One of the salutary effects of watching open media in action is that I've become quite fond of the idea of new authors reworking the characters and stories of old authors. I'm tired of proprietary "canons". Particularly when it becomes apparent that the guy running the canon has much less talent than his fans. (Cough George Lucas cough.)
Though I think Douglas Adams is bound to be a tough act to follow. It does help that the last Hitchhiker's book is not the best work in the series. I tend to read only the parts of that book with Ford in them (which are great) and just skip all the existential despair that rounds out the book. I mean, the Hitchhiker's series is all about the existential despair, but you can have too much of a bad thing.
What I really want to see, though, is more Dirk Gently stories.
Except that I think I read Hitchhiker Guide books more because I find Douglas Adams' writing a delight to read than because I like the particular characters and story.
Which means I should be ashamed of myself for not reading any Dirk Gently books yet.
You are one of the luckiest humans on the face of the earth: You have Douglas Adams prose to look forward to.
And I agree: Nobody is going to replace Douglas Adams, nor are the characters or the plot the important part of Douglas Adams' writing. But that doesn't mean the characters and plot are entirely worthless as test vehicles for other people's prose styles. Just because it isn't Shakespeare doesn't mean that West Side Story is a bad thing.
Um.... does that mean there's a first and second Dirk Gently radio series?
To the internets, Batman!
Although, frankly, while the original HHGTG radio series is perhaps my favorite version of the story, I have my doubts about how Dirk would turn out as a radio play. At best, it might end up being like the Jeeves and Wooster TV series, which was essentially flawless and yet still disappointing, because it got the characters and the plots right but didn't have Wodehouse's prose descriptions, which are where the majority of the value lives.
I think that if they really wanted to end the series, Colfer is the best man for the job. He's no Adams by any means, but he's certainly good, and hopefully he'll at least give us a feel for what Adams wanted.
Gaiman would have been an excellent pick, too: Good Omens, with Terry Pratchett, is as close to Adams' humor as I've found. But Colfer has a much finer sense of whimsy.
Though I think Douglas Adams is bound to be a tough act to follow. It does help that the last Hitchhiker's book is not the best work in the series. I tend to read only the parts of that book with Ford in them (which are great) and just skip all the existential despair that rounds out the book. I mean, the Hitchhiker's series is all about the existential despair, but you can have too much of a bad thing.
What I really want to see, though, is more Dirk Gently stories.