The Hitchhiker's Guide to the Galaxy 

Arthur Dent and his friend Ford Prefect escape the destruction of Earth only to face incredible trials, tribulations and adventures in space and time.

Stars:

Simon Jones, David Dixon, Peter Jones

5 wins.

Cast

Complete series cast summary:
Peter Jones	...	The Book 6 episodes, 1981
Simon Jones	...	Arthur Dent 6 episodes, 1981
David Dixon	...	Ford Prefect 6 episodes, 1981
Sandra Dickinson	...	Trillian 5 episodes, 1981
Mark Wing-Davey	...	Zaphod Beeblebrox 5 episodes, 1981
Stephen Moore	...	Marvin / ... 5 episodes, 1981
David Learner	...	Marvin 4 episodes, 1981
David Tate	...	Eddie / ... 3 episodes, 1981
Martin Benson	...	Vogon Captain 2 episodes, 1981
Richard Vernon	...	Slartibartfast 2 episodes, 1981
Rayner Bourton	...	Newscaster 2 episodes, 1981

Storyline

Arthur Dent is your average middle-class Briton. One day, while trying to prevent his house being destroyed to build a highway, his friend Ford Prefect whisks him away to the pub and explains that the Earth is about to be destroyed and they need to escape. Intergalactic, inter-time adventures ensue.

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Plot Keywords:

friend | cult favorite | unidentified flying object | humanoid alien | earthman | 

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Taglines:

Don't panic!

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Genres:

Adventure | Comedy | Sci-Fi

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Certificate:

TV-PG

Details

Official Sites:

The Hitchhiker's Guide to the Galaxy (web project by Douglas Adams)

Country:

UK

Language:

English

Release Date:

30 October 1982 (USA)

Also Known As:

The Hitchhiker's Guide to the Galaxy

Filming Locations:

BBC Television Centre, Wood Lane, Shepherd's Bush, London, England, UK

Company Credits

Production Co:

British Broadcasting Corporation (BBC)

Technical Specs

Runtime:

32 min (6 episodes) 152 min (2 parts) 25 min (7 episodes) (original) 33 min (6 episodes) (subsequent syndication) 33 min (6 episodes)

Sound Mix:

Mono Stereo (video release)

Color:

Color

Aspect Ratio:

1.33 : 1

Did You Know?

Trivia

Paddy Kingsland composed the incidental music and designed the sound effects. Most of the music was written to accompany the animated sequences. Kingsland always made sure that the beeping sounds of the scrolling text were in the same key as the accompanying music.

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Goofs

The person operating Zaphod's third arm can be seen on multiple occasions.

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Quotes

[repeated line]
Marvin: I think you ought to know I'm feeling very depressed.

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Crazy Credits

After the credits for episode 3, the voice of the book returns briefly to resolve which one of the characters sustained a bruised arm -- a question that had been raised earlier in the episode, but left unanswered because it was unimportant.

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Alternate Versions

Several different versions of the series survive on video. It was originally made as a six-episode BBC TV series (based on 'Douglas Adams''s radio scripts) but for the video cut was re-edited in places. The HHG was done on two SP tapes and also on one large SLP/EP tape. The SLP/EP runs continuously (though subtitled "Part One") and is cut into a sort of "movie." The ends of episodes are sometimes hard to distinguish, except in a bad cut toward the end where Arthur says "Mice?" and the music climaxes then cuts abruptly. The SP version comes in two parts and seems to come in both the unedited episodes and the "movie." All of these differ in some ways from the original broadcasts. Scenes like the one in the Vogon Airlock were cut from some re-broadcasts; they appear here. Other scenes "previously unaired" include Arthur and Ford searching for Slartibartfast's signature on a glacier and only appear on a few versions.

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Connections

Spoofed in Cruise of the Gods (2002)

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Soundtracks

Journey of the Sorcerer
(title music)
Written by Bernie Leadon
Arranged by Tim Souster

User Reviews

Don't Panic, it's really quite good

In this 6-part Mini based on the Douglas Adam's radio scripts, Ford Perfect (David Dixon) saves his friend Arthur Dent (Simon Jones, whom made not one, but two of the best mini's of the '80's, this and Brideshead Revisted, both in 1981 mind you. I'm inclined to think that Simon got a hold of the Infinite Improbability Drive) from the annihilation of Earth to pave the way for an intergalactic hyperspatial express route . Ford, unbeknowst to Arthur is an alien and whisks him away on a comical adventure that includes, but not limited to, everything. The humor is delightfully British,most of the characters dead-on (a given, since a lot of the cast were holdover's from the radio play). The effects may be a tad dated (an understatement if I ever heard one), however I feel that it adds to the charm of the show rather than detracts. All in all a marvelous adaption.

My Grade: A