Dirk Gentlys holistische Detektei

I will keep this short. You should watch this because is is sharp, funny, well written, well acted and engaging on many levels. Yes - I know it's nothing like the books. BBC UK tried that and it failed. Nobody has ever come close to doing Douglas Adams justice on screen because the insane intricacy and sheer scale of his stories make it impossible. BBC America has been very clever. They have taken the core concept and characters and done something utterly different with it. It is its own thing and stands on its own merits, which are many. If you are a person who gets terribly upset when a script is not faithful to the source material down to the last semi-colon, this show will make your brain implode. If, like me, you can let go of those expectations and enjoy what it is, rather than what you would like it to be, you might just enjoy it as much as I do. I love the books too and if I want the books, I read the books. This is a TV show and a pretty damn good one. If you can't separate the two, this is not for you. Try the UK version - but it ain't half as much fun.

I did not expect much from this show, considering the fact that it is a BBC America production, not BBC UK, and because of tons of negative reviews on the web.

When I start a show, I usually watch one or sometimes two episodes a day. The first season of this one I watched in one breath. I didn't even pause it for the bathroom or making coffee. Eight episodes of 40 minutes each felt like one bit longer movie.

The second season, of ten episodes, is done differently and is not as original and hypnotically addictive as the first, but its witty fairytale style quickly won me over.

Ignore fans of Douglas Adams who bash this show for not being faithful to original novels. It is not faithful, that's a fact, but it does not make it a bad show. On the contrary. Adams is tricky for screen adaptation. I don't think anyone has succeeded yet. He's too impossible and abstract. "Dirk Gently's Holistic Detective Agency" is just roughly Adams, but it's great in every way.

Any attempt of concise retelling is pointless, because this show is one big puzzle, a labyrinth that perplexes more and more and twists happen every few minutes. "Hitchhiker's Guide to the Galaxy" is much more specific and linear, but I dare you to explain what it is about briefly and that it makes any sense.

If you liked "Misfits," "Happy," "Preacher," "Good Omens," or the new "Doctor Who", and if you like Douglas Adams, but you're not an obsessed fanatic, this is a perfect show for you. But if you expect a verbatim adaptation of the books or if you like linear stories, better skip it.

9/10.

During the last three days I've been speed-watching this gem on Netflix. Granted 2-3 episodes from the first season didn't make much sense, but after that, I couldn't stop watching. This is one of the ,most fulfilling and interesting shows ever. Granted, the characters in the show are highly overpowered, As the whole show is about universe giving them incredible abilities such as create realities in the sleep, a godlike ability, or an ability to kill everything without getting hurt or effectively objected. As a whole it felt like a positive "Final Destination" movie. I really hope some one will pick it up for more seasons.

Update from 04/2022 I decided to rewatch it, and once again couldn't stop watching for two days straight. Please bring it back! It so much better and smarter than most of the shows that are being released nowadays. Netflix, that is your chance to step up and get ahead. Everything in this show works!

To try and list all the things that make this show special, will take several weeks, so I'll try to cut it short. It is insanely well written, to the extent that something in s1 e1 that seems random is actually a thought-out part of the story that may become crucial in s2. Despite being a show about a possibly psychic detective, that starts with an insane amount of different stories about characters that doesn't seem to have any impact on each other, everything is actually connected and brought together in a brilliant unexpected way in the end. Apart from all this, Max Landis has managed to write every single character interesting, and capable of being the star of their own show. Above all they are relatable, despite or maybe because of them being a bit crazy and a loser in their own way. None of these characters are unflawed and it makes you care about them in a way that I've never been able to care about fictional characters before. Every single actor is hugely talented, and the creative team behind the show must have put such a huge amount of love and effort into bringing Landis's vision to life. The portrayals of women, lgbt+ people, people of color and mentally ill people are so respectful in a unique way that I think is mostly due to the fact that Landis knows how to write them as any other human being. As a woman I experienced a great relief in watching a show where no woman is sexualized in any way, but still considered worthy of love and acceptance. The dialogue is never random, it changes dynamically between hilarious and thoughtful. No clichés ever show up, which is incredibly refreshing. I could go on and on about this show, the beautiful music and cinematography, the powerful messages that are often underlying and sometimes outspoken, the relationships between the characters and the absence of toxic masculinity in the male heroes, but I'm already ranting, so I'm just going to end with this:

Give this show a chance. I can say that it changed the way I look at life for the better, it made me care at a time when I didn't. Let yourself be swept away. Everything is connected.

I just binge watched the first two seasons in a few days and absolutely loved this quirky way of storytelling, the completely unpredictable world and storylines, and it was clearly set up for a season 3. All the reviews on her seem to suggest that it's loved by almost everyone who watched it, so I cannot understand why it was cancelled. I think perhaps it wasn't advertised very well on Netflix? I only just discovered it and definitely would have watched it years ago if I knew about it. Please please stop wasting money on terrible Noah Centineo rom-coms and crap like more seasons of 13 reasons why and bring this back!