Zaphod Beeblebrox ( / ˈ z eɪ f ɒ d ˈ b iː b əl b r ɒ k s / ) is a fictional character in the various versions of the comic science fiction series The Hitchhiker's Guide to the Galaxy by Douglas Adams .
99-527: (Redirected from Babel Fish ) Babel fish may refer to: Babel fish, a fictional species of fish invented by Douglas Adams in 1978; see The Hitchhiker's Guide to the Galaxy Babel Fish (band) , a Norwegian band Yahoo! Babel Fish , a former web translation service See also [ edit ] Babel Fishh , stage name of hip hop artist Scott Huber Barbel (fish) Topics referred to by
198-534: A 1981 TV series , a 1984 text adventure game , and 2005 feature film . The Hitchhiker's Guide to the Galaxy is an international multimedia phenomenon; the novels are the most widely distributed, having been translated into more than 30 languages by 2005. The first novel, The Hitchhiker's Guide to the Galaxy (1979), has been ranked fourth on the BBC 's The Big Read poll. The sixth novel, And Another Thing... ,
297-493: A dual head X multiseat configuration is referred to as Zaphod mode . A nightclub named Zaphod Beeblebrox existed in Ottawa, Ontario , Canada, billed as "the nightclub at the edge of the universe." Opened in the early 1990s, it hosted an assortment of artists including Jewel , The Sheepdogs and Alanis Morissette , who previewed Jagged Little Pill with a concert there. The Rolling Stones shot part of their video for
396-399: A "trilogy in four parts" on the release of the fourth book. The US edition of the fifth book was originally released with the legend "The fifth book in the increasingly inaccurately named Hitchhiker's Trilogy" on the cover. Subsequent re-releases of the other novels bore the legend "The [first, second, third, fourth] book in the increasingly inaccurately named Hitchhiker's Trilogy". In addition,
495-469: A Christmas-related plotline, it was decided to be "in slightly poor taste" and the episode as transmitted served as a bridge between the two series. This episode was released as part of the second radio series and, later, The Secondary Phase on cassettes and CDs. The Primary and Secondary Phases were aired, in a slightly edited version, in the United States on NPR Playhouse . The first series
594-458: A blend of Jones and Franklyn's voices at the end of the final episode, the first part of Maggs' alternative ending.) Sandra Dickinson, who played Trillian in the TV series, here played Tricia McMillan, an English-born, American-accented alternate-universe version of Trillian, while David Dixon, the television series' Ford Prefect, made a cameo appearance as the "Ecological Man". Jane Horrocks appeared in
693-602: A brief encounter with Fenchurch, and ends up exactly where he would want to be. And then the Vogons turn up again. In 2017 it was adapted for radio as the Hexagonal Phase of the radio series, with its premiere episode first transmitted on 8 March 2018 (exactly forty years, to the day, from the first episode of the first series, the Primary Phase ). Two omnibus editions were created by Douglas Adams to combine
792-502: A copy of the Hitch-hiker's Guide to Europe book: while lying drunk in a field near Innsbruck with a copy of the book and looking up at the stars, he thought it would be a good idea for someone to write a hitchhiker's guide to the galaxy as well. However, he later claimed that he had forgotten the incident itself, and only knew of it because he'd told the story of it so many times. His friends are quoted as saying that Adams mentioned
891-423: A crowded club, where an anguished Random becomes startled by a noise and inadvertently fires her gun at Arthur. The shot misses Arthur and kills a man (the ever-unfortunate Agrajag ). Immediately afterwards, The Guide Mark II causes the removal of all possible Earths from probability. All of the main characters, save Zaphod, were on Earth at the time and are apparently killed, bringing a good deal of satisfaction to
990-467: A few times, such as for tormenting Arthur Dent , piloting the spaceship Heart of Gold , or preparing a Pan-Galactic Gargle Blaster. The second head was sawed off by Humma Kavula during the film. In And Another Thing... , Colfer's addition to the book series, a photo is mentioned which shows Zaphod with the second head replaced by that of a woman. It is implied that Zaphod may have surgically attached this woman's head to himself, before realising he liked
1089-550: A hidden purpose. After he declines this dangerously powerful machine's aid (which he receives anyway), he sends it to Arthur Dent for safety ("Oh yes, whose?"—Arthur). Trillian uses DNA that Arthur donated for travelling money to have a daughter, and when she goes to cover a war, she leaves her daughter Random Frequent Flyer Dent with Arthur. Random, a more than typically troubled teenager, steals The Guide Mark II and uses it to get to Earth. Arthur, Ford, Trillian, and Tricia McMillan (Trillian in this alternate universe) follow her to
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#17327930600771188-661: A hyperspace bypass. Dent's adventures intersect with several other characters: Ford Prefect (an alien and researcher for the eponymous guidebook who rescues Dent from Earth's destruction), Zaphod Beeblebrox (Ford's eccentric semi-cousin and the Galactic President who has stolen the Heart of Gold, a spacecraft equipped with Infinite Improbability Drive), the depressed robot Marvin the Paranoid Android , and Trillian (formerly known as Tricia McMillan) who
1287-408: A large collar or scarf to keep it hidden. As such, the film is also the only version that explains the second head . In this filmed version, the second head appears underneath the first, roughly between his chin and the top of his chest, popping up when the first head is flipped backwards. The third arm is hidden underneath Zaphod's clothing, appears to be controlled by the second head, and only appears
1386-443: A radio-controlled second head with an eye-patch. Unfortunately, the second head's mechanics seldom worked properly and so for most of the time it just sat on Zaphod's shoulder looking inanimate , although in one scene it manages to have a brief conversation with Wing-Davey's real head, before being told to "go back to sleep". Wing-Davey also suggested to the TV series' costume designer that Zaphod's costume should be made to indicate that
1485-679: A slightly more upbeat note". Adams also remarked that if he were to write a sixth instalment, he would at least start with all the characters in the same place. Eoin Colfer, who wrote the sixth book in the Hitchhiker's series in 2008–09, used this latter concept but none of the plot ideas from The Salmon of Doubt . The first book was adapted from the first four radio episodes (the Primary Phase), with Arthur being rescued from Earth's destruction by Ford, meeting Zaphod and Trillian, coming to
1584-424: A starship that had been carrying extremely dangerous materials intended for disposal in a black hole. Since this story is set at a time before his decision to run for President of the Galaxy, he displays a noticeably different personality, exhibiting concern over the hazards posed by the cargo to himself, the crew, and living creatures in general. In both the radio and television versions of The Hitchhiker's Guide to
1683-414: A third Dirk Gently novel, under the working title The Salmon of Doubt , but felt that the book was not working and abandoned it. In an interview, he said some of the ideas in the book might fit better in the Hitchhiker's series, and suggested he might rework those ideas into a sixth book in that series. He described Mostly Harmless as "a very bleak book" and said he "would love to finish Hitchhiker on
1782-621: Is a woman Arthur once met at a party in Islington and who—thanks to Beeblebrox's intervention—is the only other human survivor of Earth's destruction. In their travels, Arthur comes to learn that the Earth was actually a giant supercomputer, created by another supercomputer, Deep Thought. Deep Thought had been built by its creators to give the answer to the "Ultimate Question of Life, the Universe, and Everything", which, after eons of calculations,
1881-532: Is busy carrying out some grand scheme, has no clue as to what it is and is unable to do anything but follow the path that he laid out for himself. Zaphod's grand schemes have included, over time, a second-hand ballpoint pen business (which may or may not have been established with the help of Veet Voojagig ). He was forced to section off portions of both brains that stored the plan so that scans of his mind, which would be necessary for him to become president, would not reveal his plan, which included his being President of
1980-477: Is different from Wikidata All article disambiguation pages All disambiguation pages The Hitchhiker%27s Guide to the Galaxy The Hitchhiker's Guide to the Galaxy is a comedy science fiction franchise created by Douglas Adams . Originally a 1978 radio comedy broadcast on BBC Radio 4 , it was later adapted to other formats, including novels, stage shows, comic books,
2079-523: Is from a planet in the vicinity of Betelgeuse , and is a "semi-half-cousin" of Ford Prefect , with whom he "shares three of the same mothers". Because of "an accident with a contraceptive and a time machine ", his father, grandfather, and great-grandfather are actually his direct descendants (see Zaphod Beeblebrox the Fourth ). This character is described across all versions as having two heads and three arms, though explanations of how he came to receive
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#17327930600772178-569: Is not heard in the film itself. Zaphod is the inventor of the Pan-Galactic Gargle Blaster , a fictional cocktail based on Janx Spirit. The series describes the drink as "the alcoholic equivalent of a mugging – expensive and bad for the head" and states that the effect of one "is like having your brain smashed out by a slice of lemon wrapped round a large gold brick". In the television series, two Gargle Blaster drinkers collapse in open-eyed unconsciousness after drinking while
2277-547: The Big One " by Eccentrica Gallumbits , and as "one hoopy frood" by others. In the seventh episode of the original radio series , the narrator describes Beeblebrox as being the "owner of the hippest place in the universe" (his own left cranium), as voted on in a poll of the readers of the fictional magazine Playbeing . He was briefly the President of the Galaxy (a role that involves no power whatsoever, and merely requires
2376-486: The Heart of Gold ' s medical bay, "clever, imaginative, irresponsible, untrustworthy, extrovert, nothing you couldn't have guessed" ( Ultimate Hitchhiker's Guide , page 98). In the movie, however, he is not very bright, and perhaps even more boorish than his previous portrayals. He is portrayed as a vacuous California surfer -type, and Sam Rockwell , the actor who played him in the film, cited Bill Clinton , Elvis Presley and George W. Bush as influences. Zaphod in
2475-526: The Hexagonal Phase , was broadcast on BBC Radio 4 on 8 March 2018 and featured Professor Stephen Hawking introducing himself as the voice of The Hitchhiker's Guide to the Galaxy Mk II by saying: "I have been quite popular in my time. Some even read my books." The novels are described as "a trilogy in five parts", having been described as a trilogy on the release of the third book, and then
2574-717: The Bird), and Roy Hudd as Milliways compere Max Quordlepleen, as well as the original radio series' announcer, John Marsh. The series also featured guest appearances by such noted personalities as Joanna Lumley as the Sydney Opera House Woman, Jackie Mason as the East River Creature, Miriam Margolyes as the Smelly Photocopier Woman, BBC Radio cricket legends Henry Blofeld and Fred Trueman as themselves, June Whitfield as
2673-455: The Earth by a Vogon constructor fleet to make way for a hyperspace bypass. Dent is rescued from Earth's destruction by Ford Prefect —a human-like alien writer for the eccentric, electronic travel guide The Hitchhiker's Guide to the Galaxy —by hitchhiking onto a passing Vogon spacecraft. Following his rescue, Dent explores the galaxy with Prefect and encounters Trillian , another human who had been taken from Earth (before its destruction) by
2772-407: The Earth's programming so that when Ford and Arthur manage to extract the final readout from Arthur's subconscious mind by pulling lettered tiles from a Scrabble set, it is "What do you get if you multiply six by nine?" The book was adapted from the remaining material in the radio series—covering from the fifth episode to the twelfth episode, although the ordering was greatly changed (in particular,
2871-577: The End of the Universe , the ghost of Zaphod's great-grandfather also has two heads. This and other information presented in the narrative prose seem to indicate that having two heads is a common – possibly even universal – trait of Zaphod's species. For the 2005 film, it is hinted that Zaphod "created" the second head himself when shutting off the parts of his mind that contain portions of his personality that "are not presidential", but he wanted to keep these traits, so he hid his second head under his neck and wears
2970-448: The End of the Universe, before embarking on further adventures. The original, first radio series comes from a proposal called "The Ends of the Earth": six self-contained episodes, all ending with Earth being destroyed in a different way. While writing the first episode, Adams realised that he needed someone on the planet who was an alien to provide some context, and that this alien needed a reason to be there. Adams finally settled on making
3069-495: The Galaxy Zaphod was played by Mark Wing-Davey . The jokes about Zaphod having two heads and more than two arms were written for the original radio version, where the details could be filled in by the listener's imagination. In the television version Wing-Davey wore a false arm (when the arm was required to gesture it was replaced by the arm of Mike Kelt , designer of the animatronic head, standing behind Wing-Davey), and
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3168-452: The Galaxy has sold over 14 million copies. A photo-illustrated edition of the first novel appeared in 1994. In The Restaurant at the End of the Universe (published in 1980), Zaphod is separated from the others and finds he is part of a conspiracy to uncover who really runs the Universe. Zaphod meets Zarniwoop , a conspirator and editor for The Guide , who knows where to find the secret ruler. Zaphod becomes briefly reunited with
3267-414: The Galaxy and subsequently stealing the prototype Infinite Improbability Drive starship. However, in his altered state of mind he follows the path he left only reluctantly and very much wishes to go off and lie on beaches rather than see the scheme through. In the second radio series and the book version of The Restaurant at the End of the Universe , we learn (and so does Zaphod) that the object of his plan
3366-661: The Hitchhiker series novels and to "set the record straight". The stories came in so many different formats that Adams stated that every time he told it he would contradict himself. Therefore, he stated in the introduction of The More Than Complete Hitchhiker's Guide that "anything I put down wrong here is, as far as I'm concerned, wrong for good." The two omnibus editions were The More Than Complete Hitchhiker's Guide, Complete and Unabridged (published in 1987) and The Ultimate Hitchhiker's Guide, Complete and Unabridged (published in 1997). Published in 1987, this 624-page leatherbound omnibus edition contains "wrong for good" versions of
3465-475: The Hitchhiker's series, in which it is implied Zaphod's third arm may have originally been grown so that he would have one hand for each of Eccentrica Galumbits's breasts. In Infocom 's text adventure game version of the story, Zaphod blends in on Earth by hiding his second head in a covered bird cage (an alternate Trillian also refers to this in Mostly Harmless ). In the novel The Restaurant at
3564-525: The Krikkitmen project (instead of simply making a TV version of the second radio series). However, Adams got into disputes with the BBC (accounts differ: problems with budget, scripts, and having Alan Bell involved are all offered as causes), and the second series was never made. Elements of Doctor Who and the Krikkitmen were instead used in the third novel, Life, the Universe and Everything . The main cast
3663-503: The LP and TV series, another arrangement by Joby Talbot was used for the 2005 film, and still another arrangement, this time by Philip Pope , was recorded to be released with the CDs of the last three radio series. Apparently, Adams chose this song for its futuristic-sounding nature, but also for the fact that it had a banjo in it, which, as Geoffrey Perkins recalls, Adams said would give an "on
3762-611: The Raffle Woman, Leslie Phillips as Hactar, Saeed Jaffrey as the Man on the Pole, Sir Patrick Moore as himself, and Christian Slater as Wonko the Sane. Finally, Adams himself played the role of Agrajag, a performance adapted from his book-on-tape reading of the third novel, and edited into the series created some time after the author's death. The first of six episodes in a sixth series,
3861-460: The Seventh to Twelfth as "The Secondary Phase" instead of just "the first series" and "the second series". It was at about this time that a "Tertiary Phase" was first discussed with Dirk Maggs, adapting Life, the Universe and Everything , but this series would not be recorded for another ten years. On 21 June 2004, the BBC announced in a press release that a new series of Hitchhiker's based on
3960-628: The UK and Hyperion in the US in October 2009. The story begins as death rays bear down on Earth, and the characters awaken from a virtual reality. Zaphod picks them up shortly before they are killed, but completely fails to escape the death beams. They are then saved by Bowerick Wowbagger , the Infinitely Prolonged, whom they agree to help kill. Zaphod travels to Asgard to get Thor 's help. In
4059-414: The Universe in the meantime, to hitch-hike one last time and see God's Final Message to His Creation. Along the way, they are joined by Marvin, the Paranoid Android, who, although 37 times older than the universe itself (what with time travel and all), has just enough power left in his failing body to read the message and feel better about it all before expiring. This was the first Hitchhiker's novel which
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4158-504: The Universe is in the safe hands of a simple man living on a remote planet in a wooden shack with his cat. Ford and Arthur, meanwhile, end up on a spacecraft full of the outcasts of the Golgafrinchan civilisation. The ship crashes on prehistoric Earth; Ford and Arthur are stranded, and it becomes clear that the inept Golgafrinchans are the ancestors of modern humans, having displaced the Earth's indigenous hominids. This has disrupted
4257-599: The Vogons. In 2005 it was adapted for radio as the Quintessential Phase of the radio series, with the final episode first transmitted on 21 June 2005. It was announced in September 2008 that Eoin Colfer , author of Artemis Fowl , had been commissioned to write the sixth instalment entitled And Another Thing... with the support of Jane Belson, Adams's widow. The book was published by Penguin Books in
4356-610: The Vortex. His brain-care specialist, Gag Halfrunt, also said, "Vell, Zaphod's just zis guy, you know?" He used his position as President of the Galaxy to steal the Heart of Gold , a spaceship taking advantage of Infinite Improbability Drive, at its unveiling. Early in Zaphod's career (whilst heading The Beeblebrox Salvage and Really Wild Stuff Corporation ) he joined forces with the Safety and Civil Reassurance Administration to investigate
4455-465: The alien a roving researcher for a "wholly remarkable book" named The Hitchhiker's Guide to the Galaxy . As the first radio episode's writing progressed, the Guide became the centre of his story, and he decided to focus the series on it, with the destruction of Earth being the only hold-over. Adams claimed that the title came from a 1971 incident while he was hitchhiking around Europe as a young man with
4554-617: The beginning of Hitchhiker's . The popularity of the radio series gave rise to a six-episode television series, directed and produced by Alan J. W. Bell , which first aired on BBC 2 in January and February 1981. It employed many of the actors from the radio series and was based mainly on the radio versions of Fits the First to Sixth. A second series was at one point planned, with a storyline, according to Alan Bell and Mark Wing-Davey that would have come from Adams's abandoned Doctor Who and
4653-421: The blurb on the fifth book describes it as "the book that gives a whole new meaning to the word 'trilogy ' ". The plots of the television and radio series are more or less the same as that of the first two novels, though some of the events occur in a different order and many of the details are changed. Much of parts five and six of the radio series were written by John Lloyd , but his material did not make it into
4752-468: The book, with some omitting the apostrophe. Some editions use different spellings on the spine and title page. The h2g2 's English Usage in Approved Entries claims that Hitchhiker's Guide is the spelling that Adams preferred. At least two reference works make note of the inconsistency in the titles. Both, however, repeat the statement that Adams decided in 2000 that "everyone should spell it
4851-409: The books and radio series, he is nevertheless quite charismatic which causes many characters to ignore his other flaws. Douglas Adams claimed that he based Zaphod on an old friend of his from Cambridge University called Johnny Simpson, who "had that nervous sort of hyperenergetic way of trying to appear relaxed." In (at least) the books, he is, according to screening tests that he ran on himself in
4950-544: The books were adapted as part of the BBC 's The Big Read survey and programme, broadcast in late 2003. The film, directed by Deep Sehgal , starred Sanjeev Bhaskar as Arthur Dent, alongside Spencer Brown as Ford Prefect, Nigel Planer as the voice of Marvin, Stephen Hawking as the voice of Deep Thought, Patrick Moore as the voice of the Guide, Roger Lloyd-Pack as Slartibartfast, and Adam Buxton and Joe Cornish as Loonquawl and Phouchg. Zaphod Beeblebrox He
5049-466: The cast one last time. The core cast for the third to fifth radio series remained the same, except for the replacement of Peter Jones by William Franklyn as the Book, and Richard Vernon by Richard Griffiths as Slartibartfast, since both had died. (Homage to Jones' iconic portrayal of the Book was paid twice: the gradual shift of voices to a "new" version in episode 13, launching the new productions, and
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#17327930600775148-552: The centre of attention wherever he goes. In the television series, he wears the same outfit throughout each of the episodes; however, in the film, his clothes, their style and their colour scheme change several times. Zaphod invented the Pan Galactic Gargle Blaster . He was voted "Worst Dressed Sentient Being in the Known Universe" seven consecutive times. He's been described as "the best Bang since
5247-536: The character has two penises. Special padding was thus arranged, though the first attempt was deemed to be "too long" and was "cut back" for the final version . This was referenced in the film version when Arthur Dent says to Trillian "So, two heads is what does it for a girl?...Anything else he's got two of?" Zaphod is played by Sam Rockwell in the film version of the story that was released in April 2005. In that version, his second head occasionally pops out to express
5346-693: The character in video games and other media, some of the more notable examples are: The head male meerkat on the Animal Planet television series Meerkat Manor was named after him. In the Mac game Escape Velocity , there is a planet called Beeblebrox in the Zaphod system. Upon landing, the planet has the description "Beeblebrox is a wild world, a world of wild parties and wild people. If you have two heads, three arms, and an ego problem, don't travel to Beeblebrox; you will be laughed at and considered boring and unoriginal." A multi-monitor setup featuring
5445-537: The drink have been made available at some stage shows of The Hitchhiker's Guide to the Galaxy , as well as bars such as Zaphod Beeblebrox in Ottawa, Ontario, Canada. In an interview, Douglas Adams stated that there are a number of environmental and weapons treaties, as well as laws of physics, which prevent the Pan Galactic Gargle Blaster from being mixed on Earth. There are many references to
5544-755: The events of Fit the Sixth , with Ford and Arthur being stranded on pre-historic Earth, end the book, and their rescue in Fit the Seventh is deleted), and most of the Brontitall incident was omitted, instead of the Haggunenon sequence, co-written by John Loyd, the Disaster Area stunt ship was substituted—this having first been introduced in the LP version . Adams himself considered Restaurant to be his best novel of
5643-454: The extra appendages differs between versions. The original radio version never explained the second head, but did explain that Zaphod "grew" the third arm in the six months between meeting the character of Trillian on Earth, and the start of the series. The third radio series implies that he had a third arm when growing up – the fifth has him offer to Trillian that "I'd grow my third arm back for you, baby", when they first meet. In
5742-474: The film is very much immature (in contrast to the books where he was immature, but had a lot of power and was smart and devious), acting very eager about everything, eating messily with his hands, throwing temper tantrums, and doing things without reason, such as pressing the Improbability Drive button just because it was large and shiny. Throughout the book and radio versions of the story, Zaphod
5841-433: The first Vogon attack and apparently dies. Meanwhile, Constant Mown, son of Prostetnic Jeltz, convinces his father that the people on the planet are not citizens of Earth, but are, in fact, citizens of Nano, which means that it would be illegal to kill them. As the book draws to a close, Arthur is on his way to check out a possible university for Random, when, during a hyperspace jump, he is flung across alternate universes, has
5940-463: The first two radio series and TV versions, later William Franklyn in the third, fourth and fifth radio series, and Stephen Fry in the movie version), also provides general narration. The first radio series of six episodes (called "Fits" after the names of the sections of Lewis Carroll 's nonsense poem " The Hunting of the Snark ") was broadcast in 1978 on BBC Radio 4 . Despite a low-key launch of
6039-440: The five. In Life, the Universe and Everything (published in 1982), Ford and Arthur travel through the space-time continuum from prehistoric Earth to Lord's Cricket Ground . There they run into Slartibartfast, who enlists their aid in preventing galactic war. Long ago, the people of Krikkit attempted to wipe out all life in the Universe, but they were stopped and imprisoned on their home planet; now they are poised to escape. With
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#17327930600776138-576: The four Hitchhiker series novels at the time, and also includes one short story: Published in 1997, this 832-page leatherbound final omnibus edition contains five Hitchhiker series novels and one short story: Also appearing in The Ultimate Hitchhiker's Guide , at the end of Adams's introduction, is a list of instructions on "How to Leave the Planet", providing a humorous explanation of how one might replicate Arthur and Ford's feat at
6237-460: The fourth and fifth novels. The third series was broadcast in September and October 2004. The fourth and fifth were broadcast in May and June 2005, with the fifth series following immediately after the fourth. CD releases accompanied the transmission of the final episode in each series. The adaptation of the third novel followed the book very closely, which caused major structural issues in meshing with
6336-445: The galaxy despondently, Arthur's spaceship crashes on the planet Lamuella, where he settles in happily as the official sandwich-maker for a small village of simple, peaceful people. Meanwhile, Ford Prefect breaks into The Guide's offices, gets himself an infinite expense account from the computer system, and then meets The Hitchhiker's Guide to the Galaxy, Mark II , an artificially intelligent, multi-dimensional guide with vast power and
6435-490: The help of Marvin, Zaphod, and Trillian, our heroes prevent the destruction of life in the Universe and go their separate ways. This was the first Hitchhiker's book originally written as a book and not adapted from radio. Its story was based on a treatment Adams had written for a Doctor Who theatrical release, with the Doctor role being split between Slartibartfast (to begin with), and later Trillian and Arthur. In 2004, it
6534-474: The idea of "hitch-hiking around the galaxy" to them while on holiday in Greece in 1973. Adams's fictional Guide is an electronic guidebook to the entire universe, originally published by Megadodo Publications, one of the great publishing houses of Ursa Minor Beta. The narrative of the various versions of the story is frequently punctuated with excerpts from the Guide . The voice of the Guide ( Peter Jones in
6633-454: The idea of a second head better than he liked her, and swapping her for a reproduction of his original head. And Another Thing... is also the only book in the series in which Zaphod has only one head. His left head is said to have been removed so that 'Left Brain' (or 'LB') can function as the new computer of the Heart of Gold. Zaphod wears unique clothing that contains a mixture of bright and contrasting colours to make him stand out and be
6732-556: The incumbent to attract attention so no one wonders who's really in charge, a role for which Zaphod was perfectly suited). He is the only man to have survived the Total Perspective Vortex, though it was established (in the books and first two radio series) that he survived only because he was in an Electronically Synthesised Universe created especially for him, thus making him the most important being in that universe and thus uniquely equipped to survive its version of
6831-503: The loss of the Starship Billion Year Bunker , on which were stored compounds so powerful a teaspoonful could blow up/infect/irradiate a whole planet, and by-products of The Sirius Cybernetics Corporation synthetic personalities programme. As a character, Zaphod is hedonistic and irresponsible, self-centered almost to the point of solipsism , and often extremely insensitive to the feelings of those around him. In
6930-527: The meantime, the Vogons are heading to destroy a colony of people who also escaped Earth's destruction, on the planet Nano. Arthur, Wowbagger, Trillian and Random head to Nano to try to stop the Vogons, and on the journey, Wowbagger and Trillian fall in love, making Wowbagger question whether or not he wants to be killed. Zaphod arrives with Thor, who then signs up to be the planet's God. With Random's help, Thor almost kills Wowbagger. Wowbagger, who merely loses his immortality, then marries Trillian. Thor then stops
7029-452: The new semi-regular role of Fenchurch, Arthur's girlfriend, and Samantha Béart joined in the final series as Arthur and Trillian's daughter, Random Dent. Also reprising their roles from the original radio series were Jonathan Pryce as Zarniwoop (here blended with a character from the final novel to become Zarniwoop Vann Harl ), Rula Lenska as Lintilla and her clones (and also as the Voice of
7128-518: The novel, he said the third arm was "recently ... fitted just beneath his right one to help improve his ski-boxing." According to the original Hitchhiker's radio series script book, an ad libbed comment by Mark Wing-Davey in the eighth radio episode ("Put it there, and there, and there, and there! Whoa!") would suggest that Zaphod had grown a fourth arm. In the television series, Ford Prefect simply remarks to Zaphod that "the extra arm suits you." Eoin Colfer wrote and published an official 6th book for
7227-413: The other versions of the story and is not included here. Many consider the books' version of events to be definitive because they are the most readily accessible and widely distributed version of the story. However, they are not the final version that Adams produced. Before his death from a heart attack on 11 May 2001, Adams was considering writing a sixth novel in the Hitchhiker's series. He was working on
7326-500: The others for a trip to Milliways, the restaurant of the title. Zaphod and Ford decide to steal a ship from there, which turns out to be a stunt ship pre-programmed to plunge into a star as a special effect in a stage show. Unable to change course, the main characters get Marvin to run the teleporter they find in the ship, which is working other than having no automatic control (someone must remain behind to operate it), and Marvin seemingly sacrifices himself. Zaphod and Trillian discover that
7425-404: The parts of his personality that are (as the main head puts it) "less than Presidential." Rockwell performed Zaphod as a blend of Vince Vaughn and Elvis taking additional influence from George W. Bush and Bill Clinton among others. The Illustrated Hitchhiker's Guide to the Galaxy has him portrayed by Francis Johnson. When Mark Wing-Davey 's academic commitments prevented him resuming
7524-556: The planet of Magrathea and discovering the true purpose of Earth, and ending with the group preparing to go to the Restaurant at the End of the Universe. It was first published in 1979, initially in paperback, by Pan Books , after BBC Publishing had turned down the offer of publishing a novelisation, an action they would later regret. The book reached number one on the book charts in only its second week, and sold over 250,000 copies within three months of its release. A hardback edition
7623-541: The preceding radio series in comparison to the second novel. Because many events from the radio series were omitted from the second novel, and those that did occur happened in a different order, the two series split in completely different directions. The last two adaptations vary somewhat—some events in Mostly Harmless are now foreshadowed in the adaptation of So Long and Thanks For All The Fish , while both include some additional material that builds on incidents in
7722-567: The road, hitch-hiking feel" to it. The twelve episodes were released (in a slightly edited form, removing the Pink Floyd music and two other tunes "hummed" by Marvin when the team land on Magrathea) on CD and cassette in 1988, becoming the first CD release in the BBC Radio Collection . They were re-released in 1992, and at this time Adams suggested that they could retitle Fits the First to Sixth as "The Primary Phase" and Fits
7821-540: The role of Zaphod for the 2013 tour of " The Hitchhiker's Guide to the Galaxy Live Radio Show", comedian, songwriter and author Mitch Benn was cast in the part. To coincide with the April 2005 release of The Hitchhiker's Guide to the Galaxy film, a "campaign music video" was released on the Internet. The music, "Beeblebrox for President" by Joby Talbot , comes from the film's soundtrack, though it
7920-417: The same term [REDACTED] This disambiguation page lists articles associated with the title Babel fish . If an internal link led you here, you may wish to change the link to point directly to the intended article. Retrieved from " https://en.wikipedia.org/w/index.php?title=Babel_fish&oldid=1181119626 " Category : Disambiguation pages Hidden categories: Short description
8019-489: The same way [one word, no hyphen] from then on." The various versions follow the same basic plot but they are in many places mutually contradictory, as Adams rewrote the story substantially for each new adaptation. Throughout all versions, the series follows the adventures of Arthur Dent , a hapless Englishman, following the destruction of the Earth by the Vogons (a race of unpleasant and bureaucratic aliens) to make way for
8118-490: The self-centred President of the Galaxy Zaphod Beeblebrox and the depressed Marvin the Paranoid Android . Certain narrative details were changed among the various adaptations. The different versions of the series spell the title differently — thus Hitch-Hiker's Guide , Hitch Hiker's Guide , and Hitchhiker's Guide are used in different editions (UK or US), formats (audio or print), and compilations of
8217-426: The series (the first episode was broadcast at 10:30 pm on Wednesday, 8 March 1978), it received generally good reviews and a tremendous audience reaction for radio. A one-off episode (a "Christmas special") was broadcast later in the year. The BBC had a practice at the time of commissioning "Christmas Special" episodes for popular radio series, and while an early draft of this episode of The Hitchhiker's Guide had
8316-423: The song "Streets of Love" in the club in 2005. The venue closed on 14 May 2017. Species named after Zaphod are the viviparous brotula Bidenichthys beeblebroxi (described in 1995) and the fungus moth Erechthias beeblebroxi (named in 1993). They both have a remarkable color pattern resembling a second head, which presumably helps to confuse would-be predators . Mathematician Andrew Granville published
8415-498: The spilled drink burns a hole in the floor; in the film, after the Guide is done explaining what the Pan-Galactic Gargle Blaster is and its effects, Ford and Zaphod yell in pain. The Hitchhiker's Guide to the Galaxy gives the recipe as follows: The Guide also implies that there are multiple voluntary organisations available to rehabilitate those who would try the Pan-Galactic Gargle Blaster. Real versions of
8514-476: The third novel would be broadcast as part of its autumn schedule, produced by Above the Title Productions Ltd. The episodes were recorded in late 2003, but actual transmission was delayed while an agreement was reached with The Walt Disney Company over Internet re-broadcasts, as Disney had begun pre-production on the film. This was followed by news that further series would be produced based on
8613-495: The third series to tie all five (and their divergent plotlines) together, most especially including the character Zaphod more prominently in the final chapters and addressing his altered reality to include the events of the Secondary Phase. While Mostly Harmless originally contained a rather bleak ending, Dirk Maggs created a different ending for the transmitted radio version, ending it on a much more upbeat note, reuniting
8712-519: The work of Paddy Kingsland (for the pilot episode and the complete second series) at the BBC Radiophonic Workshop and Dick Mills and Harry Parker (for the remaining episodes (2–6) of the first series). The fact that they were at the forefront of modern radio production in 1978 and 1980 was reflected when the three new series of Hitchhiker's became some of the first radio shows to be mixed into four-channel Dolby Surround . This mix
8811-599: Was adapted for radio as the Tertiary Phase of the radio series. In So Long, and Thanks for All the Fish (published in 1984), Arthur returns home to Earth, rather surprisingly since it was destroyed when he left. He meets and falls in love with a girl named Fenchurch , and discovers this Earth is a replacement provided by the dolphins in their Save the Humans campaign. Eventually, he rejoins Ford, who claims to have saved
8910-511: Was also featured on DVD releases of the third radio series. The theme tune used for the radio, television, LP, and film versions is " Journey of the Sorcerer ", an instrumental piece composed by Bernie Leadon and recorded by the Eagles on their 1975 album One of These Nights . Only the transmitted radio series used the original recording; a sound-alike cover by Tim Souster was used for
9009-421: Was cast after a three-month-long casting search and after at least three actors (including Michael Palin ) turning down the role. The series was also notable for its use of sound, being the first comedy series to be produced in stereo. Adams said that he wanted the programme's production to be comparable to that of a modern rock album. Much of the programme's budget was spent on sound effects, which were largely
9108-566: Was given simply as " 42 ". Deep Thought was then instructed to design the Earth supercomputer to determine what the Question actually is. The Earth was subsequently destroyed by the Vogons moments before its calculations were completed, and Arthur becomes the target of the descendants of the Deep Thought creators, believing his mind must hold the Question. With his friends' help, Arthur escapes and they decide to have lunch at The Restaurant at
9207-462: Was not an adaptation of any previously written story or script. In 2005 it was adapted for radio as the Quandary Phase of the radio series. Finally, in Mostly Harmless (published in 1992), Vogons take over The Hitchhiker's Guide (under the name of InfiniDim Enterprises), to finish, once and for all, the task of obliterating the Earth. After abruptly losing Fenchurch and travelling around
9306-408: Was published by Harmony Books, a division of Random House in the United States in October 1980, and the 1981 US paperback edition was promoted by the give-away of 3,000 free copies in the magazine Rolling Stone to build word of mouth. In 2005, Del Rey Books re-released the Hitchhiker series with new covers for the release of the 2005 movie. As of 2005, the book version of The Hitchhiker's Guide to
9405-453: Was repeated twice in 1978 alone and many more times in the next few years. This led to an LP re-recording , produced independently of the BBC for sale, and a further adaptation of the series as a book. A second radio series, which consisted of a further five episodes, and bringing the total number of episodes to 12, was broadcast in 1980. The radio series (and the LP and TV versions) were narrated by comedy actor Peter Jones as The Book. Jones
9504-522: Was set to premiere in 2021. Production was slated to begin in the summer of 2020 and air on Fox in international markets. The series has reportedly been renewed for a second season. Due to the COVID-19 pandemic , production on the series has most likely been delayed. However, a production outlet claimed that the series began production in May 2021. Hulu receives no updates since then, and Cuse and Fuchs appeared to have moved on. Segments of several of
9603-461: Was the same as the original radio series , except for David Dixon as Ford Prefect instead of McGivern, and Sandra Dickinson as Trillian instead of Sheridan. A new television series for Hulu was announced in July 2019. Carlton Cuse was named as the showrunner alongside Jason Fuchs , who would also be writing for the show. The show would be produced by ABC Signature and Genre Arts. The series
9702-400: Was to find the man who actually ruled the universe – who turns out to be a man living in a shack with his cat who does not believe anything is real or certain except that which he is seeing and hearing at that moment. In the 1986 prequel story " Young Zaphod Plays It Safe ," Zaphod is working as a salvage ship operator, hired by a bureaucratic organization to retrieve the sunken wreck of
9801-405: Was written by Eoin Colfer with additional unpublished material by Douglas Adams. In 2017, BBC Radio 4 announced a 40th-anniversary celebration with Dirk Maggs , one of the original producers, in charge. The first of six new episodes was broadcast on 8 March 2018. The broad narrative of Hitchhiker follows the misadventures of the last surviving man, Arthur Dent , following the demolition of
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