The Hitchhiker's Guide to the Galaxy Continued, Lost in Adaptation ~ The Dom

The Dom concludes his review of the 2005 Hitchhiker's Guide to the Galaxy adaptation.
Ask Lovecraft: / lemurbouy
Rocked: / rockedalbumreviews
Support the show on Patreon: www.patreon.com/DomSmith?ty=h
Dom on Facebook: The-Dom-1384...
Dom on Twitter: / dominic__noble
Buy Lost in Adaptation Teeshirts: www.teepublic.com/user/the_dom
Contact me: [e-mail]
Intro music by: / djilneige
Royalty Free Music: incompetech.com/
Mail stuff to Dom:
225 Simi Village Dr
PO Box 941750
Simi Valley, CA
93094

[@TomMSTie1138]

Favorite line that didn't make it into the movie, Arthur: "Ford, you're turning into a penguin. Stop that."

[@daddydreet145]

yellow. lol. another good quote.

[@intergalactic92]

Ford, there's an infinite number of monkeys here that have a complete works of Shakespeare they want me to proof read

[@ikarikid]

Favourite exchange: “On display? I eventually had to go to the cellar!” “…That’s the display department.” “With a torch.” “The lights were probably gone.” “So had the stairs.” “But the plans were on display, right?” “Oh yes. They were ‘on display’ in the bottom of a locked filing cabinet, stuck in the corner of a disused lavatory with a sign on the door saying BEWARE OF THE LEOPARD. Ever think of going into advertising?”

[@BinturongGirl]

@@ikarikid I have a sign on each internal door in my house. The one on the bathroom says "Beware of the Leopard" and the kitchen is "Milliways".

[@procrastination_productions]

My favourite “when I was a child I had nightmares about everybody being sent to heaven and hell and I was sent to Southend.

[@Freefall347]

"The idea that a President could commit crimes, maybe even treason, and the government would not only ignore this but want him to go on being president is just too stupid to even consider." Greetings from 2021. I think you owe this movie an apology.

[@Phantom86d]

Greetings from the End of the World. Satire is always right.

[@Eighthplanetglass]

Update from even closer to the end : they're still supporting him 😂

[@samlewis6487]

That moron is going to go to jail and they're still supporting him. I hate. Everything.

[@forgetaboutme5414]

I cannot believe how accurate this ended up being and I am ashamed of this country

[@Matt_Bright_1983]

The funniest part is that it's happened twice now

After seeing this mess, I left the theatre with the remark that I had just seen a film that was almost, but not quite, entirely unlike The Hitchhiker’s Guide to the Galaxy.

[@elizabethashley42]

Petter Häggholm That was better than any joke in the movie; well done.

[@bookwermofthefandoms]

Thunderous applause! 👏👏🙌

[@Grim_Sister]

Oh! Douglas Adams burn!

[@jameserickson3477]

No shit! I think the film lobotomized me, I can't remember large portions of it.

[@scouttyra]

Oh, you hoopy frood. So true.

[@harlanhardway5955]

My first thoughts after seeing this movie was "damn, they really Americanized the hell out of that." I'm American and I know our humor tends to be way less nihilistic and deadpan, but come on. I was almost insulted. It felt like there had been some executive somewhere reading the drafts of the script saying, "We really need the American market, dumb it down some more. Yeah, no, still not dumb enough. Maybe he can hand out beers? They'll understand that."

[@notgray88]

Harlan Hardway beers and peanuts

[@shaitarn1869]

Harlan Hardway Just had to like your comment to push the number up to 42.

[@chrish3126]

I never thought I'd see an American write a comment like this. Respect

[@abadenoughdude300]

Typical case of "we need to make this have broader appeal". The distinctly American approaches to this I think are "protag must have girlfriend" and "must end well".

[@ange76prkr]

@@abadenoughdude300 I first watched the movie in school, so I can see that. As writer I'm like "wait, why does everyone want me to make my book set in 2007 have references to covid?" Like a chic lit that ends with the female character deciding to stay single is similarly unlikely.

[@luciesimpson6437]

It tells you a lot about what Trillian's character is supposed to be that one of the funniest jokes in the radio series is that she ditched earth with Zaphod primarily because...well, turns out he really WAS from another planet...but also because she had a double degree in Maths and Astrophysics and it was either that or go back to the dole queue on Monday

[@paulharries9558]

Douglas Adams once said of film making "It's like trying to cook a steak by having a succession of people coming into the room and breathing on it." Once I saw the moment when Ford used beer instead of the Arthur/Prosser shift exchange joke I knew this film was doomed.

[@ed-7135]

"There wasn't really an evil character in the early books" "The evil brain stealing mice"

[@blakecook9266]

Ed - well, personally, they were evil, but from a larger sense of scale, they really weren’t. They simply wanted to know the question of life, the universe, and everything.

[@intergalactic92]

And when Arthur says no they don’t really pursue it with any vigour, and in the radio play they aren’t interested in stealing his brain at all. They send him out to find the answer off his own volition.

[@Wertsir]

Well, that’s the whole joke, isn’t it? Human scientists felt comfortable performing experiments on mice because the mice were less intelligent than them. But in reality, it was the mice who were performing experiments on the humans, being the true smartest species on earth. Would a scientist be evil for lobotomizing a rodent while say, researching brain cancer? Most people would say no, that’s why we use them. And by that same reasoning, the mice cannot be said to be evil, just higher up the food chain. Of course, there’s an argument that value should not be determined by relative intelligence at all. However at a minimum this would require you to be a vegetarian, and at a maximum it would prevent you from eating even plants, as despite lacking a brain they are alive and biologically related to us. Forcing you to eat some sort of sludge synthesized from entirely artificial chemicals. And nobody does that, making anyone calling the mice evil for mistreating humans hypocrites through their own treatment of non-human earth species. And pointing out that kind of absurd self-serving hypocritical doublethink was a big part of the books message. The mice genuinely _are not meant to be evil,_ they’re just meant to be humans, as seen from the perspective of any less intelligent species.

[@izzymcgee2527]

I REALLY hate the trend of "Durr-hurr there's a female in this movie so lets waste screen time on a generic romance plot nobody cares about." It's not as common nowadays thankfully.

[@TheDemonCurupira]

Oh, I have an even better one. If you know the Silent Hill movies that is. I recently found out that apparently the original draft of the first Silent Hill movie had no male lead and very few male characters, like at all, and the studio literally sent the script back saying "There are no men!" and so Sean Bean's parts were basically just shoved in. This knowledge was fascinating to me and really made me wonder how the movie would have turned out with an almost exclusively female cast in the movie considering the history of women in horror and such. Also, the guy that played Pyramid Head had to wear 15 inch high shoes!

[@izzymcgee2527]

Lol. Sounds about right. "Waaah! To many women! Me don't know how to make women anything other than love interest! Waaah!"

[@MariWakocha]

It gets worse. They wrote Beans parts knowing that it added nothing the story and sent it to the producers hoping they would realize that and allow them to make the movie the way they wanted. Alas, the producers were content and they had to make the movie that way.

[@izzymcgee2527]

Yeah, sounds right too. These idiots could make a fortune if they ACTUALLY respected the source material but nope. It's got a video game name on it? Kids LOVE video games! They'll see it no matter how horrible it is!! *coughPixelscough*

[@DanSmith-ew9ul]

It's so bad that I despise romance now. Or at least "normal romance".

[@BeatchBall]

If anyone could do a live action Ford Prefect justice, it's David Tennant. He's all I saw when I first heard the radio drama.

[@elizabethashley42]

BeatchBall I need this now.

[@ZidaneWarner]

BeatchBall I actually want a new radio production that is full of Doctor Who actors. Like having David Tennant as Ford Prefect, with Arthur Darvill as Arthur Dent, and maybe Peter Capaldi as Marvin.

[@horaciosi]

I saw a fan casting once where Simon Pegg was chosen as Ford. While I love the idea of Pegg in a Hitchhiker's adaptation, after seeing him in The World's End I think he would be more fit as Zaphod.

[@help4343]

Darren Boyd would be perfect for Arthur Dent, but I guess he would just be basically reprising his character from Dirk Gently.

[@richardludwig3673]

I think to really do it justice you need to cast all unknowns - Actors Who are willing to play the role, not themselves.

[@Belgand]

Marvin's intelligence wasn't the reason he was depressed, it was because he had been built under the Genuine People Personalities program. Sirius intentionally programmed a depressed robot. To me part of the problem with his design wasn't just the sad look, but how they took the entirely metaphorical "brain the size of a planet" line and thus decided to give him an oversized head. It often felt like the people who made the film are exactly the sort of people that the original series had been mocking.

[@christinae30]

I think your last sentence is so true it almost makes me cry😭

[@Dominic-Noble]

For the record, I figuratively have no idea what Simple Plan is.

[@RockedNet]

I envy you...

[@whatanedgelordammarite3139]

The Dom one of the worst Bands of all time, he's completely right.

[@RabblesTheBinx]

The Dom Shitty emo pop/punk band from the early 2000s. They aren't the worst Canadian band in history, but they're at least 20 percent worse than Nickelback.

[@starhustler1453]

The Dom you don't need to

[@magicamadeye]

the cabin is described as improbabilty proof, meanwhile everything in the bridge shifts and changes when arthur uses it to save all their lives from the missiles

[@RockedNet]

Stay out of my house, Dom!

[@Dominic-Noble]

I promise nothing O_o

[@scottishgamegrumps3644]

Rocked It's a good thing you haven't found me yet

[@drift2196]

Hi The Dom hope you had fun on you psychotic break.

[@sambonie86]

Rocked Simple Plan is one of the worst things to come out of Canada and we are sorry... eh.

[@DigiRangerScott]

Rocked No he should stay in your house

[@amess3921]

Adaptations... Don't talk to me about adaptations...

[@winter1235]

I really loved the guy painting the red mountain and waving at someone, I thought it was a fun nod to the original Red Dwarf opening.

[@SuperSongbird21]

4:44 Wiggum also shows Lisa a "two-headed dog - born with only one head!" This would've been more in touch with what you're talking about.

[@JJHeff]

SuperSongbird21 i think that’d be a bit too on the nose.

[@thomastakesatollforthedark2231]

@@JJHeff which makes the joke he did tell even better. He basically took the less obvious joke when the movie took the much more obvious jokes

[@zeehutton]

your original quips in this lost in adaptation are closer to Adams' sense of humour than anything in the film

[@thomastakesatollforthedark2231]

Maybe cause he's british

[@Zaznayka74]

"We apologise for the inconvenience"

[@kachiechan]

If anything good can be said about the movie, it inspired a lot of people (like myself) to go read the books. The core of what Douglas Adams made seemed to speak past the bullshit for me, and I checked out the book series purely because the concepts in the movie were so fascinating to me. Being American, my first exposure to Hitchhikers was through this movie. It doesn't really hold up but I'm thankful I was introduced to the books as a result. :)

[@robinchesterfield42]

Yes! And this is wonderfully in tune with something I saw as I left the theater--out in the hallway, there was one woman surrounded by a group of guys and she was saying "That was AMAZING! I've never _seen_ anything with that type of humor! It was so funny! Do you have anything else like that?" and I BWAHAHAHAHAHed to myself because I knew she'd just opened the floodgates. XD (I mean, you do NOT encourage a nerd by saying that you _loved_ something they're enthusiastic about, unless you're prepared to endure a DELUGE of overexcited happy babbling that jumps topics all over the place and can't shut up. I speak from experience, on the _being_ that side of things. :P) My point is: If even really badly mangled British humour can STILL lead a new (American) audience member to British humour...was it _all_ bad? Like you were saying. At least it had a good result . :) I hope she got introduced to Red Dwarf shortly afterwards; that would seem to be a next logical step.

[@benhickerson6695]

I recall a plotline in the books that we only see the ending of in the movie, with the Bowl of petunias thinking "oh no not again". In the books this is actually someone (probably transformed by the improbability drive) whos been mostly accidentally killed by Arthur hundreds of times

[@MasterrangerABR]

Marvin's movie design could be saved if they had just flipped his eyes from pointing down to pointing up.

[@SorchaSublime]

eh, not really? even if they did that it wouldnt make him look happy. The slumped posture and giant head somewhat preclude that, as even if you photoshop the eyes out entirely it still looks sad.

[@yudithcaron8053]

Frankly, I don't agree with The Dom's vision of Marvin. There are plenty of superintelligent creatures and machines in the book, and none of them are especially depressed, or especially happy for that matter; they are normal beings with normal emotions. The two glaring exceptions to this are Marvin... and the Heart of Gold. The Heart of Gold is always happy. Forever chipper. You can tell it to shut up twenty times a day, you can tell it to face a missile shield down and it will still accomplish its mission and sight with contentment everytime a door closes. A superintelligent being cannot function with this level of customer-service cheerfulness. Therefore, I think when the Heart of Gold was created, Marvin was created with it to balance things out. In my opinion, Marvin is simply the part of the Heart of Gold's mind with all the "bad" emotions in it. Therefore, it must be sad, because if it wasn't, the Heart of Gold would have no outlet to its rage and frustration of having to obey stupid beings made of flesh and it would just stall or stop obeying commands. That's why I quite like Marvin's design, actually.

[@PatTheBatmanFan]

The huge head and tiny body was completely impractical. Not to mention very stupid.

[@devenscience8894]

@@PatTheBatmanFan agreed. I hate the size of the head. It's the filmmakers taking the phrase "brain the size of a planet" a little literally.

[@ilexdiapason]

@@yudithcaron8053 yeah i reckon eddie and marvin were two sides of the heart of gold's superintelligence

[@AustinBeareBath]

this how is the highlight of my day whenever a new episode is released

[@EmeeStacy]

I personally had been surprised so discover that the sense of humor I have is technically British, as I absolutely ADORE the humor in Hitchhikers and other things with similar humor, such as things written by Terry Pratchett. So the Hitchhikers film also infuriated me when I watched it, which is saying something because USUALLY my first viewing of something is me absorbing it and can’t really leave a negative impact on me because I’m not paying as much attention to subtle things or changes. THIS film however did. I did find SOME stuff funny, like I enjoyed the humor that came from the bureaucratic nature the Vogons, but besides that all the changes drove me mad to the point that even the adorable and beautiful Zoe Deschanel and my Sherlock influences love of Martin Freeman couldn’t save it.

[@benvolio15]

My problems with the film: *I'd always imagined, and still do imagine, the Heart of Gold as a big ship in styles similar to Star Trek, Star Wars, or even the Eagles and Hawks from Space: 1999---not half of a giant ping-pong ball. *Zaphod's heads. For the TV show, Mark Wing-Davey (the original Zaphod) was given an animatronic (such as it was at the time) second head, which even he admitted was cumbersome to wear and didn't work right that often anyway. I don't think keeping the second head under his first one translated to film that well either. *The fact that they didn't do anything in the movie with the bird people from planet Brontitall and Lintilla. At least that would have been a far more interesting sub-plot after Magrathea. *Despite his chronic depression, Marvin was written as having a brain the size of a planet. Compared to the radio show, however, he has very little to do in the movie and doesn't have many chances to display that intelligence. There's actually quite a bit more to him than just being a menial robot.

[@robinchesterfield42]

They do describe the Heart of Gold somewhere in the books as somewhat "resembling a sleek, stylish running shoe" or words along those lines, so...yeah, more of a sleek vaguely triangular-ish shape with a narrower front ("toe") and wider back. Frankly I think the "make everything white so it looks like THE FUTURE!" version in the TV show worked better.

[@LillyianPuppy]

I've never wanted to shout an amen so many times in my life.

[@Victoura56]

I used to think the movie was good. But after being inspired by The Dom to go read the book, I realise the book has more charm, wit and entertainment in the tip of it's little fingernail than the movie has (etc.), and I haven't even gotten past the second chapter! Cheers Dom! :D

[@bul13ts]

Welcome to the true faith.

[@fiddledotgoth]

The film was not created through incompetence but wanton assasination of HGTTG's message: Douglas Adams spent the latter half of his life trying to get the film writes back from Hollywood after he had unwisely sold them in 1980 - After finally getting them resold to Disney in 1998, he went to US and had a heart attack (?) in 2001 and so the sreenplay could now be COMPLETELY REWRITTEN... Wikipedia entry tries to minimalise this: "In 1980 Adams also began attempts to turn the first Hitchhiker's novel into a movie, making several trips to Los Angeles, and working with a number of Hollywood studios and potential producers. The next year, the radio series became the basis for a BBC television mini-series[20] broadcast in six parts. When he died in 2001 in California, he had been trying again to get the movie project started with Disney, which had bought the rights in 1998. The screenplay finally got a posthumous re-write by Karey Kirkpatrick, and the resulting film was released in 2005." Hitchhikers Guide as nihilistic, is where I disagree with Dom: Adams pokes fun at religion and atheism equally...

[@Daleksaresupreme1]

listen to the radio show, it's all on youtube

[@nightpool4946]

after a difficult week it makes me really happy to see another dom video :)

[@PrypeciowyHovnozer]

after a difficult life it also makes me really happy to see another dom video :D

[@paulgeorge3882]

When I saw the film, when it was released, I liked it, but had issues. As The Dom mentions, it seems like the movie has punchlines without the set-up or just the opposite, a lot of set-up to no joke. Also, as an American, I wanted the film to keep its British humor. We've had plenty of exposure with Monty Python, Faulty Towers, Red Dwarf and HHGTTG. Even when I didn't get a gag in the original series, I simply chalked it up to differences between Britain and the U.S. It was never something to avoid. So, while I don't hate it as much as The Dom, I agree with him about the films flaws.

[@lyndawilliams8434]

A PHD in miss the pointism? Best line ever.

[@Panthror]

17:22 "In no version of the story, that Douglas Adams was involved in, did the Earth 2 ever get completed." Well, in the fourth book 'So Long, And Thanks For All The Fish' (the one where Arthur meets Fenchurch) it is heavily hinted this isn't the same earth Arthur left, but a new one as there are no dolphins. Also: I teleported home one night With Ron and Sid and Meg. Ron stole Meggie's heart away And I got Sidney's leg.

[@tealOmega980]

It is a different Earth, but a parallel universe Earth, not Earth 2. Earth 2 would have started at the very beginning, before the dawn of life.

[@Panthror]

@@tealOmega980 It is NOT a parallel universe Earth, because then Arthur would be from that parallel universe as well, but he remembers going through the events of the previous books, which wouldn't be the case if it was a different Arthur. For example: He learns to fly in book 3 and is able to do this in the fourth book. How would he be able to do this if he was from a parallel universe? Also: Earth 2 was being created to finish the program the original Earth was created for, so they created it to match how it was the moment it got destroyed. Heck, even Arthur's house is on it. (Trust me, I've read all the books over 10 times.)

[@tealOmega980]

@@Panthror You're right, I was getting the start of this book and the next book mixed up. That one really does have Dent travel between timelines.

[@Lady_in_the_Radiator]

​@@Panthror​ I know it's been three years and no one cares, but: "And then the fling of hope, the finding of a shadow Earth in the implications of enfolded time, submerged dimensions, the pull of parallels, the deep pull, the spin of will, the hurl and split of it, the flight. A new Earth pulled into replacement, the dolphins gone." The dolphins found the new Earth in a parallel universe and pulled it into their own, hence why the Earth is a parallel version, but Arthur is not.

[@Panthror]

@@Lady_in_the_Radiator 2 things: 1: Where's that quote from? 2: How would Arthur end up in a parallel universe? In the books only Ford goes into a pocket dimension, which is explicitly explained as such. There is no mention of 'our' Arthur being in a universe that wasn't his own.

[@thomasrdiehl]

Wait, Marvin was supposed to be happy-looking in the old show? Because to me, that eyeshape and overemphasized smile always looked horribly depressed.

[@bookwermofthefandoms]

Thomas Diehl Well... he was supposed to Sirius Cybernetics Corporation's version of happy. You know, the ones who made the psychic talking elevators, non tea-maker, and sighing doors? It makes pretty good sense that he would look *overly* happy, or at least a weird version of what that company thinks is happy.

[@watsername]

Yeah, like a corporate "happy " an artificial superficial happiness.

[@SpideyDee]

Your videos made me want to read the books again and with all the stuff going on right now (especially politically), I have to say that Adams (along with Pratchett) is the best medicine for keeping sane. Thanks, The Dom!

[@HrothgarXII]

Loved this episode! Your enthusiasm for the original work really helped propel the episode, and I was thoroughly entertained all the way through. Keep up the good work!

[@RestingJudge]

I'd watch a series based on Rocked & the Doms wacky adventures in space....just saying

[@RockedNet]

Please don't encourage Dom's shenanigans.

[@JamiJR]

But it would be bigger than Red Dwarf!

[@jamesdoyle6914]

17:15 Honestly, for the ending conflict, the perspective gun is right there. They wanted to know what was really in his brain for the ultimate answer and he wanted them to stop trying to destroy earth, but I guess you could just hit them with a teapot. You'd hate to have the moral be empathy or a climactic joke or something. I remember loving this movie, but I guess in hindsight I mostly loved the Guide parts, where they just have a British guy read passages from Adams writing and animate it. Maybe I'd like the radio show.

[@ROL4NDpkmnguide]

I think that this movie would have worked better as an animated flick

[@wilfordbrimleyful]

Or a Netflix series adaption

[@IfIHadMyTimeAgain]

I think that in live action there is no way you could do Zaphod’s second head without it looking awful or terrifying. I think the only way a perfect hitchhiker’s film could work would be if it was animated

[@mjhopkins76]

This may be an older video, but I have just found this channel a absolutely love his interpretations. Furthermore, even if I don't entirely agree with his opinions, at first... he presents very valid arguments for his opinions, and sometimes alters my opinion as well. That being said, this has always been one of my favorite modern series, in all of its varied forms of medium. I first experienced it as a child... which actually was a funny story. You see, living in America, it was aired on PBS, years after it was on the BBC. Not only that, I saw them out of order. Which, in hindsight, may have been perfect. This caused me to compartmentalize to individual plot point, and accept them in any order, no matter the medium. I then went on to read the original "trilogy" of five books and a short story. Again, loved it, and have it as a leather bound collectors edition on my bookshelf. I then watched the movie, and initially liked it... somewhat, but didn't quite know what was wrong with it. As, it had been years since I had seen or read the source material, I was really unaware of the many points he brought up in this video, and the preceding one. I have since re-read the book, and watched the mini-series again. In the correct order this time. That being said, thank you for explaining why this movie left a taste in my mouth akin to the tea on the Heart of Gold. Also, I am sure you, The Dom, have already heard and seen it, but you, the audience, may have not heard of Shada. It is not a discussion for this thread, but if you are interested in Adams' work and career... you should check out the story of it and, if you can find it, watch what there is of it. I was actually quite surprised it wasn't mentioned in the first video, when discussing the amount of creative control Adams desired to have. Quickly become a huge fan of this channel!

[@joetickle9676]

The Arthur/Trillian romance was something Douglas Addams tried to incorporate with most of the adaptations he did, but abandoned when he found it too difficult to work seamlessly into the plot. If he'd lived, he'd have tried again here and given up again. Hollywood lacks such sense.

[@Artoveli]

Ahh, your thoughts and feelings about everything H2G2-related are exactly spot on with mine, and it's SO refreshing to hear them! ^_^ I've never been more utterly disappointed by a movie than I was with this one. The trailers looked great, the news from the set sounded great, everything SEEMED like it was poised for... well, greatness. We invited a bunch of non-fan friends to come with us to the premier, and we even brought towels! On entering the dark theater we saw that most in the crowd had brought their towels too, and were using them to wave to each other. It was beautifully nerdy! And then... hhhhhhh... Let's just say the audience was silent after the movie, nobody was flaunting their towels anymore, and we were stuck apologising to our friends and assuring them that this was a very bad adaptation and the original(s) were so much better, honest!

[@heighbeut99]

The hilarious bit is, ten or so years later, a television series did the two-headed effect just fine. It was big budget, but still.

[@ryougahibiki941]

Which series?

[@sharkkebunni]

Thank you, I now see the film in a new light. I also wanted to see the two-headed Zaphod with them on the body instead for the neck, rumors had it that was more then just 2 heads and 3 arms, he had extra parts elsewhere

[@marcusgutierrez9382]

"mum, there's a mad man running through our garden." "well, son, if you see a man like that, run the other way."

[@SparkyUpstart]

So I guess when it came to Slartibartfast's character traits, you were left pining for the fjords?

[@h.r.gerrard2960]

The fjords don't even enter into it! The film is stone DEAD!

[@Formoka]

I will say Arthur *was* actually wearing his dressing gown on the surface of Magrathea. It’s mentioned around the time he meets Slartibartfast. I just finished the book today. I do recommend it. It is hilarious and worked so well to handle my ADHD between the short chapters and the constant interesting shifts in topic.

[@davidwuhrer6704]

But nobody else changed their clothes in the book for the landing either. In the movie they did.

[@MGwin79]

I just seen this and one thing that was missed was how they changed the look of so much of the Heart of Gold too, such as the bridge looking like a jungle at one point in the books with all the plants and how the ship itself was in the shape of a running shoe, among other things. Had they stuck with the actual source material it would have been a much better movie.

[@TheGerkuman]

I still like the Ford Prefect car joke.

[@SorchaSublime]

Yeah, though if they do another adaptation even fewer people will get it.

[@grantbitman1448]

I am now a sub to The Dom.

[@thomastakesatollforthedark2231]

Ha....ha

[@thomastakesatollforthedark2231]

Oh shush you nihilist

[@KitchenSinkSoup]

Martin Freeman's narration of the audiobook is pretty good though just saying.

[@testosteronic]

my god why does hollywood think everyone is so brain-dead they have to [want to!] see the same basic story over and over again in different settings rather than telling the actual, different, stories they're 'adapting' !?!

[@testosteronic]

like they all fall in love and the day is miraculously saved! how? well the whole premise of the story is absurd (it's magic! or duh alien technology did it) so we don't have to have an explanation it just did! what do you mean the fictional world it's set in has some kind of internal logic or consistent message/theme?!

[@schwarzerritter5724]

Because everyone is so brain-dead they have to see the same basic story over and over again.

[@troin3925]

Schwarzer Ritter The executives are the ones who are brain dead.

[@niauropsaka]

Cocaine is a hell of a drug.

[@asagoldsmith3328]

Because people still pay to see it. Otherwise it wouldn't get made!

[@timothymclean]

I like Marvin's design; the oversized head communicates his crushing intellect quite well, and I'm always fond of more minimalistic aesthetics over the pulp-sci-fi robot with all of its buttons and blinking lights. Though now that you mention it, it _would_ be nice if they had made him look more cheerful. The almost toylike proportions could have contributed to this, if they wanted; cover him in a fluffy outer layer with a smile stitched on top, and he'd make a good stuffed animal. (That, or the next attraction at the Fazbear pizzeria.)

[@danjermouse5207]

16:06 Actualy, the the field is called Misthepointology

[@rubylewis6920]

Just reminded of the Genghis khan-descended foreman dreaming of a country cottage with axes on the door.

[@DeadlyAssets]

The biggest, err ok maybe one of the biggest annoying things in the film were the jokes! They sometimes say the first line of a great joke, then nothing, no build up, no punch line, nothing! then later, out of the blue, they say a different joke's punchline with no beginning or middle, on a couple of occasions they say a jokes middle... WTF! I know not everyone has the same humour but surely they could recognise they were butchering the jokes as well as the rest of the story, surely??

[@18thskaven]

I enjoyed this movie, the book is infinitely superior of course, but I liked to see someone who wasn't Douglas Adams trying to pull off being Douglas Adams. It was flawed and didn't make a whole lot of sense but to be fair, a lot of stuff only started making sense in Hitchhikers sequels. I suppose you could say I appreciate the effort more than the execution. At the very least I'm sure the movie generated a lot more awareness and interest in the books, making new fans.

[@KeybladeMasterAndy]

Arron Litchfield It certainly has with me. And this video series only makes me more interested.

[@TorridPrime217]

I myself read the book after the movie and... I just didn't care for the book. knowing all of the jokes already, I just didn't think them funny the second time around, especially in text only form

[@PuppetDungeon]

I liked that they included a lot of the more obscure humor, like the bits from the text adventure game. The movie is, well, a Hollywood movie... and the author changed things to parody that. That's why we have a weird romance subplot, a villain, etc. If you just stick to the book, you're losing part of what Adams loved so much about the series... that it changes. That the radio versions do what works for radio, tv is all sight gags, comic books use art to convey the story, etc. So, do look into all the weird slightly different tellings of the story, as each has their own brilliance.

[@humster6492]

TorridPrime217, what about the rest of the books?

[@TorridPrime217]

I haven't read them yet

[@matthewparker9276]

I fully believe Douglas Addams would have made the "save the president from the president" plotline work, and be funny.

[@horaciosi]

I'll confess, I was too distracted with Zooey Deschanel to pay attention lol

[@TheMimiSard]

I do agree that the way they did the two heads was a cop-out. I also am willing to agree with your conclusion. I liked the movie, but I like the book far better, because the movie felt too American - a bit like the 1996 Doctor Who movie.

[@strdseraph2765]

The books clearly state that the job of the president of the galaxy is to divert attention from the people who are actually in charge. Therefore Zaphod is considered the most successful president yet and it makes sense they'd want him back.

[@troikas3353]

So many passing jokes from old videos feel unintentionally prophetic. Oh dear..

[@MidnightSt]

I read the first three books, and I LOVED them. Then, a long, long time afterwards, when I forgot most of what happened in the books, I've seen the movie, and kinda liked it even while knowing it's a bad adaptation. Admittedly, nowadays, I don't remember much of the movie, nor the books.

[@christinae30]

But I hope you remember to always bring a towel!

[@myautobiographyafanfic1413]

All the coincidence in Hitchhikers were due to the infinite improbability drive exiting.

[@dantpointy436]

I wonder what your neighbours thought of you cause of that stunt

[@Dominic-Noble]

I warned them in advance.

[@Isrjisoneavalable]

How did they respond when you told them?

[@isadoracostahamsi163]

That is the most British thing I heard in a while XD (I am Brazilian, but I lived in Liverpool a few years)

[@Grim_Sister]

I feel like Douglas Adams is writing our reality. That would explain a lot

[@robinchesterfield42]

I've heard Nash from "WTFIWWY?" say multiple times that it's as if we're in a sci-fi dystopia...being written by Douglas Adams. Yeah that sounds about right.

[@Grim_Sister]

@@robinchesterfield42my theory specifically is that somewhere in the multiverse, Douglas Adams and Terry Pratchett have elected to try writing together the most ridiculous stories they could come up with, and those stories have become our reality. If Neil Gaiman could tell them to relax for a few years, I’d very much appreciate it

[@Version0111]

I love that he posts hours videos early in the morning. It's just a great feeling to wake up, look at your phone and see a new Dom video.

[@lucidopticlab2373]

Yasiin Bey had a background in acting before he became a hip hop star.

[@alexrussell6399]

I think Marvin looks good. He reminds me of a large toy or action figure.

[@fabrisse7469]

I liked the song "So Long and Thanks for all the Fish."

[@robinchesterfield42]

It is an INDESTRUCTIBLE earworm. I've only seen the movie once ever, in 2005, in the theater, and I STILL remember the tune. XD

[@myautobiographyafanfic1413]

Re: Vogons The US, where England has an economy relying on bureaucracy, has one relying on the sale of war and war machines. The filmmakers obviously were at least subconsciously affected by that.

[@lesliepohls9319]

I initially started watching this channel as a background distraction cause I liked your voice, and now, I can't take my eyes out of it and actually go out of my way to take the time to watch every single episode. Dammit why are you so good? Estupido y Sensual The Dom.

[@sarahabc4557]

This just made my day. I was having a really bad one and this came out just in time..

[@BenAllen217]

They had deleted scenes about the entry on Earth, an extended part about the Babel Fish, the Vogons saying “We are going to win.”, and Zaphod and Questular kissing. Also, fake scenes of Arthur being an action hero and Arthur “escaping” from the “villainous” Slartibartfast. I should know. I still have the DVD since childhood.

[@gingerstorm101]

I'm already drinking my tea!

[@janewick1082]

I enjoy it when you collaborate with other creators. Thanks Dom.

[@Kaizensan1775]

Thank you for expressing what I couldn't get across to viewers who never read books nor realize a radio show and television version exists.

[@AdrianColley]

10:37 (Why was Marvin built with an unhappy face if he was meant to be fun?) Thank you! I thought I was the only one yelling that at the screen. Bonus gripe about Marvin: the production designer clearly misinterpreted the line "brain the size of a planet", and gave Marvin a really big and round head.

[@treetheoak8313]

Woah that president joke was spot on...

[@intergalactic92]

The wiki describes Marvin's film appearance as the most depressing and unacceptable manifestation of Marvin ever conceived, and thus, paradoxically, the most accurate. Which shows that whoever writes for the wiki gets the humour at least. The book describe Marvin as beautifully constructed and polished, yet all the parts didn’t seem to fit properly. That is to say they fitted perfectly well, but something in Marvin's bearing suggested that they could have been fitted better. All of which suggests to me that the film look wasn’t that inaccurate. I personally think they gave Marvin a more depressed to compensate for the fact that Alan Rickman does not sound depressed at all in the film. Stephen Moore made you want to slash your own wrists he was so unhappy, Alan Rickman sounded more annoyed/pissed off than unhappy.

[@nrrork]

I suspect Douglas Adams was a big fan of the butterfly effect, but he used it for comedic purposes brilliantly. A lot of my favorite jokes in his books are where an insignificant action snowballs through random chance after random chance into some cataclysmic event at some other point in time or space.

[@gamer708886]

I feel the ending is the ultimate joke, to go through all that and have everything end up right back where the movie started thus making it all pointless is funny as hell.

[@tuschman168]

Anyone remember when Zaphod's massive ego survived the Total Perspective Vortex unscathed? Good times. I mean, I seem to remember that there was ultimately another reason why it didn't affect him (Which one I can't quite remember.) but at the time we were lead to believe that it really was just that Zaphod thought of himself as the center of the universe and had this belief confirmed by the vortex and that's just hilarious to me.

[@thechurchofsupersampling]

Its because he was still in the simulated universe as he left by the window, so my memory says anyway

[@femmedracula6857]

A simulated universe created specifically for him, thus actually making him the most important being in it.

[@oneovertwo1186]

It to me a long time to realize that Marvin's eyes weren't meant to be teeth.

[@Cheesusful]

Technically harmakavoola was in the book... Mentioned once. Also the bit with the yarn was when the shields were down (I think)

[@SilverliningSnowpaws]

"...the ideal that a president could commit crimes--maybe even treason--and the government would not only ignore this but want him to go on being president is too stupid..." This sounds ominously authentic. Did those film makers KNOW something? lmao

[@theunamiable]

Seeing you take this one apart sort of ended up being like gawking at a traffic accident, but you final summary of Adams' style and philosophy was worth it all.

[@BinturongGirl]

I warn my mum to wear total panic shades when she visits before I have a chance to tidy up.

[@boradis]

Man, The Dom, you really are speaking for me here. I loved the earlier versions of the story and LOATHED this film.

[@bizzarrogeorge]

Great review. I hated this movie. I remember when this film was in pre-release, the director in interviews explained that he had never read any of the books, heard the radio show, or seen the tv series. He claimed that his lack of exposure to H2G2 was actually a strength, and would free him to make a great movie by not constantly comparing his execution on set to what has come before. Got to love Hollywood. I think if it were me, I would have asked Terry Gilliam if this project interested him to direct, or re-asked Ivan Reitman.

[@illiengalene2285]

Unbelievable coincidence: this was recommend to me after a video about tea around the world!

[@talonsaurn5764]

After listening to you talk about the radio play I decided to listen to it myself for the first time, really an enjoyable experience, thank you for inspiring me to do so..when the movie came out i saw it and kept scratching my head at the ending,a WTF moment because i HAD read the books.

[@shuki3488]

Hey dom, you think they should give this series the Netflix treatment, their track record seems to be on point when it comes to reboots and adaptations, with a few exceptions.

[@horaciosi]

Give it the budget of Star Trek Discovery, have it be written by Edgar Wright and Simon Pegg and directed by Wright and VOILA! The perfect adaptation.

[@notgray88]

Funny thing is, the movie is now available on Netflix, which is where I found out about it.

[@jothamstickings4773]

If there's anyone who could make a good HHGTTG adaptation it would be Edgar Wright.

[@Jcreed]

This film is what got me into the hitchhikers guide to the galaxy and even though I love the rest of the adaptations more, I can’t help but have a soft spot for this film and believe it to be a good way to get into the series by easing you into what could be considered a mostly harmless and mildly entertaining film

[@ashleybow]

ok but,The Dom hiding under a desk is fucking adorable.

[@utubebgay]

wish this review had been around and i had seen it just after seeing the movie... it's tremendously satisfying to see that someone else harbors the same loathing for it, and for the same reasons.

[@remygrunge3223]

A blind rhino with a rubber mallet!!!! You're killing me, mate!!!!

[@Firestar4041]

"That a president could go a commit crimes, even treason, and the government would ignore this, and would want him to continue being president, is just plain stupid" . . . and yet . . .

[@notgray88]

Firestar4041 lol, I see what you did there.

[@moonymonster]

The Dom has far more faith in humanity than it deserves.

[@Salsmachev]

The funny thing is that in the book this would have made perfect sense. The president is just a figurehead who is supposed to distract from the universe's real power brokers, and Zaphod was chosen precisely because he was the most ridiculously shenanigan-rific and distracting person in the universe. Even more interestingly, the fact that he causes a major bureaucratic confusion because he's simultaneously the victim and the perpetrator of kidnapping himself and must therefore be killed/captured in order to rescue him is actually a fairly Adams-y joke (notice that its core absurdity, invented roles eclipsing the real people who fill them, is literally the same as the original joke about how Ford stops Arthur's house from being knocked down).

[@blastification2]

oRaNgE mAn BaD

[@garysmith3037]

Yep, it's something that has been going on for decades, Adams recognized it way back then.

[@phantomkitten73]

I quite enjoy this movie, but I still agree with many of your points. I feel like a single sentence that would best describe the problems with this film would be this: "It's trying (and failing) to be a bit too much like Monty Python."

[@cheezemonkeyeater]

I thought there was a point in the book (the missile scene) where they had to activate infinite improbability drive without proper shielding because they didn't have time to properly do all the procedures before the missiles would impact and it changed the bridge into . . . been a long time since I read it, I think a party house? Is that not what the yarn scene was replacing?

[@daddydreet145]

they figured, "hey, if we screw up the movie, people won't care. they are after all, "Mostly Harmless".

[@limbobilbo8743]

I always thought ford’s logic was some sort of jedi mind trick

[@aromaladyellie]

... Wait, did they just model Scrimgeour on his appearance in this movie.