The Hitchhiker’s Guide to the Galaxy is an iconic science fiction franchise known for its many incarnations (books, TV series, comics, movie), but the original 1978 radio series is the best way to experience it.
What Is It?
As this radio series begins, Arthur Dent is having a bad day. He finds himself staring down a construction crew ready to demolish his house to make way for a new bypass (which he did not know about even though the plans had been on display for some time in the basement of the local planning office in a locked file cabinet tucked away in an unused lavatory). Amidst this, Arthur’s friend Ford Prefect, who as it turns out is actually an alien from Betelgeuse working on an entry for The Hitchhiker’s Guide to the Galaxy, arrives to warn him that the Earth is about to be destroyed to make way for a new hyperspace bypass (which Earthlings did not know about even though the plans had been on display on Alpha Centauri for over fifty years). Arthur and Ford escape by hitching a ride on the Vogon spaceship using a sub-ether electronic thumb, much to the dismay of the Vogons who first torture them with bad poetry then jettison them out of the airlock. Facing sure death, they are rescued at the last second against impossible odds (“no, just very improbable”) by the spaceship the Heart of Gold which runs on the Infinite Improbability Drive (“Ford, you’re turning into a penguin! Stop it!”). Commanding the Heart of Gold is president of the galaxy, and all-around trouble-maker, Zaphod Beeblebrox (sporting two heads and three arms) who stole the ship for a bit of a joyride. Also on board are the Earth woman Trillian (who Zaphod stole away from Arthur at a party several years prior) and the manically depressed robot Marvin the Paranoid Android, and they are searching for the mythical planet of Magrathea. Hi-jinks ensue . . .
Voice Cast: Peter Jones, Simon Jones, Geoffrey McGivern, Mark Wing-Davey, Susan Sheridan, Stephen Moore
Crew: Douglas Adams (Creator/Writer), Geoffrey Perkins (Producer)
Originally Aired: BBC, 1978-80, Two Seasons Totaling 12 Episodes
Legacy:
This late ’70s radio series offered an irreverent sci fi parody that launched an iconic global franchise and a classic for the genre, and the original broadcast is the best way to experience it.
A Closer Look:
The Hitchhiker’s Guide to the Galaxy has this to say about the original radio version of the series (Cue British accent):
This is the definitive version of the series and if you have not heard it you have not really experienced The Hitchhiker’s Guide to the Galaxy. And for those who say the books and/or the television series or that dreadful movie are just as good, they are nits! And they deserve to spend eternity in the bowels of the planet Krikkit listening to Vogon poetry after which they will be served as an hors d’oeuvre to the Ravenous Bugblatter Beast of Traal!
Okay, maybe the Hitchhiker’s Guide to the Galaxy does not really say that, but the fact is that you need to experience this in its original incarnation, the radio series that first aired in Britain in 1978 then later in the United States on NPR in 1980. It was an odd little genre entry at a time when dramatized radio programs were few and far between, but it made an impact and launched a franchise that is still globally recognized.
I first stumbled upon this series during its original run on NPR. Three years earlier, Star Wars had generated a boom for science fiction and the genre started to show up everywhere including the radio. The Alien Worlds anthology series hit the airwaves in 1979 (more on that one at this link) followed shortly by a radio adaptation of the first Star Wars movie (more on that one at this link). So while milling about NPR one day, this odd little series called The Hitchhiker’s Guide to the Galaxy showed up. At first, I was dumbfounded and just didn’t know what to make of it. But I know that I started laughing early and did not stop until it ended (and still kept chuckling long after that). I had never encountered anything quite like this before, and few of its imitators could ever rise to the levels this series achieved with its first season (the second season kept the laughs coming as well).
Part of the success of Hitchhiker’s Guide to the Galaxy lies in the fact that it does not shoot for an obvious parody of one particular genre work like Spaceballs would do in the ’80s. Douglas Adams skewers the genre as a whole, taking on the pretensions and grand concepts of science fiction along with all of the leaps of logic that follow. This gives it more of a timeless appeal as you do not have to understand the specifics of one work or era to enjoy the humor. And that humor draws heavily from the irony and absurdity implicit in many science fiction concepts while it also immerses itself in the minutia and doldrums’ of everyday life, all with a cheeky British/Pythonesque bent to it.
Over the years, The Hitchhiker’s Guide to the Galaxy has lived on through many versions including a book (good, but some of the humor just does not translate), a television series (well worth checking out), a comic book series (never read it but I am going to seek it out), and a movie (the less said about that, the better). And each time it has been subjected to modifications to fit the particular medium. But of all of these, the radio series stands out as the best version (with the television series as a close second). Not only because of the wonderful dialogue provided by Adams, but also the voice actors that brought the series to life. Peter Jones as the book, Simon Jones as Arthur Dent (the only person who should ever play the role), Geoffrey McGivern as Ford Prefect, Mark Wing-Davey as Zaphod Beeblebrox, Susan Sheridan as Trillian, Stephen Moore as Marvin the Paranoid Android. All were absolutely perfect for their characters and helped boost this production to the next level.
If you have enjoyed any or all of the other incarnations but missed out on the original version, now is the time to give it a listen. And if somehow you are an unlucky soul who has never encountered The Hitchhiker’s Guide to the Galaxy, then grab your towel and your Pan-Galactic Gargle Blaster and prepare yourself for a ride through the infinite reaches of time and space you will never forget!
The Story Continues:
Douglas Adams had plans for a third radio series, but it never happened while he was alive and unfortunately we lost him at the young age of 49 in 2001. He had approached writer and producer Dirk Maggs as early as 1992 about bringing the series “back home to BBC Radio”, but contractual issues kept anything from moving forward forward in that decade. Starting in 2003, Maggs did begin work on a continuation of the radio production and that resulted in The Tertiary Phase (based on Life, The Universe, and Everything), The Quandary Phase (based on So Long, and Thanks for All the Fish), and The Quintessential Phase (based on Mostly Harmless). These were broadcast on the BBC from 2004 to 2005 and they brought back most of the original voice cast (Peter Jones, who had provided the voice for the Guide, had passed away as had Richard Vernon who originally voiced Slartibartfast). In 2018, a sixth season was produced based on the book And Another Thing… by Eoin Colfer which drew on some unproduced ideas that Adams had for the franchise. Dirk Maggs was onboard as producer for that final installment (for now) of the radio series.
Interesting Facts:
Douglas Adams first came up with the basic idea that eventually morphed into the radio series while traveling around Europe. He was lying drunk in a field in Innsbruck, Austria in the early ’70s and happened to have a copy of The Hitchhiker’s Guide to Europe with him. He looked up at the night sky and thought that there needs to be a Hitchhiker’s Guide to the Galaxy, and that idea stuck with him.
When Adams was given the greenlight to create a science fiction comedy radio series for the BBC, he first decided to call it The Ends of the Earth and each episode would end with the destruction of Earth. As he started working on the first episode, he ended up expanding that into The Hitchhiker’s Guide to the Galaxy, though the Earth did meet its demise at the end of that episode.
Where Can You Listen To It?
The original series is available in MP3 format in collected CD sets (The Primary Phase also includes an excellent documentary on the making of the series). Seasons 3 – 6 are also available in this format, and all of the seasons are available from Audible.com as well. The full series is also available at the Internet Archive.
The Primary Phase
The Secondary Phase
The Tertiary Phase
The Quandary Phase
The Quintessential Phase
The Hexagonal Phase
