Ford Prefect (also called Ix ) is a fictional character in The Hitchhiker's Guide to the Galaxy by the British author Douglas Adams . His role as Arthur Dent 's friend – and rescuer, when the Earth is unexpectedly demolished to make way for a hyperspace bypass at the start of the story – is often expository, as Ford is an experienced galactic hitchhiker and explains that he is actually an alien journalist, a field researcher for the titular Guide itself, and not an out-of-work actor from Guildford as he had claimed.
30-443: Christopher Brookmyre (born 6 September 1968) is a Scottish novelist whose novels, generally in a crime or police procedural frame, mix comedy, politics, social comment and action with a strong narrative. He has been referred to as a Tartan Noir author. His debut novel was Quite Ugly One Morning ; subsequent works have included All Fun and Games Until Somebody Loses an Eye (2005), Black Widow (2016) and Bedlam (2013), which
60-529: A minor reference in Fallen Angel . Bedlam was released in 2013. The book has been turned into a video game, also written by Brookmyre. In 2018, Brookmyre wrote The Way of All Flesh with his wife, Dr. Marisa Haetzman. It was published under the pseudonym Ambrose Parry. In 2020, the team followed up with The Art of Dying , and in 2021, A Corruption of Blood . With the possible exceptions of Pandaemonium and Bedlam , Brookmyre's books are all set in
90-763: A performance by Afghan Whigs frontman Greg Dulli 's side-project The Twilight Singers which references lines from the Twilight Singers' song "Teenage Wristband". Dulli is also the rock-star on whose NME-emblazoned face Matt Black signs an autograph in One Fine Day in the Middle of the Night . In 2003, Quite Ugly One Morning was dramatised in two parts by ITV , with the lead played by Irish actor James Nesbitt . None of Brookmyre's other novels have been adapted for television, but his short story Bampot Central
120-427: A ride; a Sub-Etha Sens-O-Matic, which monitors interstellar activity and alerts him to ships' proximity and origin; and a bath towel from Marks and Spencer . Ford is approximately 200 years old, as supported by the books. When, in the first novel, Zaphod steals the spaceship Heart of Gold , it is on Zaphod's two-hundredth birthday. It is later mentioned that Ford and Zaphod attended school together, even having some of
150-583: A sequence of names including 'Ford', beginning with director John Ford , Arthur Ford , news reader Anna Ford , carmaker Henry Ford , the Ford Anglia , the Ford Consul with the final name Ford Prefect being selected. Adams later observed that this joke was lost on United States audiences who assumed it was a typing error for "perfect." In some versions, such as the French ( Le Guide Galactique ) and
180-579: A variety of realities that the characters could find themselves in. The outcomes focus mostly on Arthur, but Ford features in the final possibility, where they all end up at Milliways ( The Restaurant at the End of the Universe ), drinking and chatting - and in Ford's case, flirting. In the original and following radio series and subsequent LP adaptation, Ford was played by Geoffrey McGivern . On television , he
210-518: Is essentially a dilettante when it comes to causes such as the search for the question to the ultimate answer of "life, the universe and everything". Ford carries the essential items of his profession in a leather satchel, hiding them under copies of play scripts in keeping with his public persona as an actor in search of work. Among the contents are his copy of the Guide ; an Electronic Thumb, which he uses to signal passing spaceships in an attempt to hitch
240-469: Is married to Dr. Marisa Haetzman, an anaesthetist, with whom he has a son, and supports St Mirren F.C. , references to Scottish football ('fitba') frequently featuring in his books. Brookmyre is a member of the Fun Lovin' Crime Writers, a cover band also comprising crime novelists Mark Billingham , Doug Johnstone , Val McDermid , Stuart Neville and Luca Veste. Between April 2008 and December 2015, he
270-535: The Galactic Nomenclaturoid Office, where they had the technology to unpick his old name from the fabric of space/time and thread the new one in its place, so that for all intents and purposes his name had always been and would always be Ford Prefect." Ford takes an existential view on the universe, sometimes bordering on joyful nihilism . He is eccentric and endlessly broad-minded – no doubt due to his vast experience of roughing it around
300-713: The Greek ( Γυρίστε τον Γαλαξία με Ωτοστόπ ), Ford's name was changed to "Ford Escort". In the Dutch translation, the car reference was dropped entirely instead opting for "Amro Bank", the name of the biggest commercial bank in the Netherlands at the time. Nowadays, the joke is largely lost on younger audiences in Britain as well, since the Ford Prefect is now a rare sight on British roads. In the film adaptation, his last name
330-488: The Paranoid Android – and to numerous mind-boggling concepts, from "teasers" (an explanation of UFO sightings on Earth) to the extraordinary usefulness of towels. Ford's other chief characteristic is his constant pursuit of an alcohol-fueled good time (in contrast to Arthur's quest for a cup of tea). Although his heart is in the right place and he is shown to be highly intelligent, resourceful and even brave, Ford
SECTION 10
#1732786970275360-588: The Vogons once again destroy the Earth. It is hinted, however, that he and the others may have survived. In the final episodes of the radio series, Ford, along with all the other main characters, is teleported to safety by the Babel Fish in his ear. The episode ends with a selection of possible outcomes for this last-second-teleportation, as the "unstable" nature of the section of galaxy Earth is in means that there are
390-469: The dominant life form" of Earth. This was expanded on somewhat in the film version, where Ford is almost run over while attempting to greet a blue Ford Prefect. He is saved by Arthur and, in the film version of events, this is how the pair meet (this meeting also prompting Ford to rescue Arthur in particular when the Vogons come to destroy Earth). The graphics in the TV series provide a similar explanation by listing
420-506: The film, TV series, and radio show they are said to share three of the same mothers) Zaphod Beeblebrox calls him "Ford" the first time they are reunited in all versions of the story except for the film, where Zaphod addresses him as "Praxibetel Ix," then introduces him by saying "This is my semi-half brother, Ix... I'm sorry, sorry, Ford." While not explained in the book, a footnote of the original radio scripts explains that "just before arriving (on Earth) he registered his new name officially at
450-412: The first being Laidlaw in 1977, is considered the father of the genre. William McIlvanney (whose own work has been considered a precursor to Tartan Noir) has said that the whole genre is " ersatz ". Charles Taylor has stated that the term has an "inescapably condescending tinge", noting "it's a touristy phrase, suggesting that there's something quaint about hard-boiled crime fiction that comes from
480-455: The galaxy – and possesses of an off-key and often very dark sense of humour. He is described as being able to smile in a way that would "send hitherto sane men scampering into the trees". In his role as guide to the universe for the often bewildered everyman Arthur Dent, he serves to link the disparate elements of the story together. As well as rescuing Arthur, he introduces him to the other major characters – such as Zaphod, Trillian and Marvin
510-490: The idea of a character who cheerfully wanders into enormously dangerous situations and effortlessly makes them much worse." The name Parlabane is taken from the works of Robertson Davies as are the names of several other characters in Brookmyre's works, indicating another of the author's influences. Music is heavily featured in several books. Quite Ugly One Morning is taken from Warren Zevon's album Mr. Bad Example -
540-619: The inspiration for the costumes worn by his gang of bank robbers, are taken from Zal Cleminson , guitarist for The Sensational Alex Harvey Band , who always wore Pierrot makeup on stage. Parlabane is a fan of Skids and Big Country and Jasmine Sharp goes to see Twin Atlantic perform live in one of her books. The character Jane Fleming in All Fun and Games Until Somebody Loses an Eye visits King Tut's Wah Wah Hut in Glasgow, witnessing
570-411: The land of kilts and haggis ". Ford Prefect (character) Although Ford had taken great care to blend into Earth society, he had "skimped a bit on his preparatory research," and thought that the name "Ford Prefect" would be "nicely inconspicuous." The Ford Prefect was a popular British car manufactured from 1938 to 1961, and Adams later clarified in an interview that Ford "had simply mistaken
600-558: The last chapter title continues the song's chorus. Zevon and Bruce Springsteen feature in the second novel, Country of the Blind . The band 'Savage Earth Heart' in Dead Girl Walking share their name with a song by The Waterboys . Art Alexakis of the band Everclear has been thanked by Brookmyre inside the front cover of two of his books – Be My Enemy and The Sacred Art of Stealing . Brookmyre has said that Sacred Art
630-560: The latter serving as a short prelude to Dead Girl Walking . Parlabane also appears in Fallen Angel Three of Brookmyre's novels feature the character of counterterrorism officer Angelique de Xavia: A Big Boy Did It and Ran Away , The Sacred Art of Stealing , and A Snowball in Hell . A Big Boy Did It and Ran Away and A Snowball in Hell pit Xavia against international terrorist-for-hire Simon Darcourt. A Snowball in Hell
SECTION 20
#1732786970275660-465: The only man to survive. Ford never learned to pronounce his birth name, which was a matter that caused his father to die of shame (which is still a terminal disease in some parts of the Universe). At school, he was nicknamed "Ix," which translates as "boy who is not able to satisfactorily explain what a Hrung is, nor why it should choose to collapse on Betelgeuse Seven". Despite all this, his cousin (in
690-460: The same "universe" and contain a number of recurring characters, especially the appearance or mention of major characters (such as Parlabane) in incidental roles in other stories. Some of the recurring characters are listed below: Brookmyre has said that the inspiration for Jack Parlabane was Ford Prefect from Douglas Adams ' The Hitchhiker's Guide to the Galaxy series; he said "I always adored
720-473: The same classes, which would indicate that they are roughly the same age. He had originally planned to spend a week on Earth doing research for the Guide , but wound up being stranded there for 15 years prior to helping Arthur escape the planet when the Vogons demolish it. At the end of the final novel in the series, Mostly Harmless , Ford is apparently vaporised along with all the other main characters when
750-560: Was inspired by the Everclear song 'Unemployed Boyfriend' from the album Songs from an American Movie Vol. One: Learning How to Smile . This is the song which the lead character, Zal Innez, discusses with Angelique De Xavia. De Xavia is stated by her brother to spend her evenings alone "drinking supermarket merlot and listening to that depressing Mogwai rubbish" in The Sacred Art of Stealing . The first name for Innez, as well as
780-402: Was never actually stated on-screen, but it is given in the film's credits as "Prefect." A footnote in the novel explains that Ford's birth name is "only pronounceable in an obscure Betelgeusian dialect" which was almost wiped out by the "Great Collapsing Hrung Disaster of Gal./Sid./Year 03758," a mysterious catastrophe which took place on the planet of Betelgeuse Seven and which Ford's father was
810-591: Was originally due to be titled The Great Grease-Tailed Shaven Pig Hunt . Three of Brookmyre's novels feature the characters Jasmine Sharp, a private detective, and Catherine McLeod, a senior police detective: Where the Bodies Are Buried , When the Devil Drives , and Flesh Wounds . McLeod also features in the short story Siege Mentality , and The Last Siege of Bothwell Castle , and has minor roles in Dead Girl Walking and Black Widow , and
840-490: Was rewritten as a radio play by the author for BBC Radio 3 . In 2004, actor David Tennant narrated the audiobook of Quite Ugly One Morning . In 2007, actor Billy Boyd narrated the audiobook of Attack of the Unsinkable Rubber Ducks . Tartan Noir Tartan Noir is a form of crime fiction particular to Scotland and Scottish writers. William McIlvanney , who wrote three crime novels,
870-494: Was the President of Humanist Society Scotland . Eight of Brookmyre's novels ( Quite Ugly One Morning , Country of the Blind , Boiling a Frog , Be My Enemy , Attack of the Unsinkable Rubber Ducks , Dead Girl Walking , Black Widow and Want You Gone ) centre on the investigative journalist Jack Parlabane. Parlabane also stars in the short stories Bampot Central , Place B. and The Last Day of Christmas with
900-575: Was written in parallel with the development of a first-person shooter videogame, also called Bedlam . He also writes historical fiction with his wife, Dr Marisa Haetzman , under the pseudonym Ambrose Parry. Brookmyre was born in Glasgow and raised and schooled in Barrhead , attending St. Mark's Primary School and St Luke's High School , before attending the University of Glasgow . Brookmyre
#274725