The Hitchhiker's Guide to the Galaxy originated as a Events January January 1 - The Copyright Act of 1976 takes effect, making sweeping changes to United States copyright law. ...1978 Radio comedy, or comedic radio programming, is a radio broadcast that may involve sitcom elements, sketches or any other form of comedy found on other mediums. ...radio comedy series written by Douglas Noël Adams ( March 11, 1952 – May 11, 2001) — also known as Bop Ad or Bob after his illegible signature, or by his initials DNA — was a British comic radio dramatist and author, most notably of The Hitchhikers Guide to the Galaxy (HHGG or H2G2). ...Douglas Adams. This was followed by a series of novels, a A television program is the content of television broadcasting. ...television series and a A computer game is a game composed of a computer_controlled virtual universe that players interact with in order to achieve a defined goal or set of goals. ...computer game. The Hitchhikers Guide to the Galaxy is an upcoming science_fiction movie based on the book of the same name by Douglas Adams. ...A film version was released in April 2005 is a common year starting on Saturday of the Gregorian calendar. ...2005. Although the various versions followed the same basic plot, they are in many places mutually contradictory, as Adams rewrote the story substantially for each "adaptation".

Introduction

The books are described as "a Trilogy is a $600 million modernization program for FBI computers. ...trilogy in five parts", having been described as a trilogy on the release of the third book, and then a "trilogy in four parts" on the release of the fourth book. They have a wide following around the world, thanks to their outlandish situations, characters and concepts (e.g. The Babel fish is a fictional species of fish in The Hitchhikers Guide to the Galaxy by Douglas Adams. ...Babel fish, Vogon Poetry is poetry written by Vogons, a fictional race in Douglas Adams The Hitchhikers Guide to the Galaxy. ...Vogon poetry, There are many minor characters in the 5_part fictional trilogy The Hitchhikers Guide to the Galaxy, by Douglas Adams. ...Slartibartfast and other There are many minor characters in the 5_part fictional trilogy The Hitchhikers Guide to the Galaxy, by Douglas Adams. ...minor characters, The Answer to Life, the Universe, and Everything is a concept taken from Douglas Adamss science fiction series The Hitchhikers Guide to the Galaxy. ...The Answer to Life, the Universe, and Everything), their anarchic, ironic humour, and their subtle social commentary.

The first radio series was originally going to be called 'The Ends of the Earth': six self_contained episodes, all ending with the Earth being destroyed in a different way. While writing the first episode, Adams realised that he needed someone on the planet who was an alien to provide some context for the story. Having done that, he then decided that this person needed a reason to be there, and so he decided that the alien was a field researcher for The Hitchhiker's Guide to the Galaxy, and as he explored the concept more, it became obvious to him that the Guide was becoming the centre of the story and so he decided to focus the series on it, with the destruction of Earth in the first episode being the only hold_over from 'The Ends of the Earth'.

Adams claimed numerous times at length that the title came from an incident while he was hitch_hiking around Europe as a young man with a copy of The Hitch_Hiker's Guide to Europe (being too poor to afford Europe on Five Dollars a Day), and while lying drunk in a field in Innsbruck City Center Innsbruck and Nordkette from south Innsbruck (population 120,000) is a city in western Austria, and the capital of the Tyrol province. ...Innsbruck with a copy of the book and looking up at the stars, thought it would be a good idea for someone to write a hitchhiker's guide to the galaxy as well. However, he also claimed later in life that he had told this story so many times that he had forgotten his actual memory of the incident, and only remembered himself telling various people the story.

The title The Hitchhiker's Guide to the Galaxy is often abbreviated as "HHG", "HHGG", "HHGTTG" or "H2G2". In addition to the several incarnations of the story, of which the books are the most popular, this can also refer to:

• the Some fictional universes feature useful guidebooks which assist the hero and friends through difficult situations. ...fictional guidebook The Hitchhiker's Guide to the Galaxy, an eccentric electronic 1913 advertisement for Encyclopædia Britannica. ...encyclopedia which features in the series
• a website hosted by the The British Broadcasting Corporation (BBC) was formed in 1927 by means of a royal charter from the Crown. ...BBC which is "almost but not quite entirely unlike" Wikipedia is a Web_based free content encyclopedia designed to be read and edited by anyone, with editions of varying sizes in 190 languages. ...Wikipedia (see The title given to this article is incorrect due to technical limitations. ...h2g2)

Note on spelling: Unfortunately, the different editions of the Hitchhiker's Guide spell it differently __ thus "Hitch_Hiker's Guide", "Hitch Hiker's Guide" and "Hitchhiker's Guide" are used in different editions (US or UK), versions (audio or text) and compilations of the book. For the sake of coherence, Wikipedia spells it Hitchhiker's Guide, which is reportedly the way author Adams himself preferred it. [1]  (http://www.bbc.co.uk/dna/h2g2/SubEditors_Style#back3)

Plot overview

The series follows the adventures of Arthur Philip Dent is a fictional character, the hapless protagonist in the comic science fiction series The Hitchhikers Guide to the Galaxy by Douglas Adams. ...Arthur Dent, a hapless Royal motto: Dieu et mon droit (French: God and my right) Official language None; English is de facto Capital London Capitals coordinates 51° 30 N, 0° 10 W Largest city London Area  _ Total Ranked 1st UK 130,395 km² Population  _ Total (2001)  _ Density Ranked 1st UK 49,138,831...Englishman who escapes the destruction of Earth (by the The Vogons are a fictional alien race in The Hitchhikers Guide to the Galaxy series by Douglas Adams: Heres what to do if you want to get a lift from a Vogon: Forget it. ...Vogons) with his friend Ford Prefect is a fictional character in the radio series (and subsequent books, television series, and so on) The Hitchhikers Guide to the Galaxy by the British author Douglas Adams. ...Ford Prefect, an For the 1979 movie, see Alien (movie). ...alien from a small planet in the vicinity of Hubble picture of Betelgeuse Betelgeuse, also called α Orionis, is a red supergiant star in the constellation of Orion. ...Betelgeuse and researcher for the An eponym is a person (real or fictitious) whose name has become identified with a particular object or activity. ...eponymous guide. Unfortunately for them, they have done so by hitching a ride onboard the Vogon's ship, and after being read some Vogon Poetry is poetry written by Vogons, a fictional race in Douglas Adams The Hitchhikers Guide to the Galaxy. ...Vogon poetry, they are promptly kicked out an airlock. Zaphod Beeblebrox is a fictional character in the humorous science fiction radio series, books, computer game, and television series The Hitchhikers Guide to the Galaxy by Douglas Adams. ...Zaphod Beeblebrox, Ford's semi_cousin and sometime Galactic President, saves the pair from death in his (stolen) spaceship, the Heart of Gold is a fictional spaceship in The Hitchhikers Guide to the Galaxy by Douglas Adams. ...Heart of Gold, whose crew rounds out the main cast of characters: Marvin the Paranoid Android is a fictional character in The Hitchhikers Guide to the Galaxy series by Douglas Adams. ...Marvin the Paranoid Android, a terminally depressed In practical usage, a robot is a mechanical device which performs automated tasks, either according to direct human supervision, a pre_defined program or, a set of general guidelines, using artificial intelligence techniques. ...robot, and Tricia McMillan aka Trillian is a fictional character from Douglas Adams series The Hitchhikers Guide to the Galaxy. ...Trillian, a woman known by Arthur as the only other surviving human being.

Note: The plots of the television and radio series are more or less the same as that of the first two novels, though some of the events occur in a different order and many of the details are changed. Much of parts five and six of the radio series were written by John Lloyd, but his material did not make it into the other versions of the story and is not included here. Many consider the books' version of events to be definitive, because they are the final version Adams produced (and also the most readily accessible).

It wasn't truly clear that the series was over (since it was already a trilogy with five books) until Adams died of a A myocardial infarction occurs when an atherosclerotic plaque slowly builds up in the inner lining of a coronary artery and then suddenly ruptures, totally occluding the artery and preventing blood flow downstream. ...heart attack at age 49 in 2001 is a common year starting on Monday of the Gregorian calendar. ...2001. Indeed, Adams said that the new novel he was working on, The Salmon of Doubt is a collection of previously_unpublished material by Douglas Adams, published after the authors death in 2001. ...The Salmon of Doubt, was not working as a Dirk Gently is a fictional character created by Douglas Adams and featured in the books Dirk Gentlys Holistic Detective Agency and The Long Dark Teatime of the Soul. ...Dirk Gently story, and suggested it might instead become a sixth book in the Hitchhiker's series. He described Mostly Harmless as "a very bleak book" and said he "would love to finish Hitchhiker on a slightly more upbeat note". Adams also remarked that if he were to write a sixth installment, he would at least start with all the characters in the same place.

The Hitchhiker's Guide to the Galaxy

In The Hitchhiker's Guide to the Galaxy, the characters visit the legendary planet This is a list of places featured in The Hitchhikers Guide to the Galaxy. ...Magrathea, home of the now_collapsed planet building industry, and meet There are many minor characters in the 5_part fictional trilogy The Hitchhikers Guide to the Galaxy, by Douglas Adams. ...Slartibartfast, a planetary architect. He relates the story of a race of hyper_intelligent pan_dimensional beings who built a computer named There are many minor characters in the 5_part fictional trilogy The Hitchhikers Guide to the Galaxy, by Douglas Adams. ...Deep Thought to calculate the answer to the Ultimate Question of Life, the Universe, and Everything. When the answer was revealed as The Answer to Life, the Universe, and Everything is a concept taken from Douglas Adamss science fiction series The Hitchhikers Guide to the Galaxy. ...42, they were forced to build a more powerful computer to work out what the Ultimate Question actually was, but their plans never come to fruition.

The computer, disguised as a planet, was the Earth, and was destroyed five minutes before the conclusion of its 10_million_year program. The hyper_intelligent pan_dimensional beings, who turn out to be For the input device, see computer mouse. ...mice, want to dissect Arthur's brain to help reconstruct the question, but our protagonists escape.

It is immediately set up for the next book in the series.

The Restaurant at the End of the Universe

In The Restaurant at the End of the Universe (1980, ISBN 0345391810) is the second book in the Hitchhikers Guide to the Galaxy comedy science fiction series by Douglas Adams. ...The Restaurant at the End of the Universe, Zaphod is separated from the others and finds he is part of a Alternate uses: See Conspiracy (disambiguation) Conspiracy, in common usage, is the act of working in secret to obtain some goal, usually understood with negative connotations. ...conspiracy to uncover whoever really runs the Universe. Zaphod meets There are many minor characters in the 5_part fictional trilogy The Hitchhikers Guide to the Galaxy, by Douglas Adams. ...Zarniwoop, a co_conspirator and editor for the guide, who knows where to find the secret ruler. Briefly reunited with the others for a trip to This is a list of places featured in The Hitchhikers Guide to the Galaxy. ...Milliways, the restaurant of the title, Zaphod and Trillian discover that the Universe is in the safe hands of a simple man living on a remote planet in a wooden shack with his cat.

Ford and Arthur, meanwhile, fall backwards through time and end up on a spacecraft full of the outcasts of the This is a list of places featured in The Hitchhikers Guide to the Galaxy. ...Golgafrincham civilisation. The ship crashes on prehistoric Earth, disrupting the program to find the Ultimate Question and stranding Ford and Arthur. (The TV series ends at this point.)

Life, the Universe, and Everything

In Life, the Universe and Everything (1982, ISBN 0345391829) is the third book in the five_volume Hitchhikers Guide to the Galaxy science fiction trilogy by Douglas Adams. ...Life, the Universe, and Everything Ford and Arthur are saved by Slartibartfast, when he enlists their aid in preventing galactic war. Long ago, the people of This is a list of places featured in The Hitchhikers Guide to the Galaxy. ...Krikkit attempted to wipe out all life in the Universe, but they were stopped and imprisoned on their home planet; now, they are poised to escape. With the help of Marvin, Zaphod and Trillian, our heroes prevent the destruction of life in the Universe and go their separate ways.

So Long, and Thanks for All the Fish

In So Long, and Thanks For All the Fish (1984, ISBN 0345391837) is the fourth book of the Hitchhikers Guide to the Galaxy series written by Douglas Adams. ...So Long, and Thanks for All the Fish, Arthur returns home to Earth, rather surprisingly since it was destroyed when he left. He meets and falls in love with a girl named There are many minor characters in the 5_part fictional trilogy The Hitchhikers Guide to the Galaxy, by Douglas Adams. ...Fenchurch, and discovers this Earth is a replacement provided by the This article is about the dolphin mammal. ...dolphins in their Save the Humans campaign. Eventually he rejoins Ford, who claims to have saved the Universe in the meantime, to hitch_hike one last time and see God's Final Message to His Creation.

Mostly Harmless

Finally, in Mostly Harmless (1992, ISBN 0345418778) is a novel by Douglas Adams, the fifth book of the Hitchhikers Guide to the Galaxy series. ...Mostly Harmless, Vogons take over the Hitchhiker's Guide (under the name of Infinidim Enterprises is the name of a publishing corporation in Douglas Adams book Mostly Harmless, fifth of the Hitchhikers Guide to the Galaxy trilogy. ...Infinidim Enterprises), to finish, once and for all, the task of obliterating the Earth. Arthur's spaceship crashes on the planet Lamuella, where he settles as a sandwich_maker. Meanwhile, Ford Prefect breaks into the guide's offices, gets himself an infinite expense account from the computer system, then meets the Hitchhiker's Guide to the Galaxy, Mark II. After he declines this dangerously powerful machine's aid (which he receives anyway), he sends it to Arthur Dent.

Trillian uses DNA that Arthur donated for money to have a daughter, and when she goes to cover a war, she leaves her daughter There are many minor characters in the 5_part fictional trilogy The Hitchhikers Guide to the Galaxy, by Douglas Adams. ...Random Frequent Flyer Dent with Arthur. Random steals the Guide Mark II, and uses it to get to Earth. Arthur, Ford, and later Trillian all end up on Earth trying to catch Random. While Arthur, Ford, Trillian, Random, and Tricia McMillan (Trillian in this alternate universe), find themselves together in Stavro Mueller's Beta club and Random kills Agrajag as Arthur Dent ducks and then the Guide Mark II removes all the Earths from probability, also removing all the characters involved, and itself.

Radio and TV series

2004 is a leap year starting on Thursday of the Gregorian calendar. ...As of 2004, there have been three Radio transmission diagram and electromagnetic waves Radio is a technology that allows the transmission of signals by modulation of electromagnetic waves with frequencies below those of light. ...radio series and a See TV (disambiguation) for other uses and Television (band) for the rock band Family watching television in the 1950s. ...television series produced by or for the The British Broadcasting Corporation (BBC) was formed in 1927 by means of a royal charter from the Crown. ...BBC. A further two radio series, to be broadcast back_to_back, are in production.

The original radio series

The radio series (and the subsequent 33⅓ LP vinyl record album The vinyl record is a type of gramophone record, most popular from the 1950s to the 1990s, that was most commonly used for mass_produced recordings of music. ...vinyl LP recordings and television spin_off) greatly benefited from the commentary of noted radio comedy actor Peter Jones (June 12, 1920 _ April 10, 2000) was most noted as an actor, principally for his lead role in the TV sitcom The Rag Trade and his contributions as the voice of The Book on The Hitchhikers Guide to the Galaxy and his elegant repartee on the BBC...Peter Jones as The Book. His sonorous, avuncular tones undoubtedly gave the series a tremendous boost and firmly established the tenor of the piece.

The series was also notable for its use of sound, being the first comedy series to be produced in Stereo or stereophony generally refers to dual_channel sound recording and sound reproduction – sound that contains data for more than one speaker simultaneously. ...stereo. Adams said that he wanted the programme's production to be comparable to that of a modern rock album. Much of the programme's budget was spent on sound effects, which were largely the work of Paddy Kingsland.

The theme tune used for the radio, television and LP versions is "Journey of the Sorcerer", an An instrumental is, in contrast to a song, a musical composition or piece without lyrics or any other sort of vocal music; all of the music is produced by musical instruments. ...instrumental piece by This article is about the country rock group called The Eagles. ...The Eagles from the album One of These Nights. Only the radio series used the original recording; a soundalike cover by Tim Souster was used for the LP and TV series. Apparently, Adams chose this song for its futuristic sounding nature, but also for the fact that it had a banjo in it, which he said would give it an "on the road, hitch_hikey feel".

The Primary Phase

Main cast:

• Simon Jones (born July 27, 1950 in Charlton Park, Wiltshire) is an English actor, most famous for his appearances in the television and radio series of The Hitchhikers Guide to the Galaxy, where he played the lead role of Arthur Dent. ...Simon Jones as Arthur Philip Dent is a fictional character, the hapless protagonist in the comic science fiction series The Hitchhikers Guide to the Galaxy by Douglas Adams. ...Arthur Dent
• Geoffrey McGivern is a British actor of film, radio and TV. He is well remembered for playing Ford Prefect in the radio series and subsequent LP releases of The Hitchhikers Guide to the Galaxy, which role he reprised for the 2004 reunion radio series. ...Geoffrey McGivern as Ford Prefect is a fictional character in the radio series (and subsequent books, television series, and so on) The Hitchhikers Guide to the Galaxy by the British author Douglas Adams. ...Ford Prefect
• Susan Sheridan as Tricia McMillan aka Trillian is a fictional character from Douglas Adams series The Hitchhikers Guide to the Galaxy. ...Trillian
• Son of actors Peter Davey and Anna Wing, Mark Wing_Davey studied at Cambridge University where he was a member of the Footlights from 1967 to 1970. ...Mark Wing_Davey as Zaphod Beeblebrox is a fictional character in the humorous science fiction radio series, books, computer game, and television series The Hitchhikers Guide to the Galaxy by Douglas Adams. ...Zaphod Beeblebrox
• Richard Vernon as There are many minor characters in the 5-part fictional trilogy The Hitchhikers Guide to the Galaxy, by Douglas Adams. ...Slartibartfast
• Peter Jones (June 12, 1920 _ April 10, 2000) was most noted as an actor, principally for his lead role in the TV sitcom The Rag Trade and his contributions as the voice of The Book on The Hitchhikers Guide to the Galaxy and his elegant repartee on the BBC...Peter Jones as The Book

The first radio series was Note: broadcasting is also the old term for hand sowing. ...broadcast on BBC Radio 4 is a British domestic radio station which broadcasts a wide variety of chiefly spoken_word programmes including news, drama, comedy, science and history. ...BBC Radio 4 in Events January January 1 _ The Copyright Act of 1976 takes effect, making sweeping changes to United States copyright law. ...1978. It was split into episodes, known as "Fits" (an archaic term for a In poetry, a stanza is a unit within a larger poem. ...section of a poem revived by Photograph of Lewis Carroll taken by himself, with assistance Charles Lutwidge Dodgson (January 27, 1832 – January 14, 1898), better known by the pen name Lewis Carroll, was a British author, mathematician, Anglican clergyman, logician, and amateur photographer. ...Lewis Carroll for The Bellman carrying the Banker by a finger entwined in his hair Lewis Carrolls The Hunting of the Snark (An Agony in 8 Fits) is a comic poem about a group of adventurers hunting a legendary beast. ...The Hunting of the Snark). The original series comprised Fits the First through Sixth, and Fit the Seventh was broadcast separately on December 24 is the 358th day of the year in the Gregorian Calendar (359th in leap years). ...December 24 (though billed as a Joseph and Mary with baby Jesus, at the first Christmas Christmas (literally, the Mass of Christ) is a holiday in the Christian calendar, usually observed on December 25, which celebrates the birth of Jesus. ...Christmas special it made no reference to the occasion). Fits the Fifth and Sixth were co_written by John Lloyd (born 1951 in Dover, England) is a British comedy writer and producer. ...John Lloyd; subsequent versions of the story omit most of Lloyd's material.

The success of the series encouraged Adams to adapt it into a novel, which was based on the first four Fits and released in 1979 is a common year starting on Monday. ...1979. A slightly contracted double 33⅓ LP vinyl record album The vinyl record is a type of gramophone record, most popular from the 1950s to the 1990s, that was most commonly used for mass_produced recordings of music. ...LP re_recording of the first four Fits was released in the same year, followed by a single LP featuring a revised version of Fits the Fifth and Sixth.

The Secondary Phase

A second radio series, comprising Fits the Eighth through Twelfth, was produced and broadcast in 1980 is a leap year starting on Tuesday. ...1980, originally on five consecutive days; and the original novel produced a sequel based on Fits the Fifth through Twelfth (but not entirely in that order). The producer of both the radio and LP versions was Geoffrey Perkins has been a central figure in British comedy broadcasting. ...Geoffrey Perkins (with the exception of Fit the First, produced as a pilot by Simon Brett (b. ...Simon Brett). Thereafter the radio series ended and the books developed independently.

The TV series

Main cast:

• Simon Jones (born July 27, 1950 in Charlton Park, Wiltshire) is an English actor, most famous for his appearances in the television and radio series of The Hitchhikers Guide to the Galaxy, where he played the lead role of Arthur Dent. ...Simon Jones as Arthur Philip Dent is a fictional character, the hapless protagonist in the comic science fiction series The Hitchhikers Guide to the Galaxy by Douglas Adams. ...Arthur Dent
• David Dixon is a British actor. ...David Dixon as Ford Prefect is a fictional character in the radio series (and subsequent books, television series, and so on) The Hitchhikers Guide to the Galaxy by the British author Douglas Adams. ...Ford Prefect
• Sandra Dickinson as Tricia McMillan aka Trillian is a fictional character from Douglas Adams series The Hitchhikers Guide to the Galaxy. ...Trillian
• Son of actors Peter Davey and Anna Wing, Mark Wing_Davey studied at Cambridge University where he was a member of the Footlights from 1967 to 1970. ...Mark Wing_Davey as Zaphod Beeblebrox is a fictional character in the humorous science fiction radio series, books, computer game, and television series The Hitchhikers Guide to the Galaxy by Douglas Adams. ...Zaphod Beeblebrox
• Richard Vernon as There are many minor characters in the 5-part fictional trilogy The Hitchhikers Guide to the Galaxy, by Douglas Adams. ...Slartibartfast
• Peter Jones (June 12, 1920 _ April 10, 2000) was most noted as an actor, principally for his lead role in the TV sitcom The Rag Trade and his contributions as the voice of The Book on The Hitchhikers Guide to the Galaxy and his elegant repartee on the BBC...Peter Jones as The Book

The popularity of the first two books gave rise to a six_episode television series, which aired on BBC Two (or BBC2 as it was formerly styled) was the second UK television station to be aired by the BBC. History The channel was scheduled to begin at 7:20pm on April 20, 1964 and show an evening of light entertainment, starting with the comedy show The Alberts and...BBC Two in January and February of 1981 is a common year starting on Thursday. ...1981. It employed many of the actors from the radio series and was based on the novel versions of Fits the First through Sixth. The complexities of adapting the material for television meant that each episode was 35 minutes in length, and some of the best jokes from the radio series had to be cut. The programme is particularly notable for its mock computer animation sequences, actually produced by hand using traditional cel animation techniques. There have been several different edits of the series: Some, but not all, PBS re_directs here; for alternate uses see PBS (disambiguation) PBS logo The Public Broadcasting Service (PBS) is a non_profit public broadcasting television service with 349 member TV stations in the United States. ...PBS stations recut the series into seven 30_minute episodes, while the videotape release added some previously unseen material and remixed the soundtrack into stereo. The DVD edition claims to be the final and definitive version (probably intended as a joke, because Douglas Adams steered clear of making definitive versions of his works and there are significant differences between book, radio, television, and LP versions of HHGG).

Two important cast changes were made for the TV version. David Dixon is a British actor. ...David Dixon replaced Geoffrey McGivern as Ford, and Sandra Dickinson played Trillian. The changes were made because McGivern did not suit the role visually, and Susan Sheridan was unavailable at the time.

The new radio series

On June 21 is the 172nd day of the year (173rd in leap years) in the Gregorian Calendar, with 193 days remaining. ...June 21, 2004 is a leap year starting on Thursday of the Gregorian calendar. ...2004, the BBC announced in a press release (http://www.bbc.co.uk/pressoffice/pressreleases/stories/2004/06-june/21/radio4.shtml) that a new series of Hitchhiker's based on the third novel would be broadcast as part of their autumn schedule, produced by Above The Title Productions Ltd. This was followed by news that further series would be produced based on the fourth and fifth novels.

The Tertiary Phase

Main cast

• Simon Jones (born July 27, 1950 in Charlton Park, Wiltshire) is an English actor, most famous for his appearances in the television and radio series of The Hitchhikers Guide to the Galaxy, where he played the lead role of Arthur Dent. ...Simon Jones as Arthur Philip Dent is a fictional character, the hapless protagonist in the comic science fiction series The Hitchhikers Guide to the Galaxy by Douglas Adams. ...Arthur Dent
• Geoffrey McGivern is a British actor of film, radio and TV. He is well remembered for playing Ford Prefect in the radio series and subsequent LP releases of The Hitchhikers Guide to the Galaxy, which role he reprised for the 2004 reunion radio series. ...Geoffrey McGivern as Ford Prefect is a fictional character in the radio series (and subsequent books, television series, and so on) The Hitchhikers Guide to the Galaxy by the British author Douglas Adams. ...Ford Prefect
• Susan Sheridan as Tricia McMillan aka Trillian is a fictional character from Douglas Adams series The Hitchhikers Guide to the Galaxy. ...Trillian
• Son of actors Peter Davey and Anna Wing, Mark Wing_Davey studied at Cambridge University where he was a member of the Footlights from 1967 to 1970. ...Mark Wing_Davey as Zaphod Beeblebrox is a fictional character in the humorous science fiction radio series, books, computer game, and television series The Hitchhikers Guide to the Galaxy by Douglas Adams. ...Zaphod Beeblebrox
• Richard Griffiths as There are many minor characters in the 5-part fictional trilogy The Hitchhikers Guide to the Galaxy, by Douglas Adams. ...Slartibartfast
• William Franklyn as The Book

The third 6_part radio series, The Hitchhiker's Guide to the Galaxy: Tertiary Phase, based on Life, the Universe and Everything (1982, ISBN 0345391829) is the third book in the five_volume Hitchhikers Guide to the Galaxy science fiction trilogy by Douglas Adams. ...Life, the Universe and Everything, ran on BBC Radio 4 is a British domestic radio station which broadcasts a wide variety of chiefly spoken_word programmes including news, drama, comedy, science and history. ...BBC Radio 4 from Tuesday September 21 is the 264th day of the year (265th in leap years). ...September 21 to October 26 is the 299th day of the year (300th in leap years) in the Gregorian Calendar, with 66 days remaining. ...October 26, 2004 is a leap year starting on Thursday of the Gregorian calendar. ...2004, with repeats on the following Thursdays. (Arthur Dent, of course, could never get the hang of Thursdays). Episodes were subtitled Fits the Thirteenth through Eighteenth. It was adapted by Dirk Maggs following instructions left by Adams. Most of the original radio series cast returned, with the exception of three. Two of these had passed away: Richard Vernon as There are many minor characters in the 5-part fictional trilogy The Hitchhikers Guide to the Galaxy, by Douglas Adams. ...Slartibartfast, replaced by Richard Griffiths; and Peter Jones (June 12, 1920 - April 10, 2000) was most noted as an actor, principally for his lead role in the TV sitcom The Rag Trade and his contributions as the voice of The Book on The Hitchhikers Guide to the Galaxy and his elegant repartee on the BBC...Peter Jones, replaced by his friend William Franklyn; some brief excerpts from Jones's original narration were also used in the first episode, cleverly disguised as the Book's speech_generation system changing as part of updates to the Guide from the publisher. The third absent cast member was David Tate, who played a multitude of minor roles in the two original radio series including Eddie the Heart of Gold's computer. On the other hand, John Marsh, who was the original series' continuity announcer returned to announce the credits. There was even a cameo role by Adams himself as There are many minor characters in the 5-part fictional trilogy The Hitchhikers Guide to the Galaxy, by Douglas Adams. ...Agrajag, edited from his BBC audiobook recording of the novel.

Before the final episode was broadcast, BBC Worldwide Limited is the wholly_owned commercial subsidiary of the British Broadcasting Corporation, formed out of a restructuring of its predecessor BBC Enterprises in 1995. ...BBC Worldwide released the Tertiary Phase on Image of a recordable compact disc (pencil included for scale) A compact disc (or CD) is an optical disc used to store digital data, originally developed for storing digital audio. ...CD, including additional material.

Since the opening of the third book starts at the same place and time (prehistoric Earth) as the opening of the second radio series, the entire Secondary Phase was dismissed as one of Zaphod's "psychotic episodes" (including events that did take place in the books).

The Quandary and Quintessential Phases

A fourth and fifth series will follow, with four episodes for each of the fourth and fifth novels; they will be broadcast in May/June 2005, starting on the 3rd May 2005. The names for these series have apparently been chosen to be more humorous than the standard terms This article is about the geologic period. ...quaternary and Quinary is the base five numeral system. ...quinary, which are rarely used anyway. They are both separate series, but are being aired back to back to stop people (in the words of Dirk Maggs) "nodding off in between."

Interactive fiction

The TV series was followed in 1984 is a leap year starting on Sunday of the Gregorian calendar. ...1984 by a best_selling " Zork, an early work of interactive fiction, running on a modern interpreter Interactive fiction, often abbreviated as IF, is a simulated environment in which players use text commands to control characters. ...interactive fiction", or text_based This article needs cleanup. ...adventure game, distributed by Infocom was an American software company based in Cambridge, Massachusetts. ...Infocom. Titled simply The Hitchhikers Guide to the Galaxy is an interactive fiction computer game based on the seminal comic science fiction series of the same name. ...The Hitchhiker's Guide to the Galaxy, it was designed by Adams and Infocom regular Steve Meretzky (born May 1, 1957) was raised in Yonkers, New York, and moved to MIT to pursue a career in architecture. ...Steve Meretzky and was one of the most successful produced by the company. As with many Infocom games, the box contained a number of " Feelies is the name Infocom gave extra content they included with the boxed versions of their text adventure computer games. ...feelies" such as a " Dont Panic is the advice written across the front of the fictional book The Hitchhikers Guide to the Galaxy in big, friendly letters, according to the narrator of the novel. ...Don't panic" badge, some pocket fluff, and an order for destruction of Earth.

The game was resurrected in 2004 : January _ February _ March _ April _ May _ June _ July _ August _ September _ October _ November _ December See also: September 2004 in sports Deaths in September • 27 Tsai Wan_lin • 24 Françoise Sagan • 20 Brian Clough • 18 Russ Meyer • 15 Johnny Ramone • 12 Fred Ebb • 11 Peter VII of Alexandria • 8 Richard Girnt Butler...September 2004 by the BBC for the Hitchhiker's section of the Radio 4 website (http://www.bbc.co.uk/radio4/) as part of the publicity for the initial broadcast of the Tertiary Phase, and is currently still available to play  (http://www.bbc.co.uk/radio4/hitchhikers/game.shtml) online. This new version uses an original Infocom datafile with a custom_written interpreter, by Sean Sollé, and Flash programming by Shimon Young, both of whom used to work at The Digital Village (TDV) was a digital media company based in Covent Garden, London WC2 in the United Kingdom. ...The Digital Village. The new version includes illustrations by Rod Lord, who was head of the studio that produced the guide graphics for the TV series. On March 2nd 2005 it won the Interactive The British Academy of Film and Television Arts (BAFTA), is a British organization that hosts annual awards shows for film, television, childrens film and television, and interactive media. ...BAFTA in the "best online entertainment" category.

"Hitch_Hikeriana"

Many merchandising and spin_off items were produced in the early Millennia: 1st millennium _ 2nd millennium _ 3rd millennium Events and trends Technology Bulletin board system popularity Popularization of personal computers, Walkmans, VHS videocassette recorders, and compact disc (CD) players Introduction of the IBM PC Home video games become enormously popular, most notably Atari until the market crashes in 1983; the rise...1980s, dubbed "Hitch_Hikeriana" and included a beach towel printed with the Guide's entry for towels and a number of novelty singles (see below).

Stephen Moore refers to multiple people: Stephen Moore is an English actor. ...Stephen Moore recorded two novelty singles in character as Marvin the Paranoid Android: "Marvin"/"Metal Man" and "Reasons To Be Miserable"/"Marvin, I Love You". The last song has appeared on a Dr. Demento (born April 2, 1941) is the stage name of Barret (Barry) Hansen, who has made a successful career as a radio disc jockey specializing in novelty songs and pop music parodies. ...Dr. Demento compilation. There was also an EP featuring the re_recorded "Journey of the Sorcerer" together with "Reg Nullify In Concert" by Reg Nullify, and "Only the End of the World Again" by Disaster Area. These discs have since become collector's items.

Books in the trilogy

The books in the trilogy are named:

• The Hitchhiker's Guide to the Galaxy ( 1979 is a common year starting on Monday. ...1979)
• The Restaurant at the End of the Universe (1980, ISBN 0345391810) is the second book in the Hitchhikers Guide to the Galaxy comedy science fiction series by Douglas Adams. ...The Restaurant at the End of the Universe ( 1980 is a leap year starting on Tuesday. ...1980)
• Life, the Universe and Everything (1982, ISBN 0345391829) is the third book in the five_volume Hitchhikers Guide to the Galaxy science fiction trilogy by Douglas Adams. ...Life, the Universe and Everything ( 1982 is a number and represents a common year starting on Friday of the Gregorian calendar Events January_February January 6 _ William Bonin is convicted of being the freeway killer. January 8 _ AT&T agrees to divest itself of twenty_two subdivisions January 11 _ Mark Thatcher, son of the British...1982)
• So Long, and Thanks For All the Fish (1984, ISBN 0345391837) is the fourth book of the Hitchhikers Guide to the Galaxy series written by Douglas Adams. ...So Long, and Thanks For All the Fish ( 1984 is a leap year starting on Sunday of the Gregorian calendar. ...1984)
• Mostly Harmless (1992, ISBN 0345418778) is a novel by Douglas Adams, the fifth book of the Hitchhikers Guide to the Galaxy series. ...Mostly Harmless ( 1992 is a leap year starting on Wednesday of the Gregorian calendar. ...1992)

A short story was also written, Young Zaphod Plays it Safe is a novella by Douglas Adams set in his The Hitchhikers Guide to the Galaxy universe. ...Young Zaphod Plays it Safe. It appears in some of the omnibus editions of the trilogy, and in The Salmon of Doubt is a collection of previously_unpublished material by Douglas Adams, published after the authors death in 2001. ...The Salmon of Doubt. It is almost, but not quite, entirely unrelated to the rest of the trilogy.

Neil Richard Gaiman (born November 10, 1960 in Portchester, England) is the author of numerous science fiction and fantasy works, including many comic books. ...Neil Gaiman has written Don't Panic: The Official Hitchhikers Guide to the Galaxy Companion. The original edition was published in 1988 is a leap year starting on a Friday of the Gregorian calendar. ...1988. The book is now in its third edition.

A novel, Douglas Adams's Starship Titanic, based on Adams's computer game and written by Terry Jones Terence Graham Parry Jones (born February 1, 1942) is a British comedian and writer. ...Terry Jones, is also set in the HHGG universe. While the story is entirely unrelated to the trilogy, Starship Titanic was briefly mentioned in Life, the Universe and Everything.

Wowbagger the Infinitely Prolonged, a character from Life, the Universe and Everything, also appears in a short story by Adams titled The Private Life of Genghis Khan which appears in some early editions of The Salmon of Doubt.

Two collaborative This article is about the Internet An internet is a more general term for any set of interconnected computer networks that are connected by internetworking Graphic representation of the WWW information network structure around Wikipedia, as represented by hyperlinks The Internet, or simply the Net, is the publicly available worldwide...Internet projects were inspired by The Hitchhiker's Guide to the Galaxy. The original is Project Galactic Guide (PGG) is a collaborative project inspired by The Hitchhikers Guide to the Galaxy, the fictional encyclopedia in books by Douglas Adams. ...Project Galactic Guide, which has no official affiliation. There is also The title given to this article is incorrect due to technical limitations. ...h2g2, a project started by Douglas Adams' company The Digital Village and currently hosted by the The British Broadcasting Corporation (BBC) was formed in 1927 by means of a royal charter from the Crown. ...BBC.

Film

Main article: The Hitchhikers Guide to the Galaxy is an upcoming science_fiction movie based on the book of the same name by Douglas Adams. ...The Hitchhiker's Guide to the Galaxy (movie).

After years of setbacks and renewed efforts to start production and a quarter of a century after the first book was published, the big_screen adaptation of The Hitchhiker's Guide to the Galaxy has finally been shot. Post_production began in early September of 2004. After a London — containing the City of London — is the capital of the United Kingdom and of England and a major world city. With over seven million inhabitants (Londoners) in Greater London area, it is amongst the most densely populated areas in Western Europe. ...London premiere on April 20 is the 110th day of the year in the Gregorian calendar (111th in leap years). ...April 20, 2005 is a common year starting on Saturday of the Gregorian calendar. ...2005, it was released on April 28 is the 118th day of the year (119th in leap years) in the Gregorian Calendar, with 247 days remaining. ...28 April in the The United Kingdom of Great Britain and Northern Ireland is a country in western Europe, and a member of the British Commonwealth and European Union. ...UK and Australia, officially the Commonwealth of Australia, is the sixth_largest country in the world, the only one to occupy an entire continent, and the largest in the region of Australasia/ Oceania. ...Australia, April 29 is the 119th day of the year in the Gregorian calendar (120th in leap years). ...29 April in the The United States of America — also referred to as the United States, the U.S.A., the U.S., America¹, the States, or (archaically) Columbia — is a federal republic of 50 states located primarily in central North America (with the exception of two states: Alaska and Hawaii). ...USA and Canada is an independent sovereign state in northern North America, the northern_most country in the world, and the second largest in total area. ...Canada, and June 10 is the 161st day of the year in the Gregorian calendar (162nd in leap years), with 204 days remaining. ...10 June in The Republic of South Africa (pronunciation) is a large republic in Southern Africa. ...South Africa. (A full list of release dates is available at the The Internet Movie Database (IMDb), owned by Amazon. ...IMDb here  (http://www.imdb.com/title/tt0371724/releaseinfo).)

• The Guide lists April 30th as Galactic Towel Day, a holiday of major importance in the few places where the month of April is observed. The celebration of Galactic Towel Day was decriminalized in Earth Year 2005 to correspond with the day after the release of a certain comedy film on a planet which has been made by Slartibartfast to look and behave exactly like one which has been destroyed in a parallel universe. Galactic Towel Day is celebrated in movie theaters, every April 30th, by finding a new use for your towel at exactly the moment when the character named Ford mentions the importance of towels.

Trivia

Marvin, played by actor Stephen Moore, was originally going to be called "Marshall" after comedy writer Andrew Marshall is a British comedy writer, most noted for the domestic sitcom 2point4 children. ...Andrew Marshall (see: The Burkiss Way was a BBC Radio 4 sketch comedy series that ran from August 1976 to November 1980. ...The Burkiss Way), a friend who Adams regarded as being a very depressed person; it was changed to "Marvin" partly to avoid causing offence, but also because it was pointed out to Adams that on radio the name would sound like "Martial", which would have undesirable connotations.

In one of the Hitchhiker's novels, Adams mentions that every intelligent race in the universe has a drink called The gin and tonic is a cocktail made with gin and tonic water. ...gin and tonics, but with slight spelling variations. The drinks themselves are unique _ one variant is called "chinanto/mnigs" which is ordinary water at slightly above room temperature, another species has "tzjin_anthony_ks" which kills cows at a hundred paces.

Cultural references

References to the series can be seen in many types of media:

• The name of the An instant messenger is a computer application which allows instant text communication between two or more people through a network such as the Internet. ...instant messenging program Screenshot of Trillian Pro 3. ...Trillian comes from the nickname of the character Tricia McMillan aka Trillian is a fictional character from Douglas Adams series The Hitchhikers Guide to the Galaxy. ...Tricia MacMillan.
• The AltaVista home page, 2004 The name AltaVista refers both to an Internet search engine company and to that companys search engine product. ...AltaVista Babel Fish Translator's name is a reference to the The Babel fish is a fictional species of fish in The Hitchhikers Guide to the Galaxy by Douglas Adams. ...Babel fish.
• On the television show This article is about the animated television series. ...South Park, the character Towelie often says, "Don't forget to bring a towel," which is similar to the Guide's hitchhiking advice.
• Google's calculator feature displays the number 42 is the natural number following 41 and followed by 43. ...42 when asked, "What is The Answer to Life, the Universe, and Everything is a concept taken from Douglas Adamss science fiction series The Hitchhikers Guide to the Galaxy. ...the answer to life, the universe, and everything?" [2] (http://www.google.com/search?hl=en&q=answer+to+life+the+universe+and+everything) (only works with all lower-case letters). MSN (or Microsoft Network) is an internet service provider and web portal (initially meant to be a parallel net to the Internet) created by Microsoft on August 24, 1995, coinciding with the release of Windows 95. ...MSN's calculator function also "knows" this.
• The Thom Yorke and Jonny Greenwood Radiohead is a British rock band from Oxford. ...Radiohead song " Paranoid Android is a song by Radiohead, from their highly acclaimed third album, OK Computer. ...Paranoid Android" refers to Marvin the Paranoid Android is a fictional character in The Hitchhikers Guide to the Galaxy series by Douglas Adams. ...Marvin, the depressed robot.
• The band NOFX is a California punk band. ...NOFX released an album in 1997 called The seminal punk rock band NOFX released this album on November 11, 1997. ...So_Long_and_Thanks_for_All_the_Shoes, in reference to the dolphin's final quote, "So long, and thanks for all the fish."
• GameFAQs main page in September, 2004 GameFAQs is a popular website about video games that has helped gamers through FAQs and walkthroughs for games since November 1995. ...GameFAQs' most popular message board: "Life, the Universe, and Everything" (LUE) is derived from the book of the same name; strangely the board's identity number is 402 (forty-two with the numbers separated by a nought.) (LUE has since been made into a private board, and is no longer accesible except to those that can already access it.) Other boards named after the Guide include "Mostly Harmless".
• The character of Lionel, in the PBS re-directs here; for alternate uses see PBS (disambiguation) PBS logo The Public Broadcasting Service (PBS) is a non-profit public broadcasting television service with 349 member TV stations in the United States. ...PBS Kids' series Between the Lions is a PBS childrens puppet show designed to promote reading. ...Between the Lions wears a '42' on his rugby jersey sleeve. This is a deliberate homage by Christopher Cerf, as discussed in his introduction to the US Editions of The Salmon of Doubt.
• In the game For the film, see GoldenEye GoldenEye 007 is a first-person shooter for the Nintendo 64 based on the James Bond film GoldenEye. ...GoldenEye 007 for An N64 (with Super Smash Bros. ...Nintendo 64, one of the "awards" that can be earned in multiplayer mode is "Mostly Harmless."
• In the game Elite is a seminal space trading-game, originally published by Acornsoft in 1984 for the BBC Micro and Acorn Electron computers and subsequently ported to many others. ...Elite the player's first ranking is "Harmless", after which they progress to "Mostly Harmless." These are, respectively, the entire entries for the planet Earth, also known as the Earth or Terra, is the third planet outward from the Sun. ...Earth in the Hitchhiker's Guide to the Galaxy before and after Ford Prefect is: a model of car - see Ford Prefect (car) a character in The Hitchhikers Guide to the Galaxy, named after the car - see Ford Prefect (character) This is a disambiguation page — a navigational aid which lists other pages that might otherwise share the same title. ...Ford Prefect's update.
• In the children's online game Neopets is a popular online virtual pet simulation game. ...Neopets, an item called a Pan Galactic Gargle Slushie can be purchased. It references the A Pan Galactic Gargle Blaster is a fictional alcoholic drink which is mentioned in Douglas Adamss humorous science fiction radio series, novel, computer game, and television series The Hitchhikers Guide to the Galaxy. ...Pan Galactic Gargle Blaster, named the best drink in existence by the Guide.
• The Several poses of the Dopefish The Dopefish is a dimwitted fictional fish that was one of the enemy characters in the fourth Commander Keen computer game, released in 1991. ...Dopefish is listed as the second dumbest creature in the universe, possibly a reference to the Ravenous Bugblatter Beast of Traal.
• A real life chess computer has been named Deep Thought is a computer, first in a line of chess computers that included Deep Blue, the computer that defeated Garry Kasparov in a six-game chess match. ...Deep Thought after the computer which works out the "Ultimate Answer" in the stories.
• In the computer game series Escape Velocity is a single-player, role-playing, space computer game series. ...Escape Velocity the lowest available character rank is Harmless, with Mostly Harmless coming in second.
• The novel Planetfall, written by Arthur Byron Cover, and based on the Infocom was an American software company based in Cambridge, Massachusetts. ...Infocom game of the same name, was sold with the tagline: "In the bestselling tradition of The Hitchhiker's Guide to the Galaxy," and referenced the importance of towels and also contained a variant on the "Dentarthurdent" joke between Arthur and Slartibartfast (from the first book, or radio/tv episode 3).
• In the computer game Evil Genius the lowest notoriety rank is Harmless, followed by Mostly Harmless

Also, in the game, "Impossible Creatures," (a game where you can mix two animals, turn them into fighting monsters, produce them in large numbers, and send them to attack the enemy) Rex says, "So Long and Thanks for All the Fish" after the villagers he saves from a fire give him a bunch of Archerfish to mix with other creatures. This refer's to the 4th books name and what the dolphins say shortly before leaving Earth.

See also

• Dirk Gently is a fictional character created by Douglas Adams and featured in the books Dirk Gentlys Holistic Detective Agency and The Long Dark Teatime of the Soul. ...Dirk Gently — another Douglas Noël Adams ( March 11, 1952 – May 11, 2001) — also known as Bop Ad or Bob after his illegible signature, or by his initials DNA — was a British comic radio dramatist and author, most notably of The Hitchhikers Guide to the Galaxy (HHGG or H2G2). ...Douglas Adams creation
• Hitchhiking (also called lifting or thumbing) is a form of transport, in which the traveller tries to get a lift (ride) from another traveller, usually a car or truck driver. ...hitchhiking
• The title given to this article is incorrect due to technical limitations. ...h2g2
• The Ultra-Complete Index to the Hitch Hiker's Guide to the Galaxy — a list of hundreds of characters, places and things mentioned in the series, with page references.

External links

Official sites

• BBC Cult website (http://www.bbc.co.uk/cult/hitchhikers/) (includes information, links and downloads)
• BBC Radio 4 website (http://www.bbc.co.uk/radio4/hitchhikers/) (includes information on the new radio series)
  • Computer Game (http://www.bbc.co.uk/radio4/hitchhikers/game.shtml) (special Anniversary Edition, updated by the BBC and playable online using Macromedia Flash or Flash is a graphics animation program, written and marketed by Macromedia, that uses vector graphics. ...Flash)
• Above The Title Productions (http://www.abovethetitle.com/content/programmes/hitchhikers/hitchhikers.html) (production company behind the new radio series)
• Dirk Maggs (http://www.dswilliams.co.uk/dirk%20maggs/main%20page.htm) (director of the new radio series)
• Official Movie Site (http://hitchhikers.movies.go.com)
• The Hitchhiker's Guide to the Galaxy (2005 movie) (http://www.imdb.com/title/tt0371724/) at the The Internet Movie Database (IMDb), owned by Amazon. ...Internet Movie Database
• The Hitch Hikers Guide to the Galaxy (1981 TV series) (http://www.imdb.com/title/tt0081874/) at the The Internet Movie Database (IMDb), owned by Amazon. ...Internet Movie Database

Significant fan sites

• HHGTTGOnline.com (http://www.HHGTTGOnline.com/) _ The largest HHGTTG fansite in the world.
• HHGTTGOnline.com News Blog (http://hitchhikersguidetothegalaxy.blogspot.com/) _ The definitive source for up to date HHGTTG news.
• The Douglas Adams Continuum (http://www.douglasadams.se/) _ Very active HHGTTG forum
• The Douglas Adams Portal (http://www.douglasadams.info/) – Just one of Nicolas Botti's many Hitchhiker's Guide sites.
• ZZ9 Plural Z Alpha (http://www.zz9.org/) _ The Official Hitchhiker's Guide to the Galaxy Appreciation Society.
• Planet Magrathea (http://www.planetmagrathea.com) – M.J. Simpson's site. (Now closed)