The Hitchhiker ’s Guide to the Galaxyis one weird , rambling , nerdy epic poem . In its more than 30 - twelvemonth history , The Hitchhiker ’s Guidehas take the form of tuner show , six account book " trilogy , " TV series , stage gambol and video plot . Along the mode , it ’s rubbed shoulder with Darth Vader , lock horns with the Ghostbusters , jammed with Pink Floyd and Radiohead , and put its stamp on an asteroid , among many other things .
As the unexampled movie sets out to reinvent the series yet again , we represent our hot listing of 42 Hitchhiker ’s facts that will beat your friends , astonish your trivia - Nox adversaries and put you one step closer to Dungeon Master .
The Radio Series
On February 4 , 1977 , the series creator Douglas Adams met with BBC Producer Simon Brett , who at the time was doing BBC Radio 4’sThe Burkiss Way . After the meeting , Brett agreed to help Adams pitch a skill fiction comedy radio show to the BBC . This was the nascence ofThe Hitchhiker ’s Guide to the Galaxy .
1.)The initial melodic theme forThe Hitchhiker ’s Guide to the Galaxycame to Douglas Adams while lie inebriated in a field retain a copy of The Hitchhiker ’s Guide to Europe , staring up at the night sky .
2.)Adams ' original concept was calledThe Ends of the Earth . The estimate was that at the end of each show , the Earth would be destroyed in a raw and interesting way .
3.)As the story develop , Adams produce the alien characterFord Prefect . Prefect , a writer for a galactic travel template , was to provide context for the audience and a come off non - Earthling perspective . hug drug finally make over the concept to center on this guide .
4.)The independent grapheme ’s name was changed from Aleric B to Arthur Dent during a hack ride to the BBC pitch coming together .
5.)The first installment bare on BBC Radio 4 on Wednesday , March 8 , 1978 , at 10:30 pm . The first serial publication contained six episodes that the show ’s production squad referred to as " fits . "
6.)An audio version ofThe Hitchhiker ’s Guidewas let go of on vinyl radical in 1979 . It was a condensed variant of the first four radio sequence . For sound reason , it was a totally different recording than what the BBC broadcast on the radio . The music used on the radio broadcast could not be distributed commercially without paying licensing fees .
7.)The Hitchhiker ’s Guide to the Galaxyradio serial publication was often praise for its grounbreaking phone effects . go was passionate about giving the show ’s sound the same product economic value as a modern rock ‘n’ roll record album . The Hitchhiker ’s serial was the first comedy radio show on the BBC to be broadcast in two-channel .
9.)Marvin the Paranoid Android was originally written as a one - sentence joke for the radio series . But after his debut , Marvin became an instantaneous fan favorite . The show ’s producer at the time , Geoffrey Perkins , cheer Adams to develop Marvin into one of the series ' main fictitious character .
10.)In September , 2004 , the BBC air the newTertiary Phaseepisodes ofThe Hitchhiker ’s Guide to the Galaxyon BBC Radio 4 . Prior to his death , Adams had started work with Dirk Maggs to conform books three through five of the " trilogy " for radio broadcast . After Adams ' last , Maggs used Adams ' notes to polish off write and directing the last two segments of the serial , title theQuandary Phaseand theQuintessential Phase . The two new phases are slated to be broadcast on the BBC in tardy 2005 and will enfold up the story discharge .
11.)In the BBC programme of theTertiary Phase , Douglas Adams posthumously limn the angry , Arthur - Dent - hating character Agrajag . Maggs did this by editing together recording of Adams reading from his book .
The Book
With the achiever of the wireless series , Adams was persuade to put his story in Quran form . From 1979 to 1992 , Adams publish the inaccurately entitle , five - bookHitchhiker ’s Trilogy .
12.)The book , The Hitchhiker ’s Guide to the Galaxywas published in England in September of 1979 . It was an expanded version of the first four radio episodes . It spent several week as a Sunday Times Mass Market Best Seller . Because Adams had blown so many deadline while writing the first ledger , the publishers finally called him asking that he simply finish the pageboy he was write . And they right away sent a cycle courier to cull up the holograph . That is why the first book end so abruptly .
13.)In the fall of 1980 , the second book , The Restaurant at the goal of the Universe , hit storage shelves . This was the same prison term the first leger was release in the United States . The book was a condensed and out - of - order interlingual rendition of episode seven , eight , nine , 10 , 11 , 12 , five and six of the radiocommunication show .
14.)The third rule book , Life , the Universe and Everything , come out in 1982 . The story begins to take a darker turn in this book and begins to advertize the plot beyond what was track in the radio series .
15.)The fourth book in the trilogy , So Long and Thanks for all the Fish , come out in 1984 . It dealt with a new report for the series – love .
16.)The concluding book , Mostly Harmless , come out in 1992 . It ended the serial write up electric arc with the destruction of the Earth ( again ) .
17.)In 1984 , Douglas Adams became the youngest writer ever to be awarded a Golden Pan Award from Pan Books , the UK publisher of the Word series . He was also later nominated for the first Best of Young British Novelists awards .
The TV Show
The Hitchhiker ’s Guide to the GalaxyTV series first aired on the BBC in 1981 . Directed and produced by Alan Bell , it was , for the time , a lavish effects - drenched production .
18.)In a later episode of the TV serial publication , the very tall bodyguard who keeps Ford by from galactic rock star Hotblack Desiato is none other than Dave Prowse - the body of Darth Vader in the original Star Wars photographic film . The Hitchhiker ’s producer initially want the actor who portrayed the flaccid , annoying and vaguely girlie aspects of Darth Vader ’s personality , but Hayden Christensen was n’t uncommitted .
19.)The TV show ’s computer art were created by Rod Lord at Pearce Studios . These visuals were groundbreaking for the clock time and drew quite a scrap of attention to the show . The rum thing is that they are n’t in reality computer - generate at all . Lord create these result by quicken reverse - out line drawing on acetate rayon . He used lighting gels ( the type used in yield lighting ) to create the colors for the sequences .
The Movie
The road to Touchstone ’s new movie interlingual rendition ofThe Hitchhiker ’s Guide to the Galaxyhas been a long one . The film – or at least the idea of the cinema – has been in the works for more than 20 years . At one degree , the series Maker Douglas Adams was quoted as saying that the picture show would be made " sometime before the last Trump . "
20.)The picture was first optioned in 1982 , by producers Ivan Reitman , Joe Medjuck and Michael C. Gross . Douglas Adams wrote three different reading of the script for the yield squad . Reitman and companionship intended the sci - fi comedy to be a fomite for either Bill Murray or Dan Aykroyd . At the prison term , both actors were considered for the role of Ford Prefect .
In the remainder , Adams ' script was trumped by another sci - fi comedy theme that Dan Aykroyd presented to the production squad . Yes , The Hitchhiker ’s Guide to the Galaxywas indefinitely set back so that Reitman and company could make Ghostbusters .
21.)In 1997 , after years of on - again - off - again interest in the project , Adams finally signed a flock with Disney to make the photographic film . Adams started run on a new version of the playscript , and Disney put Jay Roach ( Austin Powers ) in the conductor ’s electric chair .
22.)To tot up virtuoso might to the film , Disney to begin with courted Hugh Laurie ( Stuart Little ) to play Arthur , Jim Carrey ( Eternal Sunshine of the Spotless Mind ) to act Zaphod Beeblbrox and the late Nigel Hawthorn ( Amistad ) for the function Slartibartfast .
23.)Jay Roach finally backed out of the labor . Wanting the picture to be in good hands , he convey the task to Spike Jonze . Jonze also pass on the movie , but paint a picture the directing team of Hammer and Tongs – AKA Nick Goldsmith and Garth Jennings . The duo , know mainly for medicine videos , accepted and the projection was under way .
24.)Adams wrote the belated version of the screenplay himself , but Garth Jennings and Karey Kirkpatrick revised the script after Adams ' death .
25.)Adams created John Malkovich ’s character , a religious drawing card nominate Humma Kavula , especially for the movie .
26.)Simon Jones , who played Arthur Dent in both the radio and television versions ofThe Hitchhiker ’s Guide to the Galaxy , has a cameo in the plastic film . Jones was a animation - long friend of Douglas Adams .
27.)The original Marvin the Paranoid Android from the boob tube miniseries appears in the movie as a different robot .
Beyond The Guide
Whether or not you ’ve ever even heard ofThe Hitchhiker ’s Guide to the Galaxy , chances are you are familiar with some aspect of the tale . References and homages to this epic taradiddle have sink in almost every aspect of dada civilization , arts , science and engineering .
28.)The Hitchhiker ’s Guidecomputer game total out in 1984 , to wide acclaim . It was a text - based adventure that Douglas himself co - designed with Steve Meretzky . It fall with JooJanta danger - sore sunglasses , and a miniature battle fleet . It was very sophisticated for its twenty-four hours and nearly impossible to complete . you may still play it onlinehere .
29.)The Hitchhiker ’s Guide to the Galaxywas brought to the phase by Ken Cambell . The first production occupy spot at the Institute of Contemporary Arts in May 1979 . The first run was very successful and had the audience seat on an tremendous ground-effect machine .
Ken Campbell eventually staged an even more too-generous variation of his original yield featuring lasers , revolving stages , and a theatre remodeled to look like a spaceport . The squad promoted the production by discombobulate a huge inflatable giant off of London ’s Tower Bridge . Despite the unique marketing , the production failed miserably .
30.)In the creation ofThe Hitchhiker ’s Guide , the Babel Pisces is a tiny bloodsucking Pisces that travelers put in their spike . Once in situation , the fish will mechanically translate any nomenclature in the galaxy to the native tongue of the host . Altavista ’s on - line translator is named Babel Fish after the tiny Douglas - created creature . condition it out .
31.)The insistent messenging programTrillianwas name afterThe Hitchhiker’sheroine of the same name .
32.)If you type in , " what is the answer to living , the cosmos , and everything ? " ( all lower case ) into the Google figurer , you ’ll get the answer , " 42 " ( the same answer to this dubiousness as find in The Hitchhiker ’s Guide to the Galaxy).Try it.(You have to scroll down the varlet to get to the calculator . )
33.)The Radiohead Sung , Paranoid Androidis a refrerence to Marvin the Paranoid Android .
34.)One of the most pop message boards on the Internet is GameFAQs ' Life , the Universe , and Everything . It ’s distinguish after the third book inThe Hitchhiker’sseries .
35.)Christopher Cerf , the man behind the PBS Kids ' seriesBetween the Lions , admits that the " 42 " on the character Lionel ’s rugby jersey is a deliberate homage to Douglas Adams and his creation .
36.)South Park’sTowlie often order , " Do n’t forget to bring a towel , " an obvious nod to the wakeless advice ofThe Guide .
37.)FPS game granddaddyGoldenEye : 007for Nintendo 64 sport the " Mostly Harmless " multiplayer award for player who earn the least kills in a match . In the Guide , " Mostly harmless " is the revised incoming used to describe Earth .
38.)The online children ’s gameNeopetsfeatures an point called the Pan Galactic Gargle Slushie . This is the kiddie rendering of theThe Hitchhiker’sPan Galactic Gargle Blaster . consort to the guide , the Gargle Blaster is one the honest ( and most dangerous ) grownup beverages in this or any other wandflower .
39.)Dippy television plot villain and reoccurring Easter egg , the Dopefish , is known widely in the world of video game as " the 2d dumb creature in the world . " When Tom Hall originally created the Dopefish for the fourth instalment of the Commander Keen series , he pertain to it as the " second dumbest " because as all good Guide readers know , the mute creature in the universe is the Ravenous Bugblatter Beast of Traal .
40.)For his 42nd birthday , Adams got to play guitar for Pink Floyd at a concert . The public jam session was a birthday talent from his old friend Dave Gilmour . Around the same fourth dimension , Pink Floyd ’s David Gilmour asked Douglas Adams to help him name a Pink Floyd album they were working on at the sentence . He did , and in 1994 Pink Floyd releasedThe Division Bell . To thank Adams , Gilmour kick in £ 5000 to Adams ' preferred Greek valerian .
41.)The day before Adams end , The Minor Planet Centre of theInternational Astronomical Unionnamedasteroid 18610 , " Arthurdent"after the principal role inThe Hitchhiker ’s Guide to the Galaxyseries , Arthur Dent .
42.)There are precisely 41 interesting facts aboutThe Hitchhiker ’s Guide to the Galaxy . No more , no less .
More Info onThe Guide
The BBC Hitchhiker ’s Guide to the Galaxy Cult Site
Megadodo Publications
ZZ9 Plural Z Alpha
Douglas Adams Portal
Planet Magrethea
