Post by Stephen Byers on Dec 22, 2019 19:32:48 GMT
On another forum folks are discussing this definitive series from way back. Specifically they are seeking the ep. featuring Douglas Adams. Research has elicited that there is (or was) a 3 CD boxed set of previous programmes entitled 'Douglas Adams at the BBC.' But the set does not include this one. Does it exist? Its absence seems to imply that it does not.
Simon Jones, who played Arthur Dent in The Hitchhiker s Guide to the
Galaxy, presents a look back at the life and work of a writer who has
captivated the imagination of millions When Douglas Adams created The
Hitchhiker s Guide to the Galaxy for BBC Radio 4, it was the genesis
of a science fiction comedy legend. Yet his career at the BBC had
begun in Light Entertainment, with contributions to The Burkiss Way,
Week Ending and other sketch shows of the time. He went on to script
edit a series of Doctor Who, and to write a series of Hitchhiker and
Dirk Gently books. In this triple-CD programme, Simon Jones takes an
A-Z look at Douglas Adams s career, taking in extracts from the many
radio and TV programmes he contributed to. These include personal
appearances on Wogan, Tomorrow s World and Desert Island Discs, his
own radio programmes such as Last Chance to See (about the search for
endangered species) and The Hitchhiker s Guide to the Future (a look
at impending technology), and even a lost segment of The Hitchhiker s
Guide to the Galaxy which Adams wrote specially for Radio 4's Steafel
Plus in 1982. Also included are some of the many tributes paid to
Adams following his untimely death in May 2001. This is a fascinating
and in-depth audio biography of a man whose brilliant work has
inspired, enraptured and entertained millions of people worldwide.
By using extracts from many radio and TV productions, the three discs
cover Douglas Adams's association with BBC Radio and TV from 1974 to
2001, and also include tributes to Adams that were transmitted between
2001 and 2003. Subjects are covered in an A-Z format (thus becoming an
"A-Z of Douglas Adams"). Linking narration on all three discs is
provided by Simon Jones. Several of the sketches, many of which are
included for the first time since their original transmissions, had
been discussed in biographies of Adams (e.g. Don't Panic by Neil
Gaiman and Wish You Were Here by Nick Webb). In addition, the complete
script for "The Lost Hitchhiker Sketch" appears in the 25th
anniversary edition of The Hitchhiker's Guide to the Galaxy: The
Original Radio scripts.
Disc one covers subjects A to G, disc two covers subjects H to P, and
disc three covers subjects Q to Z.
Subjects
A: Animals: The Aye-Aye Lemur and the Amazonian Manatee, with excerpts
from the radio series version of Last Chance to See
B: The Burkiss Way, including sketches by Adams
C: Computer Games (including the 1985 computer game adaptation of The
Hitchhiker's Guide to the Galaxy and Starship Titanic)
D: Dirk Gently
E: Endangered Species
F: Footlights Revue
G: Graham Chapman
H: The Hitchhiker's Guide to the Future, Adams's final radio
documentary series for BBC Radio 4
I: The Internet
J: "Keeping up with the Joneses" - an extract from Adams's radio
tribute to Peter Jones in 2000.
K: The Kakapo Parrot
L: "The Lost Hitchhiker Sketch" - Sheila Steafel interviewing Simon
Jones, in character as Arthur Dent from the radio show Steafel Plus,
written by Adams.
L (continued): Light Entertainment, including an extract from Black
Cinderella Two Goes East
M: Music and The Meaning of Liff
N: News Huddlines
O: Oh No, It Isn't - with a sketch from this 1970s radio series
written by Adams.
P: Publishing and Performing
Q: Quiz Shows
R: The Rodrigues Fruit Bat
S: Science
T: Technology
U: The Universe
V: Virtual Reality
W: Doctor Who with extracts from The Pirate Planet
X: Extra-Terrestrial Life
Y: The Yangtze River Dolphin
Z: Zoology
The CD set was released in early September 2004, after the Tertiary
Phase of The Hitchhiker's Guide to the Galaxy had been recorded, but
before transmissions began. The earliest material on the set is from
August 1974 (with material Adams had written while a student at
Cambridge) and the most recent extracts are from the TV and radio
tributes to Adams from August and September 2001 and March 2003.
====