Dirk Gently

[MongoGutman]

Anyone else see the Dirk Gently show on BBC4 last night?

 

[DaveC]

Didn't see it last night but did when it was first on just before Christmas. Loved it and hope they make a series.

Even though I didn't recognise any locations it was nice to know it was filmed a few miles down the road in a different area of Bristol 8)

 

[Tonyblack]

I think I enjoyed it more than the books. But it was so long ago since I read the books and I found them so instantly forgettable, that I'm not sure how accurate the TV show was. Not very I suspect.

 

[Batty]

I never found the books to be funny.
I'd occasionally smile at something, but never understood why the reviews kept mentioning how laugh-out-loud funny the books were.

The TV adaption was better.

 

[BaldFriede]

I loved the Dirk Gently books and found them very funny. My favourite is "The Long Dark Tea-time of the Soul".

 

[Bouncy Castle]

I never found the books to be funny.
I'd occasionally smile at something, but never understood why the reviews kept mentioning how laugh-out-loud funny the books were.

The TV adaption was better.

I agree.

 

[DaveC]

Not read the books, so I had no baggage going in.

 

[poohcarrot]

I loved Hitch Hikers but was not even remotely impressed with Dirk.

 

[Tonyblack]

I loved Hitch Hikers but was not even remotely impressed with Dirk.

I liked the early Hitch Hikers, but thought that the later ones were weak.

 

[mspanners]

Don't Panic! First books were good but went down hill and i think the last book was not even written by Adams.

 

[The Mad Collector]

Hitch-Hikers was best on radio, before he tried to turn it into a book. I like Adams' work but he simply couldn't concentrate on the job in hand and this quite often showed. I thought the Dirk Gently program was remarkably true to the book which I wasn't expectling. Long Dark Teatime of the Soul would be almost impossible to film especially on the budget they appeared to have for the first one.

 

[Jan Van Quirm]

LDTTOTS was the better of the two I think but it'd have to be a nostalgia piece now they've tarted up St Pancras again. The planes of reality stuff in the book were brilliant I thought and much better that the first DG story.

The BBC version of Hitch-hikers were genius, but the book series deteriorated after Restaurant at the end of the Universe and the last in particular were real stinkers unfortunately

 

[Jack Remillard]

Dirk Gently's Holistic Detective Agency is one of my favourite books. I liked the radio adaptation, but I think both Dirk and Richard were miscast. I can imagine Stephen Fry delivering Dirk's lines much better than Harry Enfield did.

I quite enjoyed the TV pilot episode (though again, Stephen Mangan is not at all how I imagine Dirk). I'll definitely be watching if it gets a series.

 

[SpideyGirl]

missed it

 

[Tonyblack]

missed it

It's still available on the BBc iPlayer.

 

[BaldFriede]

I think the reason why people don't like the Dirk Gently books is tht they expected them to be of the same kind of silly, pythonesque (if you will forgive me for creating that word) humour, which they weren't. The humour is totally different, more mature, but it is still there.
And I definitely recommend to read "Last Chance To See", Adam's book about nearly extinct animals. It is not comical at all, or very rarely at best, but absolutely worth reading.

 

[Jack Remillard]

I bought a copy of that a little while ago on Amazon (the original version not the 'revisited' one). I haven't read it yet.

 

[SpideyGirl]

excellent - thanks Tony, keeping forgetting about iPlayer

 

[Willem]

Saw it yesterday, read the books years ago but don't remember anything from them anymore.

The show was pretty good, wouldn't mind seeing more of it.

 

[poohcarrot]

And I definitely recommend to read "Last Chance To See", Adam's book about nearly extinct animals. It is not comical at all, or very rarely at best, but absolutely worth reading.

Seconded!