Dirk Gently: The Long Dark Tea-Time of the Soul: A BBC Radio Full-Cast Dramatization [Audiobook, CD] [Audio CD]

Douglas Adams (Author)

Book Description

Publication Date: September 8, 2009

Harry Enfield exuberantly returns as Dirk Gently, who, fallen on hard times and dressed as a gypsy woman, is using his irritatingly accurate clairvoyant powers to read palms. He is saved when a frantic client turns up with a ludicrous story about being stalked by a goblin waving a contract accompanied by a hairy, green-eyed, scythe-wielding monster. When Detective Superintendent Gilks decides a headless body found in a sealed room is the result of a particularly irritating suicide, Dirk is plunged into a mystery where the interconnectedness of all things is tested to the limit.

Editorial Reviews

About the Author

Douglas Adams (1952-2001) was the much-loved author of the Hitchhiker's Guide to the Galaxy series, all installments of which have sold more than 15 million copies worldwide.

Product Details

• Audio CD
• Publisher: AudioGO Ltd. (September 8, 2009)
• Language: English
• ISBN-10: 1602837791
• ISBN-13: 978-1602837799
• Product Dimensions: 5.6 x 4.9 x 0.8 inches
• Shipping Weight: 6.4 ounces (View shipping rates and policies)
• Average Customer Review: 3.0 out of 5 stars  See all reviews (2 customer reviews)
• Amazon Best Sellers Rank: #819,988 in Books (See Top 100 in Books)

Customer Reviews

Most Helpful Customer Reviews

2 of 4 people found the following review helpful:

5.0 out of 5 stars Brilliantly realized, May 11, 2010

By 

Julius Caesar "caesargj" (Tennessee) - See all my reviews

This review is from: Dirk Gently: The Long Dark Tea-Time of the Soul: A BBC Radio Full-Cast Dramatization (Audio CD)

Once again a stellar cast headlined by Harry Enfield as Dirk makes this production of Dirk Gently's second (and, alas, final) adventure come alive. Top-notch production values, music, and SFX are also part of the charm--in the age of podcasts and headphones, this sounds brilliant.

What I liked best about this adaptation is that it smooths out some of the inconsistencies of the novel, streamlining the storytelling and creating a narrative that makes a lot more sense than Adams' novel did; there are, for one thing, a lot fewer red herrings, and incidental details (like why Dirk starts using the electronic i-ching) finally make sense to me. It's also quite nice to hear a lot of familiar voices, between old-time Adams favorites like Stephen Moore and Susan Sheridan, a cameo by Billy Boyd, and a supporting role for Peter Davison.

I'm just sad that Dirk Maggs and Above the Title had a falling out and that nobody will be fleshing out and producing Salmon of Doubt.

Still, a great adventure for fans of audio dramas, radio comedy, or Douglas Adams. Highly recommended.

4 of 8 people found the following review helpful:

1.0 out of 5 stars One of the worst BBC adaptions ever done, January 8, 2010

By 

D. Hildebrand (USA) - See all my reviews
(REAL NAME)   

This review is from: Dirk Gently: The Long Dark Tea-Time of the Soul: A BBC Radio Full-Cast Dramatization (Audio CD)

The previous BBC Radio adaptations of the last 3 novels in the Hitchhikers series by Dirk Maggs and company were excellent. The first Dirk Gently BBC Radio production by such was acceptable given the complexity of the story line and the constraints they faced adapting the novel. This production is an embarrassment and an insult to the original novel.

I am all for paying tribute to Douglas Adams' work, but the pleasure of brief cameos by unrelated characters from the first novel and even from the Hitchhikers novels, goes beyond a sweet surprise and veers headlong into a moronic, unnecessary and distracting assault on the story line. Besides these distractions the story has been adapted from mildly dark humor with occasional stops to comment on modern life, to near Marx Brothers levels of verbal slap stick. Main characters (the gods) of reasonable dignity are portrayed as little more than deranged rejects from a sanitarium.

Save your money and just read, or re-read the novel.

Or, if you want to hear what it should have sounded like, hunt down the unabridged audio book read by Douglas Adams on Amazon. It's real pleasure and offers the repeat playability of the Hitchhikers series.