I now blog over at The Eyre Guide! This blog is an archive of my past posts.


Friday, November 8, 2013

The Hitchhiker's Guide to the Galaxy - Secondary Phase

Posted by Charlene // Tags: , , ,

The Secondary Phase continues some time after the events of the Primary Phase.  Arthur and Ford are still stuck on prehistoric Earth but they are trying to make the best of it.  If best of it includes drinking moonshine and trying to forget their troubles.  Zaphod has an entirely unbelievable experience escaping from the Haggunenons who have impatient chromosomes and constantly evolve into anything.  Including escape capsules.  And Marvin, the Paranoid Android.  My goodness, I love him so much!  Everything he says is hilarious!  Literally when he was screaming as he was falling, I was cracking up.  He still sounds depressed as he falls.

This phase also introduced the idea of the towel being the most important equipment a hitchhiker can carry with them, which is such a big part of the mythology of this series.  It's interesting to think that Douglas Adams only just thought of it (or maybe he thought of it and couldn't include it in the Primary Phase).  But I am proud to say that I do know where my towel is.

Douglas Adams enjoys lampooning bureaucracy, because it features memorably in the absurd, hilarious moments in this series.  You still can't get away from it - it exists in all of space.  But it makes it easy to relate to all the problems the characters go through!

I have one favorite scene in this where Arthur Dent is trying to get a cup of tea from the Nutrimatic Drinks Dispenser which analyzes your taste buds and neuropathways to come up with a drink that you would like.  And it comes up with a disgusting version of tea for Arthur.  And his refusal to give up, and his pointless attempts to get the machines to understand him goes from trying to tell them what tea is, to trying to explain why he likes dried leaves in boiling water.  The point is, machines can't do everything and they can also be a pain in the butt, which is a universal concept but made hilarious.  And maybe wasn't such a prevalent idea in the 1970s?  I wonder if people were more in awe of cutting-edge technology at that time, which is why Douglas makes a point of including it in this series.  And that scene also features an awesome song that is the company song for Sirius Cybernetics:

Share and Enjoy
Share and Enjoy
Journey through life
With a plastic boy
Or Girl by your side
Let your pal be your guide
And when it breaks down
Or starts to annoy
Or grinds when it moves
And gives you no joy
Cos it's eaten your hat
Or had sex with your cat
Bled oil on your floor
Or ripped off your door
You get to the point
You can't stand any more
Bring it to us, we won't give a fig
We'll tell you, 'Go stick your head in a pig'.

Robots aren't looking that great now.  By the way, I love singing this song randomly to myself.

The absurdity and wonder of this world that Douglas Adams created continues to grow in this phase.  There are many more interesting concepts in this (like the total perspective vortex - where if you can actually see your place in relation to the whole universe, you would go mad and elevators that can seen into the future so you don't have to press the button and make awkward small talk with the people who are also waiting for it).  This phase ends on another thought-provoking concept - who should rule if anyone who wants to rule isn't fit for it.  And apparently the ruler of the universe is a very frustrating person with ADHD.  It's sort of an open ending for this phase, which is surprising as the Tertiary phase comes 24 years after this!

My posts on:
The Primary Phase   |  The Secondary Phase   |   The Tertiary Phase   |   The Quandary Phase

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12 comments:

  1. It's really funny how Zaphod's second head and third arm was just a throwaway gag in the radio series, and when they came to do it on TV, it posed a really big problem! "Hmm, how do we solve this?" The modern film, WHO COULD HAVE DONE EVERYTHING WITH CGI TO MAKE IT LOOK RIGHT, opted for the weird head-in-throat kind of thing which didn't really work, as the heads couldn't argue simultaneously with themselves.

    ... And now I have the "Share and Enjoy" song in my head ... haha!

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    1. I know! Another reason why the radio series is great since you can imagine the two heads yourself! They really should have put the two heads in the movie, anything would have looked better than the TV show! :D And you're welcome, it's such a fun random song!

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  2. Yet another post to remind me that I REALLY need to read Hitchhiker's Guide! I can't admit to understanding all the references, obviously, but I'm glad you enjoyed this one, Charlene =)

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    1. Yes! And there will be a few more of these posts coming up, so I hope it will firmly convince you to pick up the book soon. :D Thanks for stopping by Rinn!

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  3. One of my favorite books of all time (and, yes, unlike many fans, I love the movie) This might have to be my next audible book.

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    1. I enjoyed the movie, but I can see why people didn't. I really loved the actors in it though, and I think it opened up the story for new fans so I'm glad they made it! I'm sure you will enjoy this when you get a chance to listen! :)

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  4. The Hitchhiker's Guide series is so much fun, I joke about having a towel all the time (actually, come to think of it, it inspired me to carry a towel in my bag on one vacation - on a trip to Disneyland - and it was actually really useful). :) Great review!

    Alice @ Alice in Readerland

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    1. Yay!! Another hoopy frood who knows where her towel is! I should probably carry one to Disneyland too - especially in the summer! And for waiting for Fantasmic or the firework show!

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  5. I was a huge fan of the radio series growing up and somehow I've never tackled the three series after this one, so I can't wait to hear what you say about them. :)

    There are some great moments in this second series though it definitely turns the weird up to eleven with the bird people and the archaeologists! Some great moments though and you've certainly inspired me to look out my discs to listen to it again...

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    1. I'm just beginning to re-listen to the Tertiary phase and I LOVE it! I've listened to the 1st and 2nd phases more over the years, and I've forgotten some of the hilarious things they did in the 3rd one. The Lintillas' are hilarious! I love the scene with their anti-clones! And how Arthur is so disbelieving of what's going on. :D

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  6. I love hh..marvin is my hero!

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    1. Totally agree! I always look forward to scenes with Marvin!

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