NationMaster - Encyclopedia: Zaphod Beeblebrox

Zaphod Beeblebrox is a fictional character in the various versions of the humorous science fiction story The Hitchhiker's Guide to the Galaxy by Douglas Adams who based him on his Cambridge contemporary, Johnny Simpson.^[1] Zaphod Beeblebrox is a popular Byward Market nightclub in Ottawa, Canada. ... Meerkat Manor is a British television show made by Oxford Scientific Films for Animal Planet International. ... Mark Wing-Davey as Zaphod Beeblebrox (with animatronic head and extra arm provided by Mike Kelt). ... 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. ... 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 NoÃ«l Adams (11 March 1952 â€“ 11 May 2001) was an English author, comic radio dramatist, and musician. ... 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. ... Sam Rockwell as Zaphod Beeblebrox in The Hitchhikers Guide to the Galaxy. ... Alice, a fictional character based on a real character from the work of Lewis Carroll. ... Science fiction is a form of speculative fiction principally dealing with the impact of imagined science and technology, or both, upon society and persons as individuals. ... The cover of the first novel in the Hitchhikers series, from a late 1990s printing. ... Douglas NoÃ«l Adams (11 March 1952 â€“ 11 May 2001) was an English author, comic radio dramatist, and musician. ... This article is about the city in England. ...

He is from a planet in the vicinity of Betelgeuse, and is a "semi-cousin" of Ford Prefect, with whom he "shares three of the same mothers". Due to "an accident with a contraceptive and a time machine", his direct ancestors from his father (Zaphod Beeblebrox the Second) are also his direct descendants (see Zaphod Beeblebrox the Fourth). This article is about the star. ... Mos Def as Ford Prefect (left), along with Martin Freeman as Arthur Dent (right), from the 2005 film adaptation. ... Poster for Back to the Future (1985). ... There are many minor characters in the various versions of The Hitchhikers Guide to the Galaxy, by Douglas Adams. ...

Appearance

This character is described across all versions as having two heads and three arms, though explanations of how he came to receive the extra appendages differed between versions. The original radio version never explained the second head, but did explain that Zaphod "grew" the third arm in the six months between meeting the character of Trillian on Earth, and the start of the series. The third radio series implies that he had a third arm whilst growing up - the fifth has him offer to Trillian that "I'd grow my third arm back for you, baby", when they first meet. In the novel, he said the third arm was "recently [...] fitted just beneath his right one to help improve his ski-boxing." According to the original Hitchhiker's radio series script book, an ad libbed comment by Mark Wing-Davey in the eighth radio episode ("Put it there, and there, and there, and there! Whoa!") would suggest that Zaphod had grown a fourth arm. Heracles and the Lernaean Hydra by Gustave Moreau: The Hydra is perhaps the best known mythological multi-headed animal, also popularised in many fantasy settings. ... Zooey Deschanel as Trillian from the film adaptation. ... The terms Primary Phase and Secondary Phase describe the first two radio series of The Hitchhikers Guide to the Galaxy. ...

In the Infocom game version of the story, Zaphod blends in on Earth by hiding his second head in a covered bird cage (an alternate Trillian also refers to this in Mostly Harmless). In the television series, Ford Prefect simply remarks to Zaphod that "the extra arm suits you." For the 2005 movie, it's hinted that Zaphod "created" the second head himself when shutting off the parts of his mind that contain portions of his personality that "are not presidential." As such, the movie is also the only version that explains the second head. (However, in the Hitchhiker's Guide to the Galaxy novel, the ghost of Zaphod's great-grandfather also has two heads. This and other information presented in the narrative prose seem to indicate that having two heads is a common -- possibly even universal -- trait of Zaphod's species.) In this filmed version, the second head appears underneath the first, popping up when the first head is flipped backwards; the third arm is hidden underneath Zaphod's clothing, and only appears when necessary (such as for tormenting Arthur Dent or piloting the spaceship Heart of Gold). The front cover of the US first hardcover edition of Mostly Harmless. ... Mos Def as Ford Prefect (left), along with Martin Freeman as Arthur Dent (right), from the 2005 film adaptation. ... Heracles and the Lernaean Hydra by Gustave Moreau: The Hydra is perhaps the best known mythological multi-headed animal, also popularised in many fantasy settings. ... Information Species Human Gender Male Age 30 (approx. ... Heart of Gold is a fictional spaceship in The Hitchhikers Guide to the Galaxy by Douglas Adams. ...

Achievements

Zaphod invented the Pan Galactic Gargle Blaster, and is the only person able to drink more than three of them at one sitting. He was voted "Worst Dressed Sentient Being in the Known Universe" for seven years in a row. He's been described as "the best Bang since the Big One" by Eccentrica Gallumbits, and as "one hoopy frood" by others. In the seventh episode of the original radio series, the narrator describes Beeblebrox as being the "owner of the hippest place in the universe" (his own left cranium), as voted on in a poll of the readers of the fictional magazine Playbeing. The Pan Galactic Gargle Blaster is a fictional alcoholic drink which is mentioned in Douglas Adams humorous science fiction radio series, novels, computer game, movie, comic book mini-series, and television series The Hitchhikers Guide to the Galaxy. ... The following is a list of minor characters in the various versions of The Hitchhikers Guide to the Galaxy, by Douglas Adams. ... The terms Primary Phase and Secondary Phase describe the first two radio series of The Hitchhikers Guide to the Galaxy. ... The cover of the booklet included with the Collectors Edition CD set release of the first two Hitchhikers radio series. ...

He was briefly the President of the Galaxy (a role that involves no power whatsoever, and merely requires the incumbent to attract attention so no one wonders who's really in charge, which is a role Zaphod was perfectly suited for). He is the only man to have survived the Total Perspective Vortex. However, it was established (in the books and first two radio series) that he survived only because the Vortex he was subjected to existed in an Electronically Synthesized Universe which was created specially for him. This made Zaphod the most important being in it. His brain-care specialist, Gag Halfrunt, also said, "Vell, Zaphod's just zis guy, you know?" He used his position as President of the Galaxy to steal the Heart of Gold, a spaceship taking advantage of Infinite Improbability Drive, at its unveiling. President is a title held by many leaders of organizations, companies, trade unions, universities, and countries. ... The Total Perspective Vortex, in the fictional world of Douglas Adamss The Hitchhikers Guide to the Galaxy, is the most horrible torture device to which a sentient being can be subjected. ... Heart of Gold is a fictional spaceship in The Hitchhikers Guide to the Galaxy by Douglas Adams. ... The Infinite Improbability Drive is a fictional faster-than-light drive in Douglas Adams The Hitchhikers Guide to the Galaxy series of books. ...

As a character

As a character, Zaphod is hedonistic and irresponsible, self-centered almost to the point of solipsism, and often extremely insensitive to the feelings of those around him. In the books and radio series, he is nevertheless quite intelligent, though he sometimes prefers not to make this obvious, and can be briefly shamed into better behaviour. Douglas Adams has said that Zaphod is always desperately trying to appear relaxed. In the movie, however, he is not very bright (in fact, his opponent in the previous Presidential election had appeared to have graffitied a "Vote for Zaphod Beeblebrox" sign into a "Don't vote for ~~Zaphod Beeblebrox~~ stupid") and perhaps even more boorish than his previous portrayals. He is portrayed as a vacuous California surfer-type, and Sam Rockwell, the actor who played him, cited Bill Clinton, Elvis Presley and Freddie Mercury as influences. Solipsism (Latin: solus, alone + ipse, self) is the philosophical idea that My mind is the only thing that I know exists. Solipsism is an epistemological or metaphysical position that knowledge of anything outside the mind is unjustified. ... This article is about the U.S. state. ... See World Wide Web for surfing the web; see also Wind surfing Surfing at Kaneohe Bay, Hawaii. ... Sam Rockwell as Zaphod Beeblebrox in The Hitchhikers Guide to the Galaxy. ... William Jefferson Bill Clinton (born William Jefferson Blythe III[1] on August 19, 1946) was the 42nd President of the United States, serving from 1993 to 2001. ... Elvis redirects here. ... Freddie Mercury (born Farrokh Bulsara; 5 September 1946 â€“ 24 November 1991) was a British musician, best known as the lead singer of the rock band Queen (inducted into the Rock and Roll Hall of Fame in 2001). ...

Throughout the book and radio versions of the story, Zaphod is busy carrying out some grand scheme, and has no clue as to what it is and is unable to do anything but follow the path that he laid out for himself. Zaphod's grand schemes have included, over time, a second hand ballpoint pen business (which may or may not have been established with the help of Veet Voojagig). He was forced to section off the part of his brain that stored the plan so that scans of his mind, which would be necessary for him to become president, wouldn't reveal his plan, which included his being President of the Galaxy. In the second radio series and the book version of The Restaurant at the End of the Universe, we learn (and so does Zaphod) that he ordered the destruction of the Earth by the Vogons, apparently as part of a plot by the galaxy's psychiatrists, philosophers and other professional thinkers to prevent the "Ultimate Question" (to which the answer is 42) from becoming known. The following is a list of minor characters in the various versions of The Hitchhikers Guide to the Galaxy, by Douglas Adams. ... 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. ... Look up forty-two in Wiktionary, the free dictionary. ...

According to screening tests that Zaphod ran on himself in the Heart of Gold's medical bay, he is "clever, imaginative, irresponsible, untrustworthy, extrovert, nothing you couldn't have guessed" (Ultimate Hitchhiker's Guide, page 98).

In non-print media

In both the radio and television versions of The Hitchhiker's Guide to the Galaxy Zaphod was played by Mark Wing-Davey. The jokes about Zaphod having two heads and more than two arms were written for the original radio version, where the details could be filled in by the listener's imagination. In the television version Wing-Davey wore a false arm (when the arm was required to gesture it was replaced by the arm of Mike Felt, designer of the animatronic head, standing behind Wing-Davey), and a radio-controlled second head with an eyepatch. Unfortunately, the second head's mechanics seldom worked properly and so for most of the time it just sat on Zaphod's shoulder looking inanimate, although in one scene it manages to have a brief conversation with Wing-Davey's real head. Wing-Davey also suggested to the TV series' costume designer that Zaphod's costume should be made to indicate that the character has two penises. Special padding was thus arranged, though the first attempt was deemed to be "too long" and was "cut back" for the final version. This was referenced in the film version when Arthur Dent says to Trillian "So, two heads is what does it for a girl?...Anything else he's got two of?" This line was in turn appropriated in the Doctor Who episode "The Christmas Invasion" after Jackie Tyler learns that the Doctor has two hearts. 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. ... Animatronic is the third album from Norweigan black metal band, The Kovenant, and was released in 1999 through Nuclear Blast. ... This article is about the television series. ... The Christmas Invasion is a 60-minute special episode of the British science fiction television series Doctor Who. ... Jackie Tyler, maiden name Jacqueline Andrea Suzette Prentice, (born February 1, 1967) is a fictional character in the British science fiction television series Doctor Who, played by Camille Coduri. ...

Zaphod is played by Sam Rockwell in the film version of the story that was released in April 2005. In that version, his second head is where a human's neck is and occasionally pops out to express the parts of his personality that are (as the main head puts it) "less than Presidential." Rockwell's interpretation of the character, which includes a vaguely Texan drawl and a vacuous, superficially charming manner, was cited by some critics as a thinly veiled parody of George W. Bush. Rockwell himself described the character as starting with "a Bill Clinton impersonation but that didn't really work. [...] Zaphod has to be more aggressive and so we went rock star, Freddie Mercury, Elvis, a little Brad Pitt." Sam Rockwell as Zaphod Beeblebrox in The Hitchhikers Guide to the Galaxy. ... The Hitchhikers Guide to the Galaxy is a science fiction comedy film based on the book of the same name by Douglas Adams. ... Year 2005 (MMV) was a common year starting on Saturday (link displays full calendar) of the Gregorian calendar. ... For other uses, see Texas (disambiguation). ... In contemporary usage, a parody (or lampoon) is a work that imitates another work in order to ridicule, ironically comment on, or poke some affectionate fun at the work itself, the subject of the work, the author or fictional voice of the parody, or another subject. ... George Walker Bush (born July 6, 1946) is the forty-third and current President of the United States of America, originally inaugurated on January 20, 2001. ...

To coincide with the April 2005 release of The Hitchhiker's Guide to the Galaxy film, a "campaign music video" was released on the Internet. The music, "Beeblebrox for President", comes from the film's soundtrack, though it is not heard in the film itself.

Cultural references

The head male meerkat on the Animal Planet television series Meerkat Manor was named after him ^[2]. Animal Planet, launched in 1996, is a cable and satellite television network co-owned by Discovery Communications, Inc. ... Meerkat Manor is a British television show made by Oxford Scientific Films for Animal Planet International. ...

In the punk band NOFX's song "food, sex and ewe" from their 1990 album Ribbed, lead singer Fat Mike mentions reading about Zaphod Beeblebrox to pass the day between gigs while they are touring. ^[3] NOFX is an American punk rock band formed in Los Angeles, California (now based in San Francisco), in 1983. ... Ribbed is the third studio album by NOFX, it was released on March 26, 1991. ... Michael Burkett, more commonly known as Fat Mike, is the lead singer and bassist of the popular punk band NOFX, as well as bass player for Me First and the Gimme Gimmes. ...

Zaphod Beeblebrox is also the name of a bar in Ottawa, Ontario, Canada, which is noted to serve Pan Galactic Gargle Blasters. Zaphod Beeblebrox is a popular Byward Market nightclub in Ottawa, Canada. ... The Pan Galactic Gargle Blaster is a fictional alcoholic drink which is mentioned in Douglas Adams humorous science fiction radio series, novels, computer game, movie, comic book mini-series, and television series The Hitchhikers Guide to the Galaxy. ...

In the Mac game Escape Velocity there is a planet called Beeblebrox in the Zaphod system. On landing the planet has the description "Beeblebrox is a wild world, a world of wild parties and wild people. If you have two heads, three arms, and an ego problem, don’t travel to Beeblebrox; you will be laughed at and considered boring and unoriginal." For other senses of this term, see escape velocity (disambiguation). ...

See also

This is a list of places featured in The Hitchhikers Guide to the Galaxy. ... Young Zaphod Plays it Safe is a short story by Douglas Adams set in his The Hitchhikers Guide to the Galaxy universe. ...

References

External links

Categories: Characters in written fiction | Fictional extraterrestrials | Fictional Heads of State | Hitchhiker's Guide to the Galaxy | Fictional characters with extra arms Image File history File links Portal. ... Image File history File links Answer_to_Life. ... The cover of the first novel in the Hitchhikers series, from a late 1990s printing. ... Douglas NoÃ«l Adams (11 March 1952 â€“ 11 May 2001) was an English author, comic radio dramatist, and musician. ... The cover of The Hitchhikers Guide to the Galaxy, from a late 1990s US printing. ... 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. ... Life, the Universe and Everything (1982, ISBN 0-345-39182-9) is the third book in the five-volume Hitchhikers Guide to the Galaxy science fiction series by Douglas Adams. ... So Long, and Thanks for All the Fish (1984, ISBN 0-345-39183-7) is the fourth book of the Hitchhikers Guide to the Galaxy series written by Douglas Adams. ... The front cover of the US first hardcover edition of Mostly Harmless. ... Young Zaphod Plays it Safe is a short story by Douglas Adams set in his The Hitchhikers Guide to the Galaxy universe. ... The front cover of the UK first hardcover edition of The Salmon of Doubt. ... The cover of the booklet included with the Collectors Edition CD set release of the first two Hitchhikers radio series. ... The terms Primary Phase and Secondary Phase describe the first two radio series of The Hitchhikers Guide to the Galaxy. ... 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. ... 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 Hitchhikers Guide to the Galaxy is a science fiction comedy film based on the book of the same name by Douglas Adams. ... 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 Hitchhikers Guide to the Galaxy has appeared in nine different versions since its original radio series in 1978. ... // Covering Radio/TV Episodes 1-6, and their equivalents. ... Information Species Human Gender Male Age 30 (approx. ... Mos Def as Ford Prefect (left), along with Martin Freeman as Arthur Dent (right), from the 2005 film adaptation. ... 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... Zooey Deschanel as Trillian from the film adaptation. ... There are many minor characters in the 5-part fictional trilogy The Hitchhikers Guide to the Galaxy, by Douglas Adams. ... The Hitchhikers Guide to the Galaxy as depicted in the 2005 film adaptation. ... The following is a list of minor characters in the various versions of The Hitchhikers Guide to the Galaxy, by Douglas Adams. ... This is a list of races, fauna and flora featured in various incarnations of The Hitchhikers Guide to the Galaxy. ... This is a list of places featured in The Hitchhikers Guide to the Galaxy. ... The Total Perspective Vortex, in the fictional world of Douglas Adamss The Hitchhikers Guide to the Galaxy, is the most horrible torture device to which a sentient being can be subjected. ... Heart of Gold is a fictional spaceship in The Hitchhikers Guide to the Galaxy by Douglas Adams. ... The Wikkit Gate is a fictional artifact in the universe of Douglas Adams The Hitchhikers Guide to the Galaxy, as featured in the novel Life, the Universe and Everything. ... Front cover of the box from the original US Windows 95 CD-ROM release of Starship Titanic, by Simon & Schuster Interactive. ... Galactic Imperial seal, as represented in the Hitchhikers Guide television series. ... The Whole Sort of General Mish Mash (WSOGMM) is a fictional concept in physics and cosmology from Douglas Adams The Hitchhikers Guide to the Galaxy series, mentioned in Mostly Harmless. ... The Ultimate Answer to Life, The Universe, and Everything The 42 Puzzle, as it appeared in The Illustrated Hitchhikers Guide to the Galaxy The Answer to Life, the Universe, and Everything has a numeric solution in Douglas Adams series The Hitchhikers Guide to the Galaxy. ... Spoiler warning: The 42 Puzzle, as it appeared on pages 80 and 81 of The Illustrated Hitchhikers Guide to the Galaxy The 42 Puzzle is a game devised by Douglas Adams in 1994 for his popular The Hitchhikers Guide to the Galaxy series. ... Anatomy of a babel fish as illustrated in the BBC TV series by Rod Lord. ... The Bistromathic Drive is a starship propulsion system in Douglas Adamss The Hitchhikers Guide to the Galaxy. ... H2G2 is also an acronym for the The Hitchhikers Guide to the Galaxy. ... Infinidim Enterprises is the name of a publishing corporation in Douglas Adams book Mostly Harmless, fifth of the Hitchhikers Guide to the Galaxy trilogy. ... The Infinite Improbability Drive is a fictional faster-than-light drive in Douglas Adams The Hitchhikers Guide to the Galaxy series of books. ... The cover of the 2005 Romanian translation of The Hitchhikers Guide to the Galaxy. ... The Hitchhikers Guide to the Galaxy has become so popular among sci-fi and computer enthusiasts that certain phrases from it are widely recognised and often used in reference to, but outside the context of, the source material. ... The Pan Galactic Gargle Blaster is a fictional alcoholic drink which is mentioned in Douglas Adams humorous science fiction radio series, novels, computer game, movie, comic book mini-series, and television series The Hitchhikers Guide to the Galaxy. ... The Point-of-view gun is a fictional device created by Douglas Adams for the movie version[1] of The Hitchhikers Guide to the Galaxy, and does not appear in any of the previous versions of the story. ... The Somebody Elses Problem field (SEP field) is a fictional technology from The Hitchhikers Guide to the Galaxy trilogy by Douglas Adams. ... Encyclopedia Galactica: the inept Sirius Cybernetics Corporation Marketing Division. ... Towel Day 2005, Innsbruck, Austria, where, by his own accounts, Adams got the inspiration to write the Guide. ... Arthur Dent being read Vogon poetry in the TV series Vogon Poetry is poetry written by Vogons, an alien race in Douglas Adams The Hitchhikers Guide to the Galaxy. ... Douglas Adamss Guide to The Hitch-Hikers Guide to the Galaxy is a BBC Radio production sold as an audio book on two cassette tapes. ...

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