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The Hitchhiker's Guide to the Galaxy: The Original Albums

By: Douglas Adams
Narrated by: Full Cast, Peter Jones, Simon Jones, Geoffrey McGivern, Mark Wing-Davey
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Summary

Don’t Panic! Reissued for the first time in 40 years, two unique recordings of Douglas Adams's sci-fi comedy drama.

When Earthman Arthur Dent learns that first his house and then his planet are about to be bulldozed, it’s the beginning of an interplanetary adventure for him and his friend, Ford Prefect. After fleeing Earth they hitch a lift with hoopy frood Zaphod Beeblebrox, who hurtles from one improbability to another - literally. With Trillian and Marvin the Paranoid Android in tow, the answer to Life, the Universe and Everything is soon revealed: 42. But what was the question…?

Following the success of the BBC radio series, Douglas Adams adapted his scripts for these two full-cast albums, with incidental radiophonic music provided by Paddy Kingsland. First released by Original Records in 1980, The Hitchhiker’s Guide to the Galaxy and The Restaurant at the End of the Universe star Peter Jones as The Book, Simon Jones as Arthur Dent, Geoffrey McGivern as Ford Prefect and Mark Wing-Davey as Zaphod Beeblebrox.

Produced by Geoffrey Perkins and Tim Souster, the cast also includes Cindy Oswin, Stephen Moore, Richard Vernon, Valentine Dyall, David Tate, Jim Broadbent, Bill Wallis, Roy Hudd, Frank Middlemass, Stephen Greif and others.

Hang onto your towel – it’s going to be the ride of a lifetime.

PLEASE NOTE: When you purchase this title, the accompanying PDF will be available in your Audible Library along with the audio.

©2020 BBC Studios Distribution Ltd (P)2020 BBC Studios Distribution Ltd
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What listeners say about The Hitchhiker's Guide to the Galaxy: The Original Albums

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enjoying show.

I enjoyed the show and it was funny. the show was good and funny with story.

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1 person found this helpful

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A re-recording of the original BBC radio scripts

The hugely influential and widely admired Hitchhiker's Guide started life on BBC Radio as a comedy drama. because recordings of this were unavailable Douglas Adams adapted the scripts for a commercially released two disc album which included material from the first 4 radio episodes. This was followed by a second release of scripts for the last two episodes - Restaurant at the End of the Universe. while the first Album may even have been better than the Radio series, the Restaurant album lacks the spark of the original, possibly becuase the new material that was added to make it long enough for an album acts like filler rather than contributing to the comedy. It's all still a good listen though and great value for one credit.

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  • Overall
    5 out of 5 stars
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    5 out of 5 stars

My favourite version of Hitchhiker, at last!

For me, this always trumped every other version. So pleased people can hear it again!

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3 people found this helpful

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Good to hear original full production!

Original BBC radio production, excellent play for any audience and recommend to any sci-fi fan!

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I know im gonna get a bundle of kicks out of any problem you can’t run through me

Hitchhiker’s guide to the galaxy in my opinion the best book ever

My reason

Funny

Interesting story that confuses you to get you hooked

So many quotes

Unlimited replay ability

Great characters

And a bowl of petunias and the number of roads a man must walk down (42) is a very important

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Great to hear these albums again

Apparently taken from the vinyl rather than the master tapes, this sounds pretty good. I love all the versions of the Hitch Hiker’s Guide to the Galaxy but this one is extra special to me as for a long time it was the *only* way to listen to the show after the repeats had finished on Radio 4 in the late 70s. Despite the vinyl origins the sound quality is better than the original radio show (though the Dirk Maggs remixes have greatly improved them) and the backing music, from Tim Souster and Paddy Kingsland of the Radiophonic Workshop is completely recomposed, and rather better for the most part - Rainbow in Curved Air, Jean Michel Jarre, Pink Floyd, the Beatles and Louis Armstrong are all missing (rights issues) but you don’t miss them that much as the new music is so well fitted to the script with a delightfully light pizzicato feel shading to passages of choral synth grandeur - additional sound effects throughout make for a very rich and textured experience. This is the first appearances of Disaster Area (predating the TV show and novel adaptation) and Valentine Dyall as Deep Thought. David Jason is absent, but Jim Broadbent and Roy Hudd are both there. The rewritten scene with the mice is much funnier than the original with mouse voices that crack me up every time. The performances are great across the board, tight and finely honed. The only thing that I really miss - and it’s a big one - is Susan Sheridan in her role as Trillian as she was recording the dialogue for a Disney cartoon at the time, but Cindy Oswin does a great interpretation and gets to appear as one of the two operators of Deep Thought, which makes those scenes feel a fair bit more modern. These albums, lost for decades, bring fresh perspective to THHGTTG - if you’re a fan of the original show and into completism then these are a must-have. If you’re new to Hitch Hiker then this is a great - and compact - way to get into the show. Right, I’m going back to the desert of Kaktafoon Kappa for the finale of Disaster Area’s gig...

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4 people found this helpful

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Always funny

No matter how many times I listen as good and funny as always, a great production

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The original and best

For some reason, someone saw fit to change the original story slightly, shorten it a bit and re-release it as a 'modernised' version. I don't know why. This is the original version where they leave Milliways in the ship belonging to the rock band. I was very disappointed with the other version missing this out and regretted using a credit to buy it. This version is well worth the credit and just like the original radio series

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1 person found this helpful

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lovely.

Speaking as an ancient fan of all things H2G2G it is a joy to listen to the Lp versions again.

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Wonderful

Truly wonderful, funny, clever and even funnier every time I listen to it, thank you so much

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