The Long Dark Tea-Time of the Soul (radio serial)
Encyclopedia
Above the Title Productions
Above the Title Productions is a UK independent radio and TV production company based in London. The company specializes in the making of drama, music, comedy and feature programmes, principally for BBC Radio. The company's past works include adaptations of Agatha Christie mysteries, radio...
radio adaptation, dramatised by Dirk Maggs
Dirk Maggs
Dirk Maggs, a freelance writer and director working across all media, is principally known for his work in radio, where he evolved radio drama into "Audio Movies," a near-visual approach combining scripts, layered sound effects, cinematic music and cutting edge technology. He pioneered the use of...
and John Langdon of Douglas Adams
Douglas Adams
Douglas Noel Adams was an English writer and dramatist. He is best known as the author of The Hitchhiker's Guide to the Galaxy, which started life in 1978 as a BBC radio comedy before developing into a "trilogy" of five books that sold over 15 million copies in his lifetime, a television...
's The Long Dark Tea-Time of the Soul
The Long Dark Tea-Time of the Soul
The Long Dark Tea-Time of the Soul is a 1988 humorous fantasy detective novel by Douglas Adams. It is the second book by Adams featuring private detective Dirk Gently, the first being Dirk Gently's Holistic Detective Agency....
. Starring Harry Enfield
Harry Enfield
Henry Richard "Harry" Enfield is a BAFTA-winning English comedian, actor, writer and director.-Early life:...
, Peter Davison
Peter Davison
Peter Davison is a British actor, best known for his roles as Tristan Farnon in the television version of James Herriot's All Creatures Great and Small and the fifth incarnation of the Doctor in Doctor Who, which he played from 1982 to 1984.-Early life:Davison was born Peter Moffett in Streatham,...
, John Fortune
John Fortune
John Fortune is a British satirist, comedian writer and actor, best known for his work with John Bird and Rory Bremner on the TV series Bremner, Bird and Fortune. He was educated at Bristol Cathedral School and King's College, Cambridge, where he was to meet and form a lasting friendship with John...
and Stephen Moore
Stephen Moore (actor)
Stephen Moore is an English actor, known for his work on British television since the 1980s. He is known for his appearances in Rock Follies and other TV series such as The Last Place on Earth, the children's series The Queen's Nose and the drama Mersey Beat and the British TV comedy series Solo,...
, it started broadcasting on 2 October 2008 on BBC Radio 4
BBC Radio 4
BBC Radio 4 is a British domestic radio station, operated and owned by the BBC, that broadcasts a wide variety of spoken-word programmes, including news, drama, comedy, science and history. It replaced the BBC Home Service in 1967. The station controller is currently Gwyneth Williams, and the...
.
The title is a quotation from the Adams novel Life, The Universe and Everything
Life, the Universe and Everything
Life, the Universe and Everything is the third book in the five-volume Hitchhiker's Guide to the Galaxy science fiction series by British writer Douglas Adams...
, where it says of the immortally annoyed Wowbagger:
Changes between the novel and the radio adaptation
In adapting the story for six half-hour episodes, Dirk MaggsDirk Maggs
Dirk Maggs, a freelance writer and director working across all media, is principally known for his work in radio, where he evolved radio drama into "Audio Movies," a near-visual approach combining scripts, layered sound effects, cinematic music and cutting edge technology. He pioneered the use of...
has rescheduled the novel's convoluted plot:
The adaptation is an inverted detective story
Inverted detective story
An inverted detective story, also known as a "howdhecatchem", is a murder mystery fiction structure in which the commission of the crime is shown or described at the beginning, usually including the identity of the perpetrator. The story then describes the detective's attempt to solve the mystery...
, shuffling the importance of characters: elevating the Draycotts, turning Neil Sharp into Kate Schechter's landlord and former Pugilism and the Third Autistic Cuckoo member with the now returned Richard McDuff. Cleaner Elena is inadvertently kidnapped by Nobby the Pawnbroker, after the battle with a ravenous fridge.
On the audio trailer, Susan Way sells Way Forward Technologies to Sirius Cybernetics, Richard McDuff is detained by the Vogon
Vogon
The Vogons are a fictional alien race from the planet Vogsphere in The Hitchhiker's Guide to the Galaxy series by Douglas Adams, who are responsible for the destruction of the Earth, in order to facilitate an intergalactic highway construction project. Vogons are slug-like but vaguely humanoid, are...
catchphrase "resistance is useless", and the I-Ching Calculator has the 'Guide activation
BBC Sound Effects No. 26 - Sci-Fi Sound Effects
BBC Sound Effects No. 26 - Sci-Fi Sound Effects was a 1981 compilation of sound effects and atmospheres created by the BBC Radiophonic Workshop. It was the second in the BBC Sound Effects series to be credited to the Workshop...
' sound, and is obtained from Nobby.
Examples of updating to bring the story into the 21st century (the book was written in the 1980s) include the explosion now being at Heathrow Terminal 5 (with a new joke about lost luggage), this now being explained as "freak indoor Global Warming
Global warming
Global warming refers to the rising average temperature of Earth's atmosphere and oceans and its projected continuation. In the last 100 years, Earth's average surface temperature increased by about with about two thirds of the increase occurring over just the last three decades...
", various price increases, the introduction of mobile phones, e.g. text messages replacing telegrams, a discussion about only audio purists still using gramophone
Phonograph
The phonograph record player, or gramophone is a device introduced in 1877 that has had continued common use for reproducing sound recordings, although when first developed, the phonograph was used to both record and reproduce sounds...
s and the removal of American Kate's frustration at the unavailability of pizza delivery in the UK (now thankfully ancient history).
Kate awakes earlier in the hospital and sees Mr Rag taking away Thor and the soft drinks machine, and when she visits the Woodshead clinic she mentions Thor directly, rather than dropping many hints.
When Dirk meets Sally Mills, he does not steal the book, as it proffered instead. Sally also remarks that the I-Ching calculator allows Dirk a way around obeying The Great Zaganza prediction that "everything you decide today will be wrong".
Episode 4 contains a telephone conversation where Richard MacDuff explains to Dirk that the motherboard of the I-Ching calculator was rubbish and is better put to use as a ultimate talking multi-media hand-held device. Hitchhiker's sound effects are used (as in the first series visit to the Mothership) and there is also a potentially familiar Sirius Cybernetics functionary.
In addition, the double-bass player's obvious question is changed from "I bet you wished you played the piccolo" to "how do you get it under your chin?", and Dirk forgets to ask Kate to phone him "before doing anything impossible".
Episodes
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BBC Radio 4
BBC Radio 4 is a British domestic radio station, operated and owned by the BBC, that broadcasts a wide variety of spoken-word programmes, including news, drama, comedy, science and history. It replaced the BBC Home Service in 1967. The station controller is currently Gwyneth Williams, and the...
is 23 minutes long.
- Aired 2 Oct 2008: Dirk Gently loses a secretary and Odin sells his soul.
- Aired 9 Oct 2008: Inspector Gilks makes a discovery and Dirk breaks a nose.
- Aired 16 Oct 2008: Dirk buys a nifty gadget and Kate visits an iffy clinic.
- Aired 23 Oct 2008: Thor drops a Clanger in Sharp's Flat.
- Aired 30 Oct 2008: Dirk outwits an Eagle and the Draycotts find an eager nitwit
- Aired 06 Nov 2008: Thor succeeds in losing his temper and Dirk fails to save himself
Cast
The returning characters are:- Richard MacDuff - Billy Boyd
- Detective Sergeant Gilks - Jim Carter
- Janice Pearce - Olivia ColmanOlivia ColmanOlivia Colman is an English actress, best known for her supporting roles in various comedy shows, such as Sophie Chapman in Peep Show and Harriet Schulenburg in Green Wing. She trained at the Bristol Old Vic Theatre School, and has appeared in radio, television and theatre.-Personal life:Colman...
- Dirk GentlyDirk GentlyDirk Gently is a fictional character created by Douglas Adams and featured in the books Dirk Gently's Holistic Detective Agency and The Long Dark Tea-Time of the Soul...
- Harry EnfieldHarry EnfieldHenry Richard "Harry" Enfield is a BAFTA-winning English comedian, actor, writer and director.-Early life:... - Constable Luke, RAF Pilot 1 - Wayne Forester
New characters:
- Nurse Sally Mills - Morwenna BanksMorwenna BanksMorwenna Banks is a British comedy actress, writer and producer.Banks is perhaps best known in the UK as a cast member of the British Channel 4 comedy series Absolutely, where her best-known character was a schoolgirl who sat on the edge of a desk.She appeared as the Keeper of the Rules in the...
- Simon Draycott - Peter DavisonPeter DavisonPeter Davison is a British actor, best known for his roles as Tristan Farnon in the television version of James Herriot's All Creatures Great and Small and the fifth incarnation of the Doctor in Doctor Who, which he played from 1982 to 1984.-Early life:Davison was born Peter Moffett in Streatham,...
- ThorThorIn Norse mythology, Thor is a hammer-wielding god associated with thunder, lightning, storms, oak trees, strength, the protection of mankind, and also hallowing, healing, and fertility...
- Rupert DegasRupert DegasRupert Joel Degas is an English actor and voice artist.- Early life:Degas was born in London, the son of screenwriter Brian Degas and television presenter Maggie Clews, whose marriage ended in divorce when he was eight... - Nobby Paxton - Michael Fenton StevensMichael Fenton StevensMichael Fenton Stevens , sometimes credited as Michael Fenton-Stevens, is a UK actor and comedian, a founder member of The Hee Bee Gee Bees and the voice behind the Spitting Image 1986 number 1 hit "The Chicken Song"...
- Dr Standish - John FortuneJohn FortuneJohn Fortune is a British satirist, comedian writer and actor, best known for his work with John Bird and Rory Bremner on the TV series Bremner, Bird and Fortune. He was educated at Bristol Cathedral School and King's College, Cambridge, where he was to meet and form a lasting friendship with John...
- Geoff Anstey, Bates - Jon GloverJon GloverJon Glover is a British actor. He has appeared in various television programmes including Play School, Survivors, the Management consultant in The Hitchhiker's Guide to the Galaxy, Casualty, Bodger and Badger and Peak Practice....
- Elena - Sally GraceSally GraceSally Grace is a British actress who has worked extensively in radio and animation.She was a long-standing member of the team on Week Ending, the long-running BBC Radio 4 topical satirical sketch show, where she was the voice of Margaret Thatcher from 1983 onwards, and her work with Ken Bruce on...
- Mysterious Vagrant, Vagrant King, Green Hairy Monster, Viking Announcer - Philip JacksonPhilip Jackson (actor)Philip Jackson is an English actor, known for his many television and film roles, most notably as Chief Inspector Japp in the television series Poirot and as Abbot Hugo, one of the recurring adversaries in the cult 1980s series Robin of Sherwood. Jackson was born in Retford, Nottinghamshire...
- Kate Schechter - Laurel Lefkow
- Viking Announcer - Gary MartinGary Martin (actor)Gary Martin is a British voice artist and actor who has been in the industry since the early 1980s. His first recorded acting credit is as a chauffeur in the television series Nobody's Perfect. He has since gone on to perform in over 60 roles, either as a voice artist or actor...
- OdinOdinOdin is a major god in Norse mythology and the ruler of Asgard. Homologous with the Anglo-Saxon "Wōden" and the Old High German "Wotan", the name is descended from Proto-Germanic "*Wodanaz" or "*Wōđanaz"....
, Sirius Cybernetics functionary - Stephen MooreStephen Moore (actor)Stephen Moore is an English actor, known for his work on British television since the 1980s. He is known for his appearances in Rock Follies and other TV series such as The Last Place on Earth, the children's series The Queen's Nose and the drama Mersey Beat and the British TV comedy series Solo,... - Neil Sharp, RAF Pilot 2 - Philip PopePhilip PopePhilip R. J. Pope is a British composer and actor. He was educated at Downside School and New College, Oxford.-Performer:He appeared in the Oxford Revue in Edinburgh Festival Fringe in 1978 and 1979, both with Angus Deayton...
- Cynthia Draycott - Jan RavensJan RavensJanet "Jan" Ravens is an English actress and impressionist, famous for her voices on Spitting Image and Dead Ringers.-Early life:...
- Toe Rag - Michael Roberts
- Tsuliwaensis - Susan SheridanSusan SheridanSusan Sheridan is a British actress. Her voice acting roles include Noddy in the Cosgrove Hall/BBC Television series Noddy's Toyland Adventures, Trillian in the radio series The Hitchhiker's Guide to the Galaxy and Princess Eilonwy in the animated film The Black Cauldron.She has also provided...
- Sarah Montague - Sarah MontagueSarah MontagueSarah Montague is a British Journalist, best known for her work on BBC Radio 4 as one of the regular presenters of the Today programme.-Early life:...
- Announcer - John MarshJohn Marsh (newsreader)John Marsh is a freelance newsreader on BBC Radio 2."Boggy", as he has been nicknamed by Terry Wogan, is from Sussex, and was originally a cameraman. However, a radio opportunity came up, and he ended up in BBC Radio 4. In 1982 he transferred to Radio 2. Marsh presented various radio shows, but...
Production
- Music composer - Philip PopePhilip PopePhilip R. J. Pope is a British composer and actor. He was educated at Downside School and New College, Oxford.-Performer:He appeared in the Oxford Revue in Edinburgh Festival Fringe in 1978 and 1979, both with Angus Deayton...
- Executive Producer - Sioned Wiliam
- Producers - Jo Wheeler and Dirk MaggsDirk MaggsDirk Maggs, a freelance writer and director working across all media, is principally known for his work in radio, where he evolved radio drama into "Audio Movies," a near-visual approach combining scripts, layered sound effects, cinematic music and cutting edge technology. He pioneered the use of...