Dirk Gently’s Holistic Detective Agency

Binging the box sets. Watching Dirk Gently’s Holistic Detective Agency – and that was a half season binge of four episodes – on Netflix last night.

Very good. Like it. As a long time fan of anything Douglas Adams, I read Dirk Gently’s Holistic Detective Agency when it came out, around 87/88. The Hitchhiker’s Guide to the Galaxy remains my favourite, but Gently offered something different and new. Gently had more impact on me personally than Ford or Arthur, for example. I continue to employ a largely holistic driving technique informed by Gently’s theories on universal connectivity. When Google Maps fails you , what have you got to lose?

I’ve been watching the whole thing with a view to picking out all the finer details, half expecting them to come back later.

(Rather like how I watched Rogue One, expecting a bucketload of Easter Eggs.)

Love this lot – Farah, Dirk, Todd and Amanda, especially Amanda. Her condition – Pararibulitis, a nerve disease that means her mind can convince her she’s in danger when it doesn’t exist, like she’s freezing, on fire, or gripping a kitchen knife instead of a drumstick – could be interesting in a tabletop game. Farah is bad ass, Dirk is an inspired idiot. Todd… well, Todd’s good, too. I mean, what’s not to like about Elijah Wood?

Jade (Farah) Eshete’s hair deserves a special mention. I swear, that hair is almost hypnotic. Each time she’s on screen, I’m awed and fascinated. I can’t explain.

I’m looking forward to watching the rest. It captures the spirit of the books without being slave to an existing plot line. We have weird experiments, strange machines, deadly traps, lost pets, strange deaths, odd wardrobe choices – and it’s all good. I would sit through four episodes back-to-back for anything that didn’t deserve it. The only thing that stopped me watching the second half of the season was fatigue – and this isn’t a show you want to be watching half asleep for fear you’ll miss something fleeting but important.