Customer Reviews
Near Flawless - By: T. Patmore, 09 Jul 2008 
Fantastic - a true muse of fire, crammed with so many ideas & such comedic brilliance that it is practically bursting at the seams.
All the others seem lamein comparison (which they aren't), like Charlie Chaplins WW1 films - an ariadne's thread for all his other ideas.
If you haven't listened to the Primary Phase, don't just watch the film or read the book - it is essential that you try it on CD, as it was ground breakingin its time, & still flawlessin the present.
Allin all, this is an essential audio book, which has had profound effects on popular culture & is a Bible for anyone seeking to make headway (while avoiding cliche)in sci-fi, comedy or any pop culture field. Listen & be enriched!
Almost, but not quite, the original version - By: B. P. Gore, 29 May 2007 
As with previous releases on vinyl etc, this is NOT the original radio show. Episodes 1-4 sound like they have been re-recorded, from the voices & the technical sound I'm guessing this was done at the time of the third series. The script, the sound effects & music all contain differences - I've compared it to my original (very old) cassette recordings off the radio & the CD version is definitely different - cleaner maybe but somehow rather "flat".
Maybe the BBC lost the original recordings as they did with so many other radio & TV shows? Maybe the quality was thought to not be good enough? Maybe they thought they could improve the original sound effects with newer technology? Whatever the reason, claiming this as the original is not quite true. BBC, if you have the originals you should include them as an "extra", or release them seperately.
From episode 5 this sounds like it is the originalin every respect.
Pass me my Babel Fish - By: Tealady2000, 01 Mar 2006 I was absolutely captivated by the original radio version of HHGTTG as a young teenagerin the late 70's & I was delighted to rediscover the pan-galactic magic with these CDs. Douglas Adams was quite simply a genius. I took my sons (9 & 12) to see the movie a few months ago & after that they were keen to hear the radio originals. We keep the CDsin our car & they are absolutely brilliant for long journeys - you really can listen to them again & again, which is ideal if your vehicle does not have an Infinite Improbability Drive. And don't forget to listen out for the little joke at the end of the credits after each episode.
Still one of the most entertaining radio plays of all time - By: , 04 Feb 2005 This is the true way to experience the Hitchhikers guide. It is perhaps one of the most entertaining & hilarious radio plays of all time. It is wonderful to be able to get hold of the radio plays that I had not managed to hear when they first came out & it gave me a whole new opportunity to fall backin love with Marvin, Arthur & Ford.
In the same way as the books allow the readers imagination to run away with themselves so the radio plays continue to enhance this. For people who do not like reading this is one of the best ways to get into Douglas Adams' classic......and for those that do like reading - well this is like welcoming an old friend home
The original and best...but incomplete! - By: R. A. Caton, 05 Sep 2004 I first heard the Guide when it was broadcast backin the late 70's, & bought the LPs from Original Records when they were released, but looked forward to getting the original broadcasts on CD when the BBC got round to issuing them.
So! when they came out, I bought!. There is an edit....confirmable by checking against the remains of an off-air cassette recording, & the scripts (not the novels!) as published by Pan Books.
When they arrive on Magratheain Fit the Third, the background music is recognisable to all Pink Floyd fans...in the show, but not on these CDs, Arthur says "Do you know this robot can hum like Pink Floyd?" & asks if Marvin can do anything else, whereupon Marvin bursts into "Rock & Roll music" by the Beatles....
A small point but one for which I deduct a star....
Douglas Adams remarkedin the script book that he was convinced there wouldn't be a second radio series, with the resulting end of this first series....but there was. He then deliberately left the second series open for a third to continue the story....and there wasn't. We can only regret that, since the TV series & the books took such a different course to the radio show, & never took up the challenge of the second radio series....
Buy these CDs, & the second series CDs, & listen to the continuation that should be on BBC R4 soon....
