The Hitchhiker’s Guide to the Galaxy
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Jacob
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Apr 27, 2011 12:08PM
Why do they want to bulldoze his house?
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To build a highway. Just like the earth. That's what makes the book so awesome. Recursion in fiction.
That was the funniest part. While he's trying to stop his house being bulldozed to build a new highway, the earth is about to be destroyed to build a new intergallactic bypass.
Arthur Dent's house is being bulldozed to make space for a highway while Earth is being bulldozed to make space for a soon-to-be obsolete hyperspatial express route/ highway! LMAO!
Sandybeach wrote: "That was the funniest part. While he's trying to stop his house being bulldozed to build a new highway, the earth is about to be destroyed to build a new intergallactic bypass."irony! one of the basic skills Adams have honed to make this masterpiece.
I know, this book is quite possibly one of my favorites. I seriously think i work my life around this book :)
You carry a towel with you everywhere and your favorite number is 42?
Perhaps he always has three quick pints before jumping into a new situation.
MJ wrote: "You carry a towel with you everywhere and your favorite number is 42?"
haha, no i unfortunately dont carry a towel around with me, but yeah my favorite number is 42. It was before i even read this book though :)
haha, no i unfortunately dont carry a towel around with me, but yeah my favorite number is 42. It was before i even read this book though :)
Mr.B wrote: Perhaps he always has three quick pints before jumping into a new situation.It might not have anything to do with bulldozing, but it sounds like a good rule of thumb!
Douglas Adams was clearly a genius, rest his hilarious soul. Everything that seems like chaos in the beginning of the book comes full circle at the end. I have read the entire four book trilogy at least a dozen times, and quote bits of it during times of great need. I recommend other books he has written as well, including Dirk Gently's Holistic Detective Agency.
Jacob wrote: "Why do they want to bulldoze his house?"because they want to make a new high way, for people to get from point a to point b
Rebecca wrote: "Douglas Adams was clearly a genius, rest his hilarious soul. Everything that seems like chaos in the beginning of the book comes full circle at the end. I have read the entire four book trilogy at ..."arnt there 6 now?
Five, and one novel by Eoin Colfer.
I like the part where he is like "at times like this I wished I had listened to what my mother told me when I was younger"And Ford replies "what did she say?"
Arthur says "I don't know I wasnt listening!"
My favorite quote comes from the bulldozer incident, when mr. Prosser lays down in the mud. Ford Prefect asks him not to sneak off, and mr. Prosser answers "The mere thought hadn't even begun to speculate about the merest possibility of crossing my mind..."First four books of the trilogy rock. Fifth book is somewhat disappointing (imho).
Agreed!
I remember liking some of the jokes in the fifth book better than in number four, but the problem was that with the fourth book he finally brought the series to an end and I was never quite sure what to make of book five under that aspect.
Alex wrote: "My favorite quote comes from the bulldozer incident, when mr. Prosser lays down in the mud. Ford Prefect asks him not to sneak off, and mr. Prosser answers "The mere thought hadn't even begun to sp..."Ya the 5th was not so good.
It was too comfusing. But didn't that spirit that arthur dent kept killing appear in that book?
Alex wrote: "My favorite quote comes from the bulldozer incident, when mr. Prosser lays down in the mud. Ford Prefect asks him not to sneak off, and mr. Prosser answers "The mere thought hadn't even begun to sp..."
Just read the first one and freakin loved it. So many great parts but my fav quote is when the Guide is talking about the story of the babel fish and humans used the them to prove the flawed thought process of God. "'Oh that was easy,' says man, and for an encore goes on to prove that black is white and gets himself killed on the next pedestrian crossing."
Just read the first one and freakin loved it. So many great parts but my fav quote is when the Guide is talking about the story of the babel fish and humans used the them to prove the flawed thought process of God. "'Oh that was easy,' says man, and for an encore goes on to prove that black is white and gets himself killed on the next pedestrian crossing."
Mr.B wrote: "Perhaps he always has three quick pints before jumping into a new situation."
Don't forget the peanuts! :)
Don't forget the peanuts! :)
They want to bulldoze his house for a bypass (not a highway after all it is in England)
To build a bypass.Reccomendations:
The books are awesome.
The BBC Radio Series is really good.
The BBC TV Mini-Series (available as a movie on DVD) is probably my favorite version (after the books).
The Hollywood Movie was...okay...but not amazing -- if you've only seen this, definitely read the books and check out the BBC versions if you can overlook the low-budget old-school special effects.
One of my disappointments about the movie was the physical outline of Marvin...In my version of the Guide (inside my brain^^), Marvin was a C-3PO-style robot, implying a kind of ironical mismatch between the most optimistically-looking shining body and the most serious mind.
Oh, of course, I mean if a robot can have a mind.^^)
The TV show was a much better translation of the book than the film was.
I dont remember if this is from the movie or the book but my favorite line:"Do you know how much damage this bulldozer would receive if I let it run you over?
"No. How much?"
"Absolutely none at all."
Ayesha wrote: "I dont remember if this is from the movie or the book but my favorite line:"Do you know how much damage this bulldozer would receive if I let it run you over?
"No. How much?"
"Absolutely none..."
That is a great line and as far as I remember it is in all 4 versions.
Neil wrote: "The TV show was a much better translation of the book than the film was."Douglas Adams wrote new versions of HHGTG for each medium. He believed that radio, television, books and movies all needed their own take on the ideas, so he wrote a screenplay for the movie taking into account the different needs of the format. Obviously other writers were brought into do a final reworking for the movie (because Adams was dead by that time), but as far as I know a lot of the new structure was actually his work. Just remaking the TV series as a movie wouldn't have worked well.
Paul wrote: "Douglas Adams wrote new versions of HHGTG for each medium. He believed that radio, television, books and movies all needed their own take on the ideas, so he wrote a screenplay for the movie taking into account the different needs of the format. Obviously other writers were brought into do a final reworking for the movie (because Adams was dead by that time), but as far as I know a lot of the new structure was actually his work. Just remaking the TV series as a movie wouldn't have worked well. "Yeah I know that it was Adams that did alot of the reworking on the story himself to make it work better as a movie I just dont think it did. I get just redoing the tv show wouldnt really work as a film so they wanted to have a more consistent 'bad guy' by having more of the vogons and added more of a romance thread to it I just didnt realy like the bigger changes to the plot.
Rebecca wrote: "Douglas Adams was clearly a genius, rest his hilarious soul. Everything that seems like chaos in the beginning of the book comes full circle at the end. I have read the entire four book trilogy at ..."I totally agree with you. In fact, the Guide, like "Buffy, the Vampire Slayer" (TV show) can be used as a reference for most life situations.
Neil wrote: "Yeah I know that it was Adams that did alot of the reworking on the story himself to make it work better as a movie I just dont think it did. I get just redoing the tv show wouldnt really work as a film so they wanted to have a more consistent 'bad guy' by having m..."I have to say I was so relieved when I saw the movie. There was so much scope to completely ruin it, but I thoroughly enjoyed it. I wasn't 100% happy with all the casting initially but after watching it a few times now, there isn't really anyone I feel should have been changed. Overall I thought the movie was excellent. Some parts, like the Vogon homeworld were comedy genius.
I agree the film could have been alot worse and I was actually expecting it to be but it is still my least favourite version of the HHG. Personally I didn't like Vogsphere of the Humma Kavula stuff and think it would have been better to skip that and stick closer to the original stuff. I think instaed of having those bits they could have gone straight to Magrathea when they get on the Heart of Gold being pursued by Vogons. Have it be a Vogon ship and a missile that get turned into the whale and petunias. Then when the mice are trying to get the question from arthurs brain Vogons and rival mice who hired the vogons to destroy earth as they dont want to know the question so they can keep profiting from the debate show up. Have it be them that blow the hitch-hikers forward to Milliways where they have a nice meal only to find a Vogon captain has stopped in for a spot of lunch. They then steal a ship which takes them and the pursuing Vogons back in time where they crash into prehistoric Earth, meet the Golgafrinchams, find out it has all been a big cock up and there is no question afterfall and the Vogons bugger off to leave Arthur and Trillian to live happily ever after on their home planet.
I think something like that would have been better as it is closer the the original stuff but allows for the Vogons to be the villains, and have a somewhat happier and more romantic end. Personally though I think the whole saga is too big for films and would like to see them do all the books on TV instead.
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