Archive Douglas Adams/Hitchhiker’s Guide news for December 2003

Home / News / About me / About my book

31st December 2003
Hugh Laurie ruled out as Arthur
Hugh Laurie, whose big screen roles include Stuart Little and 101 Dalmatians, was known to be Douglas Adams’ personal favoured choice for the role of Arthur Dent in the Hitchhiker’s Guide movie. However, the Douglas Adams Continuum site quotes HHGG movie producer Robbie Stamp as follows: “Hugh Laurie has not really been in the running this time. I think the feeling is that he is just a little too old now – if there was to be a sequel he would be nearly 50 – just too old for Arthur I suspect.”

30th December 2003
Exclusive! Harry Potter casting director working on Hitchhiker’s Guide
My spies tell me that the important job of finding potential actors for the Hitchhiker’s Guide to the Galaxy movie is in the safe hands of Susie Figgis, one of the most experienced and highly respected casting directors in the UK. The sister of film director Mike Figgis (Timecode, The Browning Version), her previous credits include Sleepy Hollow, The Full Monty and Interview with the Vampire and she was the original casting director on Harry Potter and the Philosopher’s Stone (she left before the lead roles were cast). The casting director’s job is to suggest suitable actors for each role, with the final choice being the responsibility of the director and producers. If all goes smoothly, the first casting announcement on the movie is expected in January.

29th December 2003
Salmon of Doubt published in Poland
Thanks to Grzegorz Andrelczyk, webmaster of the excellent Polish HHGG site Nie Panikuj, for letting me know that The Salmon of Doubt has just been published this month in Poland. The Polish title is Losos Zwatpienia: Autostopem przez Galaktyke po raz ostatni (apologies for the inability of my computer to cope with non-ASCII Polish letters!), the publisher is Zysk i S-ka, the translator is Pawel Wieczorek and you can see the very attractive cover here.

22nd December 2003
Tertiary Phase broadcast put back
The Tertiary Phase, originally announced for broadcast from 17th February, has now been put back to an unspecified date for logistical reasons. This information comes from an interview which I conducted today with Dirk Maggs, which will form the basis of an article in SFX magazine next year and will be subsequently published in complete form in Mostly Harmless. Dirk informs me that he has also been interviewed recently by Radio Times and Cult Times – both to be published next year – as well as by French Guide expert Nicolas Botti.

22nd December 2003
Roger Gregg interview lined up for Radio 4
Roger Gregg – Eddie the computer in the Tertiary Phase and the mad genius behind Ireland’s award-winning Crazy Dog Audio Theatre – will be interviewed on A World in Your Ear this Friday (26th December). The show, which looks at the best English-language radio from around the globe, goes out on BBC Radio 4 at 1.30pm and will be repeated on Sunday 28th October at 8pm. Listeners outside the UK can hear it via the Radio 4 website, but only at the stated times (GMT).

20th December 2003
MSNBC reviews Hitchhiker
The MSNBC site, a joint news project between MSN and NBC, includes Hitchhiker: A Biography of Douglas Adams in its Winter Book Guide to biographies. “Simpson has obviously done his research – his book is chock full of dates and names and footnotes,” says the amusingly named Gael Fashingbauer Cooper. “But he doesn’t seem to know what Adams was like as a person, what inspired him, what he loved.” After rather ghoulishly complaining that the book does not dwell in enough detail on Douglas’ heart attack, Cooper concludes: “Adams had a quirky, fun view of life, the universe and everything, to cite one of his book titles. It’s a shame that doesn’t come through in this otherwise solid book.”

20th December 2003
Independent savages Wish You Were Here
Back in October, the Independent’s book critic Robert Hanks wrote a rather lacklustre review of Wish You Were Here. In last week’s Indie (14th December) his colleague David Randall reviews a batch of celebrity biographies and tears into Nick Webb’s book like a Rottweiler: “This depends so much on an anorak’s knowledge of his work, places its subject on such a ludicrously elevated pedestal, is so replete with silly, obscure footnotes, and is so up its own spine, that it defied reading to completion. It’s the perfect gift, however, if you know someone who wears zip-up cardigans and hangs around collectors’ fairs.”

Considerably fairer is the review in the current SFX (issue 112) which I have finally got hold of. “With a subject like Adams this is never going to be a dull book,” says Simon Withers, “but there are times when Webb strives a little too hard for an Adams-like quirkiness.” Withers gives the book four stars out of five, observing: ”The other tendency ... is reverence. The term ‘genius’ is bandied about too regularly.”

“Wish You Were Here tries to focus on Douglas,” explains Webb in a short interview accompanying the review, “his ideas, huge enthusiasms, personality – rather than an exact chronology of what he did when.”

19th December 2003
Simon Mayo mentions Hitchhiker and WYWH
Thanks to Jerry for pointing out that both Hitchhiker: A Biography of Douglas Adams and Wish You Were Here were mentioned in a ‘books of the year’ round-up on Simon Mayo’s BBC Five Live show yesterday. Mayo is a well-known fan of Hitchhiker’s Guide and was recently seen enthusing about Douglas Adams’ work on The Big Read grand final.

19th December 2003
eBaywatch for week ending 19th December
The Hitchhiker’s Guide TV theme single turns up occasionally but I’ve never seen an Australian pressing before. I’m not sure how this differs from UK pressings but it’s one for completists (ends 20th December; no bids yet; starting price Au$8.00). The piece on ‘Y’ in The Salmon of Doubt was originally written for this very collectible book (ends 21st December; no bids yet; starting price $9.95).

18th December 2003
‘Reduced Hitchhiker’s Guide’ mystery
One of the items promised in the final of The Big Read last Saturday was that “the comedy troupe Reduced Shakespeare Company will perform skits based on the books”. However, there was no sign of the always popular RSC in the programme as broadcast (live) and no mention of why they were not there. Today a Pittsburgh newspaper carries an interview with RSC member Austin Tichenour, evidently conducted before last Saturday, which mentions the planned Big Read skits: “Strangely, one of the books they're condensing is Douglas Adams' The Hitchhiker’s Guide to the Galaxy. That’s right, Tichenour says, ‘We’re now satirizing satire.’” Magrathea is attempting to find out what happened.

18th December 2003
Tertiary Phase news round-up
Mixing and post-production is continuing on The Tertiary Phase. Previous rumours of an earlier (January) broadcast slot have proved unfounded and the show is still set to debut on Radio 4 on 17th February. Feature coverage is expected in SFX, the Radio Times and The Daily Telegraph, among others. Above The Title’s website will shortly be carrying a three-minute video ‘trailer’ for the series, shot and edited by Making of Hitchhiker’s Guide director Kevin Davies, Roger Gregg’s Crazy Dog Audio Theatre site will have stacks of behind-the-scenes photos and interviews, and the next issue of Mostly Harmless will have a complete cast/crew guide including all the uncredited roles plus an exclusive interview with William Franklyn, the new voice of the Book. Everything that happens relating to the Tertiary Phase will be reported here so check back frequently.

14th December 2003
Big Read – final result!
It’s official: The Hitchhiker’s Guide to the Galaxy is the fourth most popular book in the UK. The results were announced in a special Big Read programme broadcast live from the Royal Opera House last night, following a rundown of books 21 to 6 and a look at the top five titles (His Dark Materials having knocked To Kill a Mockingbird out of the top five at the last moment). Each book was discussed by a panel of experts: children’s author Michael Rosen (“The wonderful thing that Douglas Adams did was let Monty Python loose in the world of science fiction. It’s a book you just laugh out loud at as you go through.”), Professor of Literature John Carey (“I love this book. It’s enormously warm and human.”) and critic Bonnie Greer (“It’s beautifully written and it’s also very funny.”)

Each book was also briefly discussed by three or four celebrities, in HHGG’s case these were Adrian Mole author Sue Townsend, Hitchhiker’s radio producer Geoffrey Perkins and BBC Five Live presenter Simon Mayo. Cutaways to the audience showed a party of ZZ9ers enjoying the BBC’s hospitality, complete with Beeblebear, and also Jane Belson and Ed Victor.

Clive Anderson revealed that 750,000 votes had been cast altogether, with the top five books in reverse order being: Harry Potter and the Goblet of Fire (55,000 votes), Hitchhiker’s Guide (57,000 votes), His Dark Materials (63,000 votes), Pride and Prejudice (135,000 votes) and – to no-one’s surprise – Lord of the Rings (174,000 votes).

14th December 2003
Stephen Moore interviewed at La Guide Galactique
Nicolas Botti has added yet another great interview to his HHGG site. This time it’s Stephen Moore, discussing all the different versions of HHGG with which he has been associated, up to and including the Tertiary Phase. As for the film, Stephen says: “I haven’t seen the design for Marvin but it’s got to be better than the TV one. Robbie Stamp has told me that the producers would like to have my voice on board.” (A macquette of the new Marvin design does exist but is understandably being kept under close wraps.) The Stephen Moore interview is also at Nicolas’ HHGG movie site.

12th December 2003 (on this day)
Big Read latest – HHGG makes final five
Voting has now closed on The Big Read and 16 books have been eliminated from the list, leaving only the top five. The final will be broadcast live from the Royal Opera House tomorrow on BBC 2 at 9.00pm, when lines for phone votes will reopen. Lord of the Rings looks certain to win, but Hitchhiker’s Guide has made it into the final five. It is currently in third place, behind Pride and Prejudice but ahead of Harry Potter and To Kill a Mockingbird.

12th December 2003
St. John’s College announces ‘Douglas Adams Prize’
Douglas Adams’ alma mater, St. John’s College, Cambridge, is planning a ‘Douglas Adams Prize’ to be awarded annually “for a piece of humorous writing by a student here.” Douglas read English at St. John’s from 1971 to 1974 and the prize has been suggested by “one of his contemporaries.” The college says: “We think this is an excellent way in which to commemorate one of our most talented former students and we hope that friends of Douglas and admirers of his work will help us establish it. We are seeking to raise around £10,000 to enable the prize to be awarded annually in perpetuity.”

12th December 2003
eBaywatch for week ending 12th December
There’s a proof copy of the recent Don’t Panic hardback currently on eBay (ends 17th December; no bids yet; starting price $45.00). That’s the second one I’ve seen; there will probably be a few more then you’ll never see them again. Not so rare but worth having is a big two-part interview with Douglas which appeared in Starburst issues 31 and 32 (ends 12th December; no bids yet; starting price 99p each). The Great Ape Project was a book on primates to which Douglas Adams contributed a foreword. It’s hard to find and available here at a bargain price (ends 17th December; latest bid 30p!).

But if you’ve got six hundred dollars to spare, here’s the jewel in the crown of any Adams fan’s collection: the full set of five Easton Press volumes – hand-tooled leather, gold-stamped, etc. These are very, very rarely offered for sale, and trust me, this is the going price (ends 13th December; no bids yet; starting price $599.00).

9th December 2003
Boston Herald reviews Hitchhiker
You can’t please everyone, so the book reviewer of the Boston Herald has decided to fly in the face of general critical opinion and write a negative review of Hitchhiker: A Biography of Douglas Adams. “Simpson captures little of Adams’ quirky charm,” reckons Jennifer Miller. “Instead, he painstakingly documents the least interesting aspects of his subject’s life, from the prize for reading Adams received at age 8 to the legal battles surrounding the Guide record albums.” One would have thought that a famous author’s literary track record in his formative years was relevant, but apparently not in Boston. She also thinks “The biography is geared to British readers”, apparently having missed the several pages of glossary, etc. added to the US edition to explain UK celebrities, TV shows, education, etc. Readers will, according to Ms Miller, “gain little insight into why Adams was a champion procrastinator ... and hopeless at friendship.” The idea that Douglas was ‘hopeless at friendship’ is so absurd as to be not worth bothering to refute.

6th December 2003
Scotsman reviews Wish You Were Here
Wish You Were Here gets a brief mention in a round-up of recent biographies in today’s Scotsman. Reviewer Michael Kerrigan observes that Douglas Adams “may have had an astonishing imagination and sense of humour, but the great Hitchhiker spent too much of his last years negotiating TV and dotcom deals to compel the reader’s interest for the full 350 pages.”

5th December 2003
Hitchhiker reviewed by American Library Association and Sci Fi Magazine
Booklist, the magazine of the American Library Association, has given Hitchhiker: A Biography of Douglas Adams a starred review. Reprinted on Amazon, the review calls the book, “A biography that will entertain die-hard fans and those who’ve never cracked a Hitchhiker book alike.” “[Adams] had an ever-ready stack of ripping yarns about his life and work,” says reviewer Roberta Johnson, “but Simpson, though a huge admirer, firmly points out discrepancies between Adams’ versions and actual events, allowing fans glimpses into Adams’ life that the intensely private writer wouldn’t.”

Meanwhile, Sci Fi Magazine, published in the US by the Sci Fi Channel, has rated Hitchhiker an ‘A’, calling it an. “affectionate but not uncritical biography [in which] MJ Simpson introduces us to a flawed genius with a penchant for monologuing and a formidable talent for missing deadlines” Commenting on the near simultaneous publication of Don’t Panic, the mag observes: “Curiously, Simpson has contributed four chapters to Gaiman’s book and Gaiman has contributed a foreword to this one – probably the only time two seemingly competing authors have collaborated on each other’s books, and surely the sort of generous co-operation that the genial Adams would have appreciated.” You can read the full review at the Justin, Charles & Co website.

5th December 2003
Tertiary Phase – new broadcast dates
The Tertiary Phase of Hitchhiker’s Guide, originally scheduled for broadcast on Tuesdays from 17th February (my birthday!), has been brought forward. I can exclusively reveal that the six episodes will now be broadcast on Friday evenings and repeated on Saturday lunchtimes, starting in late January (either 23rd or 30th).

5th December 2003
eBaywatch for week ending 5th December
Signed Douglas Adams books aren’t too hard to find but here’s something a bit special: an original UK paperback of Life, the Universe and Everything signed by Douglas and also by Sandra Dickinson and Stephen Moore, who has written ‘Don’t talk to me about life’(!) (ends 13th December; no bids yet; starting price £7.00). The other interesting item for sale this week is something really bizarre and very rare – but frankly unlistenable. At the End of the Universe: Homage a Douglas Adams is a CD of modern jazz by the Klaus König Orchestra. Only ever released in Germany, this discordant disc uses an inlay design based on an old German paperback edition of the books (ends 8th December; no bids yet; starting price $9.99).

3rd December 2003
Top Ten TV: Sci-Fi repeat tomorrow
The edition of Top Ten TV devoted to science fiction programmes will be repeated tomorrow night, just after midnight (ie. 12.20am on 5th December). First broadcast on 13th October 2001, the programme includes a look at the 1981 TV series of Hitchhiker’s Guide as well as Doctor Who, Blake’s 7, The Tomorrow People, Sapphire and Steel and other SF shows. Among the interviewees are Simon Jones, David Dixon and Yours Truly.

3rd December 2003
Douglas Adams spotted in 1980 TV show – picture on-line
A previously unknown TV appearance by Douglas Adams has come to light, thanks to the eagle eyes (and excellent video collection) of ‘Zenith’, a poster on alt.fan.douglas-adams. Zenith had the good sense to video the third series of Not the Nine O’Clock News when it was broadcast in 1980 and recently rewatched programme seven. In a rare shot of the NTNON audience, ‘Her Majesty the Queen’ can be seen, played by actress Jeanette Charles (The Naked Gun, etc). On her left, in his distinctive brown leather jacket, is the unmistakable figure of Douglas Adams.

NTNON producer and long-time Adams associate John Lloyd called Douglas’ appearance in the show, “Very interesting and amusing, but entirely accidental. He'd have just come along as a mate as a part of the studio audience.” See for yourself in this framegrab, kindly provided by David Piper-Balston.

3rd December 2003
Dirk Maggs interviewed at La Guide Galactique
Nicolas Botti has added a new interview with Dirk Maggs to his excellent site La Guide Galactique. Dirk discusses his work adapting and directing The Tertiary Phase of HHGG with Nicolas, who knows something of this himself because he was of course the man behind the French radio series of Hitchhiker’s Guide. The interview is in English, with a French translation to be posted soon.