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tarlibone
Aug 1, 2014

Am I a... bad person?
AM I??




Fun Shoe
We're a few episodes in, but I don't see anyone talking about the 8-episode series from BBC America known as...

[

Dirk Gently's Holistic Detective Agency! Yes, the character created by intragalactic hitchhiker guidebook editor-in-chief Douglas Adams has been dropped into a new story. And that's an important distinction: this is a new story, not in any way an adaptation of either of the books. (I'm not counting the Salmon of Doubt.) And, as is often the case when Adams' characters make the leap from one medium to another, his backstory has apparently changed.

The series is set in America, in the Pacific Northwest. I'm pretty sure it's in either Seattle or Portland.

Starring:
  • Samuel Barnett as Dirk Gently, a nearly manic, nearly mad, holistic detective. He follows fate and doesn't so much find clues as clues go out of their way to find him.
  • Frodo Baggins as Todd Brotzman, a regular guy with a poo poo job who immediately finds himself Dirk's assistant, much to his chagrin.
  • Hannah Marks as Amanda Brotzman, Frodo's sister, who suffers from a fictional disease that causes dangerous hallucinations.
  • Fiona Dourif as Bart Curlish, a holistic assassin who is a dark take on this version of Dirk Gently. And man, is Bart entertaining!
  • And, a bunch of other people.

There are a lot of things going on in this show. The first episode alone reveals several plot threads featuring different character sets that seem mostly disparate, but very quickly, odd connections begin to reveal themselves. It doesn't take too long for things to take a decidedly Adams-ish turn; there are some fun science fiction elements that come into play as the episodes go on.

This started a few weeks ago. Is anyone else watching it?

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Tiggum
Oct 24, 2007

Your life and your quest end here.


It's absolutely nothing like the books, but I'm enjoying it a lot. I think my favourite bit so far was Bart's reaction to Ken knowing the song lyrics.

tarlibone
Aug 1, 2014

Am I a... bad person?
AM I??




Fun Shoe
I'm enjoying everything about Bart, actually. At first, I was 100% she was just some monster (well, not a literal monster (and yes, that distinction must be made)), but in a few episodes, it just starts to seem like she's just as much a victim of her nigh immortality and casual compulsions to kill everything in sight as her actual murder victims are. When the car breaks down, she doesn't sweat it, because she knows it won't stop her for long--not because she's optimistic and resourceful, but because the universe won't let her fail at her deadly... uhm... mission?

I really like her. She's a wonderful counterpoint to Dirk, and the twisted things she says as she's warming up to her kidnapping victim... if she weren't perpetually covered in blood, it'd make you go, "awwwww."

Zythrst
May 31, 2011

Time to join a revolution son, its going to be yooge!
I like this show.

Quincyh
Dec 24, 2011

He's stolen the fire chief's hat!
I, too, like this show and am looking forward to learning more about this version of Dirk Gently. It's better than the version that came out from the BBC a few years back, though it is dramatically different from the books.

Victorkm
Nov 25, 2001

I've been loving this show. Definitely a different beast from the books but still incredibly fun with a lot to puzzle over.

Tiggum
Oct 24, 2007

Your life and your quest end here.


Quincyh posted:

I, too, like this show and am looking forward to learning more about this version of Dirk Gently. It's better than the version that came out from the BBC a few years back, though it is dramatically different from the books.

The Stephen Mangan one? I enjoyed that, although it also wasn't much like the books.

precision
May 7, 2006

by VideoGames

Tiggum posted:

The Stephen Mangan one? I enjoyed that, although it also wasn't much like the books.

It hewed closer to the books than this series, and personally I liked it better, but this version is good too.

Eponymous
Feb 4, 2008

Maybe I just want to be happy, huh?! Maybe I want my life to not be a trainwreck for five GOD DAMN minutes?!
Does anybody else sense something horrible resulting from Ken's sudden realization that he exists and is with Bart "for a reason"?

frgildan
Apr 6, 2005

I went some place mum and everyday I woke up in that place and told myself I'm alive and I was.

Eponymous posted:

Does anybody else sense something horrible resulting from Ken's sudden realization that he exists and is with Bart "for a reason"?

It's a twisted mirror of Todd. If Ken had sat around and waited for Bart to save him there's a good chance she would be right and he would be dead. When he started begging for his life he started participating and as wierd as it is the universe rewarded him by giving him his life. I think Todd is going to die but it's going to be tragic and just likely involve him not doing something and backtracking into his life of inertia and not be Bart's responsibility at all.

frgildan fucked around with this message at 01:54 on Nov 12, 2016

tarlibone
Aug 1, 2014

Am I a... bad person?
AM I??




Fun Shoe
One thing they're keeping from the original book is a time machine. (That's not a spoiler; it was said outright early in the first episode.)

I'm curious to see how they work it in. I loved the presentation in the first book; it was very Douglas Adams to have a time machine that's... just, so not a time machine, complete with a landline phone that only works when the room-machine is in another time.

Tiggum
Oct 24, 2007

Your life and your quest end here.


It was originally a TARDIS. The first Dirk Gently book started out as a Doctor Who story that was never produced.

Eponymous
Feb 4, 2008

Maybe I just want to be happy, huh?! Maybe I want my life to not be a trainwreck for five GOD DAMN minutes?!

tarlibone posted:

One thing they're keeping from the original book is a time machine. (That's not a spoiler; it was said outright early in the first episode.)

I'm curious to see how they work it in. I loved the presentation in the first book; it was very Douglas Adams to have a time machine that's... just, so not a time machine, complete with a landline phone that only works when the room-machine is in another time.

I was going to question how since that time machine was burned out by the end of that book, but I guess they could sidestep that by having it be from, uh, "earlier"? Time travel tenses are complicated.

Tiggum
Oct 24, 2007

Your life and your quest end here.


Eponymous posted:

I was going to question how since that time machine was burned out by the end of that book, but I guess they could sidestep that by having it be from, uh, "earlier"? Time travel tenses are complicated.

Well, this Dirk Gently is clearly not the same character as in the books, so it really doesn't matter what happened in the book.

Lord Frankenstyle
Dec 3, 2005

Mmmm,
You smell like Lysol Wipes.
I really liking this show, but Dirk is by far the weakest character. I mean sometimes he's quirky funny, but a good chunk of his dialog is more tryhard funny. Plus I'm not liking the direction they seem to be going with some sort of group of holistic characters made in a government experiment like the kids in Fringe. But Bart is so goddamn awesome she makes up for all the shows shortcomings.

Ashrik
Feb 9, 2009

WILL AMOUNT TO NOTHING IN LIFE.
Is there a place one can watch this show online? BBC, Hulu, etc?

e: Ah, found it: http://www.bbcamerica.com/shows/dirk-gentlys-holistic-detective-agency

Woebin
Feb 6, 2006

This seems like a decent show so far, definitely an odd take on the source material. I really miss the previous one though (the Stephen Mangan version) and wish it'd run for longer, I thought it was really good. Also this version of Dirk is too conventionally attractive I think, but then again every single one of the main characters so far is conventionally attractive. That's a bit boring, I think.

I mean, I'm not saying that Stephen Mangan is ugly, but he definitely looks distinct.

Open Source Idiom
Jan 4, 2013

Frankenstyle posted:

. Plus I'm not liking the direction they seem to be going with some sort of group of holistic characters made in a government experiment like the kids in Fringe.

I was worried about this too, but then they said in the third episode that the Project was just about identifying and tracking people who were already special (or whatever) rather than manufacturing them.

That said, I'd be surprised if that wasn't the intended end goal, but it seems pretty clear that Dirk was like this before the government got their hands on him. Bart maybe, maybe not.

Quincyh
Dec 24, 2011

He's stolen the fire chief's hat!

Tiggum posted:

The Stephen Mangan one? I enjoyed that, although it also wasn't much like the books.

Yes, that one - it had one bit that made me laugh until I cried, and the rest wavered between funny and awful. This one is fairly consistently okay.

...I liked how in the latest episode, Todd and Dirk and Amanda all contributed to solving the puzzles. It's not a huge thing, but a lot of shows tend to have one character do everything and then in the next episode a different character does everything, so... it was nice.

tarlibone
Aug 1, 2014

Am I a... bad person?
AM I??




Fun Shoe
Another thing I like about this show is every time they reveal some insane thing, like the woman in the dog's body or, just the other night, a first-person view of the body-switching process and how they're going around doing all this stuff, they still leave enough questions to make you keep watching. Hell, there's more questions. I mean, now I know that there's a contraption that swaps people's spirits into different bodies, and that's horrific enough--I mean, seeing that guy suddenly viewing the world from the mouse's POV makes these people seem extra-dangerous, and it really conveys the helplessness the victim must feel.

But now I'm more curious than ever... why are they doing this? Sure, it's great fun, and it can extend your life I guess, but they seem to have a much bigger plan in the works, and the more that's revealed about these people, their history, and their abilities, the more I'm left wondering, "Why? What is your end game?"

Lord Frankenstyle
Dec 3, 2005

Mmmm,
You smell like Lysol Wipes.
I was trying to turn my wife onto the show, so I re-watched the first two episodes with her. I was floored by the absurd amount of little things I'd missed the first time that were obvious from the perspective of having seen the later episodes. They really went all out to drive home the whole "everything is connected angle, and after that re-watch I've become super impressed with it. But I still think Dirk is annoying as poo poo.

An Ounce of Gold
Jul 13, 2001

by Fluffdaddy

Frankenstyle posted:

... But I still think Dirk is annoying as poo poo.

Yeah, I'm with you. I'm digging this show, but the actor's take on these lines are rough. Sometimes Dirk makes me cringe but not in a good way. Can he go in a machine and come out Stephen Mangan maybe for season 2? :D

delfin
Dec 5, 2003

SNATTER'S ALIVE?!?!
Dirk as channeled by the ghost of Rik Mayall was a bit off-putting at first but I'm rolling with it. The show is a hot mess but it's a fun hot mess.

tarlibone
Aug 1, 2014

Am I a... bad person?
AM I??




Fun Shoe
We got a little more insight to the Rowdy 3, but what really got me was the kitten.

Years ago, under the influence of drugs and alcohol, the guys in the band I was in at the time began to share our wisdom. And I had a really Jack Handey moment: "If you ever start beating a man with an angry cat, don't stop, because it might turn on you." It's way funnier if you're drunk and high.

But man, that little kitten. poo poo. Shame about Detective Eyebrows, though. I love how the building is called the Animal Transfer Center, because that's what it is.

Question: has anyone else noticed that Dirk's jacket changes inexplicably? It started as yellow, went to light green, and is now blue, IIRC. I wonder if that'll play into the overall story arc.

MachuPikacchu
Oct 15, 2012

Sacre vert! Maman!

Just started watching this show. The first episode got me hooked, and the second almost turned me off. Then I got to the scene where Dirk broke down in front of the Blackwing dudes and now I'm hooked again. Regardless of whether the show is a hot mess or not, there is some seriously good acting going on there. I'm also really glad that the show has been doling out answers fairly steadily.

Cinnamon.

tarlibone
Aug 1, 2014

Am I a... bad person?
AM I??




Fun Shoe

Oh man. I can't believe I haven't been talking about Corporal Dip Schitt. I don't know who's playing him, but he's doing a good job. He's like the brains version of Rudy: he has the heart of a fearless ultra-Delta-Force supersoldier, but he has the mind of a 10 year old boy who only plays video games. His commander's infinite patience with this living ball of stupid is fun to watch.

Woebin
Feb 6, 2006

I find myself liking all the characters except the main two so far, Dirk and Todd just really aren't working for me. Maybe they'll get better, or maybe Dirk'll switch bodies - that'd be a pretty obvious move actually, seeing as the Dirk Gently novels were born out of an unused Doctor Who script. Body switching doesn't seem that far removed from regenerating.

Really enjoying every appearance from the Rowdy Three, too.

Binary Logic
Dec 28, 2000

Fun Shoe
I didn't know this existed until I spotted the thread so thanks for the OP, tarlibone!

tarlibone posted:

Another thing I like about this show is every time they reveal some insane thing, like the woman in the dog's body or, just the other night, a first-person view of the body-switching process and how they're going around doing all this stuff, they still leave enough questions to make you keep watching. Hell, there's more questions. I mean, now I know that there's a contraption that swaps people's spirits into different bodies, and that's horrific enough--I mean, seeing that guy suddenly viewing the world from the mouse's POV makes these people seem extra-dangerous, and it really conveys the helplessness the victim must feel.

But now I'm more curious than ever... why are they doing this? Sure, it's great fun, and it can extend your life I guess, but they seem to have a much bigger plan in the works, and the more that's revealed about these people, their history, and their abilities, the more I'm left wondering, "Why? What is your end game?"

Body-switching for eternal life reminds me of Being John Malkovich.

Woebin posted:

I find myself liking all the characters except the main two so far, Dirk and Todd just really aren't working for me. Maybe they'll get better, or maybe Dirk'll switch bodies - that'd be a pretty obvious move actually, seeing as the Dirk Gently novels were born out of an unused Doctor Who script. Body switching doesn't seem that far removed from regenerating.

Really enjoying every appearance from the Rowdy Three, too.

It's very Douglas Adams to have a lead character (or two) constantly flabbergasted and trying to catch up with events happening around them.

Woebin
Feb 6, 2006

Binary Logic posted:

It's very Douglas Adams to have a lead character (or two) constantly flabbergasted and trying to catch up with events happening around them.
Oh sure, sure. It's not that I dislike Adams' characters, it's these versions of them that I'm not sold on. I enjoyed both the Stephen Mangan version and the BBC Radio dramatisation, as well as the actual books.

Open Source Idiom
Jan 4, 2013

tarlibone posted:

Oh man. I can't believe I haven't been talking about Corporal Dip Schitt. I don't know who's playing him, but he's doing a good job. He's like the brains version of Rudy: he has the heart of a fearless ultra-Delta-Force supersoldier, but he has the mind of a 10 year old boy who only plays video games. His commander's infinite patience with this living ball of stupid is fun to watch.

I'm wondering how they're going to pay off that flashforward from Episode Three, where he's covered in blood and laughing maniacally.

I suspect that he's faking being so stupid, honestly.

Stormgale
Feb 27, 2010

Just finished episode 3 and I didn't expect the Max lands Interpretation of Douglas Adams to suddenly make me so sad about the quirky british guy the "I'm a real detective" bit was heartwrenching

And More
Jun 19, 2013

How far, Doctor?
How long have you lived?

I'm really enjoying this show. The best part about it is the structure. It's always clear what's going on, even when the characters don't understand what's going on. I can only assume that's not easy to pull off.

The only thing that's not so great: Dirk comes off like a more obnoxious Matt Smith Doctor, and I don't like it.

Tiggum
Oct 24, 2007

Your life and your quest end here.


And More posted:

The only thing that's not so great: Dirk comes off like a more obnoxious Matt Smith Doctor, and I don't like it.

The major difference is that Doctor Who acts like an idiot who has no idea what's going on, but is actually supposed to be a super-genius who knows everything. Dirk acts like an idiot who has no idea what's going on and actually that's not an act. I find that far less obnoxious.

Analytic Engine
May 18, 2009

not the analytical engine

Tiggum posted:

The major difference is that Doctor Who acts like an idiot who has no idea what's going on, but is actually supposed to be a super-genius who knows everything. Dirk acts like an idiot who has no idea what's going on and actually that's not an act. I find that far less obnoxious.

And Elijah Wood is constantly calling him on it, instead of blindly following a manic pixie dream guy like the Dr Who companions.

tarlibone
Aug 1, 2014

Am I a... bad person?
AM I??




Fun Shoe
I think another thing that helps is that not only does he freely admit that he doesn't really know what's going on, just that it's all connected. He even laments the fact that this "ability" he has it totally beyond his control. It's so far beyond his abilities to even mitigate it that he's very much a victim of whatever magic he seems to posses. Long ago, he resigned himself to this kind of life, fluttering around at the universe's whim, making connections to otherwise disparate people and events that will probably never benefit him personally. If you think about it, it's possible that his goofy, aloof demeanor is as much a defense mechanism as anything else.

Contrast how his general demeanor is to how Bart behaves when she's not casually (or really stylishly) killing people. It's unlikely that she had as happy a childhood as Dirk did, but that stuff notwithstanding, she's blunt, direct, brutally honest, and has complete faith in her purpose and the universe's purpose with her. She doesn't try to deceive because she believes (and for good reasons, so far) that it doesn't matter if those around her know who she is and what she's about to do. She's also a victim of her abilities--it's just that she doesn't see it quite that way, while Dirk sometimes appears to.

And More
Jun 19, 2013

How far, Doctor?
How long have you lived?

Tiggum posted:

The major difference is that Doctor Who acts like an idiot who has no idea what's going on, but is actually supposed to be a super-genius who knows everything. Dirk acts like an idiot who has no idea what's going on and actually that's not an act. I find that far less obnoxious.

It's interesting that his behaviour is basically a symptom of his condition rather than his real personality. That doesn't really make a difference in execution, though. I think it's also more annoying because Elijah Wood as the audience surrogate is perpetually annoyed by it. He's kind of spreading the bad vibes.

tarlibone posted:

I think another thing that helps is that not only does he freely admit that he doesn't really know what's going on, just that it's all connected. He even laments the fact that this "ability" he has it totally beyond his control. It's so far beyond his abilities to even mitigate it that he's very much a victim of whatever magic he seems to posses. Long ago, he resigned himself to this kind of life, fluttering around at the universe's whim, making connections to otherwise disparate people and events that will probably never benefit him personally. If you think about it, it's possible that his goofy, aloof demeanor is as much a defense mechanism as anything else.

Contrast how his general demeanor is to how Bart behaves when she's not casually (or really stylishly) killing people. It's unlikely that she had as happy a childhood as Dirk did, but that stuff notwithstanding, she's blunt, direct, brutally honest, and has complete faith in her purpose and the universe's purpose with her. She doesn't try to deceive because she believes (and for good reasons, so far) that it doesn't matter if those around her know who she is and what she's about to do. She's also a victim of her abilities--it's just that she doesn't see it quite that way, while Dirk sometimes appears to.

In that sense, Dirk Gently is almost the opposite of Doctor Who. Modern Doctor Who is a bit of a power fantasy about a being with (nearly) limitless control over time, space and fate. Dirk tries to have agency by trying to be a detective, but he really isn't in control of what's going to happen. That's also why he can be called out on his shtick in the first place. He isn't Columbo pulling the wool over our eyes. It's just a really futile attempt at masking that all of it will inevitably happen, whether he cooperates or not. Neither he nor Elijah Wood have any say in the matter.

Open Source Idiom
Jan 4, 2013
Renewed for a second, ten episode (so two episodes longer) season.

MachuPikacchu
Oct 15, 2012

Sacre vert! Maman!

Stormgale posted:

Just finished episode 3 and I didn't expect the Max lands Interpretation of Douglas Adams to suddenly make me so sad about the quirky british guy the "I'm a real detective" bit was heartwrenching

It's especially heartbreaking because immediately before he breaks down he's giddy with joy over finally having a friend.

"I am on a case! And I have friends! And we found clues!"

coyo7e
Aug 23, 2007

by zen death robot
It's weird because the tone strikes me as so much more of Wonko the Sane than the original DGHDA - to a kind of disturbing amount

but the real question I have is when do we get the flying sex scene

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Slamhound
Mar 27, 2010

coyo7e posted:

It's weird because the tone strikes me as so much more of Wonko the Sane than the original DGHDA - to a kind of disturbing amount

but the real question I have is when do we get the flying sex scene
I believe that's the fourth Hitchhiker's Guide, not Dirk Gently. Arthur Dent and Fenchurch.

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