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47-682: Guide description: Here is what to do if you want to get a lift from a Vogon: forget it. They are one of the most unpleasant races in the Galaxy. Not actually evil, but bad-tempered, bureaucratic, officious and callous. They wouldn't even lift a finger to save their own grandmothers from the Ravenous Bugblatter Beast of Traal without orders – signed in triplicate, sent in, sent back, queried, lost, found, subjected to public inquiry, lost again, and finally buried in soft peat for three months and recycled as firelighters. The best way to get

94-603: A Vogon in the Quintessential Phase , and Jeltz's son Constant Mown. Two other named Vogon Constructor Fleet captains, Prostetnic Vogons Kutz and Yant, appear in Fit the Fourteenth announcing the demolition of the planets Avaruth and Regulo 7, respectively. Vogons are described as officiously bureaucratic, a line of work at which they perform so well that the entire galactic bureaucracy is run by them. On Vogsphere,

141-411: A drink out of a Vogon is to stick your finger down his throat, and the best way to irritate him is to feed his grandmother to the Ravenous Bugblatter Beast of Traal. On no account should you allow a Vogon to read poetry at you. Vogons are roughly human-sized, although much bulkier, with green or grey skin. Their noses are above their eyebrows, which are either ginger (in the television series) or white (in

188-534: A few doors around the base," says Joel Collins. The name Vogons is a new lexeme , a word newly created by Douglas Adams that does not conform to a pattern of word formation. Stephen Webb found the appearance of this first alien race that features in The Hitchhiker's Guide to the Galaxy also "suitably strange, as aliens should be". The Vogons' behaviour in contrast turns out to be "full of very human—and specifically English—flaws and tendencies", to

235-682: A literary example of dysfunctional behaviour that may be facilitated by bureaucracies, comparable to the servants in Franz Kafka 's novel The Castle and the bureaucrats in Terry Gilliam 's movie Brazil : they "all fulfill their job descriptions and use resources so efficiently that there is no recourse for the innocent, efficient, altruistic, or reasonable". The ships of the Vogon Constructor Fleet were described as "impossibly huge yellow somethings" (the colour being

282-473: A misplaced, badly malformed, and dyspeptic liver into a brain ). As the radio show says: "What nature refused to give to them, they did without. Until their myriad anatomical deficiencies could be rectified with surgery." They then emigrated en masse to the MeagaBrantis star cluster (although the film has them staying on Vogsphere), the political hub of the galaxy. They banish the ruling philosophers to

329-485: A nomination at the 54th Annual Grammy Awards . Garth Jennings directed a number of films including the 2005 science fiction comedy film The Hitchhiker's Guide to the Galaxy , based upon previous works in the media franchise of the same name , created by Douglas Adams . It stars Martin Freeman , Sam Rockwell , Mos Def , Zooey Deschanel and the voices of Stephen Fry , Helen Mirren and Alan Rickman . Set over

376-474: A parallel to bulldozers that demolish Arthur's house) that "looked more like they had been congealed than constructed" and "hung in the air in much the same way that bricks don't"; they are said to be undetectable to radar and capable of travel through hyperspace . They are not crewed exclusively by Vogons; a species known as the Dentrassi are responsible for on-board catering. In the television version of

423-427: 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

470-583: 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

517-586: A summer during the dawn of Thatcher's Britain , Son of Rambow is a coming of age story about two schoolboys and their attempts to make an amateur film inspired by First Blood . The film premiered on 22 January 2007 at the Sundance Film Festival . It was later shown at the Newport Beach Film Festival , Seattle International Film Festival , Toronto International Film Festival and Glasgow Film Festival . The film

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564-579: 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

611-551: Is "resistance is useless!" (cf. " Resistance is futile "). Vogon poetry is described as "the third worst poetry in the Universe" (behind that of the Azgoths of Kria and that of Paula Nancy Millstone Jennings , the latter of which was destroyed when the Earth was). The main example used in the story is a short piece composed by Jeltz, which roughly emulates nonsense verse in style (example below). The story relates that listening to it

658-527: 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

705-475: Is an end-in-itself, "at which human and logic fail" and which intends to thwart real progress, making the scenes of interaction with these aliens "absurd". Marilette Van der Colff also noted that the failure "to notice its destructive influence on nature" by the management and the unconcerned and sometimes deliberate destruction of animal species by humans in general is reflected in the Vogons. Marcus O'Dair praised

752-463: Is an experience similar to torture, as demonstrated when Arthur Dent and Ford Prefect are forced to listen to the poetry (and say how much they liked it) prior to being thrown out of an airlock . A second example of Vogon poetry is found in the Hitchhiker's Guide interactive fiction game that was produced by Infocom ; responding to the poetry forms a major part of game play. The first verse

799-732: Is as above; one version of the second verse follows: An unused extended version of the poem is also excerpted in Neil Gaiman 's book Don't Panic: The Official Hitchhiker's Guide to the Galaxy Companion , in Appendix III. A third example appears in The Quintessential Phase of the radio series, again written by Jeltz. A fourth example appears in And Another Thing... , the sixth book in

846-518: 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

893-650: The "Prostetnic class". Two other Prostetnic Vogons in the Constructor Fleet, Kutz and Yant, appear in the second episode of the Tertiary Phase alongside Jeltz announcing the demolition of their respective planets. In The Restaurant at the End of the Universe , Gag Halfrunt also refers to Jeltz as "Captain of Vogons Prostetnic". Jeltz appears in: In the first radio series, he was played by Bill Wallis , who also voiced Mr Prosser . Writer Marcus O'Dair found this "an appropriate casting decision since

940-535: 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

987-503: The Galaxy , Son of Rambow , Sing , and Sing 2 . He co-founded the production company Hammer & Tongs . Jennings was born in Essex , England. In 1993, Garth Jennings co-founded the production company Hammer & Tongs alongside Dominic Leung and Nick Goldsmith . The production company was primarily responsible for directing and writing music videos. Their music video for Radiohead 's song " Lotus Flower " earned Jennings

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1034-713: 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

1081-587: The Hitchhikers' Guide company offices to turn the Guide into a device capable of destroying all Earths in every dimension, this time presumably killing Arthur, Ford, Trillian , and Arthur's daughter, Random —a fate dodged by the characters in the Quintessential Phase . "Prostetnic Vogon" is a title, rather than part of his name, as at the beginning of the Quandary Phase he is described as belonging to

1128-488: 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

1175-483: 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

1222-414: The Vogons would sit upon very elegant and beautiful gazelle -like creatures, whose backs would snap instantly if the Vogons tried to ride them. The Vogons were perfectly happy with just sitting on them. Another favourite Vogon pastime is to import millions of beautiful jewel-backed scuttling crabs from their native planet, cut down giant trees of breathtaking beauty, and spend a happy drunken night smashing

1269-558: The character is, to an extent, Jeltz's Earth-bound alter ego." On television, the Vogon was portrayed by Martin Benson . In the third, fourth and fifth radio series, he was played by Toby Longworth , although Longworth did not receive a credit for the role during the third series. In the film, he is voiced by Richard Griffiths . In cartoon he is voiced by Rupert Degas . Ronald E. Rice and Stephen D. Cooper considered Prostetnic Vogon Jeltz as

1316-436: The crabs to bits with iron mallets and cooking the crab meat by burning the trees. In the movie, the Vogons seem to smash the crabs for no apparent reason besides pure pleasure at killing something. In the film, Ford Prefect additionally tells Arthur Dent following the Guide's Vogon article that Vogons lack the ability of thought or imagination, and some can't even spell. The Vogons' battle-cry, and counter-argument to dissent,

1363-484: The depiction of extraterrestrials, Stephen Webb considered the Vogons "engaging aliens" despite their unpleasant traits, as they parodied middle-management behaviour so well that "I can't help but like them". Vogons was an Atari 130XE game, the goal being to avoid three "dreaded Vogons" moving quickly around the screen. Garth Jennings Garth Jennings is an English director, screenwriter and actor. Films he has directed include The Hitchhiker's Guide to

1410-535: The discovery of the Ultimate Question . When Halfrunt learns that Arthur Dent escaped the planet's destruction, Jeltz is dispatched to track him down and destroy him. Jeltz is unable to complete this task, due to the intervention of Zaphod Beeblebrox the Fourth , Zaphod's great-grandfather. In Mostly Harmless , Jeltz is once again responsible for the destruction of the Earth, after the Vogons infiltrate

1457-469: 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

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1504-456: The film). The film's commentary states that the idea behind the high flat noses was that they evolved both the noses and the severe bureaucracy from being repeatedly whacked by the paddle creatures under the sand on Vogsphere whenever they had an independent thought (in the film, the Vogon bureaucracy is centred on Vogsphere). In the radio series it is said that "Their highly domed nose rises above their small piggy forehead". Garth Jennings based

1551-506: 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

1598-455: 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

1645-465: 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

1692-638: The point that Amanda Dillon considered them "probably the least othered alien in Adams's work". The Vogons are an easily recognizable satire of human middle-management culture and bureaucracy. Dillon found them "Adams's most fully formed direct parody of the alien, and this makes them a source of laughter rather than fear". The "silliness of Vogon bureaucracy" in its exaggeration is represented by "Adams's clever use of bathos" when he first uses very technical terms to describe their organizational processes but concludes with incongruously mundane words. For Vogons bureaucracy

1739-468: The realization in the movie: "In this format, the Vogons really come into their own, their flattened faces, hunched backs and hopelessly overhanging bellies partly inspired by the work of eighteenth-century satirical cartoonist James Gillray." Author Martin Thomas Pesl included the Vogons in his list of the 100 most brilliant villains in world literature, under the category of despots. In his analysis of

1786-473: 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

1833-473: The story, the craft are shaped like battleships , albeit with a flat bottom through which the demolition beams are fired. In the film version, the craft are grey and cubic, a continuation of the emphasis on bureaucracy in the Vogons' conception: "Douglas [Adams]'s description of the Vogon ships hanging in the air in much the same way that bricks don't [led to] these Vogon ships which are these massive concrete tower blocks , with hardly any windows, they just have

1880-540: The tax office to lick stamps and within a few short Voge years took over pretty much all of the galactic civil service, where they form most of the Galactic bureaucracy, most notably in the Vogon Constructor Fleets (which, despite their name, patrol the galaxy demolishing planets). The only named Vogons in the stories are Jeltz (see below), Kwaltz (who appears in the film), Zarniwoop , revealed to be

1927-434: The titular Guide itself, and not an out-of-work actor from Guildford as he had claimed. 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

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1974-502: The trilogy written by Eoin Colfer . The poem is also written by Jeltz. The Vogon captain in charge of overseeing the destruction of the Earth, Prostetnic Vogon Jeltz is sadistic and unpleasant to look at, even by Vogon standards. He enjoys shouting at or executing members of his own crew for insubordination, and takes professional pride in his job of demolishing planets. He very rarely smiles: "Prostetnic Vogon Jeltz smiled very slowly. This

2021-408: The visual portrayal of the Vogons in the 2005 film on the work of cartoonist James Gillray (1757–1815). "His creations were so grotesque...when we looked at them, we realised they were the Vogons". The series tells that, far back in prehistory, when the first primeval Vogons crawled out of the sea, evolution gave up on them. Through sheer obstinacy, though, the Vogons survived (partly by adapting

2068-508: The voice for Miss Crawly, an elderly iguana employed as an administrative assistant to Buster Moon. A sequel, titled Sing 2 , was released on 22 December 2021. Garth Jennings directed, wrote and co-produced a short film titled Madame that was released in 2019. This film takes place inside a grand Parisian apartment where lives an elegant elderly lady. And inside this lady lives a monster. Acting credits Acting credits Ford Prefect (character) Ford Prefect (also called Ix )

2115-617: Was also shown at the 51st BFI London Film Festival . Son of Rambow was released in the United Kingdom on 4 April 2008 and opened in limited release in the United States on 2 May 2008. In January 2014, it was announced that Garth Jennings would write and direct an animated comedy film for Universal Pictures and Illumination Entertainment . The resulting film, Sing , was released in December 2016. He also provided

2162-570: Was done not so much for effect as because he was trying to remember the sequence of muscle movements." It is revealed in The Restaurant at the End of the Universe that Jeltz had been hired by Gag Halfrunt to destroy the Earth (though in the film it was Zaphod who gave the order by mistake). Halfrunt had been acting on behalf of a consortium of psychiatrists and the Imperial Galactic Government in order to prevent

2209-402: 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

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