YouTube Gem - Fighting Fantasy Playthrough - Caverns of the Snow Witch

I never knew that playthroughs of old Fighting Fantasy books were a thing until I stumbled upon the excellent video below.  Enjoy...

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Happy Birthday William Gibson

Today is author, William Gibson's birthday.

William Gibson

If you have never read one of his cyberpunk novels then you are really missing out.  He is an uncompromising author whose creations span the divide between contemporary literature and science-fiction.  

Gibson does not so much describe a near future world but rather puches you in the face with the sights, smells and sounds blending pop culture and contemporary history together into words with visceral meaning.

"The sky above the port was the color of television tuned to a dead channel."

The Cyberpunk Genre

I encountered Gibson through the Cyberpunk roleplaying game and during the late 80s early 90s and  this was my go-to obsession for many years.  I voraciously consumed anything remotely cyberpunk and this unlocked the door to many other passions such as Anime and the internet which was barely a thing 20 something years ago.  

In fact I made my first cyberpunk RPG website featuring a clumsy netrunning simalcrum back in 1995 using the long discontinued AOLpress before gravitating to Dreamweaver.

Gibson's first novel Neuromancer was allegedly written on an outdated mechanical typewriter, a fact that just added to his mystique.  Of course he has since fully embraced the internet and can be found  @GreatDismal on twitter.

Tunnels and Trolls Adventures - iOS/Android App

Once again the Fans of Dead Games Society came up trumps.  A member pointed me in the direction of the Tunnels and Trolls Adventures app (available for both iOS and Android).

During this COVID-19 Lockdown I need some solo adventuring whilst I wait for eBay to deliver my physical T&T Solo Adventures.

Tunnels and Trolls Adventures

The app is free and comes with 27 adventures:

The Ascendant (Free) Buffalo Castle (40) Blue Frog Tavern (40) Sword for Hire (40) A Sworded Adventure (40) Gamesmen of Kasar (40) Misty Wood (40) Caravan to Tiern (40) Road to Gull (40)

Golden Dust, Red Death (40) Hot Pursuit (40) Sewers of Oblivion (40) Deathtrap Equalizer (40) Stop Thief! (40) City of Terrors (50) Ultimatum (40) Overkill (50) Naked Doom (Free)

The Black Heart (Free) The Necropolis of Vaarh (Pt 1) (Free) The Necropolis of Vaarh (Pt 2) (40) Labyrinth (40) Circle of Ice (10) Seven Ayes (10) Grimtina's Guard (10) Thief for Hire (10) First Command (10)

The Characters

You start with 4 basic characters which can be selected using the horned hemet icon, these are:

• Borgoth  - Dwarven Warrior with
  
• Lelana - Elf Warrior
  
• Morgan (Human Warrior)
• Rufus (Hobb Warrior)

Like all solo adventures your class is limited to warrior types for simplicity's sake, no spell casters here.

However, there is the option to roll your own character with a fairly simple pick and place interface which I like.  You get to choose from the four basic races Dwarf, Elf, Hobb and Human and Lore panels give a little bit of flavour text to explain the race, how "Adds" work and what your modified scores will be if you select the race. 

Updating Your Character

The app handles all the recording of experience and items you acquire as you complete the various adventures. 

However, it does not level you up or equip your character with new weapons you acquire on your adventures.  Make sure that you check back regularly to update your character and their inventory.

The Ascendant (Free)

This an introductory game designed to teach you the basic mechanics of T&T and the interface but the storyline is well written, rich in descriptive text.  It is a bit binary in terms of the decision tree, you either choose to do something or not, but this is understandable given that it is essentially targetting a newbie audience.

Your character goes from a humble villager to a starting adventurer which reminded me of the Dungeon Crawl Classics 0-level character concept.  I am a fan of this method of starting a new character as it is a refreshing alternative to the cliched "You meet in a Tavern".

Naked Doom (Free)

Buy it on eBay

As author Ken St. Andre says "I'm trying to kill your character" and there's no mistaking that.  You will have to acquire a decent weapon and some bonuses if you want to successfully beat some of these challenges.

It's been a long time since I played Naked Doom IRL, but this brought the memories rushing back.  I felt a real sense of relief when I finally escaped and a nagging sense that I'd left much yet to be discovered.

The beauty of this app is that you can pick another character and be dungeon delving again within minutes.  You may have to try several different characters to find the optimal combination of Attributes and Adds to successfully complete every path.  Good Times.

The Necropolis of Vaarh Part 1 (Free)

This is a well written but short taster adventure which sets the scene and gets you through the wilderness and up to the gates of the Necropolis.  To continue you must purchase part 2 or as I did play using one of my hearts. 

It is very short but still it has some excellent characters and some items can be acquired which have some significance both in this part and the next.  I enjoyed our brief time together and was sufficiently intrigued to give Part 2 a go which proved much more in depth and deadly. 

The Black Heart

A night on the town sounds like fun, you've got a coin full of gold and the Black Heart Gambling Den awaits. 

Essentially this adventure is a series of games of chance which are played using attribute checks.  The twist is that if you win you gain adventure points, if you lose you pay with your life force (CON).  An interesting concept which is definitely finding its way inside one of my cities.

Micro Transactions

The majority of the adventures must be purchased using the in game currency of Gems at the (bracketed prices) listed above.  You acquire Gems in game as loot and also buy puchasing them at the store.  You can buy 50 Gems for the $4.99.

However, the game is supported by ads.  If you watch an ad you earn 1 heart and can play any adventure once without owning it by spending a heart.   

Good Cheap Fun

This was some good cheap and incredibly fast fun whilst I waited for my solo adventures to arrive and to be honest why not take advantage of technology if it is available.  I really appreciated the fact that every adventure could be played for free.  If everything had been locked off with micro transactions I would have not given this app the time of day.

I blazed through the five adventures in no time and would have played more but the postman delivered my new solo adventure book in super quick time. 

Wish me luck as I enter the Arena of Khazan!

Anarchy in Your D&D...

... and other popular types of government.

Anarchy - A society without a publicly enforced government or political authority.  This can be a natural, temporary result of civil war in a country, when an established state has been destroyed and the region is in a transitional period without definitive leadership.  

Fictional Example: Mad Max 2 (George Miller) - 1982 saw the return of Max Rockatansky and in the intervening years what was left of civilation has fully descended into anarchy.  What passes for government is either the gang rules of the Lord Humungus' Marauders or the commune style democracy led by Pappagallo. 

Max doesn't fit neatly into either of these camps and only agrees to fight alongside the travellers because his car is held hostage.  In the original script Pappagallo was the CEO of 7 Sisters Petroleum and  interestingly some of the marauders appear to be ex cops, although it is not explicitely referenced.

Autocracy - A system of government in which supreme power (social and political) is concentrated in the hands of one person or polity, whose decisions are subject to neither external legal restraints nor regularized mechanisms of popular control.  Autocracy has a nasty habit of turning into a dictatorship without appropriate impartial oversight or scrutiny.  Revolution and assassination tends to be the only outcome for these leaders.

Fictional Example: Ankhmorpork Discworld (Terry Pratchett).  Despite the "sharing" of power with the Guilds, the city is governed through a system of one man, one vote - the Patrician being the "one man" in question.  The best portrayal of Lord Vetinari can be found in the Sky mini series "Going Postal".  Charles Dance's performance is a masterclass in veiled menace and manipulation of Machiavellian proportions.

Matriarchy - Not so much a form of Government but a is a social system in which women hold the primary power positions in roles of political leadership, moral authority, social privilege and control of property.

Fictional Example:  Memory of Earth (Orson Scott Card)  In the first book of the Homecoming Harmony series we are introduced to the matriarchal society of Basilica.  All property is owned by the women and many of them hold high ranking positions within the government and academia.   Despite this being OSC's "Book of Mormon" I am quite fond of the concept of the oversoul and how it controls what technology is allowed to be invented to essentially prevent the warlike tendencies of humanity.

Plutocracy - Rule by the wealthy; a system wherein governance is indebted to, dependent upon or heavily influenced by the desires of the rich. Arguably every government is financed by plutocrats, as the saying goes "He who has the money makes the rules".  When the rules are made by the rich, who do you think reaps the greatest benefit? Oh it's the rich, funny that...

Fictional Example:  Game of Thrones (George R R Martin)  Technically this is a feudal monarchy with the various lords of the Seven Kingdoms being appointed by ruling King.  The position of the King is largely decided by the person with the biggest standing army or banners pledged to their house.  Financing this support comes from key houses such as the Lannisters and the Tyrells in exchange for grace and favour. 

Unfortunately the War of the Five Kings leads to Tyrwin Lannister becoming massively indebted to the Iron Bank of Braavos and when that line of credit dries up Cersei must turn to Euron Greyjoy to help her in the final battle for the Iron Throne.  Once again the stand out performances always come from Charles Dance as he pulls the strings, until he gets ignominiously shot by his son Tyrion whilst on the toilet.

Stratocracy - Rule by military service; a system of governance composed of military government in which the state and the military are traditionally or constitutionally the same entity. Citizens with mandatory or voluntary active military service or who have been honorably discharged have the right to govern.  

Fictional Example: Starship Troopers (Robert Heinlein).  "Service guarantees Citizenship" was the oft quoted line in the Mobile Infantry recruitment ads.  Johnny Rico's rich parents both want him to go to Harvard.  When they are both killed in the Buenos Aires meteor bombardment it only fuels Johnny's desire to do his bit for the war effort.

Technocracy - Rule by the educated or technical experts; a system of governance where people who are skilled or proficient govern in their respective areas of expertise in technology would be in control of all decision making.  In fantasy fiction Technology would of course be replaced by Magic. 

Fictional Example: The Rift War Saga (Raymond E Feist).  Whilst all Tsurani are governed by the Emperor along the lines of a Feudal system, the Assembly of Magicians stands apart from the law and no magician can be compelled by any non magician.

Which just leaves...

Idiocracy - When a US Army cryogenics experiment goes wrong Private Joe Bauers (Luke Wilson) and Rita (Maya Rudolph) awake in a nightmare future. Americans have devolved into idiots ruled by an ex Wrestler President Camacho (Terry Crews) and they are the most intelligent people in society by default.  I just love the craziness of this movie.

The Stainless Steel Rat is no more, RIP Harry Harrison

Stainless Steel Rat author Harry Harrison has passed away aged 87.  He will be sorely missed.

Stainless Steel Rat for President
2000AD Prog 393

Cyberpunk: Appendix N - Inspirational and Educational Material

In the Gygaxian tradition here is my Appendix N for Cyberpunk, a list of the books, movies and anime which have inspired my cyberpunk adventures since first encountering it in the very late 80s.  Also available on Pinterest. 

Please do not treat this an exhaustive list of what is and isn't considered cyberpunk, these are just the things which have inspired me, I will probably add to it when I get access to the deep recesses of my cortex.

Cyberpunk - APPENDIX N: Inspirational and Educational Material

BOOKS

• William Gibson - Sprawl trilogy (Neuromancer, Count Zero,  Mona Lisa Overdrive), Bridge trilogy (Virtual Light, Idoru, All Tomorrow's Parties)
• George Alec Effinger - Marid Audran series (When Gravity Fails, A Fire in the Sun, The Exile Kiss)
• Walter John Williams - Hardwired, Voice of the Whirlwind
• Bruce Sterling - Mirrorshades: The Cyberpunk Anthology (Editor and contibuting author), Islands in the Net
• Ian Hamilton - Fallen Dragon
• Ian Mcdonald - River of Gods
• Cory Doctorow - Makers
• Justina Robson - Keeping it Real
• Charles Stross - Halting State
• John Brunner - The Shockwave Rider
• John Courtney Grimwood -  reMix, redRobe,  
• Jack Womack - Terraplane 
• Jeff Noon - Vurt, Pollen
• W.T. Quick - Dreams of Flesh and Sand

MOVIES

• Æon Flux (2005)
• A Scanner Darkly (2006)
• Blade Runner (1982)
• Dark City (1998)
• Equilibrium (2002)
• Escape From New York (1981)
• eXistenz (1999) 
• Gantz (2010)
• Gattaca (1997)
• Johnny Mnemonic (1995)
• Max Headroom (1985)
• Minority Report (2002)
• Priest (2011)
• Repo Men (2010)
• Returner (2002)
• Robocop (1987)
• Sleep Dealer (2008)
• Southland Tales (2006)
• Strange Days (1995)
• Surrogates (2009)
• Total Recall (1990)
• Ultraviolet (2006)
• Videodrome (1983)
• Virtuosity (1995)

ANIME

• AD Police (1999)
• Æon Flux (1991)
• Akira (1988)
• Appleseed (2004)
• Appleseed: Ex Machina (2007)
• Cowboy Bebop (Series) (1998)
• Ghost in the Shell (1995)
• Ghost in the Shell 2: Innocence (2004)
• Ghost in the Shell: Stand Alone Complex (2002)
• Vexille (2007)

Help Save Great Sci-Fi for the Future

Roger Zelany's "Damnation Alley"

Savethescifi.com is a great sounding startup which aims to preserve out of print vintage sci-fi novels by turning them into e-books.  It's certainly an interesting business model and a worthy cause which has support from noted authors Neil Gaiman and Ken Macleod. 

Essentially as a subscriber you will help to choose which books they acquire the rights to and you get it as part of your membership.  The small team of 3 "time-travelling archivists" aim to save at least 1 book a month and they already have a list of some quite suprising candidates in the shape of:
 
Roger Zelazny's "Damnation Alley", Poul Anderson's "Day of their Return", "Mayday Orbit" and "Go Home, Earthman!", Arthur C Clarke's "Imperial Earth" and  Michael Moorcock's "The Final Programme".

There is also a plan to launch a new Brooklyn bookstore where you can buy the saved works (and others) in dead tree format do help join the this and save some sci-fi books from being lost in the future.

A to Z of UK RPG in the 80s - F is for Fighting Fantasy

F is for... Fighting Fantasy

Flying Buffalo not Fighting Fantasy

My first exposure to the world of Adventure Gamebooks was actually a copy of Weirdworld, a Tunnels and Trolls solo adventure which my dad brough back from one of his trips home whilst working in Durham in the North East of England.  I was mesmerised by this crudely made book and I didn't let the mere fact that I didn't have a copy of the T&T rules stop me from repeatedly entering the Madhouse of Maximilian the Magnificent.

My father (who is to blame for all of this) was a keen wargamer and so I ended up going to the Bradford Wargames Society and being exposed to full blown Roleplaying Games such as D&D and Tunnels and Trolls at quite an early age.  Then came the first great gaming hiatus as we moved away from Yorkshire to South East London.  

I was already a veteran when the first of the Fighting Fantasy books was published in 1982.  Schoolmates who had not already been exposed to RPGs devoured the Fighting Fantasy books with gusto and whilst I enjoyed playing their copies and followed them on their trips to the only gamestore in the area, I didn't buy any of these gamebooks at the time.  However, it was on one of these trips that by chance I discovered a copy of the Corgi Tunnels and Trolls rulebook, money exchanged hands and I was now ensconced as the group DM.

So although my relationship with Fighting Fantasy is not atypical, I can acknowledge the huge debt owed by UK roleplayers to Steve Jackson and Ian livingstone for setting many of our friends on the path to exploring our own adventures, not just choosing them.

My Collection Includes

Island of the Lizard King Buy it on eBay

Free Way Fighter Buy it on eBay

The Warlock's Way Buy it on eBay

Warlock Magazine

The Abominog - Les Edwards

Fighting Fantasy fans could also indulge their passion on a monthly basis via the pages of Warlock Magazine which was a brilliant piece of marketing and essentially contained at least one new adventure per issue.

My favourite issue was the one featuring the monster form the Uriah Heep album "Abominog" painted by one of my favourite artist Les Edwards.

Les Edwards was pretty much the go-to-guy if you wanted a fantasy or horror painting for your new paperback or movie poster.

When they needed an artist to immortalise Hawk The Slayer, you guessed it they went to Les.

For some strange reason Games Workshop produced an artbook called Blood & Iron containing high quality prints of the many artworks they had used as cover for their games over the years.

Maybe this was part of the deal with Les, but they never did it with any other artist to my knowledge although John Blanche did publish the book The Emperor's Will under the Warhammer 40K banner.

Board Game

Warlock of Firetop Mountain
Buy it on eBay

In 1986 Gamesworkshop released the Warlock of Firetop Mountain Boardgame in their defacto Bookcase format.  A race to the finish with heavy Player vs Player interraction this was an immensely popular game in its day and still has a cult following over 35 years later.


Want to know more

In the course of dragging these memories from my caffeine addled grey matter I have encountered some very fine Fighting Fantasy resources:

• Fighting Fantasy Collector - A full listing of all the FF books and a price guide
  
  
• FightingFantasy.com - Official site of current FF publisher Wizard Books
  
• Fighting Fantasy Fandom - Wiki containing over 8,000 articles about the Fighting 
  
  
• Big Blue Bubble Inc have released iOS versions of Warlock of Firetop Mountain, Deathtrap Dungeon, Citadel of Chaos and City of Thieves.
  
• Fighting Fantasy Miniatures - Atlantis miniatures plans to release miniatures of all the cover art.
  
• Search for Fighting Fantasy on eBay - Help support this channel buy using the affiliate link
  

NEXT: G is for... GAMES DESIGNERS WORKSHOP

A to Z of UK RPG in the 80s - E is for Elric of Melnibone

E is for Elric of Melniboné (it's mel-nib-o-nay not mel-ni-bone)

Stormbringer RPG on eBay

Michael Moorcock was de rigeur reading amongst my fellow roleplayers and the Elric Saga particularly so.  Elric was for most readers the first true anti-hero and introduced the concept of exploiting flawed and troubled character possibilities in roleplay.

The Novels

My fondest memories were of my school mates and I swapping the London Panther editions in the playground like kids do today with XBox games. 

• Elric of Melniboné (1972) - Where Elric, the 428th Sorceror Emperor of Melniboné and he discovers the runeblade "Stormbringer" from which he derives power and vitality.
  
  
• The Sailor on the Seas of Fate (1976) - Forced to flee Melniboné, Elric journeys across the sea and learns his fate, to become the Eternal Champion.
  
  
• The Weird of the White Wolf (1977) - Where Elric returns to Melniboné with his companion Moonglum and confronts the usurper Yrkoon.
  
  
• The Vanishing Tower (1977) - Where Elric turns mercenary sorceror
  
  
• The Bane of the Black Sword (1977) - Introduces the love of Elric's life Zarozinia and sets up the events of Stormbringer
  
  
• Stormbringer (1965) - Elric must confront the Sorceror King of Pan Tang, Jagren Lern, who has allied himself with the Lords of Chaos in an epic final battle.

Elric is one of the many incarnations of The Eternal Champion, a hero who exists in all times, universes and dimensions who is charged by Fate to defend the cosmic balance between the gods of Law and Chaos.  Other incarnations being Doriam Hawkmoon, Corum Jhaelen Irsei, Oswald Bastable and of course Jerry Cornelius. 

The RPG

With all this rich source material and an established fan base it was an obvious move to publish an RPG based on the books, which Chaosium promptly did in 1981 with the release of Stormbringer.  This then led to a small (in relative terms) collection of sourcebooks, modules and expansions.

The Miniatures

When Games Workshop began distributing Stormbringer for Chaosium one of the first things they did was to make a set of miniatures.  The Eternal Champion range was quite extensive and, beyond the boxed set of hero characters,  featured Melnibonéan infantry and cavalry and Pan Tangian infantry, and tiger handlers.

(Top: L to R: Corum Jhaelen Irsei, Elric Kinslayer, Elric of Menibone, Erekose)
(Bottom: L to R: Jerry Cornelius, Moonglum, Count Ulrik Skarsol, Duke Dorian Hawkmoon)

The Music

Buy it from eBay

Michael Moorcock was heavily involved in the London psychedelic scene in the 1960s and he has explored many musical projects and  has colaborated with several bands including Blue Oyster Cult and most notably space rockers Hawkwind.

This lead to the album "Chronicles of the Black Sword" based largely on the Elric Saga, the notable exception being the track "Needle Gun" which is based on Jerry Cornelius another work by Moorcock and another incarnation of The Eternal Champion.

Tracklisting

1. "Song of the Swords" (Dave Brock)
2. "Shade Gate" (Harvey Bainbridge)
3. "The Sea King" (Huw Lloyd-Langton)
4. "The Pulsing Cavern" (Bainbridge, Alan Davey)
5. "Elric the Enchanter" (Davey)
6. "Needle Gun" (Brock)
7. "Zarozinia" (Brock, Kris Tait)
8. "The Demise" (Bainbridge, Brock)
9. "Sleep of a Thousand Tears" (Brock, Michael Moorcock)
10. "Chaos Army" (Bainbridge, Brock)
11. "Horn of Destiny" (Brock)

NEXT: F is for... Fighting Fantasy

Passing on the Torch

One of the joys of parenthood is passing on your bad habits to your kids and I have been hopeing that I can pass on my love of Sci-Fi and Fantasy literature to my 12 year old step daughter.  This has been a struggle (personally, I blame Jacqueline Wilson novels) but my heart skipped a beat when she brought home her Key Stage 3 reading list from school.  Here are some of the titles:

The Hobbit

Plague 99

The Mortal Engines

The Wind Singer

The Crysalids

The Hunger Games

Classic 20th Century Fiction:

• The Hobbit (JRR Tolkien) - Despite her reticence to read my dogeared and yellowed 1973 copy which was handed down from Father to Son many moons ago (the book is one year younger than I am).  By the time you read this we will be over half way through and I think she's secretly enjoying it (but trying not to show it).  Of course I couldn't help myself but to put on a good Andy Serkis voice whilst reading the part of Gollum.

Science Fiction and Fantasy

• Plague 99 (Jean Ure) - I know absolutely nothing about this book and am quite worried that other books by her have titles like "Girlfriends: Pink Knicker's aren't Cool" or "Frankie Foster Freaks Out!"
  
  
• The Mortal Engines Quartet (Phillip Reeve) - I've been waiting for a good excuse to read these.  I've been lusting after the Dystopian Wars miniatures from Spartan Games which appear to be inspired by them.
  
  
• The Windsinger (William Nicholson) - From what I can glean from the internet this looks like a run of the mill fantasy trilogy.  We may have to pass on this as I'd really like to get her opinion on Trudi Canavan's Black Magician Trilogy.
  
  
• The Chrysalids (John Wyndham) - Can't wait to read this with her.  She really enjoyed the BBC2 version of The Day of the Triffids.
   
  
• Harry Potter (Series) - J K Rowling - She's expressed a strong dislike of Mr Potter, so we're going to have to skip these (which I'm rather glad about as I think they're purile derivative nonsense as well).
  
  
• The Hunger Games (Suzanne Collins) - I know nothing aboout this book other than that it is being made into a movie slated for a 2012 release starring Jennifer Lawrence (who played Mystique in X-Men First Class).  It's IMDB summary is "A young girl volunteers to take her sister's place in a fight to the death in a dystopian future" so sounds promising then.
  
  
• I am Number Four (Pittacus Lore) - We really enjoyed the movie and I suspect that the book is a lot better.

Oh and the rest of the books on the list are:

Pre 20th Century Fiction

• What Katy Did (Susan Coolidge)
• Heidi (Johanna Spyri) - I used to love watching this on TV as a kid.
• Alice's Adventures in Wonderland (Lewis Caroll)
• Black Beauty (Anna Sewell)
• Little Women (Louisa May Alcott)
• Jane Eyre (Charlotte Bronte)
• Oliver Twist (Charles Dickens)

Classic 20th Century Fiction

• Lord of the Flies (William Golding) - This is a must read.
• Ballet Shoes (Noel Streatfield)
• The Secret Garden (Frances Hodges Burnett)
• Peter Pan (JM Barrie)
• Anne of Green Gables (LM Montgomery)
• The Little House on the Prairie (Laura Ingalls Wilder)
• The Lion the Witch and the Wardrobe (CS Lewis)
• The Railway Children (E Nesbit)

Modern Fiction

• A Series of Unfortunate Events (Lemony Snicket)
• Girl Missing (Sophie Mckenzie)
• The Princess Diaries (Meg Cabot) - Got to read this.
• Noughts and Crosses (Malorie Blackman)
• Refugee Boy (Benjamin Zephaniah)
• Step by Wicked Step (Anne FIne)
• Saffy's Angel (Hilary McKay)
• Lola Rose (Jacqueline Wilson)
• Feeling Sorry for Celia (Jacyln Moriarty)
• The Exiles (Hilary McKay)

Biography/Autobiography

• Diary of Anne Frank (Anne Frank)
• When Hitler Stole Pink Rabbit (Judith Kerr)
• Chinese Cindarella (Adeline Yen Mah)
• My Family and Other Animals (Gerald Durrell)
• All Creatures Great and Small (James Herriot)

Update: Dirk Gently Airs 16 Dec 2010 on BBC4

Auntie Beeb has revealed that their eagerly awaited (well, by me anyways) TV adaptation of Dirk Gently will air on BBC HD (and BBC4) at 9pm on Thu 16 December 2010.  There's also a trailer to whet your appetite...

I Want... Dirk Gently's Holistic Detective Agency for Xmas

Stephen Mangan

Sadly there will be no new adaptation of a Terry Pratchett novel on the telly this Christmas.  Instead I'll have to enjoy the BBC's adaptation of Douglas Adams Dirk Gently's Holistic Detective Agency...yes!!

Scheduled air date is 11 December 2010 on BBC 4 and stars Stephen Mangan as Dirk Gently and is directed by directed by Damon Thomas who directed the excellent BBC 4 adaptation of HG Wells' "The First Men In the Moon".  Rumour has it that if this pilot episode is well received it may become a series.