The first televisual adaptation of Douglas Adams' Dirk Gently's Holisitic Detective Agency, the pilot for which aired on BBC Four in December last year, has just finished filming it's first full series.
Starring Stephen Mangan (Green Wing, Free Agents, Episodes) in the titular role of the madcap detective, the upcoming three-part series will not be based on the existing novels, but will be telling all-new adventures penned by BAFTA-winning writer Howard Overman (Misfits, Merlin). “I'm thrilled to have the opportunity to write more episodes of Dirk,” said Overman, “I look forward to seeing where his unique detective methodology and perspective on life takes me.”
Although the pilot episode was based on elements from the first book (excluding the ghost, the Electric Monk, Samuel Taylor Coleridge and Kubla Khan), the new episodes will bring a fresh set of Dirk Gently stories to the legacy. Adams' work tends to be very in-depth, and with so many plot-threads running throughout the Dirk Gently books (including a series of non-linear, unconnected yet connected events due to time travel) it'd be incredibly difficult to do it all justice in a TV adaptation. As Stephen Mangan, writing for a BBC blog, stated; “In my opinion, Dirk Gently's Holistic Detective Agency and The Long Dark Tea-Time Of The Soul are unfilmable as written...too much happens, there are too many ideas.” However, I have absolutely no doubt that Howard Overman is the right man to continue the Dirk Gently legacy.
As a man who believes in the interconnectedness of all things, Dirk Gently's methods of deduction are dubious at best. Most people view him as a cheap conman, hopelessly chaotic and perpetually broke, but nevertheless Dirk's methods often produce surprising results... Speaking about his role as the notorious detective, Mangan said; “I've been a fan of Douglas Adams ever since the Hitchhiker's radio series which I used to record as a child and listen to over and over again in my bedroom. It's such a thrill to now be playing one of his brilliant characters. Dirk is a chaotic, anarchic force of nature with a totally unique take on the world. He is described as 'lazy, untidy, dismissive and unreliable'. I've absolutely no idea why they thought I'd be right for the role.”
He's certainly a character I can relate to!
Alongside Mangan, Dirk Gently stars Darren Boyd (Whites, Holy Flying Circus) as Dirk's friend and unwitting accomplice Richard MacDuff, and Helen Baxendale (Cold Feet, Friends) as Richard's long-term girlfriend Susan. Having provided magnificent performances throughout the pilot, the return of this superb cast is bound to make for a bizarre and brilliant series.
Scheduled to air some time around March next year, the first season of Dirk Gently will also be the first continuing drama series to be commissioned by BBC Four. As a great fan of Dirk Gently's Holistic Detective Agency (and of Douglas Adams in general!), I'm thoroughly looking forward to more adventures with the infamous detective, and seeing where Overman's new stories take us.
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