Douglas Adams' 61st birthday doodle by Google
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I've seen a doc about this, can't find it online now. Here's a brief clip of an example:
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=uynMCvdkp0M#t=2m20s
By hand... Reverse-Skueomorphism before it was cool.
I remember the original TV series mainly as being completely, utterly, awesome.
The effects weren't particularly sophisticated, but they fit well enough, and never detracted. You didn't really notice them.
This is more than just a good story distracting one from the visuals, I think; the effects guys did a pretty good job with their limited means, and often those primitive effects really managed to communicate the atmosphere and feeling intended. They did this much better than Dr Who's effects ever did, in my experience: With Dr Who, one almost always had the feeling "ok, this is some guys on a soundstage", but with HHGttG, often it somehow really did seem like they were stowed away on a Vogon spaceship. I'm not really sure how they managed to pull it off as well as they did, though I suppose even in the category of "low budget BBC SF efx" there's a range of budgets...
.. and the hand-drawn "computer" animations were great. Together with the incredible music, they were a real highlight.
There were some lowlights, of course; I remember the scenes on the Heart of Gold as being pretty bad.
[Watching your clip really brings back the memories of the complete bliss of watching that on TV way back when... just hearing the music sends chills down my spine... :]
Looking back, those effects were bad (like this http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=uynMCvdkp0M#t=2m10s ), but I'll agree with you on this: back then, I never cared or noticed; the whole thing was just pure joy as far as I was concerned.
And in a way these effects just offset the glorious, labor of love animations.
Totally agree about the music. In fact I was just telling someone last night that Justice's "Civilization" always makes me think of the HHGG tv theme music (this comparison fell on deaf ears). One of the best ever intro tracks.
And the opening title sequence with the GOLD ASTRONAUT? Genius. A low budget effect but nicely executed. (for the uninitiated: http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=ywKilWkX4jA )
You have swayed my opinion. I hereby revised my previous comment to confirm that these BBC folks really deserve a geek hero's medal for their work. I suspect you are right that it was often scrounging sets/etc. and it shaped my taste to this day. Much love to those unnamed fx teams.
[This song completely changed the way I thought of the banjo! :]
Looks like you can still buy prints: http://www.rodlord.com/H2G2PRINTS/PAGES/prints1.htm
- Douglas Adams on 'Break the Science Barrier with Richard Dawkins', Channel 4, Equinox Series, 1996
EDIT: Fixed. Thank you, OP.
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He actually started a project along similar lines:
http://www.slate.com/articles/technology/webhead/2005/05/gal...
Here's an excerpt from the Guardian:
The doodle features many of the touchstones of Adams's popular writing.
It displays a cup of tea - a reference to one of his Dirk Gently detective novels, called The Long Dark Teatime of the Soul. It also shows a towel, an item Adams wrote was essential when travelling in space).
With a click of a lift door on the doodle, one of Adams's most enduring characters from the Hitchhiker novels, Marvin the paranoid android, is revealed.
There are many references to the Hitchhiker's Guide. With many clicks, some of Adams's best fictional inventions, including the Babel Fish, which can be inserted in your ear to translate any language, are on show.
http://www.guardian.co.uk/books/2013/mar/11/douglas-adams-ce...
- The Babel Fish - Earth's entry in the Guide - "Mostly Harmless" - "There is an art to flying, or rather a knack. Its knack lies in learning to throw yourself at the ground and miss" - The Pan Galactic Gargle Blaster - the effects of drinking which is "similar to having your brains smashed in by a slice of lemon wrapped round a large gold brick." - The Infinite Improbability Drive - http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=zjbtZ4NgtdA - The creation myth of the Jatravartid people of Viltvodle VI. They believe that the entire Universe was in fact sneezed out of the nose of a being known as the Great Green Arkleseizure - Mankind are only the third most intelligent species on the planet. Dolphins are more intelligent than man, and mice are more intelligent than dolphins - Towels are a hitchhiker's best friend - Earth being demolished by Vogons - The answer to Life, the Universe and Everything - 42, as calculated by Deep Thought
All of which comes from the Hitchhiker's Guide novels.
"in short, all the paraphernalia common to all restaurants where little expense has been spared to give the impression that no expense has been spared."
The man was a litterary genius.
I have only read Douglas' works in English, and the phrase is "Don't Panic" - it's not "Undgå Panik", which is a lousy translation that literally means Avoid Panic.
Sometimes this geolocalization goes too far.
The little screen can also show several things with very clever references - in fact I have not seen it repeat yet!
BBC series was so much better than the movie.
Hey Google - your earth is spinning in the wrong direction!
It's always left-to-right when it's facing north->south.
Several of those little screens are incorrect.
Unless maybe this is Earth2 and they screwed up the rotation or something.At this point I thought he was going to say, "And we got really drunk." But he said "So we went shopping for cowboy boots." And he proudly showed us his boots.