Douglas Adams wrote the brilliant 'The Hitchikers' Guide to the Galaxy' and then, arguably, struggled to produce anything else that quite matched: the Dirk Gently novels (there were a couple), about an unlikely detective, were one of his subsequent projects. Brought to T.V., they share some of the weakness of the books: not as zanily crazy as his first work, but hardly deep enough to work as real drama. But there are still some funny moments in this adaptation, although it's set in the present day and is arguably more "inspired by" than a literal translation of the original. Still, something of the spirit of the author shines through, arguably more so than in the hyperactive 'Hitchkikers' film of a couple of years ago.

I've been a long time fan of all things Adamsy, slightly disappointed with the movie version of HGTTG, somehow i expected it to be better than the TV series in relation to the extra amount spent, so i was wondering what they'd done with this.I already knew this was going to follow the characters but not the actual story line of the book.In the end i thought they pulled it off pretty well. Mangan is well cast as Dirk, it's all rather quirky, Dirk comes across as a total charlatan just as i imagined him from the books.I wonder if they'll make a series? I hope so. Keep it short so you don't run out of ideas and lets hope they make a better job of trying to recreate Douglas sense of humour than Eoin Colfer did with 'And Another Thing'

This thing was made by people who never read the Dirk Gently books, but were told the plot by someone who only vaguely remembers it, and then decided that they didn't like it much and could do better anyway.The actors look and behave nothing like they are described by Douglas Adams, some of the best parts are cut out, and there's no trace of the general eerie - quirky feeling that is so great in the books.I admit that I didn't manage to watch more than fifteen minutes of the thing, it was depressing to me, since I'd been waiting and hoping to see my favorite Douglas Adams books dramatized for ages. But the little i did manage to endure was an insult to Adams' memory and talent. I wish they could've resisted the temptation to ruin Dirk Gently for everyone.

If I wasn't so familiar with the superb Dirk Gently audiobooks, this would have been so much more enjoyable. As it was, each time I managed to suspend my memories and enjoy the production for what it was (Stephen Mangan and Darren Boyd are excellent and make it eminently watchable) I was brought up short by another monstrous deviation from the original. I can accept that condensing an entire novel into an hour of television will mean drastic cuts and consequent streamlining - what I cannot understand or accept is basic plot, relationship and character re-working. For example in the original, MacDuff is a brilliant software designer, employed and exploited by Gordon Way, and MacDuff's girlfriend Susan is Way's sister - not an old flame with whom he is still obsessed. (It's interesting to see in the IMDb cast list for the show that Helen Baxendale is billed as playing Susan WAY (as per the book) not Susan HARMISON (as per the TV production). I found it irritating to notice casual references to the original: e.g. on Gently's blackboard is scrawled "Electronic Monk" (blink and you'd miss it) - a key character in the original. Perhaps these incidentals were intended by the writer as a nod of recognition to Adams, but they struck me more as a jibe, suggesting "I've got your works and I'm taking over - and there's nothing you can do about it". I certainly did feel that Howard Overman, credited as the "writer and creator" paid scant regard to Adams's work other than to make use of his characters and concepts. I can't help wondering if, had the Dirk Gently name and associations not been used, but instead it had been a script about an unconventional private detective, whether it would not have been better? It was after all only very loosely based on the book, almost unrecognisably so and with plenty of new material introduced. But perhaps the Dirk Gently element is relatively irrelevant - perhaps the essential crowd-puller is the Douglas Adams name. Stephen Mangan's portrayal of Gently was pretty convincing - without that I think it would have had far less in common with Adams's books. And Darren Boyd has that rare gift of seeming to play a part simply as himself, never varying - yet becoming totally believable as that character.There was one continuity blip that delighted me - about halfway through, Gently and MacDuff are seated at a table in the pub. Gently sips his pint, putting it down about 3/4 full, then knocks back a chaser, stands up and leaves. MacDuff is drinking his own pint, the barman comes over to ask for payment and Gently's glass is magically empty. Perhaps it's the interconnectedness of Gently to his beer at work ....I do hope there will be a series - but even more I hope that Adams's stories will be used, not just the names and a couple of plot elements.