Hitchhiker's Guide to the Galaxy
6 primary works • 17 total works
Book 1
About the end of the world and the happy-go-lucky days that follow...
About the worst Thursday that ever happened, and why the Universe is a lot safer if you bring a towel...
--back cover
Book 1
SOON TO BE A HULU SERIES • “An astonishing comic writer.”—Neil Gaiman
Nominated as one of America’s best-loved novels by PBS’s The Great American Read
It’s an ordinary Thursday morning for Arthur Dent . . . until his house gets demolished. The Earth follows shortly after to make way for a new hyperspace express route, and Arthur’s best friend has just announced that he’s an alien.
After that, things get much, much worse.
With just a towel, a small yellow fish, and a book, Arthur has to navigate through a very hostile universe in the company of a gang of unreliable aliens. Luckily the fish is quite good at languages. And the book is The Hitchhiker’s Guide to the Galaxy . . . which helpfully has the words DON’T PANIC inscribed in large, friendly letters on its cover.
Douglas Adams’s mega-selling pop-culture classic sends logic into orbit, plays havoc with both time and physics, offers up pithy commentary on such things as ballpoint pens, potted plants, and digital watches . . . and, most important, reveals the ultimate answer to life, the universe, and everything.
Now, if you could only figure out the question. . . .
Book 2
“Douglas Adams is a terrific satirist.”—The Washington Post Book World
Facing annihilation at the hands of the warlike Vogons? Time for a cup of tea! Join the cosmically displaced Arthur Dent and his uncommon comrades in arms in their desperate search for a place to eat, as they hurtle across space powered by pure improbability.
Among Arthur’s motley shipmates are Ford Prefect, a longtime friend and expert contributor to The Hitchhiker’s Guide to the Galaxy; Zaphod Beeblebrox, the three-armed, two-headed ex-president of the galaxy; Tricia McMillan, a fellow Earth refugee who’s gone native (her name is Trillian now); and Marvin, the moody android. Their destination? The ultimate hot spot for an evening of apocalyptic entertainment and fine dining, where the food speaks for itself (literally).
Will they make it? The answer: hard to say. But bear in mind that The Hitchhiker’s Guide deleted the term “Future Perfect” from its pages, since it was discovered not to be!
“What’s such fun is how amusing the galaxy looks through Adams’s sardonically silly eyes.”—Detroit Free Press
Book 3
Book 4
Just when Arthur Dent's sense of reality is at its most clouded, he suddenly finds the girl of his dreams. He finds her in the last place in the Universe in which he would expect to find anything at all, but which 3,976,000,000 people will find oddly familiar. They go in search of God's Final Message to His Creation and, in a dramatic break with tradition, actually find it.
PART FOUR IN A TRILOGY OF FIVE.
Book 5
So Long, and Thanks for All the Fish Just as Arthur Dent's sense of reality is in its dickiest state he suddenly finds the girl of his dreams. He finds her in the last place in the Universe in which he would expect to find anything at all, but which 3,976,000 people will find oddly familiar. They go in search of God's Final Message to His Creation and, in a dramatic break with tradition, actually find it.
This collection is the unique last word from one of the world's most successful and best loved science fiction writers and represents an important, fascinating and characteristically hilarious legacy. Other inclusions are transcripts of the radio series HITCHHIKER'S GUIDE TO THE FUTURE and Adams' essays, articles, and lectures.
'Douglas Adams created a new comic genre, and peopled a whole other world through his work' FINANCIAL TIMES
'His ability to connect cosmic ideas with the banal commonplaces of everyday life was unique' STEPHEN FRY
'With his fondness for paradox, his galactic perspective on things and his wonderful way with meaningful nonsense, his are the books that have launched a trillion quips . . . the Lewis Carroll of the twentieth century' OBSERVER
Don’t panic! The Hitchhiker’s saga returns once again with a full-cast dramatisation of So Long and Thanks For All the Fish, the fourth book in Douglas Adams’s famous ‘trilogy in five parts’.
‘At the risk of being controversial, it’s better than the book... Hitchhiking is back – long may it continue.’ Guy Clapperton, Radio Times
The Earth has miraculously reappeared and, even more miraculously, Arthur Dent has found it. Returning to his cottage after... well... ages, he falls in love with the girl of his dreams.
But Ford Prefect is on to something which might well burst Arthur’s bubble. There is, after all, something very fishy about his girlfriend’s feet, and what has happened to all the dolphins? Perhaps, at last, all will be revealed in God’s Last Message to His Creation…
Simon Jones returns as Arthur, Geoffrey McGivern as Ford and Stephen Moore as Marvin. William Franklyn is the Book and Jane Horrocks is Fenchurch. Guest stars include Stephen Fry, June Whitfield, Bill Paterson, Arthur Smith, Sir Patrick Moore, Jackie Mason and Christian Slater.
This extended edition features 30 minutes of material not heard on BBC Radio 4.
Don’t panic! The Hitchhiker’s saga continues with a full-cast dramatisation of Life, the Universe and Everything, the third book in Douglas Adams’s famous ‘trilogy in five parts’
‘The pitch here at Lord’s is blackened, lightly smoking down towards square leg – and two men have just materialised on a Chesterfield sofa...’
And so the scene is set for the Tertiary Phase of The Hitchhiker’s Guide to the Galaxy, the phenomenon which began life as a BBC radio series and went on to spawn a bestselling series of novels. With this full-cast radio dramatisation, the Guide returns to its original medium with its original cast.
Stranded on prehistoric Earth, Arthur Dent and Ford Prefect find escape in the form of a time-travelling sofa. But as eleven homicidal, bat-wielding robots proceed to blow up Lord’s Cricket Ground, it seems that Arthur is far from Home and Dry. In fact, he is not even Home and Vigorously Towelling Himself Off. Soon he is on an explosive quest to save the Universe, equipped with only a rabbit bone, a worn dressing gown, and a spaceship which looks remarkably like an Italian bistro.
Simon Jones returns as Arthur, Geoffrey McGivern as Ford, Susan Sheridan as Trillian, Mark Wing-Davey as Zaphod Beeblebrox, and Stephen Moore as Marvin the Paranoid Android. William Franklyn is the Book, the late Douglas Adams himself appears in the role of Agrajag, and guest stars include Richard Griffiths, Chris Langham, Joanna Lumley and Leslie Phillips.
This extended edition features 20 minutes of material not heard on BBC Radio 4.
Hitchhiker's Guide To The Galaxy, The Secondary Phase Special
by Douglas Adams
A dynamic remastering of the second BBC Radio 4 full-cast serial – Fit the Seventh to Fit the Twelfth – which spawned a phenomenal hitchhiking legend
The second original series of The Hitchhiker’s Guide to the Galaxy remastered by Dirk Maggs (director of the Tertiary, Quandary and Quintessential Phases) to give a full, vibrant sound, now with Philip Pope’s version of the familiar theme tune and specially re-recorded announcements by John Marsh.
Stranded on Prehistoric Earth since the end of the first series, Arthur Dent and Ford Prefect are once again trying to hitch their way off the planet. Zaphod finds his visit to the offices of the Guide rudely interrupted by Frogstar fighters, who further threaten to feed him to the Total Perspective Vortex. Eventually reunited, the three fetch up on the planet Brontitall and discover the indigenous species in something of a flap. Arthur meets Lintilla (several of her), Marvin gets to be a hero once again, and there is a meeting with the Man in the Shack who apparently runs the Universe…
Peter Jones, Simon Jones, Geoffrey McGivern, Mark Wing-Davey, Stephen Moore and a full supporting cast star in these BBC Radio 4 episodes.
Also included is a bonus 50-minute interview with Douglas Adams –who died in 2001 – in which he discusses his career and work.
Hitchhiker's Guide To The Galaxy, The Primary Phase Special
by Douglas Adams
A dynamic remastering of the original BBC Radio 4 full-cast serial - Fit the First to Fit the Sixth - which spawned a phenomenal hitchhiking legend
The original series of The Hitchhiker's Guide to the Galaxy, remastered by Dirk Maggs (director of the Tertiary, Quandary and Quintessential Phases) to give a full, vibrant sound, now with Philip Pope's version of the familiar theme tune and specially re-recorded announcements by John Marsh.
Join Arthur Dent, Ford Prefect,Trillian, Zaphod Beeblebrox and Marvin the Paranoid Android in their first series of adventures as they witness the destruction of Earth to make way for a hyperspace bypass, stumble upon the ancient planet of Magrathea, dine at the Restaurant at the End of the Universe, and seek an answer to the Ultimate Question of Life, The Universe And Everything.
Peter Jones, Simon Jones, Geoffrey McGivern, Mark Wing-Davey, Susan Sheridan, Stephen Moore and a full supporting cast star in these BBC Radio 4 episodes.
A special 55-minute bonus programme, Douglas Adams's Guide to the Hitchhiker's Guide to the Galaxy, explores the genesis of the radio series and its incredible success, with contributions from the original cast andproduction team.
Audio files were replaced in April 2021
©2008 BBC Studios Distribution Ltd (P)2008 BBC Studios Distribution Ltd
Was the earth really demolished? Why did all the dolphins disappear? What is God's final message to His Creatures? Arthur Dent, Ford Prefect, and the new voivoid gang are off (by commercial airline) on a wacked-out quest to answer these truly unimportant questions.
(back cover)
Hitchhiker's Guide To The Galaxy, The Quintessential Phase
by Douglas Adams
Don’t panic! The Hitchhiker’s saga returns once again with a full-cast dramatisation of Mostly Harmless, the fifth book in Douglas Adams’s famous ‘trilogy in five parts’.
‘A radio event... the great original cast has been reassembled’. Gillian Reynolds, The Daily Telegraph
While frequent flyer Arthur Dent searches the universe for his lost love, Ford Prefect discovers a disturbing blast from the past at The Hitchhiker’s Guide HQ. Meanwhile, on one of many versions of Earth, a blonder, more American Trillian gets tangled up with a party of lost aliens having an identity crisis. And just when Arthur thinks he has found his true vocation on the backwater planet of Lamuella, the original Trillian turns up with more than a little spanner in the works. A stolen ship, a dramatic stampede and a new and sinister Guide lead to a race to save the Earth … again. But this time, will they succeed?
Simon Jones returns as Arthur, Geoffrey McGivern as Ford, Mark Wing-Davey as Zaphod Beeblebrox, Susan Sheridan as Trillian, Sandra Dickinson as Tricia McMillan, and Stephen Moore as Marvin. William Franklyn is the Book, Rula Lenska is also the Book and Samantha Béart is Random. Guest stars include Miriam Margolyes, Griff Rhys Jones, John Challis, Roy Hudd, Saeed Jaffrey, and Jonathan Pryce.
This extended edition features 40 minutes of material not heard on BBC Radio 4.
The Hitchhiker's Guide to the Galaxy 25th Anniversary Edition
by Douglas Adams
SOON TO BE A HULU SERIES • Now celebrating the pivotal 42nd anniversary of the original radio show on which the book was based.
Nominated as one of America’s best-loved novels by PBS’s The Great American Read
Seconds before Earth is demolished to make way for a galactic freeway, Arthur Dent is plucked off the planet by his friend Ford Prefect, a researcher for the revised edition of The Hitchhiker’s Guide to the Galaxy who, for the last fifteen years, has been posing as an out-of-work actor.
Together, this dynamic pair began a journey through space aided by a galaxyful of fellow travelers: Zaphod Beeblebrox—the two-headed, three-armed ex-hippie and totally out-to-lunch president of the galaxy; Trillian (formerly Tricia McMillan), Zaphod’s girlfriend, whom Arthur tried to pick up at a cocktail party once upon a time zone; Marvin, a paranoid, brilliant, and chronically depressed robot; and Veet Voojagig, a former graduate student obsessed with the disappearance of all the ballpoint pens he’s bought over the years.
Where are these pens? Why are we born? Why do we die? For all the answers, stick your thumb to the stars!
Praise for The Hitchhiker’s Guide to the Galaxy
“A whimsical oddyssey . . . Characters frolic through the galaxy with infectious joy.”—Publishers Weekly
“Irresistable!”—The Boston Globe