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posted by martyb on Sunday March 08 2020, @06:55PM   Printer-friendly
from the The-meaning-of... dept.

https://www.economist.com/prospero/2020/03/06/the-hitchhikers-guide-to-the-galaxy-turns-42

EVERY YEAR the world celebrates the anniversaries of masterworks and maestros. In 2020 there will be a host of events and publications commemorating the lives of Ludwig van Beethoven, Raphael, Charles Dickens, Anne Brontë and William Wordsworth. Such milestones usually come in neat multiples of 50. The 42nd anniversary of anything is rarely observed.

Yet on March 8th fans of "The Hitchhiker's Guide to the Galaxy" ("HHGTTG") will pay tribute to the comedy science-fiction series, which had its radio premiere on that day in 1978 and was subsequently adapted into novels, TV series, video games and a film. To mark the occasion, Pan Macmillan has reprinted the scripts and novels in colourful new editions ("HHGTTG" was the first book published under their "Pan Original" imprint to sell more than 1m copies). The British Library will host a day of "celebrations, conversation and performance". BBC Radio 4 has aired the original episodes; Radio 4 Extra will put on a "five-hour Hitchhiker's spectacular" including archival material and specially commissioned programmes. Such is the enduring interest in Douglas Adams's story that it is due to be adapted into a new television series by Hulu, a streaming service.


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  • (Score: 2) by acid andy on Sunday March 08 2020, @08:32PM (5 children)

    by acid andy (1683) on Sunday March 08 2020, @08:32PM (#968276) Homepage Journal

    Belgium, man!

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  • (Score: 3, Informative) by driverless on Sunday March 08 2020, @08:36PM

    by driverless (4770) on Sunday March 08 2020, @08:36PM (#968279)

    Sorry, but Soylent News is not a serious screenplay. Report to your nearest termination centre immediately.

  • (Score: 0) by Anonymous Coward on Monday March 09 2020, @04:06AM (3 children)

    by Anonymous Coward on Monday March 09 2020, @04:06AM (#968409)

    Did you know that it is only Belgium in the prudish USA version? In the rest of the world the Rory is the award for the most gratuitous use of the the word Fuck in a serious screenplay.

    • (Score: 3, Informative) by kazzie on Monday March 09 2020, @05:08AM (2 children)

      by kazzie (5309) Subscriber Badge on Monday March 09 2020, @05:08AM (#968422)

      "Belgium" as an expletive originated in the second series of the radio show, and was in the subsequent UK novelisation. It was an existing joke when it was used to prudify the Rory for the USA in the third book.

      • (Score: 2) by TheRaven on Tuesday March 10 2020, @04:20PM (1 child)

        by TheRaven (270) on Tuesday March 10 2020, @04:20PM (#969144) Journal
        I seem to recall that it was also changed in the later printings of the UK version, because Douglas Adams decided that Belgium was more funny.
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        • (Score: 2) by kazzie on Tuesday March 10 2020, @04:53PM

          by kazzie (5309) Subscriber Badge on Tuesday March 10 2020, @04:53PM (#969161)

          Possibly. I read the blue "trilogy in four parts" UK omnibus edition, published in 1992 [goodreads.com].

          The BBC radio adaptations of Book 3 kept the original wording, but with well-timed sound effects muffling the word just enough to keep it broadcastable.