Trivia for
"The Hitch Hikers Guide to the Galaxy" (1981) More at IMDbPro »

• Zaphod's second, remote controlled mechanical head constantly malfunctioned on the set, resulting in it lolling to the side or staring blankly into the distance.
  
  
• The story was originally written as a radio series of six shows broadcast on BBC Radio 4 between 8th March 1978 and 12th April 1978. As well as this TV series the story spawned records, books, a stage production, a computer adventure game and even a towel.
  
  
• The program gives the answer to life, the Universe and every thing as "42". Then the program gives us the question to life, the Universe and everything as "What do you get if you multiply six by nine?". In base 13, 6 x 9 = 42, but Douglas Adams said several times that "nobody writes jokes in base 13".
  
  
• There was at one point talk of a second series being produced, but it was never made.
  
  
• In addition to appearing in the first two episodes in the *ahem* flesh, writer Douglas Adams is represented in animated sequences in the second and third episodes. He was sketched with his hair in bunches and used as a model for Paula Nancy Millstone Jennings, the universe's worst poet. He is also the advertising executive for the Sirius Cybernetics Corp. In the third episode, he appears as himself, smoking and drinking in front of a typewriter in the "Why Dolphins are More Intelligent than Man" right after animator Rod Lord's self portrait.
  
  
• All of the graphics were drawn by hand, not computerized.
  
  
• 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.
  
  
• In the original radio broadcast, the worst poet in the universe was given a name of a real person. Under threat of legal action, Douglas Adams altered the name slightly for the television series and novel.
  
  
• It was Douglas Adams himself who walked into the sea naked when the original actor for the part called in sick.
  
  
• "Hotblack Desiato", the rock star who is staying dead for a year for tax reasons, is the name of an estate agent's firm in London.
  
  
• In the opening sequences the "sun" appearing over the horizon was actually a light bulb.
  
  
• Douglas Adams chose 42 as the Ultimate Answer of Life, the Universe, and Everything simply because he thought it was the funniest-sounding of all two-digit numbers. "A completely ordinary number, a number not just divisible by two but also six and seven. In fact it's the sort of number that you could, without any fear, introduce to your parents."
  
  
• The names Slartibartfast, Majikthise, and Vroomfondel were intended to *sound* like rude words, whilst slipping under the radar of the censors. According to Douglas Adams, "Slartibartfast" started out as "Phartiphukborlz", and then he played around with the syllables until he had "something which sounded that rude, but was almost, but not quite, entirely inoffensive."
  
  
• Peter Davison was brought in as a last-minute replacement to play the Dish of the Day, at the suggestion of his then-wife, Sandra Dickinson (Trillian).
  
  
• Douglas Adams said that he was pleased with the smooth way the TV series worked out, largely as a result of the radio series: the jokes had already been tried and tested, and the narration (something that he never would have considered if the TV version had come first) became the voice of the Book, providing an easy framework for many of the show's best gags.
  
  
• At the time of production, BBC policy required all television comedy to have a canned "laugh track". Before its broadcast debut, episode 1 was screened to 100 science fiction fans (with laugh track and a rather amusing introduction by Peter Jones). Armed with the fans' feedback, Douglas Adams and Alan J.W. Bell were able to convince BBC executives to change the policy, and the laugh track was removed before broadcast.
  
  
• David Dixon was cast primarily because he had a serious face, but "weird" eyes. It's nearly impossible to see in the film, but he wore *purple* contact lenses while playing Ford, to make his eyes look even stranger.
  
  
• EASTER EGG: On the Region 1 and Region 2 DVDs, disc 1, select "Set-Up", then go left. Enter the code "1-1-4-6" to see a video of the destruction of Earth, followed by the recipe for the Pan-Galactic Gargle Blaster.
  
  
• EASTER EGG: On the Region 1 and Region 2 DVDs, disc 1, sit at the main menu. After a minute or so, the film will start automatically. Return to the main menu, and wait again. After another minute or so, the video will start again, but will begin to distort. A message will then appear explaining that your DVD player has been affected by the Infinite Improbability Drive.
  
  
• EASTER EGG: On the Region 1 and Region 2 DVDs, disc 2, in the "Outer Planets" menu (the first menu shown), select "Communicate", and go left. You will see a large Earth. Press Select to see a segment called "The Full Version of The Opening Titles". This version is actually the same length as the regular version, but the "O tunnel" the astronaut travels through is replaced by the opening "vortex" from 1970s-era episodes of "Doctor Who" (1963).
  
  
• Alan J.W. Bell relates that he was working on a "making-of" documentary about Star Wars: Episode V - The Empire Strikes Back (1980), in a cutting room in Ealing, when Kevin Davies overheard a sound, stuck in his head and said "Excuse me, is that R2-D2?". Davies (a huge Hitchhikers' fan) then recognized Bell's name, recommended his employer (Rod Lord Animation) for the graphics in the TV version, and the rest is history.
  
  
• When he was signed to direct the TV version, Alan J.W. Bell wanted to recast the entire ensemble. Douglas Adams, on the other hand, wanted to preserve the radio cast completely. In the end, most of the radio cast returned, including Peter Jones, Simon Jones, Mark Wing-Davey, Stephen Moore, and Richard Vernon. Of the primary characters who were recast, Geoffrey McGivern (Ford Prefect) was rejected as *not* looking "weird enough", and 'Susan Sheridan' (Trillian) was unavailable due to scheduling conflicts.
  
  
• The wardrobe crew were shocked to discover, halfway through filming, that only one dressing robe had been purchased for Arthur, and the line had been discontinued by the manufacturer. The cast & crew were then ordered to be particularly gentle with the robe for the remainder of production. Towards the end of the series, it was rumored that a second series would be made, and when shooting wrapped the robe was locked away to preserve it in case it would be needed again.
  
  
• Shooty and Bang-Bang (the American cops at the end of episode 4) were inspired by the main characters in "Starsky and Hutch" (1975). Douglas Adams' impression of this show was that the characters cared too much to shoot people, so they crashed their cars into them instead.
  
  
• The Ford Prefect was manufactured in Ireland, the UK, Malaysia, and New Zealand, and sold in Europe, Asia, and Australia from the late 1930s to early 1950s.
  
  
• Douglas Adams appears in several places in the series. He appears in the pub in the first episode, in the intro to the second episode, in various animated sequences, at the restaurant, and at the committee meeting on prehistoric Earth.
  
  

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