.
But I will say I think we justhave a very aggressive mosquito
(01:49):
Mosquitoes do love meunfortunately in the living room
, because I feel the itch.
Like I was watching TV yesterday, I was fine, I had not been
bitten since we got back andthen, as I was watching TV
yesterday, I just startedgetting itchy all over and then,
when I came to my room to go tobed, I had mosquito bites all
(02:10):
over me.
And when we were eating lunchagain today, again I just felt
so itchy all over and then Icame to my room to take a nap
and it was just like I could not.
It was hard for me to go tosleep because I was so itchy and
I just wanted to scratch and Iresisted for the most part.
But yes, mosquito bites do makeme very, very itchy.
(02:32):
But now I don't know if it is amosquito bite, because I got
some new clothes and I wastrying it on in the bathroom
just to make sure it fit andtook my pants off to put my
shorts on and there was like ahuge, huge.
It looked like a mosquito bitebut it was like massive.
So I don't know.
But we're just theexterminators waiting for the
okay from the landlord to comein and do his thing.
(02:57):
So we're prepping the apartmentfor him to hopefully come in
and he's like it's.
Even though it's not bedbugs,I'm still going to do a bedbug
treatment and it'll killwhatever this could be.
So wish us luck with that.
So you know I've been busy, butI'm happy to be back and happy
to be talking about theHitchhiker's Guide to the Galaxy
(03:18):
, which has been quite a journeyfor me.
So I first read Hitchhiker'sGuide to the Galaxy in middle
school and I hated it.
I absolutely hated it.
Like did not, did not, like itWas nope, nope, hated it.
If Goodreads existed back thenI definitely would have given it
like either probably like a onestar rating.
(03:39):
I just hated that book.
And I would tell everyone likethis book sucks.
One of my friends who's reallyinto science fiction, like she
told me she and her dad loved itand they loved the humor of it.
And then I was reading I waslike this was supposed to be
funny.
And then I looked it up on theinternet and it was like this
humorous novel and I was rantingto my brother about it.
I was like it says this is notfunny and he and this was not
(04:01):
funny.
And my brother was like, well,funny, and he and this was not
funny.
And my brother was like, well,maybe you just didn't find it
funny.
So I hated it.
And then so I read it againseveral years later.
I actually read it 10 years ago, or almost 10 years ago now, in
July of 2015, which, if that'swhen I read it.
I read it while I was an actingapprentice at the Williamstown
Theater Festival.
So again, I I try to get, if Ican get, a library card.
(04:23):
I will.
So, thankfully, if you are on,the Williamstown Theater
Festival is held at WilliamsCollege in Williamstown,
massachusetts, and thankfully,to get a temporary library card
with them.
You just let them know whyyou're there and then I think we
had something like proving thatwe were part of the festival
(04:43):
and then you paid a deposit, arefundable deposit, and you had
a library card for three monthsand then after the three months,
you just went and returned thelibrary card and they gave you
your money back.
So that was very nice.
So I had access to the WilliamsCollege Library that summer and
I don't know what drove me topick up the Hitchhiker's Guide
to the Galaxy again.
(05:04):
Might have been a readingchallenge and I was like you
know what Everyone said it'sfunny.
It's been.
I've grown up a lot since Iread it, so let's give it
another shot and I gave it avery generous four stars.
I don't think I gave it fourstars because I loved it.
I think I was like, all right,I can see the humor, I can
appreciate it, I don't hate itanymore.
Four stars.
And now, reading it again, 10years later, I can say that you
(05:26):
know what?
This is probably the last timeI'm going to read this book.
It is science fiction and it isa very niche kind of British
humor and it is just not my kindof humor.
So I'm glad I read it again,I'm glad I saw the film, but do
I want to read it again?
(05:47):
No, I think I'm happy to lay itto rest.
After three reads.
I think I just know that it'sjust not for me.
And yeah, so let's get started.
So the Hitchhiker's Guide to theGalaxy by Douglas Adams was
first published in 1979.
And the interesting thing aboutthe Hitchhiker's Guide to the
Galaxy by Douglas Adams wasfirst published in 1979.
And the interesting thing aboutthe Hitchhiker's Guide to the
(06:09):
Galaxy is that it actuallystarted off as a BBC radio show.
So it started off as a BBCradio show, which was then
adapted into the book and thenthe TV series.
It was adapted into a stageplay and finally it was adapted
into the 2005 film, which iswhat I'll be talking about today
(06:30):
.
So obviously, this is a verybeloved story in England for it
to have gotten adapted so manytimes.
So yeah, it started off as aradio show, but the book itself,
which was in itself, adaptedfrom the radio show, was first
published in 1979.
And it starts off seconds beforethe earth is about to be
(06:51):
demolished to make way for agalactic freeway.
Our protagonist, arthur Dent,is saved by his friend, ford
Prefect.
We end up finding out that FordPrefect is actually an alien
who has been stuck on Earth forthe past 15 years, pretending
he's an out-of-work actor,researching to add to the
(07:13):
Hitchhiker's Guide to the Galaxy.
We, along the journey, meetZaphod Beeblebrox, who is the
president of the galaxy,trillian, who is also from Earth
and she happens to be Zapod'sgirlfriend, marvin, who is a
clinically depressed robot, anda whole bunch of other aliens
(07:35):
that come together to introduceus to this wacky, wacky world of
our galaxy.
The 2005 adaptation, theHitchhiker's Guide to the Galaxy
, takes place again mere secondsbefore the Earth is to be
destroyed by an alienconstruction crew to make way
for an intergalactic galaxy.
(07:56):
Arthur Dent is saved by hisfriend Ford Prefect, who we end
up finding out is a researcherworking on the new edition of
the hitchhiker's guide to thegalaxy.
So it is, overall, a faithfuladaptation I actually don't have
too too much to bring up.
And it's also a very wacky overthe top, silly, as silly as you
(08:21):
can get kind of story, and itis very science fictiony as as
well.
So, yeah, there's it's kind ofhard to like try to explain like
the smaller details of thethings I'm gonna talk about, but
I'm gonna try and yeah.
So first things first.
As I said, this, it starts offmere seconds before the
(08:41):
destruction of the earth.
But even before then, before weknow, the earth is going to get
destructions.
It starts off mere minutesbefore the destruction of Arthur
Dent's home.
Arthur Dent's home is actuallyset to be demolished to make way
for a new highway in England.
So Arthur Dent is laying infront of the bulldozers trying
to prevent the construction crewfrom demolishing his home.
(09:04):
And what changes?
That is that Ford Prefect, hisfriend, shows up and Ford
convinces him to go to a pub.
But first in the book, ford hasto make sure that the lead
contractor of the constructioncrew lays down in front of the
bulldozers to prevent Arthur'shouse from going down.
So he convinces the leadcontractor to lay down in front
(09:26):
of the bulldozers and he andArthur head to the pub where
Ford explains what is about tohappen and why Arthur needs to
go with him.
In the film it's more of a.
Ford shows up with a lot ofalcohol and is kind of just like
, come with me to the pub.
(09:46):
Arthur.
And Arthur's like no, they'reabout to demolish my house.
And Ford's like well, I havethis cooler full of beers.
Have at it boys While we go tothe pub.
And so the construction crewstarts drinking beers while they
head over to the pub, but thelead contractor snaps out of it.
The construction crew in thefilm snap, like, enjoy a few
beers, and then Arthur's homegets demolished.
(10:07):
But it turns out it doesn'tmatter, because the Earth gets
demolished after that as well.
But by then Arthur and Ford areoff the planet.
In the book, pretty much afterFord and Arthur are rescued by
Zaphod and Trillian, they startmaking their way to Magrathea,
which is where they are.
(10:29):
So there's a supercomputer onthe planet Magrathea.
So this supercomputer revealedthe answer of like what is the
meaning of life essentially?
Or you know, what is themeaning of everything
essentially?
And so the supercomputeranswered.
But when it answered peoplewere like we have no idea what
that answer means.
So they're like are we askingthe wrong question?
(10:51):
Like what?
What is this?
Like this answer doesn't answerour question.
And she's like well, it does,but you're like asking the wrong
question.
And so they had to wait severalmillion more years for the
computer to figure out what theactual question people should be
asking is.
And so they're on their way tomagrathea to find out what the
(11:14):
ultimate question is.
And in film there are a fewmore hijinks added.
There is a one more planet thatthey visit before they start
making their way to Magrathea,and it is here that the Zaphod's
enemy is like.
I'll tell you how to get toMagrathea.
If you bring me the point ofview gun and the point of the
(11:35):
point of view gun is essentiallywhat it sounds like.
Like if I point the gun at youand shoot, you will understand
my point of view, which, nowthat I think about it, wouldn't
that be a nice gun to exist inthis day and age?
Like?
I feel like we need that gun.
That is the only gun I willadvocate for.
Let's make a point of view gun.
Let's make this a reality.
Let's do it, but anyway.
(11:56):
So they go and search for thispoint of view gun.
On their way to search for thepoint of view gun, trillian is
kidnapped.
This does not happen in thebook, but she is kidnapped by
Vogons, which are the aliensthat destroy Earth at the
beginning of the film, and theyhave to rescue her from the
Vogons, and they do.
And then they continue on theirway to.
(12:16):
They have the point of view gunat this point.
And then they figure out thecoordinates to magrathia and
they head out.
So yeah, that that is against.
Trillion is not kidnapped.
In the book, trillion and arthuralso have more of a connection
in the film than they do in thebook.
So in the film they definitelymake it out like trillion is
arthur's dream girl.
(12:37):
She's the one that got away.
They only met once at a party,but she's the one that got away.
And then Zapod pretends thathe's a human at this party where
Arthur and Trillian meet and hekind of like Trillian is like,
move with me to wherever.
She's like, come with me.
And Arthur's like verymethodical, very careful, and
he's like, well, we just met soI can move with you once we've
(13:00):
dated and gotten to know eachother a little bit more.
And that answer kind ofdisappoints her.
So when zaphod shows up and islike I can take you to space
right now, trillian is like okay, and then she leaves with him.
So they kind of have, they kindof play it off as like again,
this is the love of his life,woman of his dreams, the one
that got away, and he regretsnot running away with her when
(13:23):
she offered, but in the bookit's.
They know each other.
They did meet at that party,but there definitely isn't that
lost connection that they havein the film.
That's more of like I met you,I thought you were cute.
I met you too, I thought youwere cute too.
All right, well, I'm with Zafodnow.
And I met you, I thought youwere cute.
I met you too, I thought youwere cute too.
All right, well, I'm with Zafodnow and I'm happy.
(13:44):
Great, I'm happy, let's move on.
So, yeah, there definitelyisn't some of that.
I will say that the Hitchhiker'sGuide to the Galaxy is a
trilogy.
So I don't know, like, eventhough there ended up not being
any other sequels to thisparticular film, like I don't
know if this love connection isincluded and like the other
books in the trilogy, I just dowant to say that.
(14:04):
But so they might have beenincorporating elements from the
other two books.
They may not have and justinvented this completely for the
film.
I'm just basing this off of theone book and the adaptation
that it's based off of, so justwanted to throw that out there.
But yes, in the book theydefinitely don't have that like
connection, that like, and eventhroughout the film, like,
(14:27):
there's definitely moments inwhich it seems like Trillian
regrets leaving with Safod, likeeven though she's had a lot of
fun and she's really enjoyedgoing around the galaxy, like
she starts seeing that he's kindof maybe a little bit too
reckless, like it's his faultthat the earth got destroyed.
So she's, once she finds outthe earth is destroyed and that
(14:48):
he's the reason for it, likeunderstandably she gets very
angry.
He's the reason her, she can'treturn to her home planet now.
So, yeah, so she, she startsrealizing, like she definitely
starts like second guessingwhether or not she should be
with him and starts seeingArthur and a new light and kind
of like you know what, maybehaving someone methodical and
stable is not a bad thing.
Maybe that's what I need.
(15:09):
I have my adventure, but anyway.
So in the film, once they reachMagrathea and all the events
happen, there's a lot of thingsthat happen on Magrathea.
I don't even know where tobegin, but there's a lot of
things that happen.
Magrathea is essentially, yeah,there's a lot of things that
happen.
But throughout the film,questular, who is the vice
(15:31):
president of the galaxy, teamsup with the Vogons in trying to
get Zaphod Beeple Brox back andbecause he's kind of gone rogue
and, like I said, instead ofruling as president of the
galaxy, he's flying aroundlooking for Magrathea and he
stole a spaceship in the process.
So Questular, vice PresidentQuestular, teams up with the
Vogons and they're trying to getZaphod back In the book.
(15:55):
It's just like regular spacepolice that are after them.
It's not the vogons, it's notthe vice president, it's just
like the regular space police.
But in the film, marvin.
So marvin is, as I said,clinically depressed robot
played by warwick davis andvoiced by alan rickman.
So it's always lovely to hearalan rickman's voice.
(16:16):
He has like the best lines inthe film, I have to say Marvin
does, and just the way AlanRickman delivers it and his
deadpan humor, like the deadpankind of way, is just like
perfection.
But I am a little sad that theyjust use Warwick Davis as the
body.
But oh well, but anyway.
So in the film when the Vogonsshow up to capture Zafod, they
(16:38):
shoot Marvin and then Marvinlike reanimates and turns the
point of view gun on the Vogonsand the Vogons understand how
depressed Marvin really is andthat's kind of what defeats them
and allows our heroes to go ontheir way.
But in the book so the spacepolice show up and there's like
(17:00):
the exterior of the planet andthen the interior of the planet
and everyone is in the interiorof the planet except for Marvin.
Marvin stays on the exterior.
So when the space police land,they obviously land on the
exterior of the planet andMarvin starts talking to them
and essentially bores them todeath.
So the mothership of the spacepolice ends up just getting so
(17:23):
bored that it commits suicideand it kills all the space
police right as they're about tostart the battle, just like
just as the battle between theshootout between them and Arthur
Ford, trillian and Zaphodbegins.
So there's Marvin, and the filmand the book end slightly
different.
They both end in thateverything, all the events
(17:45):
conclude and they decide to headto the restaurant at the end of
the galaxy.
But in the book so it turns outthat you know humans, we
consider ourselves to be thesmartest species, to like, we're
at the top of the food chain,we're the smartest species ever.
But the book reveals thatdolphins are smarter than us and
mice are smarter than us andmice are actually the
(18:08):
masterminds behind this wholething.
So after the supercomputer waslike this is the answer to your
question, and then they're likewell, what's the question?
And the supercomputer is likeyou need to build another
computer to tell you what thequestion is.
The mice are the masterminds inEarth.
So Earth is essentially wascreated as another supercomputer
(18:29):
to reveal what the question,the ultimate question, is.
But before they could revealthe ultimate question, it got
destroyed to make way for thesuperhighway.
So the sense Arthur is although,now that I think about it,
essentially they're like Arthur,you're from Earth, like you can
give us the answer to thequestion, but like Trillian's,
from Earth too.
(18:49):
So couldn't they use her?
I don't know, seems a little, Idon't know.
That's all I'm going to say.
But I don't know, that's allI'm going to say.
But I don't know.
Maybe it's because Arthur wasliterally there right before
Earth was destroyed and Trilliumhad been with Zaphod in space
for a while.
I don't know, that's not reallyanswered.
But so the Slardibartfast, who'sfrom Magrathea, is in the
(19:11):
process of creating new Earth tobring that into existence and
hopefully get the ultimatequestion revealed to them.
But the mice are like well,there's no point in completing
it because we have arthur nowand we can just take his brain,
and then arthur's like I'm notgonna do that.
And then that's when the policeshow up and, yeah, the whole
shootout happens.
So new earth is kind of leftabandoned in the book.
(19:34):
In the film after the vogonsare depressed and everyone's
like, all right, we can leaveArthur's like slur to Bartfest,
finish New Earth.
But I'm not staying here, I'mgoing to go with my friends and
continue exploring the galaxy,and he's like, okay.
So in the book the idea of NewEarth is kind of abandoned, but
in the film New Earth is set tobe completed.
(19:56):
So that's it.
Like I said, I didn't have muchto say.
Overall this was a prettyfaithful adaptation.
There were some things added,like I said, and there's a lot
more hijinks, but the tone ofthe film definitely fits the
tone of the book.
This is a very over-the-top,silly kind of book and it is as
(20:19):
I said.
It is very, very sciencefiction, but it is a very, very
niche kind of humor in sciencefiction.
So it's not really my kind ofhumor and you know I'm not
really a fan of science fiction.
So this just isn't for me andit's definitely not for everyone
.
As I said, there's some peoplethat just absolutely love this
(20:40):
book and find it hilarious, likemy friend and her dad did.
And then there's others like methat are kind of just like.
I can appreciate it for what itis, but it's just not my humor
and I have to say the style ofthe film fits that very, very
well.
Like it's very chaotic andfrenetic and the actors are
(21:01):
having a really great time, likethey're really embracing it and
just having the time of theirlives, like you can tell they
had so much fun.
But it is like a unique kind ofit takes some getting used to.
Now I will say I think one ofthe reasons I hated it so much
in middle school was apart fromit being science fiction is that
I hadn't really been exposed toany kind of British humor back
(21:22):
then.
And if you're not used toBritish humor it does take some
like if you, if you don't reallyknow what to expect, it does
take some getting used to.
I've, you know, I've beenexposed to a lot more British
media since then, whether it beBritish literature or just
British films, british comedyshows since then.
(21:42):
So I'm a lot more familiar withit and I will say the overall
British humor is kind of hit ormiss for me.
There's some things that I justthat are hilarious and I love
them.
And then there's other thingsthat I just, for whatever reason
, it didn't speak to me.
So it is kind of hit or missfor me.
Orlando overall likes Britishhumor a lot more than I do.
(22:06):
Like there's some things thathe's thought were hilarious that
I didn't maybe find so funny,and then there's things that we
obviously both found really,really funny, enjoy, enjoy
together.
But like overall, orlando likesBritish humor a lot more than I
do and he appreciates it a lotmore than I do.
But even he with this film waslike yeah, that wasn't for me, I
(22:27):
really it just I just didn'tlike it, it wasn't I yeah.
So this is like a very, veryniche, very niche kind of humor.
So just want to throw that outthere.
So I rated the film three and ahalf stars and I no, actually
sorry, no, I didn't.
I rated the film three starsand I rated the book three stars
(22:49):
.
Overall I think they're bothjust okay.
If I had to recommend one overthe other, I would recommend the
book.
But if, like, if you startedoff and it's just a little too
wacky, a little too jumpy and byjumpy I just mean like it jumps
from one thing to anotherbecause it does and it does it
(23:11):
very quickly and then like youneed a more visual thing, then
try out the film.
But there are definitely funnylines there in the film,
definitely has some funnydeliveries, especially coming
from Alan Rickman, and there aredefinitely funny quotes,
definitely funny moments in both.
But it is a very particularkind of humor and if it's not
(23:34):
your thing, it's not your thing.
If it's your thing and youabsolutely love it, I love that
for you.
But that is it for this episodeof books versus movies.
Oh, I didn't do.
The winner, the winner, is thebook.
Yes, I mean, I think it'srather obvious when I said if I
had to choose one over the other, it's a book.
But I do think the bookslightly edges out the film in
(23:56):
this case.
But give it, give the film atry.
If you're just having a hardtime getting into the book
because it does, it does takesome getting used to.
Or watch the film and see ifit's for you and if and if it is
, then give the book a shot.
Because I think this is kind oflike the.
If Orlando had really reallyliked the film, I think he
definitely would have given thebook a try.
But I think Orlando doesn'thate science fiction as much as
(24:20):
I do, but it's still not hisgenre.
So if he's going to give it ashot, he really has to like what
he's watching.
So if he had really reallyliked this film, I know he would
have given the book a try,especially since it is
ultimately a British humorousbook.
More than it is science fiction, it's British humor.
So, yeah, give it a shot, seeif this is your kind of humor
(24:43):
and if it is, then I thinkyou'll really enjoy this book.
But that's it for this episodeof Books vs Movies.
Thank you so much for tuning in.
If you enjoy this series,you're really liking it.
Please leave it a rating and areview.
Share it with all your friends,tell them all about it.
Help me grow this littlecommunity and I need to figure
out what I'm going to bring in.
So there might be a little bitmore of a hiatus than I wanted
(25:06):
there to be, but just that's.
That's how it is.
Sometimes I have a lot ofthings to catch you up on and
sometimes I don't, but thank you.
Welcome to Books vs Movies, the podcast where I set
out to answer the age-oldquestion is the book really
always better than the movie?
I'm Yuvia, an actress and booklover based out of New York City
, and today I will be discussingthe Hitchhiker's Guide to the
Galaxy by Douglas Adams and its2005 adaptation, the
Hitchhiker's Guide to the Galaxy, directed by Garth Jennings and
(00:20):
starring Martin Freeman, yacineBey, sam Rockwell and Zooey
Deschanel.
Hi everyone, so I do apologizefor the delay in episodes.
So I just got back from Texas.
Yeah, I was visiting family inTexas Orlando and I went and we
went to my sister-in-law'sgraduation, we went to our
(00:41):
nephew's baptism so very, verynice Two weeks away.
And even though it was twoweeks, it just flew by.
But now we're back and we camestraight into a bug situation.
Yeah, we have no idea what'sgoing on.
My roommate called us or calledme, and was like I think I have
bed bugs and thankfully it'snot bed bugs.
She keeps waking up with likebug bites.
(01:04):
Thankfully it's not bed bugs.
She keeps waking up with likebug bites, but it's not bed bugs
.
And we had like two differentexterminators come in and both
of them said it's not bed bugs,so like it could just be.
One of the exterminators foundlike a beetle shell in her fold
of her mattress and then theother exterminator found carpet
beetles.
And while the one beetle shellthat the other exterminator
(01:28):
discovered could be causing thebites, the carpet beetles might
not be causing bites, but theydo have little hairs on them
that my roommate might beallergic to, which could be
causing the hives.
So we don't know if they'rehives, we don't know if they're
bites, but now I'm getting bit.
But I will say I think we justhave a very aggressive mosquito
(01:49):
Mosquitoes do love meunfortunately in the living room
, because I feel the itch.
Like I was watching TV yesterday, I was fine, I had not been
bitten since we got back andthen, as I was watching TV
yesterday, I just startedgetting itchy all over and then,
when I came to my room to go tobed, I had mosquito bites all
(02:10):
over me.
And when we were eating lunchagain today, again I just felt
so itchy all over and then Icame to my room to take a nap
and it was just like I could not.
It was hard for me to go tosleep because I was so itchy and
I just wanted to scratch and Iresisted for the most part.
But yes, mosquito bites do makeme very, very itchy.
(02:32):
But now I don't know if it is amosquito bite, because I got
some new clothes and I wastrying it on in the bathroom
just to make sure it fit andtook my pants off to put my
shorts on and there was like ahuge, huge.
It looked like a mosquito bitebut it was like massive.
So I don't know.
But we're just theexterminators waiting for the
okay from the landlord to comein and do his thing.
(02:57):
So we're prepping the apartmentfor him to hopefully come in
and he's like it's.
Even though it's not bedbugs,I'm still going to do a bedbug
treatment and it'll killwhatever this could be.
So wish us luck with that.
So you know I've been busy, butI'm happy to be back and happy
to be talking about theHitchhiker's Guide to the Galaxy
(03:18):
, which has been quite a journeyfor me.
So I first read Hitchhiker'sGuide to the Galaxy in middle
school and I hated it.
I absolutely hated it.
Like did not, did not, like itWas nope, nope, hated it.
If Goodreads existed back thenI definitely would have given it
like either probably like a onestar rating.
(03:39):
I just hated that book.
And I would tell everyone likethis book sucks.
One of my friends who's reallyinto science fiction, like she
told me she and her dad loved itand they loved the humor of it.
And then I was reading I waslike this was supposed to be
funny.
And then I looked it up on theinternet and it was like this
humorous novel and I was rantingto my brother about it.
I was like it says this is notfunny and he and this was not
(04:01):
funny.
And my brother was like, well,funny, and he and this was not
funny.
And my brother was like, well,maybe you just didn't find it
funny.
So I hated it.
And then so I read it againseveral years later.
I actually read it 10 years ago, or almost 10 years ago now, in
July of 2015, which, if that'swhen I read it.
I read it while I was an actingapprentice at the Williamstown
Theater Festival.
So again, I I try to get, if Ican get, a library card.
(04:23):
I will.
So, thankfully, if you are on,the Williamstown Theater
Festival is held at WilliamsCollege in Williamstown,
massachusetts, and thankfully,to get a temporary library card
with them.
You just let them know whyyou're there and then I think we
had something like proving thatwe were part of the festival
(04:43):
and then you paid a deposit, arefundable deposit, and you had
a library card for three monthsand then after the three months,
you just went and returned thelibrary card and they gave you
your money back.
So that was very nice.
So I had access to the WilliamsCollege Library that summer and
I don't know what drove me topick up the Hitchhiker's Guide
to the Galaxy again.
(05:04):
Might have been a readingchallenge and I was like you
know what Everyone said it'sfunny.
It's been.
I've grown up a lot since Iread it, so let's give it
another shot and I gave it avery generous four stars.
I don't think I gave it fourstars because I loved it.
I think I was like, all right,I can see the humor, I can
appreciate it, I don't hate itanymore.
Four stars.
And now, reading it again, 10years later, I can say that you
(05:26):
know what?
This is probably the last timeI'm going to read this book.
It is science fiction and it isa very niche kind of British
humor and it is just not my kindof humor.
So I'm glad I read it again,I'm glad I saw the film, but do
I want to read it again?
(05:47):
No, I think I'm happy to lay itto rest.
After three reads.
I think I just know that it'sjust not for me.
And yeah, so let's get started.
So the Hitchhiker's Guide to theGalaxy by Douglas Adams was
first published in 1979.
And the interesting thing aboutthe Hitchhiker's Guide to the
Galaxy by Douglas Adams wasfirst published in 1979.
And the interesting thing aboutthe Hitchhiker's Guide to the
(06:09):
Galaxy is that it actuallystarted off as a BBC radio show.
So it started off as a BBCradio show, which was then
adapted into the book and thenthe TV series.
It was adapted into a stageplay and finally it was adapted
into the 2005 film, which iswhat I'll be talking about today
(06:30):
.
So obviously, this is a verybeloved story in England for it
to have gotten adapted so manytimes.
So yeah, it started off as aradio show, but the book itself,
which was in itself, adaptedfrom the radio show, was first
published in 1979.
And it starts off seconds beforethe earth is about to be
(06:51):
demolished to make way for agalactic freeway.
Our protagonist, arthur Dent,is saved by his friend, ford
Prefect.
We end up finding out that FordPrefect is actually an alien
who has been stuck on Earth forthe past 15 years, pretending
he's an out-of-work actor,researching to add to the
(07:13):
Hitchhiker's Guide to the Galaxy.
We, along the journey, meetZaphod Beeblebrox, who is the
president of the galaxy,trillian, who is also from Earth
and she happens to be Zapod'sgirlfriend, marvin, who is a
clinically depressed robot, anda whole bunch of other aliens
(07:35):
that come together to introduceus to this wacky, wacky world of
our galaxy.
The 2005 adaptation, theHitchhiker's Guide to the Galaxy
, takes place again mere secondsbefore the Earth is to be
destroyed by an alienconstruction crew to make way
for an intergalactic galaxy.
(07:56):
Arthur Dent is saved by hisfriend Ford Prefect, who we end
up finding out is a researcherworking on the new edition of
the hitchhiker's guide to thegalaxy.
So it is, overall, a faithfuladaptation I actually don't have
too too much to bring up.
And it's also a very wacky overthe top, silly, as silly as you
(08:21):
can get kind of story, and itis very science fictiony as as
well.
So, yeah, there's it's kind ofhard to like try to explain like
the smaller details of thethings I'm gonna talk about, but
I'm gonna try and yeah.
So first things first.
As I said, this, it starts offmere seconds before the
(08:41):
destruction of the earth.
But even before then, before weknow, the earth is going to get
destructions.
It starts off mere minutesbefore the destruction of Arthur
Dent's home.
Arthur Dent's home is actuallyset to be demolished to make way
for a new highway in England.
So Arthur Dent is laying infront of the bulldozers trying
to prevent the construction crewfrom demolishing his home.
(09:04):
And what changes?
That is that Ford Prefect, hisfriend, shows up and Ford
convinces him to go to a pub.
But first in the book, ford hasto make sure that the lead
contractor of the constructioncrew lays down in front of the
bulldozers to prevent Arthur'shouse from going down.
So he convinces the leadcontractor to lay down in front
(09:26):
of the bulldozers and he andArthur head to the pub where
Ford explains what is about tohappen and why Arthur needs to
go with him.
In the film it's more of a.
Ford shows up with a lot ofalcohol and is kind of just like
, come with me to the pub.
(09:46):
Arthur.
And Arthur's like no, they'reabout to demolish my house.
And Ford's like well, I havethis cooler full of beers.
Have at it boys While we go tothe pub.
And so the construction crewstarts drinking beers while they
head over to the pub, but thelead contractor snaps out of it.
The construction crew in thefilm snap, like, enjoy a few
beers, and then Arthur's homegets demolished.
(10:07):
But it turns out it doesn'tmatter, because the Earth gets
demolished after that as well.
But by then Arthur and Ford areoff the planet.
In the book, pretty much afterFord and Arthur are rescued by
Zaphod and Trillian, they startmaking their way to Magrathea,
which is where they are.
(10:29):
So there's a supercomputer onthe planet Magrathea.
So this supercomputer revealedthe answer of like what is the
meaning of life essentially?
Or you know, what is themeaning of everything
essentially?
And so the supercomputeranswered.
But when it answered peoplewere like we have no idea what
that answer means.
So they're like are we askingthe wrong question?
(10:51):
Like what?
What is this?
Like this answer doesn't answerour question.
And she's like well, it does,but you're like asking the wrong
question.
And so they had to wait severalmillion more years for the
computer to figure out what theactual question people should be
asking is.
And so they're on their way tomagrathea to find out what the
(11:14):
ultimate question is.
And in film there are a fewmore hijinks added.
There is a one more planet thatthey visit before they start
making their way to Magrathea,and it is here that the Zaphod's
enemy is like.
I'll tell you how to get toMagrathea.
If you bring me the point ofview gun and the point of the
(11:35):
point of view gun is essentiallywhat it sounds like.
Like if I point the gun at youand shoot, you will understand
my point of view, which, nowthat I think about it, wouldn't
that be a nice gun to exist inthis day and age?
Like?
I feel like we need that gun.
That is the only gun I willadvocate for.
Let's make a point of view gun.
Let's make this a reality.
Let's do it, but anyway.
(11:56):
So they go and search for thispoint of view gun.
On their way to search for thepoint of view gun, trillian is
kidnapped.
This does not happen in thebook, but she is kidnapped by
Vogons, which are the aliensthat destroy Earth at the
beginning of the film, and theyhave to rescue her from the
Vogons, and they do.
And then they continue on theirway to.
(12:16):
They have the point of view gunat this point.
And then they figure out thecoordinates to magrathia and
they head out.
So yeah, that that is against.
Trillion is not kidnapped.
In the book, trillion and arthuralso have more of a connection
in the film than they do in thebook.
So in the film they definitelymake it out like trillion is
arthur's dream girl.
(12:37):
She's the one that got away.
They only met once at a party,but she's the one that got away.
And then Zapod pretends thathe's a human at this party where
Arthur and Trillian meet and hekind of like Trillian is like,
move with me to wherever.
She's like, come with me.
And Arthur's like verymethodical, very careful, and
he's like, well, we just met soI can move with you once we've
(13:00):
dated and gotten to know eachother a little bit more.
And that answer kind ofdisappoints her.
So when zaphod shows up and islike I can take you to space
right now, trillian is like okay, and then she leaves with him.
So they kind of have, they kindof play it off as like again,
this is the love of his life,woman of his dreams, the one
that got away, and he regretsnot running away with her when
(13:23):
she offered, but in the bookit's.
They know each other.
They did meet at that party,but there definitely isn't that
lost connection that they havein the film.
That's more of like I met you,I thought you were cute.
I met you too, I thought youwere cute too.
All right, well, I'm with Zafodnow.
And I met you, I thought youwere cute.
I met you too, I thought youwere cute too.
All right, well, I'm with Zafodnow and I'm happy.
(13:44):
Great, I'm happy, let's move on.
So, yeah, there definitelyisn't some of that.
I will say that the Hitchhiker'sGuide to the Galaxy is a
trilogy.
So I don't know, like, eventhough there ended up not being
any other sequels to thisparticular film, like I don't
know if this love connection isincluded and like the other
books in the trilogy, I just dowant to say that.
(14:04):
But so they might have beenincorporating elements from the
other two books.
They may not have and justinvented this completely for the
film.
I'm just basing this off of theone book and the adaptation
that it's based off of, so justwanted to throw that out there.
But yes, in the book theydefinitely don't have that like
connection, that like, and eventhroughout the film, like,
(14:27):
there's definitely moments inwhich it seems like Trillian
regrets leaving with Safod, likeeven though she's had a lot of
fun and she's really enjoyedgoing around the galaxy, like
she starts seeing that he's kindof maybe a little bit too
reckless, like it's his faultthat the earth got destroyed.
So she's, once she finds outthe earth is destroyed and that
(14:48):
he's the reason for it, likeunderstandably she gets very
angry.
He's the reason her, she can'treturn to her home planet now.
So, yeah, so she, she startsrealizing, like she definitely
starts like second guessingwhether or not she should be
with him and starts seeingArthur and a new light and kind
of like you know what, maybehaving someone methodical and
stable is not a bad thing.
Maybe that's what I need.
(15:09):
I have my adventure, but anyway.
So in the film, once they reachMagrathea and all the events
happen, there's a lot of thingsthat happen on Magrathea.
I don't even know where tobegin, but there's a lot of
things that happen.
Magrathea is essentially, yeah,there's a lot of things that
happen.
But throughout the film,questular, who is the vice
(15:31):
president of the galaxy, teamsup with the Vogons in trying to
get Zaphod Beeple Brox back andbecause he's kind of gone rogue
and, like I said, instead ofruling as president of the
galaxy, he's flying aroundlooking for Magrathea and he
stole a spaceship in the process.
So Questular, vice PresidentQuestular, teams up with the
Vogons and they're trying to getZaphod back In the book.
(15:55):
It's just like regular spacepolice that are after them.
It's not the vogons, it's notthe vice president, it's just
like the regular space police.
But in the film, marvin.
So marvin is, as I said,clinically depressed robot
played by warwick davis andvoiced by alan rickman.
So it's always lovely to hearalan rickman's voice.
(16:16):
He has like the best lines inthe film, I have to say Marvin
does, and just the way AlanRickman delivers it and his
deadpan humor, like the deadpankind of way, is just like
perfection.
But I am a little sad that theyjust use Warwick Davis as the
body.
But oh well, but anyway.
So in the film when the Vogonsshow up to capture Zafod, they
(16:38):
shoot Marvin and then Marvinlike reanimates and turns the
point of view gun on the Vogonsand the Vogons understand how
depressed Marvin really is andthat's kind of what defeats them
and allows our heroes to go ontheir way.
But in the book so the spacepolice show up and there's like
(17:00):
the exterior of the planet andthen the interior of the planet
and everyone is in the interiorof the planet except for Marvin.
Marvin stays on the exterior.
So when the space police land,they obviously land on the
exterior of the planet andMarvin starts talking to them
and essentially bores them todeath.
So the mothership of the spacepolice ends up just getting so
(17:23):
bored that it commits suicideand it kills all the space
police right as they're about tostart the battle, just like
just as the battle between theshootout between them and Arthur
Ford, trillian and Zaphodbegins.
So there's Marvin, and the filmand the book end slightly
different.
They both end in thateverything, all the events
(17:45):
conclude and they decide to headto the restaurant at the end of
the galaxy.
But in the book so it turns outthat you know humans, we
consider ourselves to be thesmartest species, to like, we're
at the top of the food chain,we're the smartest species ever.
But the book reveals thatdolphins are smarter than us and
mice are smarter than us andmice are actually the
(18:08):
masterminds behind this wholething.
So after the supercomputer waslike this is the answer to your
question, and then they're likewell, what's the question?
And the supercomputer is likeyou need to build another
computer to tell you what thequestion is.
The mice are the masterminds inEarth.
So Earth is essentially wascreated as another supercomputer
(18:29):
to reveal what the question,the ultimate question, is.
But before they could revealthe ultimate question, it got
destroyed to make way for thesuperhighway.
So the sense Arthur is although,now that I think about it,
essentially they're like Arthur,you're from Earth, like you can
give us the answer to thequestion, but like Trillian's,
from Earth too.
(18:49):
So couldn't they use her?
I don't know, seems a little, Idon't know.
That's all I'm going to say.
But I don't know, that's allI'm going to say.
But I don't know.
Maybe it's because Arthur wasliterally there right before
Earth was destroyed and Trilliumhad been with Zaphod in space
for a while.
I don't know, that's not reallyanswered.
But so the Slardibartfast, who'sfrom Magrathea, is in the
(19:11):
process of creating new Earth tobring that into existence and
hopefully get the ultimatequestion revealed to them.
But the mice are like well,there's no point in completing
it because we have arthur nowand we can just take his brain,
and then arthur's like I'm notgonna do that.
And then that's when the policeshow up and, yeah, the whole
shootout happens.
So new earth is kind of leftabandoned in the book.
(19:34):
In the film after the vogonsare depressed and everyone's
like, all right, we can leaveArthur's like slur to Bartfest,
finish New Earth.
But I'm not staying here, I'mgoing to go with my friends and
continue exploring the galaxy,and he's like, okay.
So in the book the idea of NewEarth is kind of abandoned, but
in the film New Earth is set tobe completed.
(19:56):
So that's it.
Like I said, I didn't have muchto say.
Overall this was a prettyfaithful adaptation.
There were some things added,like I said, and there's a lot
more hijinks, but the tone ofthe film definitely fits the
tone of the book.
This is a very over-the-top,silly kind of book and it is as
(20:19):
I said.
It is very, very sciencefiction, but it is a very, very
niche kind of humor in sciencefiction.
So it's not really my kind ofhumor and you know I'm not
really a fan of science fiction.
So this just isn't for me andit's definitely not for everyone
.
As I said, there's some peoplethat just absolutely love this
(20:40):
book and find it hilarious, likemy friend and her dad did.
And then there's others like methat are kind of just like.
I can appreciate it for what itis, but it's just not my humor
and I have to say the style ofthe film fits that very, very
well.
Like it's very chaotic andfrenetic and the actors are
(21:01):
having a really great time, likethey're really embracing it and
just having the time of theirlives, like you can tell they
had so much fun.
But it is like a unique kind ofit takes some getting used to.
Now I will say I think one ofthe reasons I hated it so much
in middle school was apart fromit being science fiction is that
I hadn't really been exposed toany kind of British humor back
(21:22):
then.
And if you're not used toBritish humor it does take some
like if you, if you don't reallyknow what to expect, it does
take some getting used to.
I've, you know, I've beenexposed to a lot more British
media since then, whether it beBritish literature or just
British films, british comedyshows since then.
(21:42):
So I'm a lot more familiar withit and I will say the overall
British humor is kind of hit ormiss for me.
There's some things that I justthat are hilarious and I love
them.
And then there's other thingsthat I just, for whatever reason
, it didn't speak to me.
So it is kind of hit or missfor me.
Orlando overall likes Britishhumor a lot more than I do.
(22:06):
Like there's some things thathe's thought were hilarious that
I didn't maybe find so funny,and then there's things that we
obviously both found really,really funny, enjoy, enjoy
together.
But like overall, orlando likesBritish humor a lot more than I
do and he appreciates it a lotmore than I do.
But even he with this film waslike yeah, that wasn't for me, I
(22:27):
really it just I just didn'tlike it, it wasn't I yeah.
So this is like a very, veryniche, very niche kind of humor.
So just want to throw that outthere.
So I rated the film three and ahalf stars and I no, actually
sorry, no, I didn't.
I rated the film three starsand I rated the book three stars
(22:49):
.
Overall I think they're bothjust okay.
If I had to recommend one overthe other, I would recommend the
book.
But if, like, if you startedoff and it's just a little too
wacky, a little too jumpy and byjumpy I just mean like it jumps
from one thing to anotherbecause it does and it does it
(23:11):
very quickly and then like youneed a more visual thing, then
try out the film.
But there are definitely funnylines there in the film,
definitely has some funnydeliveries, especially coming
from Alan Rickman, and there aredefinitely funny quotes,
definitely funny moments in both.
But it is a very particularkind of humor and if it's not
(23:34):
your thing, it's not your thing.
If it's your thing and youabsolutely love it, I love that
for you.
But that is it for this episodeof books versus movies.
Oh, I didn't do.
The winner, the winner, is thebook.
Yes, I mean, I think it'srather obvious when I said if I
had to choose one over the other, it's a book.
But I do think the bookslightly edges out the film in
(23:56):
this case.
But give it, give the film atry.
If you're just having a hardtime getting into the book
because it does, it does takesome getting used to.
Or watch the film and see ifit's for you and if and if it is
, then give the book a shot.
Because I think this is kind oflike the.
If Orlando had really reallyliked the film, I think he
definitely would have given thebook a try.
But I think Orlando doesn'thate science fiction as much as
(24:20):
I do, but it's still not hisgenre.
So if he's going to give it ashot, he really has to like what
he's watching.
So if he had really reallyliked this film, I know he would
have given the book a try,especially since it is
ultimately a British humorousbook.
More than it is science fiction, it's British humor.
So, yeah, give it a shot, seeif this is your kind of humor
(24:43):
and if it is, then I thinkyou'll really enjoy this book.
But that's it for this episodeof Books vs Movies.
Thank you so much for tuning in.
If you enjoy this series,you're really liking it.
Please leave it a rating and areview.
Share it with all your friends,tell them all about it.
Help me grow this littlecommunity and I need to figure
out what I'm going to bring in.
So there might be a little bitmore of a hiatus than I wanted
(25:06):
there to be, but just that's.
That's how it is.
Sometimes I have a lot ofthings to catch you up on and
sometimes I don't, but thank you.
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