I don't mind keeping this seminal work by Douglas Adams separate from his bio. I enjoyed the computer game tremendously in the mid-1980s, and his wry humor has elements of satire that should not be missed. --Ed Poor Talk 09:40, 18 December 2008 (EST)
- Suggested text to be merged from a duplicate article. I'll look at it myself when I get home this evening, but for now I must get back to work...
- The Hitchhiker's Guide to the Galaxy was a humorous radio play written by Douglas Adams and first broadcast by the BBC in the 1970s. It was later published as a novel and spawned four sequels, as well as being made into a television series and eventually a film.
- The story starts with the Earth being destroyed by aliens called The Vogons, who were clearing the way through the solar system for an interstellar highway. The sole human survivor, Arthur Dent, with his human-looking alien friend, Ford Prefect and Ford Prefect's cousin, Zaphod Beeblebrox then endure a series of comedic adventures and colorful characters. Later they stumble upon the realisation that the Earth was, in fact, a giant supercomputer designed to work out the ultimate question to life the universe, and everything.
- All the while, Arthur Dent, still dressed in the bed clothes he was wearing before escaping the Earth, is trying to find out how to get a nice cup of tea, just like the quintessential English man he is. This trait, amongst others, appears to perplex all of the alien life forms he meets.
- The title of the story refers to a Conservapedia-like online encyclopedia, carried by Ford Prefect that contains information on just about anything in the universe.
- The novel, and its sequels, The Restaurant at the End of the Universe, Life the Universe and Everything, So Long and Thanks for All the Fish and Mostly Harmless were all hugely successful, while the TV series and the film versions were criticised for their poor realisations of the story. Afficionados of the material claim that the original radio plays were the best versions.
- The current article seems like a good basis to start from, in any case. Davidklein 09:55, 18 December 2008 (EST)
I would cut the reference to Conservapedia. Did the HGG employ hypertext? If so, we can say that and seque to Ted Nelson.
We might also say that radio play did not translate well to the media of TV or film. Cheers! --Ed Poor Talk 10:29, 18 December 2008 (EST)