The Hitchhiker's Guide to the Galaxy

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BBC Two (ended 1981)
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Show Summary

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Don't Panic! The Hitch Hikers' Guide to the Galaxy is a classic British television series from the early 1980s, starting out as a BBC Radio series of six episodes which grew to twelve episodes, then five best-selling books and a hugely successful TV series (this one). Finally, a feature film appeared in 2005. The creator, the late Douglas Adams, had been a script editor on Doctor Who and he once said the idea for the show came to him while he was lying drunk in a field near Innsbruck. Quirky British humour runs through all formats of the Guide, but what sets this version apart from the others of is the animated graphics created by Rod Lord unlike anything seen on British TV until then. They inspired the animation in a TVO educational series called Landscape of Geometry (1983). The show won several awards, including BAFTA Awards in 1982 for Best Graphics (Rod Lord), and Best Sound Supervisor (Michael McCarthy), as well as an RTS Television Award 1982 for Most Original Programme.moreless
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Episode Guide

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S 1 :  Ep 6 Aired 2/9/81
S 1 :  Ep 5 Aired 2/2/81
S 1 :  Ep 4 Aired 1/26/81
S 1 :  Ep 3 Aired 1/19/81
S 1 :  Ep 2 Aired 1/12/81

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Fan Reviews (11)

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  • The TV adaptation of Douglas Adams' classic radio series, just isn't that great.

    3.7
    "Bad"
    By fgyjmyrjmetdgjh, Mar 27, 2011
    The brilliant thing about the radio series and the books, were that they left more to your imagination, the TV series lost all that creativeness. And to think the Goodies was cancelled for this?
    Ford Prefect was totally miscast. He's suppossed to be a crazy lunatic with very strange views on things, here he is a short arse who can't speak loudly.
    Good parts taken out, crap parts added in. I like the hitchhiker's guide, but I don't like this.moreless

  • Absurdly funny series that I still thank my lucky stars for stumbling into all these years later.

    9.7
    "Superb"
    By sistersun, May 13, 2010
    I truly adore good comedy. And The Hitch Hikers Guide to the Galaxy is great comedy!
    I clearly recall the evening I happened upon this show: I was ironing an outfit for an evening out and absent-mindedly flipping stations. I ended on a PBS station, and left it on as I went about my chores. Then I overheard the name "Slartibartfast", giggled, and thought, "you must be high!" Well, I was, but this got my attention. I watched the screen intently, forgetting about the ironing, the date, everything, until the show was over. I couldn't believe what I'd just seenand I knew it wasn't an American showand despaired of ever seeing anything like it again!

    I did a reality check later with friends ('cause I was thinking I'd hallucinated the whole thing!) who told me about the radio show, the Douglas Adams books, and the television show (turns out that I'd stumbled into the 3rd show: There was more to see! There was stuff to read! I *love* reading! There is a God!). Happy camper I, I travelled with Arthur Dent and Ford Prefect, and went on to learn the answer to life, the universe, and everything; discovered the misery that is Marvin the Android; enjoyed the Restaurant at the End of the Universe; and was awed by the cunning of mice and dolphins. It was a lovely, zany trip, and I invite anyone looking to enjoy something quite fun to take it as well. You will not regret it.moreless

  • Based on the books by Douglas Adams

    7.1
    "Good"
    By Amyok, Mar 12, 2007
    This show was good. It could have been great. Douglas Adams did a much better job on the books than how they made the series. It is enjoyable, however since I read all the books, I expected more. They don't explain everything in the series. Don't get me started on the movie! It was terrible. They don't even explain the towel. Hello! It is the main way to hitchhike! It was poorly done. They could have done a much better job in the theatre. Anyways, I'm off track. The series was good, but if you read the books don't expect a whole lot. It you haven't read the books, you will enjoy it.moreless

  • Hilarious

    8.9
    "Great"
    By dhaworth, Nov 02, 2006
    Douglas Adams' series of Hitchhiker novels are definitely my favourite comedy stories and I thought that this TV adaptation managed the difficult task of moving it to the screen pretty well.
    I know that a lot of people sneer at the rather poor 80's special effects (Zaphod's frankly absurd second head for example), but I think it really captured the book's humour, which I feel is a far more important element than the sci-fi component. In this regard, I would certainly rate it higher than the recent movie, which although I enjoyed, seemed to be missing something. Marvin is one of my favourite characters of all time and I was pleased that he came over well.
    Not perfect, but still pretty good.moreless

  • Douglas Adams at his best. This British Cult classic is a Science Fiction masterpiece.

    10
    "Perfect"
    By DooDles3000, Jul 07, 2006
    From the pages of Douglas Adams' masterwork 'The Hitchhiker's Guide to the Galaxy' trilogy, comes the SciFi Cult television series (under the same title).

    Arthur Dent is a 6' tall ape decendant whose best friend is Ford Prefect (a Beatlegeusean editor for the Guide). When a fleet of Vogon ships destroy the Earth in order to make way for a hyperspacial bypass, Ford saves Arthur just in time by catching a ride on one of the ships. Together they set out on an adventure involving such characters as: Zaphod Beeblebrox (the President of the Universe who is currently on the lam), his smart and pretty assistant Trillian, and Marvin the Paranoid Android, who is always depressed in one way or another.

    Original, witty, and always funny, 'The Hitchhiker's Guide to the Galaxy' series is truly Douglas Adams at his best.moreless
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  • Anyone like the movie?
    I got it on DVD and I think it's pretty good, Simon Jones even has a cameo and Martin Freeman plays a great Arthur Dent! Marvin l...
    By Mike4815162342, Feb 07, 2006
    11/14/11
    22
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Categories

Comedy, Science Fiction

Themes

alien technology, apocalyptic, beings from another world, cheap special effects, cultural phenomenon

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