Arthur Philip Dent
Simon Jones as Arthur Dent in the first episode of the BBC TV series.
First appearance	Fit the First (radio)
Created by	Douglas Adams
Portrayed by	Simon Jones Chris Langham Martin Freeman
Episode count	26 (radio) 6 (television)
Information
Species	Human
Gender	Male
Age	30 (approx.)
Date of birth	Unknown (1950s?)
Date of death	In the age between 30-40, in recent date
Occupation	BBC Radio employee
Children	Random Dent

For the Australian political activist see Albert Langer

Arthur Philip Dent is a fictional character, the hapless protagonist in the comic science fiction series The Hitchhiker's Guide to the Galaxy by Douglas Adams. Dent's situation is reminiscent of the actual case of Edward Pilgrim, whose confrontation with British local government ended in tragedy. Image File history File links In the BBC TV series of The Hitchhikers Guide to the Galaxy, Arthur Dent is a little upset to watch his home being demolished. ... Simon Jones as an upset Arthur Dent, watching his home being demolished in the first episode of The Hitchhikers Guide to the Galaxy BBC TV series. ... The Hitchhikers Guide to the Galaxy,[1] was a BBC television adaptation of Douglas Adamss The Hitchhikers Guide to the Galaxy broadcast in January and February 1981 on BBC Two. ... The terms Primary Phase and Secondary Phase describe the first two radio series of The Hitchhikers Guide to the Galaxy. ... Douglas Noël Adams (11 March 1952 – 11 May 2001) was an English author, comic radio dramatist, and musician. ... Simon Jones as an upset Arthur Dent, watching his home being demolished in the first episode of The Hitchhikers Guide to the Galaxy BBC TV series. ... Christopher Langham (born 14 April 1949) is a British writer, actor, comedian and as such is most famous for playing MP Hugh Abbot in BBC Four sitcom The Thick of It and as presenter Roy Mallard in People Like Us, first on BBC Radio 4 and later on its transfer... Martin Freeman (born September 8, 1971) is an English actor. ... The 1950s decade refers to the years 1950 to 1959 inclusive. ... BBC Radio is a service of the British Broadcasting Corporation which has operated in the United Kingdom under the terms of a Royal Charter since 1927. ... The following is a list of minor characters in the various versions of The Hitchhikers Guide to the Galaxy, by Douglas Adams. ... A fictional character is any person, persona, identity, or entity whose existence originates from a work of fiction. ... A protagonist is the main figure of a piece of literature or drama and has the main part or role. ... The cover of the first novel in the Hitchhikers series, from a late 1990s printing. ... Douglas Noël Adams (11 March 1952 – 11 May 2001) was an English author, comic radio dramatist, and musician. ... Edward Alexander Pilgrim (December 12, 1904 - September 24, 1954) was a British homeowner and suicide whose death was hastened by bureaucracy. ...

Along with Ford Prefect, Dent barely escapes the Earth's destruction as it is demolished to make way for a hyperspace bypass. Arthur spends the next several years, still wearing his dressing gown, helplessly launched from crisis to crisis while trying to straighten out his lifestyle. He rather enjoys tea, but seems to have trouble obtaining it in the far reaches of the galaxy. In time, he learns how to fly and carves a niche for himself as a sandwich-maker. Mos Def as Ford Prefect (left), along with Martin Freeman as Arthur Dent (right), from the 2005 film adaptation. ... This article is about Earth as a planet. ... Scene from Star Wars Episode IV: A New Hope depicting the inside of the Millenium Falcon when entering hyperspace. ... A bypass is a road or highway that avoids (bypasses) a built-up area, town, or village, to let through traffic flow without interference from local traffic, to reduce congestion in the built-up area, and to improve road safety. ... A dragon robe from Qing Dynasty of China A robe is a loose-fitting outer garment. ... For other uses, see Tea (disambiguation). ... For other uses, see Galaxy (disambiguation). ...

In the radio, LP and television versions of the story Arthur is played by Simon Jones, no relation to Peter Jones, the voice of the Guide. In Ken Campbell's stage production from 1979, Chris Langham took the part. In the theatrical movie he is played by Martin Freeman. In The Illustrated Hitchhiker's Guide to the Galaxy, he is portrayed by Jonathan Lermit. A gramophone record, (also phonograph record - often simply record) is an analog sound recording medium: a flat disc rotating at a constant angular velocity, with inscribed spiral grooves in which a stylus or needle rides. ... Simon Jones as an upset Arthur Dent, watching his home being demolished in the first episode of The Hitchhikers Guide to the Galaxy BBC TV series. ... Peter Jones (12 June 1920 – 10 April 2000) was an English actor, playwright and broadcaster. ... Kenneth Victor Campbell (born December 10, 1941 in Ilford, Essex) is a British writer, actor, director and comedian, known for his unconventional work in theatre. ... Christopher Langham (born 14 April 1949) is a British writer, actor, comedian and as such is most famous for playing MP Hugh Abbot in BBC Four sitcom The Thick of It and as presenter Roy Mallard in People Like Us, first on BBC Radio 4 and later on its transfer... The Hitchhikers Guide to the Galaxy is a science fiction comedy film based on the book of the same name by Douglas Adams. ... Martin Freeman (born September 8, 1971) is an English actor. ...

Arthur's story

In most versions of the series, Arthur and Ford eventually find themselves back on Earth – but two million years in the past, marooned with an entire useless third of the Golgafrincham population (consisting of hairdressers, account executives, film makers, security guards, telephone sanitisers, and the likes). The other two thirds of the Golgafrincham population which consisted of brilliant leaders and the workers who actually do the physical work lived safely on their planet, having tricked the other supposedly 'useless third' of the entire Golgafrincham population, that is, until they were wiped out by a virulent disease contracted from a dirty telephone. The Golgafrincham arrival spurs the extinction of the "native" "cavemen" (although, as Ford Prefect pointed out, they did not live in caves, to which a witty repartee was that they were in fact getting their caves redecorated) population, resulting in the human race's eventual replacement by a shipload of middle managers, telephone sanitisers and hairdressers. This theory could explain a lot about the condition of humanity today. This is a list of places featured in The Hitchhikers Guide to the Galaxy. ...

The original radio series and the television series end at this point, although a second radio series was made in which Ford and Arthur are rescued by Ford's cousin Zaphod Beeblebrox and have further adventures, and which ends with Arthur stealing Zaphod's spaceship, the Heart of Gold (which Zaphod had himself stolen) and striking out with only Marvin the Paranoid Android, Eddie the shipboard computer, a cloned archaeologist named Lintilla, a bunch of appliances with Genuine People Personalities, and a rather battered copy of the Hitchhiker's Guide to the Galaxy for companionship. This article is about the fictional character. ... Heart of Gold is a fictional spaceship in The Hitchhikers Guide to the Galaxy by Douglas Adams. ... Information Species Android Gender Male Age Thirty-seven times older than the Universe itself Occupation Servant Created by Douglas Adams In the BBC TV series, the marketing division of the Sirius Cybernetics Corporation defines a robot [like Marvin] as Your plastic pal whos fun to be with. Marvins... Archaeology or sometimes in American English archeology (from the Greek words αρχαίος = ancient and λόγος = word/speech) is the study of human cultures through the recovery, documentation and analysis of material remains, including architecture, artefacts, biofacts, human remains, and landscapes. ... The following is a list of minor characters in the various versions of The Hitchhikers Guide to the Galaxy, by Douglas Adams. ... Encyclopedia Galactica: the inept Sirius Cybernetics Corporation Marketing Division. ...

In the novels and the new radio series, Ford and Arthur escape prehistoric Earth via an eddy in the space-time continuum and a time-travelling Chesterfield sofa that deposits them in the middle of Lord's Cricket Ground at the climax of the final (in more ways than one, it turns out) match in the Ashes series, the day before the destruction of Earth by the Vogons. Having escaped the destruction of Earth once more and survived further adventures, Arthur eventually finds himself once more back on Earth (or rather an alternate Earth found by the Dolphins to save the human race from extinction). Here he falls in love with a woman named Fenchurch and seems set to live happily ever after – at least until the following, and final, novel, Mostly Harmless. By the end of the fifth and final novel, Earth, and all of its possible permutations and alternate versions, are destroyed once and for all, and everybody dies, at least as far as the novel Mostly Harmless goes. However it is subtly hinted that Arthur, his friends, and a few Earths might have survived. In special relativity and general relativity, time and three-dimensional space are treated together as a single four-dimensional pseudo-Riemannian manifold called spacetime. ... Chesterfield is the name of a town in Derbyshire, England It is also a placename in the United States of America: Chesterfield, Idaho Chesterfield, Massachusetts Chesterfield, Michigan Chesterfield, Missouri Chesterfield, New Hampshire Chesterfield Township, New Jersey Chesterfield, New York Chesterfield, South Carolina Chesterfield County, Virginia A chesterfield is also a... The Pavilion The Grand Stand Match in progress The Media Centre at Lords Cricket Ground This memorial stone to Lord Harris is in the Harris Garden at Lords Lords Cricket Ground is a cricket ground in St Johns Wood in London, at grid reference TQ268827. ... The Ashes is a regular international cricket contest between England and Australia, played every two years, so named after the trophy, which is a small wooden urn, said to contain the burnt bails from an 1882 game between the countries at The Oval. ... This article is about the dolphin mammal. ... For other uses, see Extinction (disambiguation). ... The following is a list of minor characters in the various versions of The Hitchhikers Guide to the Galaxy, by Douglas Adams. ... The front cover of the US first hardcover edition of Mostly Harmless. ...

In the Quintessential Phase of the radio series, there are multiple alternative endings after the final destruction of all possible Earths. The final ending here consists of the Babel fish carried by Arthur, Trillian, Ford & Random having a sense for self preservation, i.e. at the last minute they teleport the person they are inhabiting, and anyone nearby (namely Tricia McMillan), to safety. They are teleported to Milliways where they meet up with Zaphod, both Trillians merge together, leaving her with her British accent but her blonde-american hair. Marvin has been rebuilt as his warranty has yet to expire and is parking cars at Milliways again (he has been promoted, he remarks; he now has his own bucket). Finally, they meet up with Fenchurch again who was teleported to Milliways after we last saw her in the Quandary Phase and has been working as waitress there, waiting for Arthur. They all settle in together, leaving the series on an upbeat note and allowing for further adventures. The terms Tertiary Phase, Quandary Phase and Quintessential Phase describe the radio adaptations of the books Life, the Universe and Everything, So Long, and Thanks For All the Fish and Mostly Harmless recorded in 2003 and 2004 by Above the Title Productions for BBC Radio 4. ... Anatomy of a babel fish as illustrated in the BBC TV series by Rod Lord. ...

Other Arthur Dents

Trivia sections are discouraged under Wikipedia guidelines. The article could be improved by integrating relevant items and removing inappropriate ones.

A Puritan writer called Arthur Dent wrote a best-selling book called The Plain Man's Pathway to Heaven (first published in 1601). This is still available in a modern edition (ISBN 978-1-877611-69-8). For the record label, see Puritan Records. ... Arthur Dent (died 1607) was the author of The Plain Mans Pathway to Heaven, first published in 1601. ...

The plaine-mans path-way to heaven. Wherein every man may cleerly see whether he shall be saved or damned. Set forth dialogue-wise, for the better understanding of the simple. By Arth. Dent, preacher of the word of God at South-Shoobery in Essex.

Adams claimed that the coincidence in the book titles was completely fortuitous, and that he had in fact never heard of the book. This was often repeated, but in fact Adams had seen an original seventeenth-century edition of the book less than a year before he wrote the first outline of the Hitchhiker's Guide.^[1]

Arthur Dent was also the name of a 19th century reforming governor of Norwich gaol. His grave can be found in Norwich cemetery. For other places with the same name, see Norwich (disambiguation). ...

On the radio show Adventures in Odyssey, the Novacom storyline features a character called Arthur Dent. Radio broadcasts have been a popular entertainment since the 1910s, though popularity has declined a little in some countries since television became widespread. ... Adventures in Odyssey, commonly abbreviated AIO or simply Odyssey, is an Evangelical Christian-themed radio drama/comedy series created by Phil Lollar and Steve Harris for Focus on the Family in 1987. ...

In an episode of Foster's Home For Imaginary Friends, a dressing gown wearing man is seen hitchhiking holding a sign that says "Magrethea". Fosters Home for Imaginary Friends (sometimes called Fosters for short, and abbreviated as FHIF/FHFIF) is an Emmy Award-Winning American animated television series created and produced at Cartoon Network Studios by animator Craig McCracken, who also created The Powerpuff Girls. ...

In early drafts of the radio script, Arthur's character is called Alaric B.^{[citation needed]}

Notes

1. ^ Simpson, M. J. (2003). Hitchhiker: A Biography of Douglas Adams, First UK Edition, Hodder and Stoughton, Pages 93-94. ISBN 978-0-340-82766-6. 

See also

• Asteroid 18610 Arthurdent

18610 Arthurdent is a small main belt asteroid. ...

External links

• BBCi's page on Arthur Dent
• The SadGeezers Guide to The Hitchhiker's Guide to the Galaxy: Arthur Dent

v • d • e The Hitchhiker's Guide to the Galaxy By Douglas Adams Books The Hitchhiker's Guide to the Galaxy | The Restaurant at the End of the Universe | Life, the Universe and Everything | So Long, and Thanks for All the Fish | Mostly Harmless | Young Zaphod Plays it Safe | The Original Radio Scripts | The Salmon of Doubt Media Radio series (Phases 1 & 2, Phases 3, 4 & 5) | TV series | Movie | Computer game | Starship Titanic game | Differences between versions | Cast lists Characters Arthur Dent | Ford Prefect | Zaphod Beeblebrox | Marvin | Trillian | Slartibartfast | The Guide | Minor characters | Races and species Places Comprehensive list | Total Perspective Vortex | Heart of Gold | Wikkit Gate | Galactic Empire | Whole Sort of General Mish Mash Miscellanea 42 Puzzle | Answer to Life, the Universe, and Everything | Babel fish | Bistromathic drive | h2g2 | Infinite Improbability Drive | International Phenomenon | Notable phrases | Pan Galactic Gargle Blaster | Point-of-view gun | Sirius Cybernetics Corporation | Towel Day | Vogon poetry | "Journey of the Sorcerer" See also Don't Panic: The Official Hitchhiker's Guide to the Galaxy Companion | Hitchhiker: A Biography of Douglas Adams | Douglas Adams's Guide to The Hitchhiker's Guide to the Galaxy  Portal:Hitchhiker's