Hitchhiker's Guide to the Galaxy part 6?

Colbie · Age: 40 Joined: 12 Sep 2008

http://www.penguin.co.uk/static/cs/uk/0/today/index.html

Scratch · Posted: Tue Sep 16, 2008 6:27 pm Post subject:

Surely this can't be? Sounds ghastly.
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Lozlan · Posted: Tue Sep 16, 2008 6:33 pm Post subject:

Oh dear god. Please no.

Realy, if it comes to this, I'll have to pull out my fanfic book 6 and give it a once, twice and thriceover. Artemis Fowl indeed.
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Ol' Peculier · Posted: Tue Sep 16, 2008 6:35 pm Post subject:

No.

No. Really, no.

Honest. No.

Got that?

It is still No. Capital En oh

Thank you for listening.
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Lord-z · Posted: Tue Sep 16, 2008 6:37 pm Post subject:

Who owns the rights to H2G2? Surely, the Adams family is not permitting such a travesty, right?
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Gusty · Posted: Tue Sep 16, 2008 6:55 pm Post subject:

Hmm...
Must have something official behind it - that is Simon Jones's voice.

Not sure I like it but then again, Loz is not the only one with a fan fiction book 6 lurking
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Kevin Davies · Forum Gwendolyn Joined: 03 Jun 2004 Location: London

If it didn't have Simon Jones doing the VO for the trail I would have thought it just a rumour.

My son Liam is a huge fan of Colfer and his Artemis Fowl books so he'll be happy. I'm in two minds....

(Hmm. Does this "Colbie" person happen to work in PR for Pan or Penguin Books I wonder? I think we should be told.)

Janette · Posted: Tue Sep 16, 2008 7:15 pm Post subject:

BBBaaahhhhh!

When I go to the link, all I see is this title, but no audio or video, or description or nuthin'! What are you all seeing that I'm not??? Is the universe purposely withholding this information from me because it knows it will probably bring on a heart attack????
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AlohaJoe · Posted: Tue Sep 16, 2008 7:21 pm Post subject:

I had the same problem on Opera, but it worked on IE.

I'm not sure how I feel about this.
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Lord-z · Posted: Tue Sep 16, 2008 7:29 pm Post subject:

http://eoincolfer.com/news/hitchhikers-guide-to-the-galaxy/special-announcement-eoin-colfer-to-write-hitchhikers-sequel/120/
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Hooloovoo · Forum Shade of Blue Joined: 10 Dec 2004

uhhhhhh....this has the potential to be wonderfully amazing but why do I feel suddenly feel squeamish thinking about it?

I think I need a drink, or two.
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Ken Socrates · Shlumpy Pillock Joined: 19 Feb 2005 Location: Fugue State

With all due respect to Colfer, whom I confess to never having read,
the entire idea is completely appalling. I don't think I'd even touch the
blasted thing to read the dust jacket.

I know, I know, I'm being a hypocrite when you consider the widely
known fact that I'm in the middle of writing a sequel to The Old Man
and the Sea in which Santiago rescues Steve Irwin from the Stingray
but that's really beside the point.
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OddBrian · Posted: Tue Sep 16, 2008 8:28 pm Post subject:

My thoughts stated here.

Janette · Posted: Tue Sep 16, 2008 11:08 pm Post subject:

So, Colfer says: "I've been asked to write...."

What I want to know is, WHO asked him?
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nicolas botti · Age: 39 Joined: 10 Jan 2004 Location: paris

my gosh!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!! i can't believe it's tru! i won't sleep tonight!
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Tony · Posted: Tue Sep 16, 2008 11:26 pm Post subject:

Sounds dreadful....yes, who the feck asked him?....And without asking us first??? Evil or Very Mad

The only positive is that it keeps the original on the radar to be rediscovered by a new generation....

....but at what price?
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Ouisgian Zhoda · Posted: Wed Sep 17, 2008 12:01 am Post subject:

One word:

ICK

Nuf said.
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Ol' Peculier · Posted: Wed Sep 17, 2008 12:08 am Post subject:

James?
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Chris Casino · Posted: Wed Sep 17, 2008 1:18 am Post subject:

Didn't this man learn anything from Karey Kirkpatrick? Without Douglas Adams' voice, it just ain't h2g2!

You can't have the Beatles without John Lennon, you can't have Hitchhiker's Guide without Douglas Adams.

Edit: Here's my response on Colfer's page.

Chris Casino
Sep 17th, 2008 at 12:29 am

Allow me to quote the twenty-fifth letter of the alphabet: Why?
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antrabbit · Joined: 30 May 2004 Location: London, UK

On the BBC

http://news.bbc.co.uk/1/hi/entertainment/7619828.stm

Chris Casino · Posted: Wed Sep 17, 2008 3:48 am Post subject:

Oh, Zarquon's knees!

Pardon my French but...

FUCK!

Ms. Belson may approve (and maybe James does too, I know not), but since Douglas was admittedly very, very protective of his creation, I don't think he would want somebody else to do it.

But perhaps he would say, "It's okay that this bloke is going to continue my series as I had always felt I needed to fix the end of Mostly Harmless (which I think he did say once) and now someone will since I can't."

I just don't want the bloom to be off the Hitchhiker's rose because of some strag. It happened with the Muppets when Jim Henson died after all.

EDIT: I probably will read it out of pure curiosity but if it sucks, it goes up on ebay!
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-- Wrestling is a spectacle all right. But believe it or not, some of the most devoted fans are highly intelligent people

Janette · Posted: Wed Sep 17, 2008 5:16 am Post subject:

Am I the only person in the universe that liked "Mostly Harmless" and thought it was a fitting end?
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Lozlan · Posted: Wed Sep 17, 2008 5:20 am Post subject:

Okay. Now that this entire travesty has panned out, I'm really, really, really upset. First and foremost I'm pissed as hell that someone thought this was in any way appropriate. Douglas hasn't been gone a decade, and publishers are already plunging their grubby fingers into his creation. It took nearly a century for someone to desecrate Peter Pan, and I'm still pissed about the discredit it represented to J.M. Barrie.

Secondly, you don't ask someone to write a sequel. You don't write a book because you are asked. You write a book because you are compelled to create something. If a fine author came (humbly) to a publisher and said, "Here. I've penned a sequel to Mostly Harmless. I didn't do it for a commission check or because my kids thought it would be a neat idea. I did it from the bottom of my heart and soul and because I really, truly had something new to say,"...then perhaps the sequel would be worth an informed perusal.

Seriously. Great fiction isn't commissioned. Great fiction stews in the brainstem for years before it even makes its way to the page. Case in point: The Wide Sargasso Sea. Yes, it is in all truth a professionally published fanfic of Jane Eyre. But it reinvents the story utterly, to the point where it is considered a valid slice of literature all by its lonesome.

This entire enterprise reeks of shame, profiteerism and disrespect. As a writer and as a fan I object completely.
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Mike · Posted: Wed Sep 17, 2008 5:24 am Post subject:

I liked it too, don't feel alone there.

My initial thoughts were, "Huh?!" and "Why?!?" Now I've come to terms with it (those terms deleted for the sake of children's ears). The Hitchhiker trilogy will always be 5 parts for me, with an extra ending created for radio. This new book, I'll give it shot....maybe, and even if it ends up being great, it just won't be part of the series for me.

A serious question, where does this lead? And Another Thing... followed by Oh Wait, There's More, etc??
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The Duke of Dunstable · Posted: Wed Sep 17, 2008 7:39 am Post subject:

Hmmmm. On second thoughts let's have this in the news section.
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Iain · Banana Packaging Technologer Joined: 02 May 2005

Having let my tin foil hat churn away all night I can only think of this...

This is being pulled along by Disney, they still have the rights for the films, they realise that the fans will not accept a rehash of any of the other 4 volumes as they did with the first episode, and as the film didn't exactly inspire a new generation of fans, someone has figured, lets take the characters and write a totally new story, that way we can't upset the fans, and then we can turn it into a film on our terms, nobody can accuse us of leaving things out.

How about it? Machiavelian enough, or do I need some more cheese before going to bed?

...Because nothing else makes any sense, Douglas said he didn't like the ending isn't reason enough, John Lennon said he though a lot of Beatles songs were throwaway crap (And your Bird can Sing for example..), the only possible motive can be financial.

Gusty · Posted: Wed Sep 17, 2008 8:24 am Post subject:

I don't think Disney have any rights on the franchise beyond films. The books still rest with Ed Victor and Jane
I agree the only motive here is money - milk the name for a bit more cash.
I quite like the two Eoin Colfer books I've read in the same way I like Harry Potter- a well written story, but he has none of the subtle humour and clever observations on life that Douglas had.

Talking of conspiracy theories: Do our foriegn readers know that Eoin is the Irish Gaelic form of Iain (or Ian, John, etc)?
So, maybe this book is actually being written by..... YOU!
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Lord-z · Posted: Wed Sep 17, 2008 8:37 am Post subject:

Eoin Colfer is one of Ed Victors clients.
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Kevin Davies · Forum Gwendolyn Joined: 03 Jun 2004 Location: London

The news spreads...

http://www.guardian.co.uk/books/2008/sep/17/douglasadams

http://ukpress.google.com/article/ALeqM5gFXXXnxZdCxjmAmq6Mm6f9PhdIWw

http://www.independent.ie/entertainment/books/irish-author-colfer-to-write-new-hitchhikers-guide-book-1476798.html

http://news.bbc.co.uk/today/hi/today/newsid_7619000/7619708.stm
This last BBC item also has the audio of Simon Jones as Arthur "complaining" about the news...

Scratch · Posted: Wed Sep 17, 2008 10:07 am Post subject:

I heard Jane Belson giving it her seal of approval on Radio 4 this morning so it feels a bit awkward to criticise. However, this is the DAC and we don't tend to take these things lying down.
I can only echo what you've all said, I've always hated the idea of tribute bands but this is plain ridiculous. How could anyone highjack an entire concept? Maybe Penguin are trying to win over a new audience like the film tried and failed to do.
This is fucking outrageous, it's like Damien Hirst touching up The Mona Lisa to bring that old masterpiece up to date. This whole affair makes me feel like my underpants are made out of wood.

PS. As it happens Iain, And your Bird Can Sing is one of my favourite songs of all time, I wonder what Mr Lennon was thinking???
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Her mouth opened, her eyes patients, the variety of age and constitution as a pullets egg, with some gobbits of fat, and the heavy sand.

(... don't piss us off)

Gusty · Posted: Wed Sep 17, 2008 11:38 am Post subject:

Those wags from Not the Nine O'Clock News had a "affectionate dig" at Douglas milking the idea when SLATFATF came out. Think it more appropriate now

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Kevin Davies · Forum Gwendolyn Joined: 03 Jun 2004 Location: London

Jealousy is a terrible thing...

Marty · Age: 38 Joined: 24 Jul 2008 Location: London

This is all very awful and ridiculous, bad and wrong. Awficulous badong even.

I will remain unhappy about this until I die where I'll probably have someone steal my identity perhaps and be know forever more as Marty Sequel.
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The Duke of Dunstable · Posted: Wed Sep 17, 2008 3:12 pm Post subject:

http://thepenguinblog.typepad.com/the_penguin_blog/2008/09/audio-test.html?cid=131000214

Check the "Speculation" link, it goes back to this thread...

What I would like to know about this whole thing is WHY? What good could possibly come of it, apart from money trickling in to the estate? I appreciate the fact that the movie didn't do very well and didn't shower the estate in mittel, but how can anyone in their right mind imagine this thing doing any better?

Mind you though, it could do well even if it's a stinker. I'm not sure I wouldn't buy it, cos I would want to see with my own eyes what the hell they've done to the story. And I don't think I would be alone.

I suppose I am appalledly interested.
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Ken Socrates · Shlumpy Pillock Joined: 19 Feb 2005 Location: Fugue State

Gusty · Posted: Wed Sep 17, 2008 3:37 pm Post subject:

Janette · Posted: Wed Sep 17, 2008 4:32 pm Post subject:

Ken wrote:

Chris Casino · Posted: Wed Sep 17, 2008 4:41 pm Post subject:

I agree with Duke.

The one person in the past few years I'll give credit for doing an absolute bang-up job with a Douglas-free version of Hitchhiker is Dirk Maggs, as he was a guy who really understood that the thing was Douglas Adams' baby and had obviously done his homework in regards as to how to make it stay that way even while he wasn't around.

I'll give you an example: In Maggs' radio series, even when they made reference to something that wasn't around during the original radio show, it was something Douglas easily could have come up with himself if he lived to see it, like cell phones, PDAs and palm tops, or Zaphod's score on Grand Theft Cosmo.

I don't know if come October 2009 I'll be able to give that same credit to this Eoin Colfer, whom I've never even heard of. And if he screws this up, I'll damn sure never hear of him again!
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bagger69 · Posted: Wed Sep 17, 2008 4:41 pm Post subject:

i'm on the fence with this, i look forward to another book but feel it'll be nothing like the series as it isn't Douglas writing it.
i will read it but if it's shite i'll either ebay it or burn it on the barbie.

Paul
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The Duke of Dunstable · Posted: Wed Sep 17, 2008 4:43 pm Post subject:

On the naked barbie.
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bagger69 · Posted: Wed Sep 17, 2008 5:29 pm Post subject:

Chris Casino · Posted: Wed Sep 17, 2008 5:49 pm Post subject:

One thing I can say positively about the project, though, is that it certainly got us talking!
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"If there's anything more important than my ego around here, I want it caught and shot now!"

-- Zaphod Beeblebrox

-- Wrestling is a spectacle all right. But believe it or not, some of the most devoted fans are highly intelligent people