Thanks for the fish…and damn Star Wars to hell

Partly at the suggestion of a commenter on Motes and Queries, I saw Hitchhiker’s Guide to the Galaxy last night (“H2G2,” as a young woman in front of me explained to her parents). I went along because the first of the likely suspect companions I called were seeing Star Wars, that Business with the Sith. The second set were staying at home to watch Star Wars, the original. {Slapping head, again.} No matter: I’d usually rather watch movies alone anyway, and I did go to the house of one of the offending couples and drink their scotch and keep them up past their bedtimes after the film, so it was really almost the same in the end.
I like H2G2 a lot, but I have to confess that I fall into the category of viewers that never read the book. My friend, John — yes, one of the unfortunate Star Wars viewers — said there would basically be two categories of audience: one that read and loved the book and will nitpick every detail and those blissfully unencumbered by faithfulness concerns. My only complaint is about how dish-rag/love-object Trillian’s role was. I suppose I expected more sexual equality from a famously counter-cultural story. Also, I never really figured out where she came from and how she got into space. Probably not important.