Thumbin' a Ride

So, way back when I was a teenager, and single celled organisms were trying to figure out how to become multi-celled organisms and Kurt Cobain was like unto a God (both before and after he blew his brains out), my Father and I were at home, bored, and watching our television. Back in those days, we only had five channels, and one of em was, of course, PBS. On that fateful night, my Pa (back in those days we allowed our Elders to control the Clicker) happened to flip it to PBS. It was there that we encountered a very, very strange British TV series entitled (drumroll please) "The Hitchhiker's Guide to the Galaxy". PBS was having one of their pledge drives (which I think occur every two months or so), and they were marathoning "Guide" as a part of the drive. So, vaguely intrigued, Pa and I watched this series about an exploded earth that was actually a computer, super intelligent mice, officious alien bueracrats (spell?), and an ordinary British man in his bathrobe who stuck in the middle of all of this. I didn't get to finish the thing (I think I had to go to bed), but the sheer bizareness of it all stuck with me.

Flash forward a few evolutionary cycles (Dolphins have mastered telepathic communication and Birds have learned to fly), and I'm in a Movie Store in Terre Haute, IN purchasing a couple of anime. Shortly after I had made my purchases, I noticed a stand up display in the store which featured the new, features laden edition of the flick "Memento" (highly recommended, by the by), and sitting right next to it was (drumroll please) the complete "The Hitchhiker's Guide to the Galaxy" on DVD. Without hesitation (I wasn't on a shoestring budget back then) I bought both DVDs. Upon viewing it, "Hitchhiker's" proved to be a hell of a buy. Sure, it was an out of date BBC series made on a low budget, but the bizarre characters, odd situations, and wierd humor were all there.

I never got around to reading the books, though. That may change.

Anyway, flash forward a few more millenia (Yeti have mastered the wheel, mammals are born), and (drumroll please) "The Hitchhiker's Guide to the Galaxy" is now a big budget movie released by Disney. Ugh. By Disney? I thought. This'll suck. But, Boolah and I went and watched it anyway, mostly cause I hadn't hung out with Boolah for like three weeks, Anyway, long story short, it didn't suck. In fact, I got a big kick out of it. Sure, there are flaws (the ending is a HUGE cop-out, and the love interest is painfully tacked on), but overall, the bizareness is all there, the humor's there, and the acting is really good (that guy from the Office plays the lead, and is perfect for the role). But the best part is that my boys at JIM HENSON's Creature Shop did the monsters for the film. Those guys are the Best! So, if you're a Muppethead like I am, the movie's worthwhile for that alone (hell, that's why I watched "Brotherhood of the Wolf"...). I'm not saying that it'll be to every taste, but check it all the same. Recommended.

On an unrelated side note, what's up with the Spanish comment on my last blog entry? Was that dude saying the blog's alright or that it sucks or was he even talking about my blog? Anyone out there speak Spanish?