ZZ9 Plural Z Alpha

Disaster Area T-Shirt mentioned on Neil Gaiman's Blog

2008-07-17T08:43:03Z

Neil Gaiman mentioned a black on black Disaster Area t-shirt on his blog, and someone asked him for more details, but he was sketchy about it.

If you could enlighten him then please drop him a line as I am sure it is a ZZ9 one but from before I was a member, I am sure I have heard tell of such items and how difficult it was to get them printed in the first place.

See http://journal.neilgaiman.com/2008/07/black-on-black.html

Hitchhiker News from ZZ9 Plural Z Alpha.

Dirk Gently 2 Article in SFX out on Wednesday (July 2nd)

2008-06-30T20:55:19Z

As trailed on their website:
http://www.sfx.co.uk/page/sfx?entry=exclusive_dirk_gently_2_to

Hitchhiker News from ZZ9 Plural Z Alpha.

BBC Radio 4 Tuesday 24th June 1830 - Footlights at 125

2008-06-24T10:45:27Z

A reminder that this radio proramme is on, and it is expected there will be some material that Douglas Adams wrote at Cambridge University (along with Martin Smith and Will Adams) from the 1975 Revue, Paradise Mislaid.

Tonight (Tuesday) at 18:30 on BBC Radio 4.

See http://www.bbc.co.uk/radio4/footlightsretrospective/

Hitchhiker News from ZZ9 Plural Z Alpha.

BBC4 Radio 4 - Footlights at 125: A Retrospective

2008-06-18T07:41:32Z

Footlights is celebrating its 125 anniversary and the BBC have a series of three radio programmes where "former alumni come together to recreate past gems in the club's history, sourced from the extensive archives and performed anew."

Last night saw the first broadcast which included sketches from Peter Cook, Griff Rhys Jones and Stephen Fry and others. One of the ex-Footlights performers is Geoff McGivern. You can listen again via the BBC website.

No information yet as to whether any Douglas Adams related sketches will be in any of the future programmes.

See http://www.bbc.co.uk/radio4/footlightsretrospective/

Hitchhiker News from ZZ9 Plural Z Alpha.

Bruce Purchase – RIP

2008-06-13T12:36:38Z

The actor Bruce Purchase died earlier this week. He played the role of the Captain in the Dr Who story The Pirate Planet written by Douglas Adams. The story was part of the Key to Time season, which was released as a box set at the end of last year with a new documentary by Kevin Jon Davies called Parrot Fashion that included an interview with Bruce.

Reading the various obituaries online he seems to have been a founder member of Sir Laurence Olivier's National Theatre and worked with many other fine actors over the years. He recently published an autobiography, called Changing Skies, in his native New Zealand.

Hitchhiker News from ZZ9 Plural Z Alpha.

Hitchhiker Related Radio

2008-06-05T05:58:02Z

BBC7's repeat run of Radio Fun: The Story of Radio Comedy reaches episode 11 of 12 on Sunday 15th June with broadcasts at 12:00, 17:00 and 05:00 (i.e. Monday morning). This episode (from a series first broadcast in 1988) covers the period from "the hugely influential I'm Sorry I'll Read That Again, right up to Douglas Adams' The Hitchhiker's Guide To The Galaxy."

Starting sooner is the Dirk Maggs directed Classic Serial, The Ragged Trousered Philanthropists. The three parter begins on BBC Radio 4 at 15:00 on Sunday 8th June (with a repeat the following Saturday at 21:00) and has a cast that includes, Andrew Lincoln, Johnny Vegas, Timothy Spall, Paul Whitehouse, John Prescott MP, as well as Rupert Degas (Zaphod at the 30th anniversary reunion).
See: http://www.bbc.co.uk/radio4/arts/classic_serial.shtml

Hitchhiker News from ZZ9 Plural Z Alpha.

Comedy Map of Britain - BBC2 21:40 May 17 - TONIGHT

2008-05-17T13:06:47Z

BBC2 series The Comedy Map of Britain travels from Norwich to Hastings at 21:40 today. They filmed Frank Halford at Brentwood Prep School talking about Douglas Adams.

See: http://www.bbc.co.uk/comedymap/series2/episode5.shtml

Hitchhiker News from ZZ9 Plural Z Alpha.

Words and Music - Radio 3 Sunday 11 May 22:20

2008-05-10T21:01:40Z

This week's edition of the BBC Radio 3 programme Words and Music has the theme of Space, and includes an extract from the Quandary Phase.

Full details at http://www.bbc.co.uk/radio3/wordsandmusic/pip/ys9rl/

Hitchhiker News from ZZ9 Plural Z Alpha.

eBaywatch

2008-05-07T16:11:56Z

Greetings! Another week, another roundup of eBay listings. All times are in BST, price details are correct at the time of writing, and I am making no guarantee about any of the items reviewed. First up, we have three postcards: the first this Shada webcast postcard with Romana on it, currently at £0.99 and ending at 16:16 on 10 May. The other two are both postcards produced to promote the exhibition that was at London's Science Museum, currently at £0.99 and ending at 21:15 on 11 May. Two posters also appeared - the first is simply a larger version of the second. Both are advertisements for BBC Video's release of The Hitchhiker's Guide on VHS, and are Buy it Now items at $14.99 and $9.99 respectively (in spite of the dollar prices, the seller claims to be based in the UK). Lastly, a filmcell from the recent movie came up. I know nothing about filmcells, but I can tell you that ten are available at £9.99 each.

Onto more esoteric items, and the first is this carrying box used by Jim Henson's Creature Shop on the movie set. It's currently at £0.99 and ends at 13:22 on 8 May - a low price for what could be a nifty curiosity piece, but beware of the £10.30 shipping costs! This exclusive mug, which was distributed with the DVD by WHSmith in the UK, is less rare but still uncommon enough to get a mention. It's a Buy it Now item going for £9.99, which seems expensive.

Magazines, next, and the first is this copy of Fantasy Empire #11. Or, it could be #13, depending on whether you believe the item's name or the item's description. At any rate, this is from 1984 and the cover says that there is an interview with Douglas Adams, whilst the listing says that there is an "interesting article by Sandman's Neil Gaiman on The Hitchiker's Guide to the Galaxy" (this pre-dates his book, Don't Panic). It's on Buy it Now at £6.99. TV Zone #31 is the next one up, featuring Mark Wing-Davey as Zaphod Beeblebrox and available to Buy it Now at £2.00. Finally, this booklet released by Arena takes a look at the history of the Guide and was released to tie into the movie. It starts at £0.99, and ends at 21:52 on 11 May.

First editions, then. Two Arthur Barker editions of the first book are currently available - this copy is currently at £69.99, which is a reasonable price - however, the condition looks a bit lower than ideal. It ends at 20:53 on 11 May. This copy is a Buy it Now item going for £195.00, which is far too expensive. And, finally, this copy of Dirk Gently's Holistic Detective Agency is only making it into this part of the list because it's been signed by Douglas Adams. Bidding is currently at £4.89, and ends at 20:03 on 11 May.

Lastly, we have a whole bunch of signed photographs, both from the TV series and the movie: Sandra Dickinson - who played Trillian, but is not photographed in costume (£7.99, Buy It Now); this (£12.00 Buy it Now), this and this (both £9.99, end at 21:19 on 8 May) - all photographs of Arthur and Ford on Magrathea, all signed by David Dixon, who played Ford; this and this, photographs of Ford, Zaphod and Trillian on the Heart of Gold, each signed by David Dixon, Sandra Dickinson and Mark Wing-Davey (both end at 21:04 on 8 May, one starts at £24.99, the other at £19.99); this photograph of Martin Freeman as Arthur Dent, signed by himself (£24.99 Buy it Now) and this photograph from the movie of Arthur and Ford with the Guide, signed by Martin Freeman (£24.99 Buy it Now).

That's all that's new since last time. Share and Enjoy!

eBaywatch

2008-05-01T16:25:47Z

Ladies and gentlemen, it's the return of an old column I used to write... eBaywatch, where I go through a lot of Douglas Adams and Hitchhiker's Guide stuff and tell y'all what it's selling for. I am no longer as used to the eBay situation as I used to be, but I shall endeavour to link you guys to some interesting auctions and make wild guesses about how much it'll eventually sell for. I don't list anything that's commercially available (copies of the books, the audiobooks, the DVDs...). I don't guarantee that any eBay seller is going to treat you well in a transaction, and this listing is not guaranteed to be complete, and anything I find uninteresting won't make the list, so nyah. All times are in British Summer Time.

First up, this gem - the first of the 7" singles released by Marvin, your favourite Paranoid Android. This is a very nice, very rare item that has less than twelve hours to go, so if you're interested in getting a fairly unique slice of memorabilia, you should check it out, starting at £7.99 and ending at 21:00 on 1st May. Another 7" single is this TV Theme single, which is another very neat slice of the cake - the B-side holds a track unavailable anywhere else (well, except my website...) featuring Douglas Adams on electric guitar. Buy It Now for £3.00 - if I didn't already have a copy I'd be snapping that up immediately.

Unique memorabilia currently up for auction includes this copy of the issue of Eagle in which Douglas Adams was originally published as a boy (vol. 16, no. 4). It starts at £14.99 and ends at 20:19 on 1st May. This is a really cool bit of tat that could look very nice in a collection.

In autographs, we have this photograph autographed by David Dixon, the actor playing Ford Prefect in the TV series. Starts at £4.99, and ends at 20:36 on 4th May. Also coming up was this image from the movie, signed by Warwick Davis, the actor who played the body of Marvin. Starts at £5.99, the auction ends at 01:23 (srsly) on 11th May.

Books coming up signed by Douglas Adams are this copy of Life, the Universe and Everything. Whilst it is a first edition of the Pan Book, that doesn't make it rare - the Pan Book had a large initial print run, and whilst it's an interesting curiosity, first editions of the Pan editions of the books generally sell for no more than £10. $400 (overpriced in my opinion), ends at 18:16 on 7th May. A copy of Dirk Gently's Holistic Detective Agency signed by Douglas is starting at £0.99, but has an unspecified reserve, and the auction ends at 21:20 on 4th May. The sequel, The Long Dark Tea-Time of the Soul is also signed and starts at $35, ending at 00:52 on 7th May. A copy of Last Chance to See is starting at £10 and ends at 21:33 on 8th May. It's also available for £35 if you Buy It Now, but this seems a very low price and there's no photograph, so I'd be careful if I were you.

First editions and this is an überrare book - a genuine first edition copy of Life the Universe and Everything - this is the real deal. Arthur Barker first editions are very sought-after, unfortunately the seller knows what they've got and is starting the bidding at a whopping £949.99. This seems steep to both aeglefinus and myself, however, this is easily the rarest thing I've ever seen sold on eBay and certainly the item in the Hitchhiker's pantheon most likely to fetch the most money. It ends at 17:11 on 6th May, so that's just enough time to remortgage your house. There is also this copy of the first book - however, because it's the Book Club Associates/Arthur Barker edition and not the proper Arthur Barker, it's only worth about £5. Starts at just that, and the bidding will be over come 18:21 on 4th May.

In other goodies - this Amstrad copy of the Infocom game is starting at £1.50 and ends at 16:47 on 3rd May. This movie prop, the Vogon stapler, doesn't actually work as a stapler (perfect for Procrastinations, then!) but is still pretty cool, and starts at £20. Bidding ends at 20:33 on 4th May. A copy of Doctor Who magazine from 1995 featuring information on The Key to Time arc (which Douglas wrote a story for) is going for £0.98 by 21:59 on 5th May. The supplement that Arena published to promote the movie is going for £0.99 by 18:21 on 4th May, and a Starship Titanic poster is going from £0.79 til 19:14 on 2nd May.

Finally, although not really that rare, this auction of several audiobooks is good value for money and starts at £20, ending at 20:22 on 1st May. This auction of a audio cassette collector's edition of the radio series is also pretty neat, starting at £4.99 til 13:17 on 4th May.

In stuff that I've seen but not listed, there are multiple copies of the Stephen Moore-read audiobook currently listed, the comics don't seem to be hard to find, Starship Titanic is prevalent (bear in mind that the Mac version is incompatible with Mac OS 10.5) and copies of the Illustrated Hitchhiker's Guide to the Galaxy are similarly not too rare. A quick eBay search should bring up any of these items.

Share and enjoy!

MH108 Posted

2008-04-30T06:20:56Z

The latest ZZ9 magazine, issue 108 of Mostly Harmless, was posted to members at the weekend.
It includes the latest Hitchhiker and Douglas Adams related news, including, the second Dirk Gently radio series and the TV version of Last Chance to See. There are reports and pictures from the various events that marked the 30th anniversary of the original radio series, including the Sixth Douglas Adams Memorial Lecture, and the fan party. As well as all that the usual listing of ZZ9 and other events of interest to Hitchhiker fans.

Hitchhiker News from ZZ9 Plural Z Alpha.

Interesting Beeblebear story form Eastercon

2008-03-27T07:55:12Z

Over here - http://zoeiona.livejournal.com/9888.html

Kakapo News

2008-02-29T07:35:30Z

The 'Another Chance to See' blog at http://www.anotherchancetosee.com reports that for the first time since 2005 there are fertile Kakapo eggs. Other eggs have also been laid and need to be checked to see if there are fertile.

Also the Kakapo Encounter programme will be running again. There will be nightly departures to Ulva Island to see Sirocco between September 8 - October 22, 2008. Booking opens on March 7th. See http://www.kakapoencounter.com/

Hitchhiker News from ZZ9 Plural Z Alpha.

Stephen Fry Podcast - Last Chance to See TV Series News

2008-02-20T15:36:39Z

Stephen Fry has started a series of podcasts on his website. The first of these, called Broken Arm, covers, amongst other things, his exploits filming in the Amazon for the TV series of Last Chance to See. In it he explains how he broken his arm getting into a boat. Douglas Adams, whilst making the original radio series, had trouble getting off a boat and onto Round Island, but did not manage to break his arm.

Link: Stephen Fry's PODGRAMS

Hitchhiker News from ZZ9 Plural Z Alpha.

Live Hitchhiker Performance at Memorial Lecture

2008-01-30T13:38:43Z

After the Sixth Douglas Adams Memorial Lecture, on the evening of Wednesday March 12th 2008 at the RGS, South Kensington, there will be a 30th anniversary live performance of radio script material from The Hitchhiker’s Guide to the Galaxy.

The flyer says "Artists hoping to take part include:" Simon Jones, Geoffrey McGivern, Mark Wing Davey, Susan Sheridan, Stephen Moore and Roger Gregg (who will play Eddie), with a Very Special Guest at the voice of the book.

The lecture this year will given by Stephen Pinker on his latest book The Stuff of Thought.

Details / Tickets from Fiona at Save The Rhino 0207 357 7474 fiona (at) savetherhino.org

Hitchhiker News from ZZ9 Plural Z Alpha.

Dirk Gently Radio Series Ends Today

2007-11-07T07:30:01Z

The last part of the first Dirk Gently radio series goes out this evening on BBC Radio 4, and is followed tomorrow by the release of the extended episodes on CD. With the radio edits lasting about twenty-seven and half minutes to fit into the broadcast slot, and the combined CD episodes lasting over three and a half hours, there is substantial extra material. Scenes that did not make the broadcast, for example, the encounter between drunken train passengers and the possessed Michael Wenton-Weekes, are included on the CD, and others, such as the interview between Gilks and the Electric Monk are extended.

Hitchhiker News from ZZ9 Plural Z Alpha.

TV Alert – BBC4 22:00 Monday October 1st

2007-10-01T07:18:46Z

Gagging For It: TV's Hunger For Radio Comedy

Repeated at: 01:00 Tuesday 2nd October; 03:00 Tuesday 2nd October; 23:20 Wednesday 3rd October

From the BBC:

BBC Radio has been a rich breeding ground for successful comedy for many years. From Hancock's Half Hour to Little Britain and Hitchhiker's Guide To The Galaxy to Dead Ringers many radio comedy series have seamlessly made the move from radio to TV. This documentary traces the history of these comedies and tries to identify the golden rules for a successful transfer by studying the shows that have worked in the new medium, and those that haven't.

Viewers are also treated to a special behind-the-scenes look at the making of the new series of That Mitchell And Webb Look. Contributors include Barry Cryer, Jon Culshaw, Mitchell and Webb, Clive Anderson and Marcus Brigstocke.

This programme is part of BBC Four's Radio Week.

Hitchhiker News from ZZ9 Plural Z Alpha.

BBC Dirk Gently Website

2007-09-28T06:17:18Z

The BBC's Dirk Gently website, http://www.bbc.co.uk/radio4/dirkgently/ has been updated with cast and character biographies, a production diary written by Dirk Maggs, an episode guide and more. There is also an archive interview with Douglas Adams about Dirk Gently.

The series starts next Wednesday 3rd October on BBC Radio 4 at 18:30.

Hitchhiker News from ZZ9 Plural Z Alpha.

Dirk Gently Video Trailer

2007-09-26T10:20:00Z

Now online at http://www.abovethetitle.com/06_hda/downloads/video/dirk_gently_trailer.mp4

Hitchhiker News from ZZ9 Plural Z Alpha.

Dirk Gently Press Coverage

2007-09-25T20:03:35Z

The Radio Times (29 Sep - 5 Oct) has the new Dirk Gently series as the radio Pick of the Week. On pages 144-5 there is an interview with Harry Enfield.

There is an interview with Dirk Maggs and many pictures of the cast in issue #220 of TV Zone, se pages 72-76.

There is a one page (p28) article in SFX #161.

Hitchhiker News from ZZ9 Plural Z Alpha.

Dr Who: Key to Time Boxset

2007-09-21T15:47:55Z

The boxset of Dr Who season sixteen includes the Douglas Adams scripted, 'The Pirate Planet'. Amongst the many extras is a thirty-minute documentary called 'Parrot Fashion', and although described as "cast and crew look back at the making of this story", it also includes Douglas's half brother, James Thrift, and biographer, Nick Webb, talking about the story. The documentary was directed by honorary ZZ9er Kevin Jon Davies.

Release Date: Monday 24th September 2007
Product Reference: BBCDVD2335

Hitchhiker News from ZZ9 Plural Z Alpha.

Dirk Gently Audio Trailer

2007-09-20T20:05:15Z

The audio trailer for the Dirk Gently radio series that starts on October 3rd is now available online at the Above the Title website for the series at http://www.abovethetitle.com/hda_home.php

Hitchhiker News from ZZ9 Plural Z Alpha.

Shada - Audio Version on BBC7

2007-09-09T06:15:27Z

The audio remake of Shada is being broadcast on BBC7 with two back to back episodes a day over the three days beginning on Monday 10th September starting at 18:00. Check the listings at http://www.bbc.co.uk/bbc7/listings/weektoview.shtml

Shada is the story that Douglas Adams wrote during Tom Baker's tenure as the Doctor, but filming for it was never completed due to industrial action. Big Finish produced an audio version (slightly updated to work with Paul McGann's incarnation, and also adding a few references to other Douglas Adams works). The webcast with pictures by Lee Sullivan is still available at http://www.bbc.co.uk/doctorwho/classic/webcasts/shada/

Hitchhiker News from ZZ9 Plural Z Alpha.

You are cordially invited to the ZZ9 Garden Party

2007-08-07T19:15:32Z

ZZ9 is hosting a Garden Party after the Cambridge Slouch on Saturday 1st September 2007, starting at 5 PM to mark the 25th Anniversary of the publication of Life the Universe and Everything.

There will be food and drink (including beer!), entertainment for all ages, and best of all a bouncy castle!

Further information can be found on the ZZ9 website.

Last Chance to See - TV Followup

2007-07-30T07:49:44Z

Mark Carwardine mentioned the followup TV series at a talk he gave in Rochester on Saturday. He is filming later this year and early next with Stephen Fry and visiting the same places as in the original series to see how the animals have fared and talking to the same people he and Douglas Adams met as they are generally still working on the same projects. In addition they will visit the Ganges to look at the plight of the Ganges River Dolphin as the Yangtze equivalent is now considered to be extinct.

Hitchhiker News from ZZ9 Plural Z Alpha.