It was one of the abiding frustrations of the late Douglas Adams's life that his Dirk Gently novels were never adapted for the screen. That all changes tonight with BBC4's take on the holistic detective – a 60-minute one-off scripted by the Bafta-winning Misfits writer Howard Overman, that looks like it's angling for a full series. Combining the wit, daring and flair that made the Hitchhiker's Guide series a publishing phenomenon, the less celebrated Dirk Gently books were a private joy for many readers captivated by their organising principle "the fundamental interconnectedness of things". Fan bases came no more devoted.

That connection Adams had with his readers is central to his legacy. One of only two writers outside of the core circle to pen a Monty Python sketch, he had the comedy writing chops to make science fiction palatable for readers who found it that bit too earnest. Doubters overcame literary snobbery, and fell in love with a genre that teems with invention – ushering in a whole new audience into a world of cosmic hobos, alien ghosts and doggerel spewing bureaucrats.

As a fan of the books, it's a little disappointing to see that the BBC4 rendition contains no Professor Chronotis, no Coleridge cameo, and not even an Electric Monk – the BBC budget regrettably not stretching to the moon on a stick. And to me, it seemed that Stephen Mangan and Darren Boyd (as Gently and sidekick MacDuff) struggle slightly to find the kind of genius-meets-Everyman chemistry that came so easily to Benedict Cumberbatch and Martin Freeman in Sherlock. I'd be interested on your thoughts later as to whether you agree.

But standalone episodes are tricky that way. You have to introduce characters, relationships, backstory as well as show what a regular episode will look like - it's always a plate spinning act. And let's not forget that the plot-mangling lunacy that makes the fiction such a joy also makes it so difficult when it comes to adaptation.

Personally I hope Dirk Gently gets made into a full series. The programme shows promising glimpses, has a strong cast and Misfits already proves Overman can write. And a BBC4 adaptation feels like a good fit – Gently being exactly the kind of playground-of-the-imagination curio the BBC made its name indulging. But if they want to stay in the game long-term, they will need to inject more of the spirit of the novels into the show: the playfulness, the subversion – above all, the love of big ideas that defines great science fiction from Brave New World through 1984 to Battlestar Galactica. Get across the paradox of quantum mechanics, the puzzle of the origins of life and the comedy of religious belief as the books do and they could have a hell of a show.

So what are your hopes for Dirk Gently? Can it follow other winning science fiction adaptations like The Tripods, Six Million Dollar Man and Day of the Triffids or is it doomed to be another FlashForward? Give us your thoughts …