It’s completely absurd, and yet I was completely along for the ride. I hand it to the British who go about their comedy without warning or apology. Take it or leave it, but The Hitchhiker’s Guide to the Galaxy British humor and societal commentary at its best.
In a way, it’s that absurdity, that choice to disregard the logical in favor of a radical representation of what life would be like if humans were completely annihilated. One though, Arthur Dent, is lucky enough to come face-to-face with the terms of the galaxy’s bureaucratic existence and its role in the inconvenience of life, the universe, and everything.
We begin with Arthur’s house about to be demolished for a bypass. But so is Earth. Thankfully, his friend, Ford Prefect, is an undercover researcher for the next edition of the intergalactic travel guide, The Hitchhiker’s Guide to the Galaxy. Ford finds a way to get them off Earth seconds before the Vogons, the universe’s most bureaucratic species, reduce it to rubble.
The Vogons don’t destroy Earth because they’re bad, but because the paperwork was filed on time and no one from Earth objected to the plans on display millions of miles away. It’s quite a commentary.
It’s six episodes of traveling in a bathrobe, stolen starships, a two-headed President of the Galaxy, a depressed robot named Marvin, whose vast intelligence makes him paranoid and depressed, and the search for the answer to the question of life.
A personal shoutout to Marvin – the paranoid robot engineered with Genuine People Personalities who loathes his existence and feels everyone should be as miserable as him. Depending on the day, he is completely relatable.
Yes, this is 1981 BBC. Expect effects and props built solely from imagination. Although I quite enjoyed the old computer graphic overlays used throughout.
As the Guide tells us on its front cover, Don’t Panic. Sit back and enjoy the journey into one of Britain’s greatest comedic outputs (and cult followings).
P.S. The 2005 film staring Martin Freeman, Mos Def, Zooey Deschanel, and Alan Rickman as the voice of Marvin, does not disappoint either, but I recommend watching the TV series so you get the full scope of Douglas Adam’s created universe and farcical renderings of authority and management.
The TV series is available on Kanopy here. (Free with your Hoboken Public card).
Bluray in the BCCLS system here.
Interested in the book? Reserve it in the BCCLS system here or borrow as a digital audiobook here.
Comment below your thoughts once you’ve had a watch.
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Written by:
Sean Willey
Information and Digital Services Assistant
Hoboken Public Library Blog 