The Hitchhiker's Guide to the Galaxy

Lore & Background

The broad narrative follows the misadventures of the last surviving Earth man, Arthur Dent, following the demolition of the Earth to make way for a hyperspace bypass. Dent is rescued by Ford Prefect, a human-like alien writer for the electronic travel guide The Hitchhiker's Guide to the Galaxy, by hitchhiking onto a passing alien spacecraft. He then explores the galaxy with Prefect and encounters Trillian, another human taken from Earth by the President of the Galaxy, Zaphod Beeblebrox, and Marvin the Paranoid Android. Certain narrative details were changed among the various adaptations. The original radio series came from a proposal called 'The Ends of the Earth': six self-contained episodes, all ending with Earth being destroyed in a different way. While writing the first episode, Adams realized he needed an alien on the planet to provide context, and settled on making the alien a roving researcher for a book named The Hitchhiker's Guide to the Galaxy. The various versions follow the same basic plot but are in many places mutually contradictory, as Adams rewrote the story substantially for each new adaptation. The Earth was actually a giant supercomputer, created by another supercomputer, Deep Thought, to determine the 'Ultimate Question of Life, the Universe, and Everything,' the answer to which was given as '42.' The Earth was destroyed by the Vogons moments after its calculations were completed.

Reader's Guide

The franchise's influence extends across radio, television, literature, film, and stage, with the novels translated into more than 30 languages by 2005. The sixth novel, And Another Thing..., was written by Eoin Colfer with additional unpublished material by Douglas Adams. The series is notable for its use of sound, being the first comedy series produced in stereo, and its theme tune, 'Journey of the Sorcerer' by the Eagles, was used in radio, television, LP, and film versions. The radio series was narrated by Peter Jones as The Book, and the voice of the Guide provided general narration throughout the various versions.

Did You Know?

• The first novel was ranked fourth on the BBC's The Big Read poll.
• The sixth novel, And Another Thing..., was written by Eoin Colfer with additional unpublished material by Douglas Adams.
• The theme tune 'Journey of the Sorcerer' was composed by Bernie Leadon and recorded by the Eagles.