13 replies to this topic

[WileyCoyote]

Coming soon (really soon: Thu 16 Dec 2010) to a higher numbered BBC channel (BBC4). But its freaking Douglas Adams, who was pretty damn popular in the U.S. too, so I've no doubt it will show up on BBC America as well fairly quickly.

Trailer:
http://www.youtube.c...h?v=aBOl1OW7nnM

BBC Description:
http://www.bbc.co.uk...rammes/b00wqfl2

Drama featuring writer Douglas Adams's holistic detective Dirk Gently, who operates based on the fundamental interconnectedness of all things. An investigation into a missing cat is inextricably linked to a chance encounter with an old friend, an exploding warehouse, a missing billionaire and a plate of biscuits.

io9.com has a longer description:
http://io9.com/57093...e-agency-series

Stephen Mangan will play Douglas Adams' eccentric detective Dirk Gently in a new BBC Four drama based on the author's cult novel, Dirk Gently's Holistic Detective Agency.

He is joined by Darren Boyd as his unwitting sidekick Richard Macduff and Helen Baxendale as Richard's girlfriend Susan in the adaptation by Bafta-winning Howard Overman.

Anti-hero Dirk Gently operates his eponymous detective agency based on the fundamental interconnectedness of all things. Perpetually broke, hopelessly chaotic and utterly infuriating, most people suspect Dirk is nothing more than a cheap conman. And they might be right – but nevertheless his methods, though unusual, do often produce surprising results.

When Dirk sets out to solve an apparently simple and harmless disappearance of a cat from an old lady's house, he unwittingly uncovers a double murder which, in turn, leads to a host of even more extraordinary events.

Edited by WileyCoyote, Dec 12, 2010 @ 6:55 AM.

[Corporal Agarn]

Thanks for the heads up, WileyCoyote. I love the Hitchhiker's books, and bought Dirk Gently's, but have not read it yet. Looks like I'll have to start before this shows up on BBC America, whenever that will be.

[Vaya]

Excuse me while I squeel like an excited fangirl....

EEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEE!

Anyways, I haven't read all of the first book, however Long Dark Tea Time of the Soul is my favorite book ever.

Very exciting!

[NotANumber]

In the last shot of Dirk's whiteboard, I definitely saw "Electric Monk" and "Horse in a Bathroom". I don't know how or when I'll get a chance to watch this (US viewer, but no BBCAmerica), but I *must* see it!!

Edited by NotANumber, Dec 13, 2010 @ 6:47 PM.

[The Mad Maple]

Oh, man. I loved the Dirk Gently books! Any word on when (or if) it's airing in North America?

[WileyCoyote]

No idea.

And so far the reviews I've seen for it are no more than lukewarm.

[Alexandria Bay]

It's probably best if you haven't read the books recently. If you remember too much about them, you'll probably be disappointed at how much was left out or changed. And how little Steven Mangan looks like Dirk as described. But, on its own, I enjoyed it well enough and would watch more.

[Vaya]

And how little Steven Mangan looks like Dirk as described.

This actually did strike me in the previews, but I am so willing to over look stuff like that if the actor gets teh character right.

[lorenzothekind]

Well, that was, to coin a phrase, mostly harmless. Pleasant even. I'd certainly watch more (are there more? Some sites seem are saying it's a series, other that that was a one-off pilot....) Doesn't really capture the wonderfully surreal quality of the books (not that I would really expect it to) but a good effort at maintaining the deadpan tone. Dirk seems a little .... less Gentle and more hard-edged than I remember from the books but could just be my interpretation of the character...

All in all, much more in keeping with the old BBC version of the Hitchhiker than the godawful movie, I think a fan of the books can enjoy this.

[Paul O Regan]

There's the possibility of more, but it hasn't been confirmed yet.

[WileyCoyote]

It wasn't bad. Up until it insisted that an iPhone battery could hold a charge packed up in a box for years.

[Burgalicious]

I've been watching the new episodes and I've come the conclusion that whoever the BBC has writing them is not nearly as clever as Adams was. So the show has become just another quirky investigator/case-of-the-week procedural. The cases are not nearly as convoluted and random as I would have hoped for a Dirk Gently show.

[Actionmage]

Is there a chance that BBC America will get ahold of the episodes or the first episode/movie?

[that one guy]

There was a Dirk Gently show? How did I miss that? I love these books. Anybody know if this will ever air in the US?
Did it follow the books at all? That would be awesome. I think about Dirk Gently every time I have to move a couch.

Having said that, Douglas Adams was a prodigious recycler, and the first Dirk Gently book was already filmed as a Doctor Who episode called "City of Death." Paris rather than London, otherwise pretty similar. Adams was executive producer of Doctor Who at the time... not sure if the episode or the book came first, actually, but the plot is nearly identical, and Dirk Gently is pretty obviously a Time Lord.