Jul 2021. Some great bits (the rain god, the love of Arthur and Fenchurch, God's last message) but as a whole, less satisfying than earlier stories. (P.S. The audio quality is much poorer than first three phases.) Update: The fifth series redeems the fourth; they're actually two parts of one unit.

I listened to this via Audible.

The fourth part of the Hitchhiker's Guide radio play covers a lot of ground since our protagonists saved the universe previously. It turns out that the Earth isn't blown up, and Arthur Dent makes his way back to it. Comedy, hijinks, and love-making ensue.

It's a nice departure and sees a bit of a shift in tone, which isn't a bad thing by any means. I enjoyed it a great deal and look forward to the next part!

If you're still reading these reviews and not listening to the production, I'm not sure what it will take to make that happen. But you should!

"romantic comedy" bits were boring, original zany charas having just lil cameos was sad, but this was still more interesting than the book itself

Also kudos on the updated jokes, such as the one about mobile phones & custom ringtones (i feel exceptionally seen)

This is the radio play version of So Long and Thanks for All the Fish. good, except they added in things to make it sound more current, like going on about cell phone ring tones. which is stoopid since some of the plot still hinges on Arthur not having an answering machine, so it's in a definite decade, you know?

Likes: These really are a lot of fun. Think Monty Python with jokes about modern physics.

Dislikes: Kind of specific in appeal. Think Monty Python with jokes about modern physics.

It was an okay book. I do want to read the first book as I think some of the enjoyment from this one was lost in reading the books out of order.

The Quandary Phase has the lowest rating of the whole series, but most scientists have come to the conclusion that this opinion is based on three things:
ignorance
stupidity
nothing else.

The only problem with it is that it's shorter than the other phases, but it makes up by containing some of the most memorable passages of the whole series, like God's final message to his creation, written in fire in letters thirty feet high on the far side of the Quentulus Quazgar Mountains in the land of Sevorbeupstry on the planet of Preliumtarn, which orbits the star Zarss, which is located in the Grey Binding Fiefdoms of Saxaquine.

And a personal favourite of mine: The lizard leaders

“You mean, it comes from a world of lizards?”

“No,” said Ford, who by this time was a little more rational and coherent than he had been, having finally had the coffee forced down him, “nothing so simple. Nothing anything like to straightforward. On its world, the people are people. The leaders are lizards. The people hate the lizards and the lizards rule the people.”

“Odd,” said Arthur, “I thought you said it was a democracy.”

“I did,” said ford. “It is.”

“So,” said Arthur, hoping he wasn’t sounding ridiculously obtuse, “why don’t the people get rid of the lizards?”

“It honestly doesn’t occur to them,” said Ford. “They’ve all got the vote, so they all pretty much assume that the government they’ve voted in more or less approximates to the government they want.”

“You mean they actually vote for the lizards?”

“Oh yes,” said Ford with a shrug, “of course.”

“But,” said Arthur, going for the big one again, “why?”

“Because if they didn’t vote for a lizard,” said Ford, “the wrong lizard might get in.

Although I laughed out loud many times while listening to this, including once quite hysterically, the ending left me feeling rather sad! I won't say more, so as not to spoil it, but although (just with the last entry in this series) I have definitely read the book this radio drama was based on, So Long and Thanks for All the Fish, I didn't remember anything about it besides the titular phrase and who said it. That allowed me to enjoy this audiobook without any expectations, which is nice when you KNOW you're going to enjoy it, you just don't know why yet!

It goes without saying that I recommend this to everyone following the radio series, as well as Hitchhiker's fans in general. I'll be moving onto the next entry with enthusiasm, and especially with the hope that it will help mend the heart that this one broke

Absolutely fantastic!!

The fourth series of the radio version of The Hitchhikers Guide to the Galaxy is based on the fourth novel, whereas the first two novels were based upon the first two radio series.

This has always been my favorite book of the series - sacrilege, I know - and I really enjoyed the adaptation.

Same as previous 3.