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[khaosworks]

Part of the reason why I never bothered to read Mostly Harmless (the last book in the increasingly inaccurately named Hitchhiker's Guide to the Galaxy trilogy) was because someone had told me that it ended on a downer. Never one for caring about spoilers, I flipped through the book, and sure enough the ending was somewhat... less than satisfying. Well, for me, anyway.

So it was with great trepidation that I listened to the Quintessential and final phase of the radio series, getting up to the last fit and gearing for the downer...

And bless 'em, they gave me a happy ending(s). I like happy endings. Does anyone know if this was the ending Adams intended but never got to do?

Comments

[haloumi.livejournal.com]

No idea, I'm afraid, but I did find 'Mostly Harmless' to be a fairly unsatisfying book.

In fact, while I own all the others and both Dirk Gentlys, I do not own a copy of 'Mostly Harmless'.

Have you read 'The Salmon of Doubt'? It's a strange pastiche but the parts of the book that they include do make me wonder what the final book would have been like.

[khaosworks.livejournal.com]

I still don't intend to buy Mostly Harmless - but I can recommend the radio series (which, to my mind, will always be my "canon" version). I haven't read anything by Douglas Adams since Last Chance to See.

[zanda-myrande.livejournal.com]

I haven't heard any of the new ones...

The impression I got, from the book and various things I picked up at the time, was that this was DNA's "I do not want to write another Hitch-hiker book EVER" book. He was tired of it, he was bored with it, by all accounts he hated the actual writing process anyway, and he was hoping to hack off the fans enough that they would let him do something else.

I hated it. As far as I am concerned, the series ends with "So Long.."

[khaosworks.livejournal.com]

The Quintessential Phase was probably the hardest to get through as it wasn't really all that interesting. But the ending, which takes off from where the book ends, is a better coda to the whole story, even if it does smack of a deus ex machina.

[tavella.livejournal.com]

What was the new ending? I shared your feeling about the original one; the whole book just felt so tired and bitter and cruel to the characters, and the ending was incredibly depressing, especially after DNA's uncharacteristic optimism in the previous one.

[khaosworks.livejournal.com]

The climax of the last episode takes place as per the book, on Earth. Random pulls out a gun, accidentally shoots Agragjag, Trillian points out that the name of the club is Stavro Mueller Beta, Ford starts to laugh, Arthur says, "Well, thank Bob that's over..." and Earth, in all dimensions, gets blown up by the Grebulons.

There is silence. Then, the crackling voice of the Book starts up (not the new Guide, who was voiced by Rula Lenska), repeating the Babel Fish entry, and explaining that the Babel Fish has the ability to, in cases of extreme jeopardy, jump its host and the people around him between dimensions, with a myriad of possibilities. To that end, the Book relates several examples of how Arthur could have wound up.

In one alternative, he ends up as he does, at the end of Fit the Twelfth, alone on The Heart of Gold with several Lintilla clones, all happily waiting on him hand and foot.

In another alternative, he is lying in the mud in front of the bulldozer, arguing with Prosser at the start of Fit the First, except this time, Fenchurch is there, telling Prosser to "Get stuffed... that's our cottage."

In the third alternative (and this is the one that was broadcast, the other two only being heard on the CD release), the Babel Fish transports Ford, Arthur, Random and the two Trillians to Milliways. As Max Quadropleen does the honours, Ford explains to Arthur that the dolphins learnt how to jump dimensions from the babel fishes, and in turn the fishes learnt how to have a good time from the dolphins, explaining the selection. The reason why the Babel Fish never jumped them before is because although they were in danger, Arthur was never in danger of imminent death before.

The two Trillians, however, merged in the jump into one person - a Trillian who is British, but has blonde hair (which Ford says he prefers). Zaphod passes Ford some of that Old Janx Spirit. Random turns away from the Dish of the Day in disgust and wants a veggie option; they call for a talking cauliflower, and Arthur stops short as he sees the waitress: it's Fenchurch.

From Fenchurch's point of view, it was Arthur who vanished during the hyperspace jump, and she had spent months searching for him. Eventually, she decided to wait for him at Milliways, thinking that would be someplace that he would eventually turn up at. Trillian spots Thor in the crowd, and goes all giggly and girly as she goes to talk to him.

Zaphod gets a call from the parking lot about his requested "Babe Wash" for the Heart of Gold: it's Marvin, who has survived his shutdown at the Last Message (it turns out he was still under warranty). He has been working at Millways for the last few millennia and has been promoted - he now has his own bucket. Zaphod orders a hot wax for his ship.

The Prophet Zarquon takes the stage, and is interrupted by Wowbagger the Infinitely Prolonged, who insults Zarquon, the last person on his list. Zarquon insults him in turn, and tells him he is no longer immortal. Wowbagger dies, to tumultuous applause.

Arthur takes Fenchurch aside. He asks her when she goes off duty and she says after the Apocalypse. He then asks, "Will you... go flying with me?" And she replies, "Always." The universe ends as the crowd starts singing Auld Lang Syne.

Credits are read. At the end, the narrator helpfully informs us that the yellow spaceships above our heads are just hallucinations, and that it would be best for us to have a few drinks and a handful of peanuts... the last sound we hear is a huge explosion.