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The Hitchhiker's Guide to the Galaxy: Hexagonal Phase (Dramatized)  By  cover art

The Hitchhiker's Guide to the Galaxy: Hexagonal Phase (Dramatized)

By: Eoin Colfer, Douglas Adams
Narrated by: Jane Horrocks, Sandra Dickinson, Mark Wing-Davey, Geoffrey McGivern, Simon Jones, Ed Byrne, Lenny Henry, full cast
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Publisher's summary

The brand new BBC Radio 4 full-cast series based on And Another Thing… the sixth book in the famous Hitchhiker’s Guide 'trilogy'.

Winner of the 2019 Audie Award for Science Fiction.

Forty years on from the first ever radio series of The Hitchhiker’s Guide to the Galaxy, Arthur Dent and friends return in six brand new episodes, in which they are thrown back into the Whole General Mish Mash in a rattling adventure involving Viking Gods and Irish Confidence Tricksters, with our first glimpse of Eccentrica Gallumbits and a brief but memorable moment with The Ravenous Bugblatter Beast Of Traal.

Starring John Lloyd as The Book, with Simon Jones as Arthur, Geoff McGivern as Ford Prefect, Mark Wing-Davey as Zaphod Beeblebrox, Sandra Dickinson and Susan Sheridan as Trillian, Jim Broadbent as Marvin the Paranoid Android and Jane Horrocks as Fenchurch, the cast also includes Samantha Béart, Toby Longworth, Andy Secombe, Ed Byrne, Lenny Henry, Philip Pope, Mitch Benn, Jon Culshaw and Professor Stephen Hawking.

First broadcast on BBC Radio 4 in 2018, the series is written and directed by Dirk Maggs and based on And Another Thing… by Eoin Colfer with additional unpublished material by Douglas Adams. This edition also includes over 50 minutes of unbroadcast bonus material.

Listeners are reminded that the relaxed attitude to danger provided by Joo Janta 200 Super-Chromatic Peril Sensitive Sunglasses is no substitute for running around, screaming.

Cast:

The Voice Of The Book…John Lloyd

Arthur Dent…Simon Jones

Ford Prefect…Geoff McGivern

Zaphod Beeblebrox…Mark Wing-Davey

Trillian/Tricia McMillan…Sandra Dickinson

Trillian…Susan Sheridan

Random…Samantha Béart

Jeltz/Wowbagger…Toby Longworth

Constant Mown…Andy Secombe

Left Brain/Thor…Mitch Benn

Fenchurch…Jane Horrocks

Hillman Hunter…Ed Byrne

Cthulu…Jon Culshaw

Marvin…Jim Broadbent

The Guide MkII…Professor Stephen Hawking

The Consultant…Lenny Henry

Heimdall/Barzoo/Buckeye Brown/Eccentrica /Gunner Vogon…Tom Alexander

Aseed Preflux/Sub-Etha Voice/HOG Door …Philip Pope

Modgud/The Viking…Theo Maggs Baldur… Phillipe Bosher

Announcer…John Marsh

Music by Philip Pope

Production research by Kevin Jon Davies.

Written and directed by Dirk Maggs.

Based on the novel And Another Thing… by Eoin Colfer, with additional material by Douglas Adams.

Recorded at The Soundhouse Ltd. by Gerry O'Riordan.

Sound Design by Dirk Maggs.

Produced by Dirk Maggs, Helen Chattwell and David Morley.

A Perfectly Normal Production for BBC Radio 4.

©2018 BBC Studios Distribution Ltd (P)2018 BBC Studios Distribution Ltd

What listeners say about The Hitchhiker's Guide to the Galaxy: Hexagonal Phase (Dramatized)

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    2 out of 5 stars

Almost, but not quite, entirely unlike the HHGG.

As always, a PHENOMENAL bit of work by the BBC. Sound design is inspired and hearing the original radio show cast (minus a few who have, sadly , left us) is the auditory and emotional equivalent of slipping into a cherished pair of comfortable slippers. Truly wonderful stuff, that.

The rest is a bit troublesome.

Eoin Coffer is a brave author to wade into a pool as deep and sacred as Douglas Adams' eccentrically-named Hitchhiker's Trilogy and take on what was surely a lose-lose scenario: create a wholly new work and find it greeted as "not Hitchhiker's enough" or delve deep into the lore and find himself accused of coasting along atop Douglas' hard-won success.

To me, a die-hard Hitchhiker's fan since its first broadcast, the work comes off as clunky pastiche at best and fanfic at worst. It sounds like Douglas(ish.) And I suppose it sounds like Eoin(ish) but it feels overstuffed so chock-full of refences from the original Hitchhiker's Guide to the Galaxy that the work just feels forced. The parts that are original in tone or content, meanwhile, feel poorly integrated, and the whole thing reads like 2 authors writing, lightly at odds with each other while simultaneously attempting to mimic each other's style.

That said, the audio production itself is the work's saving grace. The original cast dances though the almost-but-not-quite-entirely-unlike-Douglas Adams prose as if Douglas had written it himself in the office down the hall from the recording studio. In their hands, and the capable hands of the sound designers, who pepper the saga with light callbacks to the original radio's sound, the work is elevated to far more than the sum of its parts.

If you're a fan, or a completist, or a fan who is a completist, yes, you'll probably have to own this work. It's fun to hear familiar voices, and the performances are sometimes laugh-out-loud funny, but I felt so often that just as I had gotten into the groove of hearing Zaphod, Trillian, Ford, Arthur or the Guide itself, along came some clunky new stuff that just didn't fit the groove, or worse, a callback to the original works that felt so ham-handed and obvious that it knocked me right out of the merry suspension of disbelief needed to enjoy the Hitchhiker's universe.

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Enjoyed it—but also disappointed by it

It was brilliant to hear the original cast bring the radio show back to life again. There were a few almost-Adams-quality jokes—I laughed aloud once, which I hadn’t expected to do without the man himself at the helm—but the overall effect was marred by a number of inconsistencies and inaccuracies (“Zark” was not used quite so generously by Adams, nor in such a way [‘Zark this, zark that’... it just didn’t feel authentic]; there was no need for further hyperspace bypasses due to a technological breakthrough just prior to the destruction of Earth II, so why were the Vogons still using hyperspace bypasses to travel [I can get behind their excuse that they had to kill Earthlings too, but every detail matters, and the details were often inaccurate]; language like “bastard” and “crap” [I mean honestly, a little more creativity, please?] came up way too often; there was more sexual humor than in the originals; Trillian acted massively out of character [really? She would just fling herself on Wowbagger like that? I don’t think so]; on and on.) True, Adams himself included inconsistencies (with a flourish!) between versions, but I found the lack of continuity between radio show seasons unfortunate. Adams did maintain consistency within each respective version, after all. On the brighter side, Ford felt delightfully true-to-life, and I appreciated the moments when I could almost convince myself that Adams had penned a joke or two.

Overall, though, it felt rather contrived—both trying too hard and not trying hard enough at the same time. I’m wishing someone other than Colfer had been chosen to add to the series. It was pleasantly nostalgic, but I feel that someone who knew the series better or at least cared to do more thorough research would have produced a wittier, more accurate extension. Not much one can do without Adams himself, I suppose. A decent effort, though, and worth a listen.

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Like talking to a robotic version of an old friend

As always I enjoyed the performances from the actors and the quality of the recording. but there's something a little off with this one and it's abundantly clear from the get-go. Eoin Colfer does a serviceable job to return us to the universe that Douglas Adams created, but it always feel like a watered down version.

That being said, I still enjoyed it. There were many times I laughed at the absurdity of it all, and that reminds me of the originals.

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A Happier End

When I first heard of the concept of this book: “blasphemy” was the first word that came to mind.
But as Douglas Adams was a passionate atheist, I knew that I had to re-think things…:

I have read somewhere that Douglas Adams was a little unhappy with the Hitchhiker’s Ending.
The last book was written during a particularly “crappy” time of his life, and the book reflected that.
He thought long and hard about writing one more book, just to “set things right”.

This is Not Douglas Adams's book. 
It is missing “this and that”, and it’s missing it “here and there”.

All that being said, let’s look at what this book is to me:

A “last bow-out” of the characters, introduced to us by Douglas Adams.
An attempt to stitch things up, to bring to a happier end…
It reads to me like a friendly celebration of Douglas Adams's story, by someone that obviously read - and loved the H2G2 series, not an evil “money-making, coattail riding” blasphemous hack.

The book made me smile, even laugh, it gave me a warm feeling around the cockles, and was genuinely able to transport me back to the time when I first heard of “Dentrassi”, “Vogons” and “Golgafrinchans”.

If one is willing to forgive the writers that they are not Douglas Adams, one is hard-pressed not to get at least some enjoyment out of this ending.

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awesome

awesome ending to the series. The Hitchhiker's Guide to the Galaxy is something of a Bible to me I love it.

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Nice Try, But No Fish for You

I appreciate that the Adams family asked for him to continue the story, but he is no Douglas Adams. It came across as it was written: a homage. Yes, you can hear Douglas Adams words, but not his wit, which just proves how unique Douglas Adams was. The key to listening to the story is lowering your expections. The voice acting, sound and direction are perfect, but the story doesn't have the unexpected / unhinged concepts that is the mark of Adam's work. I am thinking a 2nd listen at a later date is needed to get a less biased assessment. It is a good effort, but I didn't laugh out loud once, I just felt good a few times. Damn, I do miss Douglas Adams.

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Absolutely loved it!

Since the first minute I couldn’t stop! I binge-listened to it one after the other! Greatly recommend! The performances were amazing!

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  • Overall
    3 out of 5 stars
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Too much

It's a pale reflection of the original work of Douglas Adams. The five books of the trilogy were great. The adaptations of the last three books into a radio were fun, although they suffered in translation. Mostly Harmless and the Quintessential Phase wrapped it up so nicely.

This didn't add anything.

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Eoin Colfer should feel incredibly proud

So, interesting thing, I was not paying much attention, perhaps distracted by my digital watch, but I read this assuming it was written by Douglas Adams.
Can I just say, that before I get into my nitpicky complaints, the fact that I read through this whole book without realizing it was not Douglas Adams who wrote this, is immensely huge praise. If the author is reading this I hope you know that is an amazing feat and I hope you realize how accomplished you are to pull that off.
Okay, with that out of the way. Please understand that I am reviewing this essentially as if Adams wrote it, so I am holding it to a high standard indeed.
This was not my favorite Hitchiker's Guide to the Galaxy book, but it was also not my least favorite.
Two things detracted from my enjoyment of the book.
One, the book was often, especially at the start, self-referential. It was trying hard to remind you that it was a HGttG book. Nudging you with its elbow and with a wink saying "Hey! Remember that one time? That was fun."
Two, the book's political satire was too on the nose and not done as artfully. Thankfully it only occurred once or twice.
What I did love was the plot was more interesting than many of the other books. The characters felt right and were spot on.
Most of the book I drifted through it with a happy smile on my face. Glad to be back in this universe and with these characters.
The ending felt a little out of place. Feeling a bit more American than a proper British ending if you catch my drift. I am sure the fans love it, but it didn't sit exactly right with me. Still I did not hate it.
So, not my favorite, but I hope Eoin Colfer that you know you pulled off something amazing and should feel incredibly proud of what you accomplished.

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Disappointment

The first phases were amazing. This one was a big let down -- not much new, just rehashing the previous stories.

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