I first picked this up through an Audible deal several years ago, with the idea that it would help with the move from Michigan to Kentucky (I can’t remember if I wasn’t yet anti-Audible or if it was just a good deal that I couldn’t pass up with the whole family living off my grad school fellowship). Anyway, the U-Haul didn’t have an aux jack or Bluetooth, so my brother-in-law and I cranked my phone as loud as it would go and tried to make out the jokes over the highway noise. Wasn’t an ideal listen, and I wasn’t super impressed. Not even sure we finished it.

That contributed to what was a rough time of H2G2 fandom for me. I hadn’t read the books since high school, I was coming to terms with the movie being a disappointment, and the TV show had bounced off me (and especially my spouse) when I’d tried the first episode. In recent years, I’ve wondered if the franchise is just not as good as I remembered!

I suspect that’s partly true, but I’m glad I tried the radio show again, because it is truly excellent. Some of the jokes are meant to be acted out by a cast and are much better that way. The ridiculousness of Slartibartfast’s name is not apparent in print. The pacing is even better—I can’t remember how the books are broken up, but having the Golgafrimchams bit in the same arc as the Vogons and Deep Thought makes the whole thing work better (I’m confident all that’s divided between the first few books… right?). I also appreciate some of the musical bits that made it into the movie more—Journey of the Sorcerer makes a great theme tune in a way a musical cameo can’t capture.

I don’t know if I’ll continue with the other series (I have some Cabin Pressure waiting for me first), but even though the series may never be as good to me as it was when I read and reread those books, I’m so glad I went to the source material. I strongly believe radio is an underrated medium, and I can’t help but feel like this is the perfect example of that. Listening to all this made me remember why H2G2 is a classic, and I kind of needed that.