Home Entertainment Comic-Con: Elijah Wood is not @#$%ing Watson in DIRK GENTLY’S HOLISTIC DETECTIVE AGENCY

Comic-Con: Elijah Wood is not @#$%ing Watson in DIRK GENTLY’S HOLISTIC DETECTIVE AGENCY

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It was only a matter of time before someone adapted Douglas Adams’ other famous books, which they actually did back in 2010. Now they will do it again: Dirk Gently’s Holistic Detective Agency has been unveiled in a new teaser that debuted at Comic-Con this weekend past:

I have not read the books in quite a while, so I am not at all sure how accurate this is – though I’m not sure Dirk Gently ever had a very persistent sidekick. Then again, it’s quite possible – these were rather strange books, but still well worth anyone’s time and arguably as great as Adams’ Hitchiker’s Guide series.

Still, fans may want to loosen their expectations: at the show’s Comic-Con panel the creators noted they are interpreting the work more than being slavishly original. But one thing is clear: BBC wants this show to join its hugely successful Doctor Who franchise. The tone seems quite similar, but more telling is that Dirk Gently was actually spawned out of unused Dr. Who material that Adams collaborated on.

What is it about? It’s hard to explain, but I can tell you Dirk is a psychic detective who seems to rely on the laws of chaos and serendipity to crack his cases. It’s uniquely bizarre and brilliant in a way only author like Adams could deliver.

Last Updated: January 4, 2017

11 Comments

  1. I read these books must be 30 years ago now. It might be time to see if I can track them down for another read.

    Reply

    • miaau

      July 26, 2016 at 08:50

      I have them at home, but I MUCH prefer Hitch Hiker Guide for the style and story to these. That said (again!), the actual character of Dirk Gently is a good one, that can very seriously flesh out into a complex, lovable, choas driven, perhaps slightly inept at time, PI in a modern show.

      Looking forward to the series actually.

      PS, the bit where the Prof does the magic trick with the salt cellar hiding inside the 2000 year old piece of pottery is pretty cool.

      Reply

      • BacchusZA

        July 26, 2016 at 09:13

        Agreed, I remember enjoying Hitch-Hikers a lot more at the time. Dirk Gently was still a good read though, and a very interesting fellow indeed, as you say 🙂

        I have to admit I can’t remember the salt-cellar thing (curse you, aging memory!), but I do however remember well the Zen method of navigation, & still on occasion make reference to that to this day, when I’m perhaps not 100% sure of where I am 🙂

        Reply

  2. miaau

    July 26, 2016 at 08:48

    Zen Navigation. Awesomeness right there. Who needs a GPS? Use Zen Navigation.

    Dirk Gently: the first book was mostly great, dragged very slightly, but the 2nd, the Long Dark Tea Time of the Soul (Sjoe!), for me at least, dragged a lot. That said, they have at their fingertips an amazing character and the series can literally go anywhere with this. Anywhere.

    Sidekick? not so much, but hey, should be good.

    Reply

  3. Original Heretic

    July 26, 2016 at 09:54

    I really hope this turns out better than the previous Dirk Gently series they did. I struggled through the first episode of that, didn’t want to waste my time with the rest of them.

    Reply

  4. Darren Peach

    July 26, 2016 at 13:08

    Somehow, Through the madness of life, I have never read these books.

    Reply

  5. Darren Peach

    July 26, 2016 at 13:12

    This article has inspired me to a idea… You should do a debate on the worst adaptation in history. My vote would be Sword of Truth ( Even though I now look back and find Goodkinds work very preachy ). They screwed that one up.

    Reply

    • miaau

      July 26, 2016 at 14:54

      The books are ok, not 100% winners. A bit too heavy at times, all the crap that happens to Richard, just more and more and more piled on. And his girlfiend, the Confessor. What was her name, now? Also, bad upon bad upon bad, all for the “greater good”.

      Not too bad a read. Never even looked at the series. Now am glad!

      Reply

      • Darren Peach

        July 26, 2016 at 15:22

        Yeah. I grew up on Goodkind. Some of the books were very good. One thing that frustrated me was that after I invested decades into the series was that Richard never really unleashed the power built up over all those books. Also, When you look back at the series, You can’t help escaping the undertones of rhetoric against communism, My only true gripe with his writing. Kalan if memory serves me.

        Reply

        • miaau

          July 26, 2016 at 15:54

          Goodkind is a good author, with flashes of brilliance, but his stories sort of petered out and felt a bit like he was looking for places for them to grow, rather than having a plan.

          I think where Feist, for example, wins out, is that he generally has a good plan, knows where he is going and gets there. It feels like his stories, multi-arc over several books, were pre-planned. AND Feists first books, his writing style was, in my opinion, not brilliant. (We learnt at high school in brief foray into film studies (Witness – movie broken down) that circular is important, the end needs a tie back to the start. It is true and Goodkind seems to have missed that.

          My main gripe with the Sword of Truth series is that the start was a different tone from the rest of the books, a jarring gap that I continually felt.

          Have you read the Assasins Series by Robin Hobb? I swear they left me clinically depressed, as the Sword of Truth series nearly did.

          Reply

          • Darren Peach

            July 26, 2016 at 16:16

            I agree. The first book is completely different and bears little resemblance, apart from the characters, to the rest of the series. Feist is the best next to Tolkien. I grew up in a house where Tolkien was held in high esteem. But that was my Fathers thing and I normally concur with that opinion by proxy. I don’t think I have read any of her books. I am a fan of David Gemmel, David Eddings, Peter Straub, Robert Shea, Some of Kings work, Terry Pratchet and others like that. To be honest, reading has taken a back seat for many years.

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