"The Hitch Hikers Guide to the Galaxy" (1981) TV series

Seasons:

1

Release Date:

30 October 1982 (USA)

Genre:

Comedy | Sci-Fi | Adventure

Tagline:

Don't panic!

Plot:

An Earth man and his alien friend escape Earth's destruction and go on a truly strange adventure as space hitchhikers.

Plot Keywords:

Space | Meaning Of Life | Alien | Planet | Time Travel

Awards:

4 wins

Cast

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)
Douglas Adams	...	Man in Ocean / ... (2 episodes, 1981)

Series Directed by
Alan J.W. Bell		(6 episodes, 1981)

Series Writing credits
Douglas Adams		(6 episodes, 1981)

Series Produced by
Alan J.W. Bell	....	producer (6 episodes, 1981)
John Lloyd	....	associate producer (6 episodes, 1981)

Series Film Editing by
Glenn Hyde		(4 episodes, 1981)

Series Production Design by
Andrew Howe-Davies		(6 episodes, 1981)
Tom Yardley-Jones		(2 episodes, 1981)

Series Costume Design by
Dee Robson		(6 episodes, 1981)

Series Makeup Department
Joan Stribling	....	makeup artist (6 episodes, 1981)

Series Production Management
Michael Cager	....	production manager (6 episodes, 1981)

Series Art Department
Douglas Burd	....	graphic designer (6 episodes, 1981)

Series Sound Department
Paddy Kingsland	....	radiophonic effects (6 episodes, 1981)
Michael McCarthy	....	sound director (6 episodes, 1981)
Paul Roberts	....	dubbing mixer (6 episodes, 1981)

Series Special Effects by
Dave Jervis	....	electronic effects (6 episodes, 1981)
Dave Chapman	....	electronic effects (2 episodes, 1981)

Series Visual Effects by
Jim Francis	....	visual effects designer (6 episodes, 1981)

Series Camera and Electrical Department
Bert Postlethwaite	....	studio lighting (6 episodes, 1981)
Peter Hall	....	camera operator: film camera (4 episodes, 1981)
Dave Thomson	....	camera operator: studio cameras (4 episodes, 1981)
Godfrey Johnson	....	camera operator: film camera (2 episodes, 1981)
Jeff Oliver	....	camera operator: studio cameras (2 episodes, 1981)

Series Animation Department
Rod Lord	....	animator (6 episodes, 1981)
Kevin Davies	....	animator (3 episodes, 1981)

Series Editorial Department
Ian Williams	....	editor: video tape (6 episodes, 1981)
Chris Gage	....	vision mixer (3 episodes, 1981)
Angela Wilson	....	vision mixer (2 episodes, 1981)

Series Music Department
Paddy Kingsland	....	radiophonic music (6 episodes, 1981)
Bernie Leadon	....	composer: song "Journey of the Sorcerer" (unknown episodes)
Richard Rodgers	....	composer: song "You'll Never Walk Alone" (unknown episodes)
Tim Souster	....	music arranger: title music (unknown episodes)

Series Other crew
Norman Brierley	....	technical manager (6 episodes, 1981)
Jean Peyre	....	design effects (6 episodes, 1981)
Cliff Pinnock	....	assistant floor manager (6 episodes, 1981)
Vicky Pugh	....	production assistant (6 episodes, 1981)
Chris Gravel	....	film recordist (3 episodes, 1981)

Production Companies

• British Broadcasting Corporation (BBC)

Distributors

• British Broadcasting Corporation (BBC) (1981) (UK) (TV) (original airing)
• CBS/Fox Home Video (1993) (USA) (video) (laserdisc)
• CBS/Fox Home Video (1995) (USA) (VHS)
• Encore Entertainment (1998) (UK) (video) (laserdisc)
• Warner Home Video (2002) (USA) (VHS)
• BBC Video (2006) (USA) (DVD)
• BBC Video (????) (UK) (VHS)
• Public Broadcasting Service (PBS) (????) (USA) (TV) (original US airing)

Special Effects

• Pearce Studios

Also Known As:

The Hitchhiker's Guide to the Galaxy (USA) (video title)

Runtime:

Australia:32 min (6 episodes) | Germany:152 min (2 parts) | USA:25 min (7 episodes) (original release) | USA:33 min (6 episodes) (subsequent syndication) | 33 min (6 episodes)

Country:

UK

Language:

English

Colour:

Colour

Aspect Ratio:

1.33 : 1

Sound Mix:

Mono | Stereo (video release)

Certification:

Australia:G (original rating) | Australia:PG (cable rating) | UK:PG | West Germany:12

Filming Locations:

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

Company:

British Broadcasting Corporation (BBC)

Trivia:

The theme music, "The Journey of the Sorcerer", was written by Bernie Leadon and originally recorded by Eagles. Although the Eagles' version (from the "One Of These Nights" album) was used in the BBC4 Radio version of Hitch Hiker's, the TV version used a new recording arranged by Paddy Kingsland.

Goofs:

Revealing mistakes: Episode 2: When Arthur and Ford are following Marvin through a white hallway, where Marvin mentions that the ship has been stolen, when Marvin walks toward the camera to enter a doorway, the actor's nose can be seen through the mesh of his mouth.

Quotes:

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

Movie Connections:

Referenced in The Alchemists of Sound (2003) (TV)

Soundtrack:

Journey of the Sorcerer

For the record

Reading the widely differing comments is very interesting - and one can't help agreeing with some of the dissent - but there are always some inaccuracies that should be noted.

The series was made by Comedy Dept. at the BBC, not Drama (as with 'Dr Who' and 'Blakes Seven'). Besides the painstaking animation work by Pearce Studios and a few days location filming, each episode was made in only one day in a standard TV studio (one day every fortnight). The budget - which suddenly became available when a 'Goodies' series was cancelled - was a total of £600,000 and went over budget by £60,000. Feature film motion-control effects were considered, but the cost would have limited the scope of the episodes - only two effects could have been afforded in every episode). So it was decided that the effects would be done more simply - but with a serious attempt to make them better than previous TV Video effects. Sandra Dickinson was cast as Trillion following extensive auditions when she showed an excellent sense of comedy, and Douglas Adams agreed that she was perfect.

So basically, it was just a TV series with all the imposed limitations of time and money. I am looking forward to the release of the movie version, which will, no doubt, be fantastic (I hope so). And I, by far, much preferred the Radio version.

P.S. I produced and directed the TV series.