#hhggmine

[billpottsismygf]

Omg I cannot believe I’ve only just found out that Barclay Beg-Chetwynde from Ghosts is played by Geoffrey McGivern!!! I never noticed his name in the credits and he’s putting on enough of a different voice that it isn’t instantly recognisable, though I can hear it now that I realise it’s him.

God, when special interests collide... I’m just very full of energy and excited about this and idk what to do with it all. I only just finished a full re-listen of Hitchhiker’s as well, including the Hexagonal Phase, so I’m especially kicking myself.

I had to get out my hhgg live programme and look at his face to make sure I wasn’t going fully insane, even though the internet confirmed that it is indeed the same Geoffrey McGivern.

This does also mean that I’ve seen irl 3 different people who are in Ghosts! (Charlotte Ritchie and Martha Howe-Douglas I’ve properly met and spoken to, which is incredibly cool, and Geoff McGivern I saw in the aforementioned The Hitchhiker’s Guide to the Galaxy Radio Show Live, which is a hell of a long title. It was in 2012 so I forgive myself for not recognising him by face.)

[billpottsismygf]

Overall I really enjoyed the Hexagonal Phase. The cast were just as wonderful as always, and the plot was fun and worked out in the end. It was somewhat over-reliant on callbacks, especially to the Ravenous Bugblatter Beast of Traal, but it was less rushed than the quandry and quintissential phases (which were only four episodes each). 

The one thing I’m disappointed by is Arthur’s ending. I’ve been waiting all series for him to be reunited with Fenchurch, but the way it happened was just baffling. Having her reappear on the ship made sense and would have been a perfectly fine ending. They could have even made the probability curve (whatever it was) joke by having Mr A Grajag be in her seat and then taken out of existence when she reappeared. Instead, she appeared for a few seconds and then vanished again. Then he goes to a beach and finds a hut built by another version of him with Fenchurch. What happened to that other version of him? Will he return? I suppose if not, at least we should be happy that our Arthur has found a version of Fenchurch... It also made the Agrajag gag weaker than what I suggested, as he wasn’t killed by Arthur, or even within his vicinity. I suppose I’m happy they’re together and settled, and I liked that it ended with a joke about the planning permission since it brought the whole series full circle, but it just fell ever so slightly flat.

Ah well, it’s been an enjoyable series and I’ll probably relisten to it before it comes off iplayer. Then I’ll have to read And Another Thing so I can compare the two.

[billpottsismygf]

I really enjoyed that episode! It got off to a shaky start with the overlong song from LB, but it got much better. 

I love that Wowbagger is back, as he was always one of my favourite recurring characters. Of course, in series 5 we hear him being vanquished by Zarquon at the restaurant at the end of the universe, which I always liked as an ending for him. Perhaps, though, the Thor attempt will fail and that is what will happen to him eventually. That version of events was technically part of the fake reality created by the Bird, so it doesn't matter if he does die in this series; I'd just quite like for the old version to remain a possibility.

The thing I'm happiest about is Fenchurch. I was just thinking about how I really hope Fenchurch will return when Arthur said he needed her. I literally said "yes, you do" aloud without thinking about it. I was alone. And then Jane Horrocks played the computer as her later on, which just fills me with even more hope! At least I know now that, if she does come back, Jane Horrocks will definitely have been available to play her.

This is all very exciting! This is the only chance I'll ever have to experience The Hitchhiker's Guide to the Galaxy as it comes out (though I've not yet listened to one live). I'm looking forward to seeing where this is going!