Some unexpected reunions mark the start of a new phase for our hitchhiking heroes…

With some clever use of archive material, we’ve got most of the original Hitchhiker’s Guide to the Galaxy cast present for this fortieth anniversary series that uses both Eoin Colfer’s And Another Thing and material found by Kevin Jon Davies in the Douglas Adams papers to provide a swansong for the HHGG.

It’s a cliché, but it really does feel as if they’ve not been away. Simon Jones, Geoffrey McGivern and Mark Wing-Davey drop back into Arthur, Ford and Zaphod’s personas with slightly worrying ease, while you’d think that John Lloyd had been voicing the book for rather more than just five years (including the stage tour). Dirk Maggs’ script carefully reminds the audience – who, let’s be fair, may well only know the core HHGG idea as seen in the first few episodes of the radio show / TV show / first book – of what’s been happening in the universe before getting into the new story, and the “new” Adams material fits in seamlessly. There’s even a moment for Marvin, with a clever explanation for Jim Broadbent stepping into the metallic shoes. And the late Susan Sheridan feels very much present and correct as Trillian (and the episode is quite rightly dedicated to her).

There’s a slightly old-fashioned feel to the whole thing, which is exactly as it should be – Maggs’ adaptations of the third, fourth and fifth books fit in with the style of the original twelve Fits, and this follows suit. Colfer is a more plot-driven author than Adams ever was, and I suspect this will need all six parts to do justice to And Another Thing – roll on the rest!

Verdict: A hearty welcome back to one of British SF’s finest creations. 9/10

Paul Simpson