Dirk Gently's Holistic Detective Agency (Dramatised)

By: Douglas Adams

Narrated by: Harry Enfield, Billy Boyd, Andrew Sachs, Jim Carter

Length: 3 hrs and 37 mins

Publisher's summary

Harry Enfield and Billy Boyd star in a brand new, full-cast dramatisation of Douglas Adams' first Dirk Gently book, directed by the award-winning Dirk Maggs.

Dirk Gently has an unshakeable belief in the interconnectedness of all things, but his Holistic Detective Agency mainly succeeds in tracking down missing cats for old ladies. Then Dirk stumbles upon an old friend behaving bizarrely - and he's drawn into a four-billion-year-old mystery that must be solved if the human race is to avoid immediate extinction.

Harry Enfield stars as Douglas Adams' much-loved psychic sleuth, with Billy Boyd (The Lord of the Rings), Andrew Sachs (Fawlty Towers), Jim Carter (The Golden Compass), and Olivia Colman (Peepshow).

©1987 Douglas Adams (P)2007 BBC Audiobooks Ltd

Perfect adaptation

Now that was the way Douglas Adams' Dirk Gently was meant to be... Beyond adaptation. Radio drama, 'read' that way only!

Amazingly Absurd

Top notch audio presentation, takes about 5 minutes to get rolling but once it goes it really moves. A three and a half hour presentation that sadly feels like a half hour due to the brisk pacing. Filled with great characters and they are voiced terrifically. The music fades in and out at all the right times and the sound effects overall are of the highest quality.

The story seems to duck and dodge common sense like a feather weight champion, never letting anything slow it down. If you have read or listened to any of the hitchhiker series you owe yourself this last treat of Douglas Adams delight. The only downside to this is you really start to wonder what other great unique works Douglas Adams could have written and produced if he hadn't left this world all to early.

Great but...

A wonderful dramatization. But I am taking a point off for the fact that they never made a full version of Hot Potato from the story. It's not as if they don't have the lyrics...

I liked it

This was really well done and a fantastic listen, but it would be nice to have an unabridged recording of the original novel.

Extremely enjoyable.

If you like Douglas Adams, you'll like the story and the performance. If you don't know or understand Mr Adams, read up on him and then listen to this. Otherwise you just won't get it, and that would be a shame.

Simply a very enjoyable production

I recommend it to any one. Really good performances by the actors and well directed. Some times even scary

Great Story

As always, a fantastical Adams tale. As this story was dramatized instead of narrated, it was a touch hard to follow at times, but still absolutely worth it.

Excellent dramatisation but wish for unabridged

I have now learned that I do not like dramatisations as, like another reviewer, I found all the background music and sound effects very distracting. But, having said that, I thought that as a dramatisation this production was excellent, the casting first class and the story great fun. It deserves its five stars.
Please audible could we have the whole "Hitch Hikers" and "Dirk Gently" read unabridged one day? This is a classic now from Douglas Adams, who set a whole new standard and style. and sadly we have so little of his work.

First rate

This is a wonderful rendering of Douglas Adams' novel. I'm listening to it in Enhanced Format, so the sound quality is quite good. The acting is first rate, as I've come to expect from BBC productions. I'm the proud owner of many Douglas Adams audio plays, including all the Hitchhiker's Guide radio plays, including Tertiary, Quandary and Quintessential. I never get tired of them, thanks to the quality of the productions (and Douglas Adams' great work). This was evidently done with loving care, directed by the talented Dirk Maggs, the same guy who did the most recent incarnations of Hitchhiker. The comedic timing, the music, the voice characterizations are all spot on. Billy Boyd (Pippin from Lord of the Rings) and Andrew Sachs (Manuel from Fawlty Towers) are perfect. Olivia Coleman as Janice Pearce is brilliant. And Harry Enfield in the title role really nails it. If you're a Douglas Adams fan, you will love this. I also purchased the other Dirk Gently audio play, The Long Dark Tea Time of the Soul. Another must-have. Thanks, Audible, for the Enhanced Format, by the way. I've re-downloaded many purchases I've made over the years in this format, free of charge. For the sake of balance, I wish I could come up with one negative comment to make. I just can't think of one. Bravo.

Disappointed, sadly

I got this book highly recommended for its quirky humor, and I love hitchhikers guide to the galaxy. But this short radio play form does not do this one justice i feel. I found myself distracted, and straining to listen through the very dominant ambient sound.