The Hitch Hikers Guide to the Galaxy: Primary Phase (Audio CD)

In the same way as the books allow the readers imagination to run away with themselves so the radio plays continue to enhance this. For people who do not like reading this is one of the best ways to get into Douglas Adams' classic......and for those that do like reading - well this is like welcoming an old friend home


The original and best...but incomplete!   September 5, 2004
R. A. Caton (London United Kingdom)
23 out of 26 found this review helpful

I first heard the Guide when it was broadcast back in the late 70's, and bought the LPs from Original Records when they were released, but looked forward to getting the original broadcasts on CD when the BBC got round to issuing them.
So! when they came out, I bought!. There is an edit....confirmable by checking against the remains of an off-air cassette recording, and the scripts (not the novels!) as published by Pan Books.
When they arrive on Magrathea in Fit the Third, the background music is recognisable to all Pink Floyd fans...in the show, but not on these CDs, Arthur says "Do you know this robot can hum like Pink Floyd?" and asks if Marvin can do anything else, whereupon Marvin bursts into "Rock and Roll music" by the Beatles....
A small point but one for which I deduct a star....

Douglas Adams remarked in the script book that he was convinced there wouldn't be a second radio series, with the resulting end of this first series....but there was. He then deliberately left the second series open for a third to continue the story....and there wasn't. We can only regret that, since the TV series and the books took such a different course to the radio show, and never took up the challenge of the second radio series....

Buy these CDs, and the second series CDs, and listen to the continuation that should be on BBC R4 soon....