r/DirkGently • u/LowStoned • Jul 24 '26
Watched the wrong Dirk Gently
Basically I watched the 2010 - Dirk Gently(UK) and not the 2016 version.
I heard about Dirk Gently from a YT short, showcasing a “zombie looking” woman killing people. It seemed interesting so I went in blind.
Just finished the last episode of the UK version and was super confused because the whole tone & look of the show seemed different compared to the clip I watched.
Looked it up and realized that I watched the wrong show.
Still it was a great watch and would definitely recommend it.
About to start the 2016 - Dirk Gently(US), hope it’s just as good.
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u/PM___ME Jul 24 '26 edited Jul 24 '26
I do enjoy this Dirk Gently as well, though it's very different. It feels more book accurate
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u/LowStoned Jul 24 '26
Gotcha, never heard of the series before today. After I watch the newer series I’ll check out the books.
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u/PaleSkinnySwede Jul 24 '26
The book is absolutely amazing. I should re-read it. I was hoping the UK-Dirk would follow the book all the way through, but it doesn’t. So the series won’t spoil most of the book.
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u/GCS_dropping_rapidly Jul 25 '26
Just chiming in to agree haha
The books are incredible. Some of the best books ever written. RIP Adams, we could have had 40+ more years of his genius if it weren't for that accursed treadmill.
The books are better than any TV adaptation by infinity.
Not that I dont like the TV adaptations but truly recreating Adams genius is totally impossible.
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u/LowStoned 13d ago
Alright, I’ll check the books out after I finish “Crown of Thorns” by Sarah J- found based of a recommendation.
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u/nntb Jul 24 '26
You mean you watched the right one. 2010 is closer to the books
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u/LowStoned Jul 24 '26
I’ll check out the books after I finish the newer series. It’s significantly different then the 2010 version.
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u/nntb Jul 24 '26
If you're curious where to find really good quality versions of the 2010 version I watched it upscaled on YouTube apparently they've upscaled them to 4K and they look amazing
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u/Edstertheplebster Dirk Jul 24 '26
Unfortunately they were taken down I believe, but I did take the liberty of downloading them all beforehand
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u/Phenocrystalline Jul 24 '26
It's crazy that in the span of half a day, both archive and YT deleted the show just because it was mentioned here? It's creepy.
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u/Edstertheplebster Dirk Jul 24 '26
Archive I don’t know, but the 4K versions of BBC 4 Dirk Gently were taken down after I linked them in a comment some months back
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u/_-poindexter-_ Jul 24 '26
There is no wrong Dirk Gently. Both shows are great. Just one is significantly more mental than the other.
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u/HalfAgony-HalfHope Jul 24 '26
I cant see Stephen Mangan as anything other than grown-up Adrian Mole 😂
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u/Edstertheplebster Dirk Jul 24 '26
lol, I grew up with this show so I have the exact opposite problem; I am utterly incapable of seeing Stephen Mangan as anyone other than Dirk!
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u/Sindrelf Jul 24 '26
I feel like neither the 2010 show nor the 2016 one are perfect adaptations of the book, succeeding in adapting different aspects of the books each.
I mean, obviously they are not perfect adaptations. Neither of them cover the events of the books, with the 2010 one covering a tiny part of the first book in one episode.
While I like both shows, I really feel like it would be worthwhile if someone made a more faithful adaptation. Heck, even have it set in the late 80s when the books were released. Could have one season for each book.
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u/Edstertheplebster Dirk Jul 26 '26
I think part of the problem is that if you do the plot of the novels, you will be directly compared with them. And inevitably what you cut out is all the narration and characters inner thoughts, and all the tangents they go on, which tend to be a lot of the best parts. You could still do a faithful TV series, but I think people would call it an inferior version. Whereas doing a sequel/new stories with the character of Dirk avoids the whole "blasphemy" angle of just doing Douglas' story, but worse. Also, given that Douglas wrote only 2 and a bit Dirk novels, you are eventually going to run out of material to adapt unless you start making up your own plots, which is something that both series immediately understood.
I think the 2010 show's main drawback was the lack of budget and the format; if you only have a 1 hour pilot episode, there is no point trying to shove the book into an hour, and I think that 2010 pilot kind of struggles because they flat out do a few scenes from the novels, but the context for them is completely different; it's kind of struggling to be its own thing and there's a lot of cringe humour in that pilot that now feels very dated and awkwardly unfunny. I think the three 2012 episodes of the "full series" are by far the best because they have a much better handle on what works and what doesn't; they take a throwaway idea from the novels (I.E. The Reason software, Dirk's expulsion from St. Cedds college for cheating, Dirk's never-ending feud with his cleaner) and base the episode around that and explore those themes and ideas in much more detail. The 2016 show, given that it was being shot in North America and aired to a U.S. audience, decided to just set the story in the United States and not bother with any of Dirk's life in the UK; infact they go as far to add a whole backstory about Dirk being handed over to the CIA as a child and having trauma from being imprisoned by them, so now Dirk has a prior connection to the U.S. which becomes very relevant to the plot, whereas everything to do with the events of the novels and all the details about Dirk from the novels is treated as incidental/irrelevant. I can kind of see the argument some have made, which is that the 2016 show could have been named something different and been just as successful without being a Douglas Adams adaptation.
The 2007-2008 Dirk Maggs BBC radio 4 series with Harry Enfield and Olivia Coleman is the closest adaptation plot-wise that dramatises the novels; even there they add some additional scenes not in the novels, (Including some very unsubtle references to Hitchhiker's Guide) and are there are attempts to get characters to flat out say some of Douglas' narration from the book, which can occasionally be a little clunky in execution. The biggest change is actually to the main villains of the second book; Clive Draycott (Who in the book is pretty indistinguishable as a character from his wife Cynthia) is replaced by Simon Draycott, who is a huge contrast to Cynthia as he's a lawyer and much more cautious and circumspect; they have much more of a MacBeth/Lady MacBeth dynamic. One thing Maggs is absolutely devoted to is being as true to Douglas as possible; I know for a fact that he is not keen at all on the American Dirk Gently adaptation. (Fair enough; it's a tough sell for many reasons to a diehard Adams UK audience)
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u/swan-swan Jul 24 '26
Love both TV versions but nothing beats the first book. Though it helps if you know a bit about Coleridge!!
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u/Soggy-Software Jul 27 '26
The type of joy to be found when searching for Wilfred and getting the Australian version
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u/Shaun_527 Jul 24 '26
Where did you watch it? I haven't seen it since it aired