The Hitchhiker's Guide to the Galaxy is a comedy science fiction series created by Douglas Adams. It began as a radio sitcom on BBC Radio 4, first broadcast in two series between 1978 and 1980. Later, it was adapted into other formats, including novels, comic books, a 1981 BBC television series, a 1984 text adventure game, stage shows, and a 2005 movie.
The series became a global media success. The novels are the most widely shared, with the first book translated into over 30 languages by 2005. The first novel, The Hitchhiker's Guide to the Galaxy (1979), was ranked fourth in the BBC's The Big Read poll. The sixth novel, And Another Thing…, was written by Eoin Colfer, with additional material from Douglas Adams. In 2017, BBC Radio 4 announced a 40th-anniversary celebration, led by Dirk Maggs, one of the original producers. The first new episode aired on March 8, 2018.
The main story follows Arthur Dent, the last human on Earth, after Earth is destroyed to build a hyperspace bypass. He is saved by Ford Prefect, an alien writer for The Hitchhiker's Guide to the Galaxy, who takes him aboard a Vogon spaceship. Dent travels through space with Prefect, meeting Trillian, a human rescued by the President of the Galaxy, Zaphod Beeblebrox, and Marvin, a paranoid robot. Some details in the story changed slightly across different versions of the series.
Spelling
The different editions of the series use various spellings for the title. These include "Hitch-Hiker's Guide," "Hitch Hiker's Guide," and "Hitchhiker's Guide," depending on whether the edition is from the UK or US, printed or audio, or part of a collection. Some editions may leave out the apostrophe. Different spellings can appear on the book's cover and title page. According to the h2g2's English Usage in Approved Entries, Douglas Adams preferred "Hitchhiker's Guide" as the correct spelling. At least two reference books note the differences in title spellings. Both books also state that Adams decided in 2000 that all future editions should use the same spelling: one word with no hyphen.
Synopsis
The different versions of the story share the same basic events, but they often disagree in many places. This is because the author, Douglas Adams, changed the story a lot for each new version. In all versions, the story follows Arthur Dent, an Englishman who is often in difficult situations. He survives when the Vogons, a group of unpleasant and very organized aliens, destroy Earth to build a shortcut through space. Arthur's journey crosses paths with several other characters: Ford Prefect, an alien who works on a guidebook and saves Arthur from Earth's destruction; Zaphod Beeblebrox, Ford's cousin with unusual behavior who is the Galactic President and has stolen a spaceship called the Heart of Gold, which can travel through impossible chances; Marvin, a robot who is very worried and nervous; and Trillian, a woman Arthur met at a party in Islington. She is the only other human who survived Earth's destruction because of Zaphod's actions.
During their journey, Arthur learns that Earth was actually a giant supercomputer created by another supercomputer called Deep Thought. Deep Thought was built to find the answer to the "Ultimate Question of Life, the Universe, and Everything." After a very long time of calculations, the answer was found to be "42." Deep Thought was then told to build Earth to find the actual question. However, Earth was destroyed by the Vogons just after completing its calculations, before the question could be shared. Arthur becomes the target of the people who made Deep Thought, who believe his mind holds the question. With the help of his friends, Arthur escapes and decides to have lunch at The Restaurant at the End of the Universe before going on more adventures.
Background
The first radio series was based on an idea called "The Ends of the Earth," which included six episodes that each ended with Earth being destroyed in a different way. While writing the first episode, Adams realized he needed an alien character on Earth to explain events and give the alien a purpose. He decided to make the alien a traveling researcher working on a book titled The Hitchhiker's Guide to the Galaxy. As the first radio episode was written, the Guide became the main focus of the story, with Earth's destruction remaining as the only element from the original idea.
Adams said the title came from an event in 1971 when he was traveling across Europe with a copy of The Hitchhiker's Guide to Europe. While lying in a field near Innsbruck, he imagined someone writing a guide for traveling through the galaxy. Later, he admitted he might have mixed up the memory after telling the story many times. Friends also said Adams mentioned the idea of "hitchhiking around the galaxy" during a trip to Greece in 1973.
In the story, the fictional Guide is an electronic book that describes the entire universe. It was first published by Megadodo Publications, a famous publishing company in Ursa Minor Beta. The story often includes quotes from the Guide. The Guide's voice is provided by different actors in different versions: Peter Jones in the first two radio series and TV version, William Franklyn in later radio series, and Stephen Fry in the movie version. The Guide's voice also helps narrate the story.
Radio
The first radio series had six episodes. It was called "Fits" after the sections of Lewis Carroll's poem "The Hunting of the Snark." It was broadcast in 1978 on BBC Radio 4. The series had a quiet start, with the first episode airing at 10:30 pm on Wednesday, 8 March 1978. Despite this, it received good reviews and a strong audience response. A special episode, called a "Christmas special," was broadcast later that year. At the time, the BBC often made "Christmas Special" episodes for popular radio shows. An early version of this episode had a Christmas-related story, but it was changed because it was considered "in slightly poor taste." The final version of the episode connected the first and second series. This episode was later included in the second radio series and released on cassettes and CDs. The Primary and Secondary Phases were also aired in the United States on NPR Playhouse, in a slightly edited version.
The first series was repeated twice in 1978 and many more times in the following years. This led to an LP re-recording, made independently of the BBC for sale, and a book adaptation of the series. A second radio series, with five additional episodes, was broadcast in 1980, bringing the total number of episodes to 12.
The radio series (and the LP and TV versions) were narrated by comedy actor Peter Jones as "The Book." Jones was chosen after a three-month casting search, and at least three actors, including Michael Palin, refused the role.
The series was notable for its use of sound, being the first comedy series produced in stereo. Douglas Adams wanted the production quality to match that of a modern rock album. Much of the budget was used for sound effects, created by Paddy Kingsland (for the pilot episode and the second series) at the BBC Radiophonic Workshop, and by Dick Mills and Harry Parker (for episodes 2–6 of the first series). The series was among the first radio shows to be mixed into four-channel Dolby Surround. This mix was later included on DVD releases of the third radio series.
The theme tune used for the radio, television, LP, and film versions is "Journey of the Sorcerer," an instrumental piece composed by Bernie Leadon and recorded by the Eagles on their 1975 album One of These Nights. Only the original radio series used the Eagles' recording. A sound-alike cover by Tim Souster was used for the LP and TV series, another arrangement by Joby Talbot was used for the 2005 film, and a version by Philip Pope was included with the CDs of the last three radio series. Adams chose the song for its futuristic sound and because it included a banjo, which he believed gave the music a "hitchhiking feel."
The twelve episodes were released in 1988 on CD and cassette, in a slightly edited form that removed the Pink Floyd music and two other tunes "hummed" by Marvin when the team lands on Magrathea. This was the first CD release in the BBC Radio Collection. They were re-released in 1992, and Adams suggested renaming the first six episodes as "The Primary Phase" and the next six as "The Secondary Phase." Around this time, a "Tertiary Phase" was first discussed with Dirk Maggs, adapting Life, the Universe and Everything, but this series would not be recorded for another ten years.
On 21 June 2004, the BBC announced a new radio series based on the third novel, to be broadcast in its autumn schedule, produced by Above the Title Productions Ltd. The episodes were recorded in late 2003, but transmission was delayed due to an agreement with The Walt Disney Company over Internet re-broadcasts, as Disney had begun pre-production on the film. Further series based on the fourth and fifth novels were also planned.
The third series was broadcast in September and October 2004. The fourth and fifth series were broadcast in May and June 2005, with the fifth series following immediately after the fourth. CD releases accompanied the final episode of each series.
The adaptation of the third novel closely followed the book, which caused major structural differences compared to the second novel. Many events from the radio series were omitted from the second novel, and those that remained occurred in a different order, leading the two series to take different directions. Later adaptations included some changes, such as foreshadowing events from Mostly Harmless in the adaptation of So Long and Thanks For All The Fish, and adding material to connect all five series. The ending of Mostly Harmless was also changed for the radio version, ending on a more upbeat note and reuniting the cast.
The core cast for the third to fifth radio series remained the same, except for the replacement of Peter Jones by William Franklyn as "The Book" and Richard Vernon by Richard Griffiths as Slartibartfast, due to their deaths. Homage to Jones' portrayal of "The Book" was shown through a gradual shift to a "new" voice in episode 13 and a blend of Jones' and Franklyn's voices at the end of the final episode. Sandra Dickinson, who played Trillian in the TV series, portrayed Tricia McMillan, an alternate-universe version of Trillian. David Dixon, who played Ford Prefect in the TV series, made a cameo as the "Ecological Man." Jane Horrocks appeared as Fenchurch, Arthur's girlfriend, and Samantha Béart joined as Arthur and Trillian's daughter, Random Dent. Jonathan Pryce, Rula Lenska, Roy Hudd, and John Marsh reprised their roles from the original radio series.
The series featured guest appearances by notable personalities, including Joanna Lumley as the Sydney Opera House Woman, Jackie Mason as the East River Creature, Miriam Margolyes as the Smelly Photocopier Woman, BBC Radio cricket legends Henry Blofeld and Fred Trueman as themselves, June Whitfield as the Raffle Woman, Leslie Phillips as Hactar, Saeed Jaffrey as the Man on the Pole, Sir Patrick Moore as himself, and Christian Slater as Wonko the Sane. Douglas Adams also played Agrajag, a performance adapted from his book-on-tape reading of the third novel, and edited into the series after his death.
The first of six episodes in a sixth series, called the Hexagonal Phase, was broadcast on BBC Radio 4 on 8 March 2018. Professor Stephen Hawking introduced himself as the voice of The Hitchhiker's Guide to the Galaxy Mk II, saying: "I have been quite popular in my time. Some even read my books."
Novels
The novels are described as "a trilogy in five parts," a term used when the third book was released. Later, when the fourth book was released, they were called a "trilogy in four parts." The US edition of the fifth book originally had the text "The fifth book in the increasingly inaccurately named Hitchhiker's Trilogy" on its cover. Later re-releases of the other books included the same text, with the number changed to match each book's position in the series. The description on the fifth book's cover also said it "gives a whole new meaning to the word 'trilogy.'"
The plots of the television and radio series are similar to the first two novels, but some events happen in a different order, and many details are changed. Parts five and six of the radio series were written by John Lloyd, but his work was not included in other versions of the story. Many people consider the books to be the most accurate version of the story because they are the most widely available. However, they are not the final version that Adams created.
Before his death from a heart attack on May 11, 2001, Adams planned to write a sixth book in the Hitchhiker's series. He was also working on a third Dirk Gently novel, titled The Salmon of Doubt, but he stopped the project because it was not working well. He suggested some ideas from that book might fit better in the Hitchhiker's series and could be used in a sixth book. He described Mostly Harmless as "a very bleak book" and said he wanted to end the series on a more positive note. He also said that if he wrote a sixth book, he would start with all the main characters together. Eoin Colfer, who wrote the sixth Hitchhiker's book in 2008–2009, used this idea but did not include any plot ideas from The Salmon of Doubt.
The first book was based on the first four radio episodes, called the "Primary Phase." In the story, Arthur is saved from Earth's destruction by Ford, meets Zaphod and Trillian, travels to Magrathea, and learns Earth's true purpose. The book was first published in 1979 by Pan Books, after BBC Publishing refused to publish a novel version of the radio series. It reached number one on the book charts in its second week and sold over 250,000 copies in three months. A hardback edition was published in the United States in 1980 by Harmony Books, and a 1981 US paperback edition was promoted with the give-away of 3,000 free copies in the magazine Rolling Stone. In 2005, Del Rey Books re-released the Hitchhiker series with new covers for the release of the 2005 movie. As of 2005, the book version of The Hitchhiker's Guide to the Galaxy had sold over 14 million copies.
A photo-illustrated version of the first novel was published in 1994.
In The Restaurant at the End of the Universe (published in 1980), Zaphod discovers a conspiracy to find the true ruler of the Universe. He meets Zarniwoop, a conspirator who knows where to find the ruler. Zaphod briefly reunites with the others for a trip to Milliways, a restaurant. Zaphod and Ford steal a ship, which is a special-effect stunt ship programmed to crash into a star. The characters use a teleporter to escape, and Marvin, the robot, seems to sacrifice himself. Zaphod and Trillian learn the Universe is controlled by a simple man living on a remote planet with his cat.
Meanwhile, Ford and Arthur end up on a spacecraft carrying outcasts from the Golgafrinchan civilization. The ship crashes on prehistoric Earth, and Ford and Arthur are stranded. They learn the Golgafrinchans are ancestors of modern humans, which disrupted Earth's programming. When Arthur's subconscious mind is read using Scrabble tiles, the result is "What do you get if you multiply six by nine?"
The book was adapted from the radio series' remaining material, covering episodes five to twelve. The story's order was changed, and some events, like the Brontitall incident, were omitted. This version was considered Adams's best novel.
In Life, the Universe and Everything (published in 1982), Ford and Arthur travel through time to Lord's Cricket Ground. They meet Slartibartfast, who helps them prevent a galactic war. The Krikkit people, who once tried to destroy the Universe, are now planning to escape. With help from Marvin, Zaphod, and Trillian, the group stops the threat and goes their separate ways.
This was the first Hitchhiker's book written as a novel, not adapted from radio. Its story was based on a treatment Adams wrote for a Doctor Who theatrical release, with the Doctor's role split between Slartibartfast, Trillian, and Arthur.
In 2004, this book was adapted for radio as the "Tertiary Phase" of the radio series.
In So Long, and Thanks for All the Fish (published in 1984), Arthur returns to Earth, which he thought was destroyed. He meets Fenchurch and learns Earth is a replacement created by dolphins. He reunites with Ford, who claims to have saved the Universe, and they hitchhike to see God's Final Message. Marvin joins them and reads the message before dying.
This was the first Hitchhiker's novel not adapted from any previous story or script. In 2005, it was adapted for radio as the "Quandary Phase" of the radio series.
Finally, in Mostly Harmless (published in 1992), the Vogons take over The Hitchhiker's Guide under the name InfiniDim Enterprises to destroy Earth. Arthur loses Fenchurch and travels the galaxy before crash-landing on Lamuella, where he becomes a sandwich-maker. Ford breaks into the Guide's offices, gets an infinite expense account, and meets the Guide's new version, an AI with hidden power. Ford refuses its help, and the story ends with Ford and Arthur's fate left unclear.
Television series
The popularity of the radio series led to a six-episode television series, directed and produced by Alan J. W. Bell. It first aired on BBC 2 in January and February 1981. The television series used many actors from the radio version and was mainly based on the radio versions of Fits the First to Sixth. A second series was planned at one time, with a storyline that would have come from Douglas Adams's abandoned project, Doctor Who and the Krikkitmen, rather than simply adapting the second radio series. However, Douglas Adams had disagreements with the BBC (reasons include budget issues, script problems, and Alan Bell’s involvement), and the second series was never made. Some ideas from Doctor Who and the Krikkitmen were later used in the third novel, Life, the Universe and Everything.
The main cast was the same as the original radio series, except David Dixon played Ford Prefect instead of McGivern, and Sandra Dickinson played Trillian instead of Sheridan.
A new television series for Hulu was announced in July 2019. Carlton Cuse was named as the showrunner, and Jason Fuchs was also involved as a writer. The show would be produced by ABC Signature and Genre Arts. It was set to premiere in 2021, with production planned to begin in the summer of 2020 and air on Fox in international markets. The series has reportedly been renewed for a second season. However, the production was likely delayed due to the COVID-19 pandemic. A production outlet claimed that filming began in May 2021. Hulu has not provided updates since then, and Cuse and Fuchs seem to have moved on to other projects.
Segments of several books were adapted as part of the BBC’s The Big Read survey and program, which aired in late 2003. The film, directed by Deep Sehgal, starred Sanjeev Bhaskar as Arthur Dent, Spencer Brown as Ford Prefect, Nigel Planer as the voice of Marvin, Stephen Hawking as the voice of Deep Thought, Patrick Moore as the voice of the Guide, Roger Lloyd-Pack as Slartibartfast, and Adam Buxton and Joe Cornish as Loonquawl and Phouchg.
Film
After many challenges and new attempts to begin production, and 25 years after the first book was published, the movie version of The Hitchhiker's Guide to the Galaxy was finally made. Pre-production started in 2003, filming began on April 19, 2004, and post-production started in early September 2004. The author, Douglas Adams, passed away during the film's production but had already helped create early screenplays and ideas used in the movie.
The film had its first showing in London on April 20, 2005, and was released in the UK and Australia on April 28, and in the United States and Canada on April 29. The movie features Martin Freeman as Arthur, Yasiin Bey as Ford, Sam Rockwell as President of the Galaxy Zaphod Beeblebrox, and Zooey Deschanel as Trillian. Alan Rickman voices Marvin the Paranoid Android (with Warwick Davis wearing Marvin's costume), and Stephen Fry voices the Guide/Narrator. Other actors in smaller roles include John Malkovich, Bill Nighy, and Dame Helen Mirren.
The movie's story is very different from the radio show, book, and TV series. The love triangle between Arthur, Zaphod, and Trillian plays a larger role in the film. The movie also includes scenes set on Vogsphere, the home planet of the Vogons (which was already abandoned in the books), and on Viltvodle VI. The film covers events from the first four radio episodes and ends with the characters traveling to the Restaurant at the End of the Universe, leaving room for a sequel. A special device called the Point-of-View Gun, created by Adams for the movie, makes a unique appearance.
The film had some success, earning $21 million in its first weekend in the United States and about £3.3 million in its first weekend in the UK.
The movie was released on DVD (Region 2, PAL) in the UK on September 5, 2005. A standard double-disc version and a special limited "Giftpack" edition were released on this date. The "Giftpack" includes a copy of the book with a movie-themed cover and collectible prints from the film, all packaged in a replica of the Hitchhiker's Guide prop. In the United States and Canada, single-disc versions (Region 1, NTSC) were released on September 13, 2005. Blu-ray and UMD formats for the PlayStation Portable were also released on the same dates in these countries.
Stage shows
There have been many professional and amateur stage versions of The Hitchhiker's Guide to the Galaxy. Three early professional productions were performed in 1979 and 1980.
The first of these was shown at the Institute of Contemporary Arts in London from May 1 to May 19, 1979. Chris Langham played Arthur Dent (he later appeared as Prak in the final episode of the 2004 TV series Tertiary Phase), and Richard Hope played Ford Prefect. This show was adapted from the first radio series and directed by Ken Campbell, who later appeared in the final episode of the second radio series. The performance lasted 90 minutes and had an audience of 80 people each night. Actors performed on different ledges and platforms, and the audience was moved in a hovercar just 1/2000th of an inch above the floor. This was the first time Zaphod was portrayed by two actors in one costume. The narration of "The Book" was split between two female voices, a choice not used in other versions of H2G2. One of these narrators, Cindy Oswin, later voiced Trillian for the LP version.
The second stage show was performed across Wales from January 15 to February 23, 1980. This was produced by Theatr Clwyd and directed by Jonathan Petherbridge. The company adapted full radio episodes, sometimes performing two episodes in one night or all six episodes of the first series in three-hour sessions. This version was later shown again at the Oxford Playhouse in December 1981, the Bristol Hippodrome, Plymouth’s Theatre Royal in May–June 1982, the Belgrade Theatre in Coventry in July 1983, and La Boite in Brisbane in November 1983.
The third stage show, which was not as successful, was held at the Rainbow Theatre in London in July 1980. This was the second production directed by Ken Campbell. The Rainbow Theatre had been used for rock operas in the 1970s, and some reviewers called this show a "musical" because of the music and special effects. This was the first version to include the "Dish of the Day" sequence written by Adams. The production lasted over three hours and was criticized for its length, music, laser effects, and acting. Despite changes to shorten the script, the show closed three or four weeks early (sources disagree) and lost money. However, two actors, Michael Cule and David Learner, later appeared in the TV adaptation.
In December 2011, a new stage production was announced to begin touring in June 2012. It included actors from the original radio and TV versions, such as Simon Jones, Geoff McGivern, Susan Sheridan, Mark Wing-Davey, and Stephen Moore. VIP guests also played the voice of "The Book." This version was presented as a downloadable radio show after the tour ended. It was based on the first four "Fits" of the first act and covered the rest of the series in the second act. A band performed songs like "Share and Enjoy," "Under the Ink Black Sky," "How I Hate The Night," and "Marvin," which was a minor hit in 1981.
The production featured VIP guests as the voice of "The Book," including Billy Boyd, Phill Jupitus, Rory McGrath, Roger McGough, Jon Culshaw, Christopher Timothy, Andrew Sachs, John Challis, Hugh Dennis, John Lloyd, Terry Jones, and Neil Gaiman. The tour began on June 8, 2012, at the Theatre Royal in Glasgow and ended on July 21, 2012, at the Playhouse Theatre in Edinburgh. The production toured again in September 2013, but most of the remaining shows were canceled due to low ticket sales.
Other adaptations
The first four radio episodes were adapted into a double LP, also called The Hitchhiker's Guide to the Galaxy. It was first sold by mail order and later in stores. The double LP and its sequel were originally released by Original Records in the United Kingdom in 1979 and 1980, with catalogue numbers ORA042 and ORA054. In the United States and Canada, they were released by Hannibal Records in 1982, with catalogue numbers HNBL 2301 and HNBL 1307. Later, Simon & Schuster's Audioworks released a slightly shortened version in the mid-1980s. Both records were produced by Geoffrey Perkins and featured cover art by Hipgnosis.
The script on the first double LP closely follows the first four radio episodes. However, some parts were cut due to time limits. Some lines that were said to be removed from the radio scripts can still be heard on the LP. The Simon & Schuster cassettes left out the Veet Voojagig narration, the cheerleader's speech after Deep Thought finishes its seven-and-a-half-million-year program, and a few other lines from the second LP.
Most of the original cast returned for the double LP, except Susan Sheridan, who was recording a voice for The Black Cauldron for Walt Disney Pictures. Cindy Oswin voiced Trillian on all three LPs instead. Other changes included Stephen Moore taking the role of the barman and Valentine Dyall as the voice of Deep Thought. Douglas Adams's voice was used for public announcements on Magrathea.
Because of copyright issues, the music from the radio series was either replaced or re-recorded. Composer Tim Souster created the theme music, which was later used for the television series. Paddy Kingsland also contributed music.
The sequel LP was released in the UK as The Hitchhiker's Guide to the Galaxy Part Two: The Restaurant at the End of the Universe and in the USA as The Restaurant at the End of the Universe. The script follows the fifth and sixth radio episodes but includes a song by the backup band in the restaurant and changes the Haggunenon sequence to "Disaster Area."
Due to a misunderstanding, the second record was released before being edited as Douglas Adams and Geoffrey Perkins had planned. Perkins said the record was too long and needed to be shortened. The Simon & Schuster re-release also cut some parts, such as the scene with Ford Prefect and Hotblack Desiato's bodyguard.
The first double-LP sold mostly through mail order, with total sales reaching over 60,000 units—half from mail order and half from stores. Original Records had ordered more copies than they sold, and Paul Neil Milne Johnstone complained about his name and address being included in the recording. This was fixed by editing the master tape. The second LP sold 60,000 units in the UK. Douglas Adams and his agent, Ed Victor, later negotiated distribution deals with Hannibal Records and Simon & Schuster after gaining rights from Original Records, which went bankrupt.
All five phases were released on LP in 2018 by Demon Records. For the 42nd anniversary, the original Hitchhiker's Guide and The Restaurant at the End of the Universe were combined into a three-record set for Record Store Day in August 2020. It was released in three versions: Translucent Vogon Green, Translucent Magrathean Blue, and Translucent Pan-Galactic Purple.
There have been three audiobook recordings of the novel. The first was an abridged version (ISBN 0-671-62964-6) recorded in the mid-1980s for EMI by Stephen Moore, who voiced Marvin the Paranoid Android. In 1990, Douglas Adams recorded an unabridged version for Dove Audiobooks (ISBN 1-55800-273-1), later re-released by New Millennium Audio and BBC Audiobooks. A numbered, signed edition was also produced by ISIS Publishing Ltd in 1994 (ISBN 1-85695-028-X). In 2005, actor Stephen Fry recorded an abridged version for the film adaptation (ISBN 0-7393-2220-6).
Unabridged versions of books 2-5 were recorded by Martin Freeman for Random House Audio. Freeman plays Arthur in the 2005 film. The audiobooks include: The Restaurant at the End of the Universe (ISBN 9780739332085), Life, the Universe, and Everything (ISBN 9780739332108), So Long, and Thanks for All the Fish (ISBN 9780739332122), and Mostly Harmless (ISBN 9780739332146).
Between 1982 and 1984, the British company Supersoft released a text-based adventure game based on the book for the Commodore PET and Commodore 64. Some accounts say the game was withdrawn after legal issues, while others claim the programmer removed all references to Hitchhiker's Guide and republished it as "Cosmic Capers."
In 1984, an interactive fiction game was released by Infocom, designed by Douglas Adams and Steve Meretzky. It included special items like a "Don't panic" badge and peril-sensitive sunglasses. The game was one of Infocom's most successful titles.
In 2004, the BBC revived the game on its Radio 4 website for the Tertiary Phase. A new version used original Infocom data with custom programming and illustrations by Rod Lord. It won the Interactive BAFTA in 2005 for "best online entertainment."
A sequel to the Infocom game was never made. A fully graphical game was planned by The Digital Village and PAN Interactive but never completed. In 2005, Starwave Mobile released two mobile games to accompany the film adaptation.
Legacy
Douglas Adams wrote The Hitchhiker's Guide to the Galaxy to humorously critique scientific ideas, such as the artificial personalities in the book’s robots. However, Adams also predicted some ideas that later became real. The Guide, described as a small book that holds a large amount of information, was created before computer laptops and is similar to tablet computers. The concept of instantly translating between languages, like the Babel Fish in the book, has become possible with modern software that works almost instantly. Adams also wrote about controlling computers with voice, touch, and gestures, which is now common for humans.
In the 1980s, many products inspired by the book were made, including towels with the Guide’s entry about towels. Later versions were created for movie promotions and fan groups. Other items included T-shirts, such as one from a video game company that celebrated completing a difficult puzzle, and tour T-shirts. Other official items included "Beeblebears" (teddy bears with extra limbs named after a character), pins, and novelty music recordings. Many of these items are shown in the 2004 "25th Anniversary Illustrated Edition" of the book, which included fan-collected items.
Stephen Moore recorded two novelty songs as Marvin, the Paranoid Android, including "Marvin"/"Metal Man" and "Reasons To Be Miserable"/"Marvin I Love You." These songs later became collector’s items. Other recordings included re-recorded songs and tracks from bands related to the book.
The 2005 movie added many collectibles, such as replicas of objects from the Vogon ship, action figures, and a foam-dart gun based on Marvin’s prop. Audio tracks, including new versions of songs performed by Stephen Fry, were also released.
Towel Day, celebrated on May 25, is a fan event where people carry towels all day, honoring the importance of towels in the book. It began in 2001, two weeks after Adams’ death.
In the story, the number 42 is given as the answer to the ultimate question of life, the universe, and everything by a supercomputer. This idea became a common reference in pop culture, especially in science fiction and video games.
The 42nd anniversary of the book’s first radio broadcast was in 2020. A book titled Hitchhiking: Cultural Inroads was dedicated to Stephen V. Moore, who played Marvin in the original radio and TV series and died in 2019.
Two asteroids, 18610 Arthurdent and 25924 Douglasadams, were named after Arthur Dent and Douglas Adams. A fish and a moth species were also named after Zaphod Beeblebrox, a character in the book.
The band Radiohead named their song "Paranoid Android" after Marvin, the Paranoid Android. The song’s title was a joke, as it was not about depression. The album OK Computer, which includes the song, was inspired by the book’s references to a spaceship’s computer.
OtherHitchhiker's-related books and stories
A short story titled "Young Zaphod Plays It Safe" by Douglas Adams first appeared in 1986 in The Utterly Utterly Merry Comic Relief Christmas Book, a large-print collection of stories and pictures that helped raise money for the Comic Relief charity in the UK. This story also appears in some omnibus editions of the trilogy and in The Salmon of Doubt. There are two versions of the story, one of which includes more detailed political commentary.
A novel titled Starship Titanic: A Novel by Terry Jones is based on Douglas Adams’s computer game of the same name. The game itself was inspired by an idea from Life, the Universe and Everything. The idea involves a luxury passenger starship that experiences a "sudden and unexpected total existence failure" during its first voyage.
A character named Wowbagger the Infinitely Prolonged, who appears in Life, the Universe and Everything, also appears in a short story by Adams titled "The Private Life of Genghis Khan." This story is included in some early editions of The Salmon of Doubt.
Douglas Adams and Geoffrey Perkins worked together on The Hitchhiker's Guide to the Galaxy: The Original Radio Scripts, which was first published in the United Kingdom and United States in 1985. A tenth-anniversary edition of the script book was released in 1995, and a twenty-fifth-anniversary edition was printed in 2003.
The 2004 radio series was produced by Above The Title Productions, and the scripts were published in July 2005 with production notes for each episode. This second radio script book is titled The Hitchhiker's Guide to the Galaxy Radio Scripts: The Tertiary, Quandary and Quintessential Phases. Douglas Adams is credited as the primary writer (as he wrote the original novels), and the book includes a foreword by Simon Jones, introductions by the producer and director, and notes from other members of the cast.