2. The Hitchhiker's Guide to the Galaxy
Weve had the original radio serial. Weve have a TV series, and a 1980s videogame. There have been at least one too many books, depending on who you ask - the original trilogy of 4, the 5th one that was tacked on carelessly, and Eoin Colfers admirable but inevitably disappointing attempt at a 6th. Most recently, the tale of Arthur Dent, Ford Prefect, Tricia MacMillan, Zaphod Beeblebrox and everyones favourite Paranoid Android was told in the 2005 film, based on the first of the novels. Adams universe is surreal, funny, intelligent, and wonderfully prescient. In short, its brilliant but do we really need another retelling of the intergalactic (mis)adventures of the most British Everyman of all? Well, yes, actually. I want the end of the universe in stasis on the big screen. I want Gods last message to the universe, and to see Arthur master the art of flying and suffering his myriad misfortunes at the hands of a fundamentally unjust universe, and battles on cricket fields, and teleporting sofas, and all the myriad logical fallacies that make up Adams glorious vision. Garth Jennings 2005 effort was a perfectly reasonable attempt to bring Adamss vision to the big screen. The casting was solid Martin Freeman being particularly excellent playing himself, and Sam Rockwell having a ball as Zaphod. The visuals were marvellous, with the combination of CGI, prosthetics and even a spot of stop-motion animation giving the whole thing an nice vintage feel. The script went to interesting places with some of the source material, but took a few too many liberties with an ending that was ultimately a bit of a cop-out, and some questionable character adaptations - Marvin, in particular, is disappointingly lacklustre, and Zooey Deschanels Trillian is generic in the extreme. I'm willing to forgive this, however, as the film largely tapped into the spirit of the book, and sections of it were marvellously inventive. The disappointing elements certainly feel like a bit of safety-first studio interference, at odds with the creativity and faithful rendering evident in other aspects of the film. Having seen and enjoyed Jennings vision, it was disappointing when the Restaurant at the End of the Universe never materialised but money comes first, and it seems like Adams work just doesnt have the market any more. Sadly, it looks like this will remain a pipe dream, and Adamss magnum opus will remain incomplete for the foreseeable future. Sorry for the inconvenience seems to be the message from the studio on this one, and the galaxy is poorer for it.