The Hitchhiker's Guide to the Galaxy: Tertiary Phase (BBC Radio Full-Cast Dramatization)

The Hitchhiker's Guide to the Galaxy: Tertiary Phase (BBC Radio Full-Cast Dramatization)
by Douglas Adams

The Hitchhiker's Guide to the Galaxy: Tertiary Phase (BBC Radio Full-Cast Dramatization)
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Book Summary Information

Author: Douglas Adams
Narrator: Simon Jones
Narrator: Geoffrey McGivern
Narrator: Susan Sheridan
Narrator: Stephen Moore
Edition: Music CD
Audio: English (Unknown); English (Original Language); English (Published)
Format: Audiobook
Published: 2005-03-24
ISBN: 1572704691
Publisher: BBC Audiobooks America

Book Reviews of The Hitchhiker's Guide to the Galaxy: Tertiary Phase (BBC Radio Full-Cast Dramatization)

Book Review: I Cried, I Laughed, I Cried Some More
Summary: 5 Stars

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.

Summary of The Hitchhiker's Guide to the Galaxy: Tertiary Phase (BBC Radio Full-Cast Dramatization)

The 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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