Books vs. Movies
In this podcast we set out to answer the age old question: is the book really always better than the movie?
Books vs. Movies
Ep. 49 The Hitchhiker's Guide to the Galaxy by Douglas Adams vs. The Hitchhiker's Guide to the Galaxy (2005)
Forty-two may be the answer to life, the universe, and everything, but is the book really better than the movie when it comes to "The Hitchhiker's Guide to the Galaxy"? Join me as I navigate through Douglas Adams' beloved science fiction comedy and its 2005 film adaptation starring Martin Freeman, Zooey Deschanel, and the voice of Alan Rickman.
My relationship with this interstellar adventure has been nothing short of a cosmic journey itself. From absolutely despising it in middle school to gradually appreciating its unique charm over multiple readings, I've come to understand why this particular brand of British humor divides audiences so dramatically. Whether you're encountering the absurdist tale of Arthur Dent's space adventures for the first time or you're a longtime fan, this episode offers fresh perspectives on both versions of the story.
We'll explore the fascinating evolution of "The Hitchhiker's Guide" from its origins as a BBC radio show to its various adaptations, and dive deep into the key differences between the book and film. Does the addition of a romantic subplot between Arthur and Trillian enhance the story? How successfully does the film translate Adams' abstract humor to a visual medium? And of course, which version comes out on top in this intergalactic showdown?
The universe is a vastly bizarre place, filled with infinite improbabilities and peculiar aliens, but perhaps the strangest mystery of all is why some people find this story hilarious while others are left completely cold. Whether you're a fan of science fiction, British comedy, or simply curious about this cultural phenomenon, grab your towel and don't panic – this episode has something for everyone.
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Welcome to Books vs Movies, the podcast where I set out to answer the age-old question is the book really always better than the movie? I'm Yuvia, an actress and book lover based out of New York City, and today I will be discussing the Hitchhiker's Guide to the Galaxy by Douglas Adams and its 2005 adaptation, the Hitchhiker's Guide to the Galaxy, directed by Garth Jennings and starring Martin Freeman, yacine Bey, sam Rockwell and Zooey Deschanel. Hi everyone, so I do apologize for the delay in episodes. So I just got back from Texas. Yeah, I was visiting family in Texas Orlando and I went and we went to my sister-in-law's graduation, we went to our nephew's baptism so very, very nice Two weeks away. And even though it was two weeks, it just flew by. But now we're back and we came straight into a bug situation. Yeah, we have no idea what's going on. My roommate called us or called me, and was like I think I have bed bugs and thankfully it's not bed bugs. She keeps waking up with like bug bites. Thankfully it's not bed bugs. She keeps waking up with like bug bites, but it's not bed bugs. And we had like two different exterminators come in and both of them said it's not bed bugs, so like it could just be. One of the exterminators found like a beetle shell in her fold of her mattress and then the other exterminator found carpet beetles. And while the one beetle shell that the other exterminator discovered could be causing the bites, the carpet beetles might not be causing bites, but they do have little hairs on them that my roommate might be allergic to, which could be causing the hives. So we don't know if they're hives, we don't know if they're bites, but now I'm getting bit. But I will say I think we just have a very aggressive mosquito Mosquitoes do love me unfortunately in the living room, because I feel the itch.
Speaker 1:Like I was watching TV yesterday, I was fine, I had not been bitten since we got back and then, as I was watching TV yesterday, I just started getting itchy all over and then, when I came to my room to go to bed, I had mosquito bites all over me. And when we were eating lunch again today, again I just felt so itchy all over and then I came to my room to take a nap and it was just like I could not. It was hard for me to go to sleep because I was so itchy and I just wanted to scratch and I resisted for the most part. But yes, mosquito bites do make me very, very itchy. But now I don't know if it is a mosquito bite, because I got some new clothes and I was trying it on in the bathroom just to make sure it fit and took my pants off to put my shorts on and there was like a huge, huge. It looked like a mosquito bite but it was like massive. So I don't know. But we're just the exterminators waiting for the okay from the landlord to come in and do his thing. So we're prepping the apartment for him to hopefully come in and he's like it's. Even though it's not bedbugs, I'm still going to do a bedbug treatment and it'll kill whatever this could be. So wish us luck with that.
Speaker 1:So you know I've been busy, but I'm happy to be back and happy to be talking about the Hitchhiker's Guide to the Galaxy, which has been quite a journey for me. So I first read Hitchhiker's Guide to the Galaxy in middle school and I hated it. I absolutely hated it. Like did not, did not, like it Was nope, nope, hated it. If Goodreads existed back then I definitely would have given it like either probably like a one star rating. I just hated that book. And I would tell everyone like this book sucks. One of my friends who's really into science fiction, like she told me she and her dad loved it and they loved the humor of it. And then I was reading I was like this was supposed to be funny. And then I looked it up on the internet and it was like this humorous novel and I was ranting to my brother about it. I was like it says this is not funny and he and this was not funny. And my brother was like, well, funny, and he and this was not funny. And my brother was like, well, maybe you just didn't find it funny. So I hated it. And then so I read it again several years later. I actually read it 10 years ago, or almost 10 years ago now, in July of 2015, which, if that's when I read it.
Speaker 1:I read it while I was an acting apprentice at the Williamstown Theater Festival. So again, I I try to get, if I can get, a library card. I will. So, thankfully, if you are on, the Williamstown Theater Festival is held at Williams College in Williamstown, massachusetts, and thankfully, to get a temporary library card with them. You just let them know why you're there and then I think we had something like proving that we were part of the festival and then you paid a deposit, a refundable deposit, and you had a library card for three months and then after the three months, you just went and returned the library card and they gave you your money back. So that was very nice. So I had access to the Williams College Library that summer and I don't know what drove me to pick up the Hitchhiker's Guide to the Galaxy again.
Speaker 1:Might have been a reading challenge and I was like you know what Everyone said it's funny. It's been. I've grown up a lot since I read it, so let's give it another shot and I gave it a very generous four stars. I don't think I gave it four stars because I loved it. I think I was like, all right, I can see the humor, I can appreciate it, I don't hate it anymore. Four stars.
Speaker 1:And now, reading it again, 10 years later, I can say that you know what? This is probably the last time I'm going to read this book. It is science fiction and it is a very niche kind of British humor and it is just not my kind of humor. So I'm glad I read it again, I'm glad I saw the film, but do I want to read it again? No, I think I'm happy to lay it to rest. After three reads. I think I just know that it's just not for me. And yeah, so let's get started.
Speaker 1:So the Hitchhiker's Guide to the Galaxy by Douglas Adams was first published in 1979. And the interesting thing about the Hitchhiker's Guide to the Galaxy by Douglas Adams was first published in 1979. And the interesting thing about the Hitchhiker's Guide to the Galaxy is that it actually started off as a BBC radio show. So it started off as a BBC radio show, which was then adapted into the book and then the TV series. It was adapted into a stage play and finally it was adapted into the 2005 film, which is what I'll be talking about today. So obviously, this is a very beloved story in England for it to have gotten adapted so many times. So yeah, it started off as a radio show, but the book itself, which was in itself, adapted from the radio show, was first published in 1979.
Speaker 1:And it starts off seconds before the earth is about to be demolished to make way for a galactic freeway. Our protagonist, arthur Dent, is saved by his friend, ford Prefect. We end up finding out that Ford Prefect is actually an alien who has been stuck on Earth for the past 15 years, pretending he's an out-of-work actor, researching to add to the Hitchhiker's Guide to the Galaxy. We, along the journey, meet Zaphod Beeblebrox, who is the president of the galaxy, trillian, who is also from Earth and she happens to be Zapod's girlfriend, marvin, who is a clinically depressed robot, and a whole bunch of other aliens that come together to introduce us to this wacky, wacky world of our galaxy.
Speaker 1:The 2005 adaptation, the Hitchhiker's Guide to the Galaxy, takes place again mere seconds before the Earth is to be destroyed by an alien construction crew to make way for an intergalactic galaxy. Arthur Dent is saved by his friend Ford Prefect, who we end up finding out is a researcher working on the new edition of the hitchhiker's guide to the galaxy. So it is, overall, a faithful adaptation I actually don't have too too much to bring up. And it's also a very wacky over the top, silly, as silly as you can get kind of story, and it is very science fictiony as as well. So, yeah, there's it's kind of hard to like try to explain like the smaller details of the things I'm gonna talk about, but I'm gonna try and yeah.
Speaker 1:So first things first. As I said, this, it starts off mere seconds before the destruction of the earth. But even before then, before we know, the earth is going to get destructions. It starts off mere minutes before the destruction of Arthur Dent's home. Arthur Dent's home is actually set to be demolished to make way for a new highway in England. So Arthur Dent is laying in front of the bulldozers trying to prevent the construction crew from demolishing his home. And what changes? That is that Ford Prefect, his friend, shows up and Ford convinces him to go to a pub. But first in the book, ford has to make sure that the lead contractor of the construction crew lays down in front of the bulldozers to prevent Arthur's house from going down. So he convinces the lead contractor to lay down in front of the bulldozers and he and Arthur head to the pub where Ford explains what is about to happen and why Arthur needs to go with him. In the film it's more of a. Ford shows up with a lot of alcohol and is kind of just like, come with me to the pub. Arthur. And Arthur's like no, they're about to demolish my house. And Ford's like well, I have this cooler full of beers. Have at it boys While we go to the pub. And so the construction crew starts drinking beers while they head over to the pub, but the lead contractor snaps out of it. The construction crew in the film snap, like, enjoy a few beers, and then Arthur's home gets demolished. But it turns out it doesn't matter, because the Earth gets demolished after that as well. But by then Arthur and Ford are off the planet.
Speaker 1:In the book, pretty much after Ford and Arthur are rescued by Zaphod and Trillian, they start making their way to Magrathea, which is where they are. So there's a supercomputer on the planet Magrathea. So this supercomputer revealed the answer of like what is the meaning of life essentially? Or you know, what is the meaning of everything essentially? And so the supercomputer answered. But when it answered people were like we have no idea what that answer means. So they're like are we asking the wrong question? Like what? What is this? Like this answer doesn't answer our question. And she's like well, it does, but you're like asking the wrong question. And so they had to wait several million more years for the computer to figure out what the actual question people should be asking is. And so they're on their way to magrathea to find out what the ultimate question is. And in film there are a few more hijinks added. There is a one more planet that they visit before they start making their way to Magrathea, and it is here that the Zaphod's enemy is like.
Speaker 1:I'll tell you how to get to Magrathea. If you bring me the point of view gun and the point of the point of view gun is essentially what it sounds like. Like if I point the gun at you and shoot, you will understand my point of view, which, now that I think about it, wouldn't that be a nice gun to exist in this day and age? Like? I feel like we need that gun. That is the only gun I will advocate for. Let's make a point of view gun. Let's make this a reality. Let's do it, but anyway. So they go and search for this point of view gun. On their way to search for the point of view gun, trillian is kidnapped. This does not happen in the book, but she is kidnapped by Vogons, which are the aliens that destroy Earth at the beginning of the film, and they have to rescue her from the Vogons, and they do. And then they continue on their way to. They have the point of view gun at this point. And then they figure out the coordinates to magrathia and they head out. So yeah, that that is against. Trillion is not kidnapped.
Speaker 1:In the book, trillion and arthur also have more of a connection in the film than they do in the book. So in the film they definitely make it out like trillion is arthur's dream girl. She's the one that got away. They only met once at a party, but she's the one that got away. And then Zapod pretends that he's a human at this party where Arthur and Trillian meet and he kind of like Trillian is like, move with me to wherever. She's like, come with me. And Arthur's like very methodical, very careful, and he's like, well, we just met so I can move with you once we've dated and gotten to know each other a little bit more. And that answer kind of disappoints her. So when zaphod shows up and is like I can take you to space right now, trillian is like okay, and then she leaves with him. So they kind of have, they kind of play it off as like again, this is the love of his life, woman of his dreams, the one that got away, and he regrets not running away with her when she offered, but in the book it's. They know each other. They did meet at that party, but there definitely isn't that lost connection that they have in the film. That's more of like I met you, I thought you were cute. I met you too, I thought you were cute too. All right, well, I'm with Zafod now. And I met you, I thought you were cute. I met you too, I thought you were cute too. All right, well, I'm with Zafod now and I'm happy. Great, I'm happy, let's move on. So, yeah, there definitely isn't some of that.
Speaker 1:I will say that the Hitchhiker's Guide to the Galaxy is a trilogy. So I don't know, like, even though there ended up not being any other sequels to this particular film, like I don't know if this love connection is included and like the other books in the trilogy, I just do want to say that. But so they might have been incorporating elements from the other two books. They may not have and just invented this completely for the film. I'm just basing this off of the one book and the adaptation that it's based off of, so just wanted to throw that out there.
Speaker 1:But yes, in the book they definitely don't have that like connection, that like, and even throughout the film, like, there's definitely moments in which it seems like Trillian regrets leaving with Safod, like even though she's had a lot of fun and she's really enjoyed going around the galaxy, like she starts seeing that he's kind of maybe a little bit too reckless, like it's his fault that the earth got destroyed. So she's, once she finds out the earth is destroyed and that he's the reason for it, like understandably she gets very angry. He's the reason her, she can't return to her home planet now. So, yeah, so she, she starts realizing, like she definitely starts like second guessing whether or not she should be with him and starts seeing Arthur and a new light and kind of like you know what, maybe having someone methodical and stable is not a bad thing. Maybe that's what I need. I have my adventure, but anyway.
Speaker 1:So in the film, once they reach Magrathea and all the events happen, there's a lot of things that happen on Magrathea. I don't even know where to begin, but there's a lot of things that happen. Magrathea is essentially, yeah, there's a lot of things that happen. But throughout the film, questular, who is the vice president of the galaxy, teams up with the Vogons in trying to get Zaphod Beeple Brox back and because he's kind of gone rogue and, like I said, instead of ruling as president of the galaxy, he's flying around looking for Magrathea and he stole a spaceship in the process. So Questular, vice President Questular, teams up with the Vogons and they're trying to get Zaphod back In the book. It's just like regular space police that are after them. It's not the vogons, it's not the vice president, it's just like the regular space police.
Speaker 1:But in the film, marvin. So marvin is, as I said, clinically depressed robot played by warwick davis and voiced by alan rickman. So it's always lovely to hear alan rickman's voice. He has like the best lines in the film, I have to say Marvin does, and just the way Alan Rickman delivers it and his deadpan humor, like the deadpan kind of way, is just like perfection. But I am a little sad that they just use Warwick Davis as the body. But oh well, but anyway. So in the film when the Vogons show up to capture Zafod, they shoot Marvin and then Marvin like reanimates and turns the point of view gun on the Vogons and the Vogons understand how depressed Marvin really is and that's kind of what defeats them and allows our heroes to go on their way.
Speaker 1:But in the book so the space police show up and there's like the exterior of the planet and then the interior of the planet and everyone is in the interior of the planet except for Marvin. Marvin stays on the exterior. So when the space police land, they obviously land on the exterior of the planet and Marvin starts talking to them and essentially bores them to death. So the mothership of the space police ends up just getting so bored that it commits suicide and it kills all the space police right as they're about to start the battle, just like just as the battle between the shootout between them and Arthur Ford, trillian and Zaphod begins. So there's Marvin, and the film and the book end slightly different. They both end in that everything, all the events conclude and they decide to head to the restaurant at the end of the galaxy.
Speaker 1:But in the book so it turns out that you know humans, we consider ourselves to be the smartest species, to like, we're at the top of the food chain, we're the smartest species ever. But the book reveals that dolphins are smarter than us and mice are smarter than us and mice are actually the masterminds behind this whole thing. So after the supercomputer was like this is the answer to your question, and then they're like well, what's the question? And the supercomputer is like you need to build another computer to tell you what the question is. The mice are the masterminds in Earth. So Earth is essentially was created as another supercomputer to reveal what the question, the ultimate question, is. But before they could reveal the ultimate question, it got destroyed to make way for the superhighway.
Speaker 1:So the sense Arthur is although, now that I think about it, essentially they're like Arthur, you're from Earth, like you can give us the answer to the question, but like Trillian's, from Earth too. So couldn't they use her? I don't know, seems a little, I don't know. That's all I'm going to say. But I don't know, that's all I'm going to say. But I don't know. Maybe it's because Arthur was literally there right before Earth was destroyed and Trillium had been with Zaphod in space for a while. I don't know, that's not really answered.
Speaker 1:But so the Slardibartfast, who's from Magrathea, is in the process of creating new Earth to bring that into existence and hopefully get the ultimate question revealed to them. But the mice are like well, there's no point in completing it because we have arthur now and we can just take his brain, and then arthur's like I'm not gonna do that. And then that's when the police show up and, yeah, the whole shootout happens. So new earth is kind of left abandoned in the book. In the film after the vogons are depressed and everyone's like, all right, we can leave Arthur's like slur to Bartfest, finish New Earth. But I'm not staying here, I'm going to go with my friends and continue exploring the galaxy, and he's like, okay. So in the book the idea of New Earth is kind of abandoned, but in the film New Earth is set to be completed. So that's it.
Speaker 1:Like I said, I didn't have much to say. Overall this was a pretty faithful adaptation. There were some things added, like I said, and there's a lot more hijinks, but the tone of the film definitely fits the tone of the book. This is a very over-the-top, silly kind of book and it is as I said. It is very, very science fiction, but it is a very, very niche kind of humor in science fiction. So it's not really my kind of humor and you know I'm not really a fan of science fiction. So this just isn't for me and it's definitely not for everyone.
Speaker 1:As I said, there's some people that just absolutely love this book and find it hilarious, like my friend and her dad did. And then there's others like me that are kind of just like. I can appreciate it for what it is, but it's just not my humor and I have to say the style of the film fits that very, very well. Like it's very chaotic and frenetic and the actors are having a really great time, like they're really embracing it and just having the time of their lives, like you can tell they had so much fun. But it is like a unique kind of it takes some getting used to.
Speaker 1:Now I will say I think one of the reasons I hated it so much in middle school was apart from it being science fiction is that I hadn't really been exposed to any kind of British humor back then. And if you're not used to British humor it does take some like if you, if you don't really know what to expect, it does take some getting used to. I've, you know, I've been exposed to a lot more British media since then, whether it be British literature or just British films, british comedy shows since then. So I'm a lot more familiar with it and I will say the overall British humor is kind of hit or miss for me. There's some things that I just that are hilarious and I love them. And then there's other things that I just, for whatever reason, it didn't speak to me. So it is kind of hit or miss for me.
Speaker 1:Orlando overall likes British humor a lot more than I do. Like there's some things that he's thought were hilarious that I didn't maybe find so funny, and then there's things that we obviously both found really, really funny, enjoy, enjoy together. But like overall, orlando likes British humor a lot more than I do and he appreciates it a lot more than I do. But even he with this film was like yeah, that wasn't for me, I really it just I just didn't like it, it wasn't I yeah. So this is like a very, very niche, very niche kind of humor. So just want to throw that out there. So I rated the film three and a half stars and I no, actually sorry, no, I didn't. I rated the film three stars and I rated the book three stars. Overall I think they're both just okay.
Speaker 1:If I had to recommend one over the other, I would recommend the book. But if, like, if you started off and it's just a little too wacky, a little too jumpy and by jumpy I just mean like it jumps from one thing to another because it does and it does it very quickly and then like you need a more visual thing, then try out the film. But there are definitely funny lines there in the film, definitely has some funny deliveries, especially coming from Alan Rickman, and there are definitely funny quotes, definitely funny moments in both. But it is a very particular kind of humor and if it's not your thing, it's not your thing. If it's your thing and you absolutely love it, I love that for you. But that is it for this episode of books versus movies. Oh, I didn't do.
Speaker 1:The winner, the winner, is the book. Yes, I mean, I think it's rather obvious when I said if I had to choose one over the other, it's a book. But I do think the book slightly edges out the film in this case. But give it, give the film a try. If you're just having a hard time getting into the book because it does, it does take some getting used to. Or watch the film and see if it's for you and if and if it is, then give the book a shot. Because I think this is kind of like the. If Orlando had really really liked the film, I think he definitely would have given the book a try. But I think Orlando doesn't hate science fiction as much as I do, but it's still not his genre. So if he's going to give it a shot, he really has to like what he's watching. So if he had really really liked this film, I know he would have given the book a try, especially since it is ultimately a British humorous book. More than it is science fiction, it's British humor. So, yeah, give it a shot, see if this is your kind of humor and if it is, then I think you'll really enjoy this book.
Speaker 1:But that's it for this episode of Books vs Movies. Thank you so much for tuning in. If you enjoy this series, you're really liking it. Please leave it a rating and a review. Share it with all your friends, tell them all about it. Help me grow this little community and I need to figure out what I'm going to bring in. So there might be a little bit more of a hiatus than I wanted there to be, but just that's. That's how it is. Sometimes I have a lot of things to catch you up on and sometimes I don't, but thank you.