The Hitchhiker's Guide to the Galaxy

The Hitchhiker's Guide to the Galaxy is a science fiction comedy series created by Douglas Adams. It was originally a radio comedy broadcast on BBC Radio 4 in 1978, followed by a "trilogy" of five books beginning in 1979.
In 2005, Touchstone Pictures released a live-action theatrical film based on the first book, featuring creatures from Jim Henson's Creature Shop.
==References==
* The second book in the series, The Restaurant at the End of the Universe, was the inspiration for the title of the Muppet Babies episode "The Air Conditioner at the End of the Galaxy."
* Larry DiFiori, in illustrating the 1997 book Pigs in Space: Journey to the Planet Za, littered the floor of the Swinetrek Too with various bits of paraphernalia, including a book called "Pigs' Guide to the Galaxy." The book's cover features a hitchhiking thumb and face with tongue sticking out in reference to the cover of The Hitchhiker's Guide to the Galaxy illustrated by Peter Cross.
* In the Farscape episode "Unrealized Reality," Arthur Dent is one of several sci-fi/fantasy heroes mentioned by John Crichton: "But I am not Kirk, Spock, Luke, Buck, Flash or Arthur frelling Dent. I'm Dorothy Gale from Kansas." 
* The making of The Muppets documentary Scratching the Surface‎‎ is told in a style that references the radio and TV series. A British narrator (ala "the voice of the Book" in both radio and TV versions) tells the story of the making of The Muppets with over-explained sidebars featuring comedic graphs and faux-scientific explanations for several parts of the story (a visual element utilized in the TV series).
* In a Sesame Street social media video released in November 2023, Alistair Cookie describes the joys of reading a good book. One of his selections is A Monster's Guide to the Galaxy (complete with a furry thumb and a cookie sticking out its tongue). He says you can meet out of this world characters, in this case the Martians.@sesamestreeet on Twitter. November 2, 2023.
==Muppet Mentions==
* BBC Radio launched a new radio series in 2004, adapting the last three of Adams' books, in three "phases." In the six part "Tertiary Phase" series, adapting Life, the Universe, and Everything, the announcer's closing gag for the October 19, 2004 broadcast (episode five), referenced the sponsorship closings on Sesame Street: "This week's program was brought to you by the letters F, Gamma, and the hexadecimal number 3 cosine D bracket to the power of 8... sorry, 9... no, 8.... actually, can I get back to you?"
==Connections==
*John Baddeley played Bird Two and the Footwarrior in the second radio series (1980)
*Jim Broadbent played Vroomfondel and Shooty in the first radio series and Marvin the Paranoid Android in the sixth series (2018)
*Ed Byrne played Hillman Hunter in the sixth radio series (2018)
*Ken Campbell played Poodoo in the second radio series (1980)
*Peter Cross illustrated the American book cover, as well as the covers for the first three sequels
*Peter Davison played the Dish of the Day on the TV series (1981)
*Gernot Duda played a policeman in the second German radio series (1991)
*Stephen Fry played Murray Bost-Henson in the fourth radio series (2005)
*Michael Gahr played the second computer programmer in the German radio series (1982)
*Richard Griffiths played Slartibartfast in the third radio series (2004)
*Ernst Günther played Deep Thought in the Swedish radio series (1987)
*Michael Habeck played Shooty in the German radio series (1982)
*Peter Harryson played the barman, first programmer, Number Two, Vogon helmsman, and the Footwarrior in the Swedish radio series (1988)
*Stephen Hawking played the Guide Mark II voice in the sixth radio series (2018)
*Peter Hawkins played Frankie Mouse in the first radio series (1978)
*Lenny Henry played the Consultant in the sixth radio series (2018)
*Wolfgang Hess played Mr. Prosser in the German radio series (1982)
*Nina Hoger played Fenchurch in the second German radio series (1991)
*Jane Horrocks played Fenchurch in the fourth through sixth radio series (2005, 2018)
*Chris Langham played Prak in the third radio series (2004)
*Joanna Lumley played the Woman with the Sydney Opera House Head in the third radio series (2004)
*Miriam Margolyes played Smelly Photocopier Woman in the fifth radio series (2005)
*Frank Middlemass played the B Ark captain in The Hitch-Hiker's Guide To The Galaxy Part Two: The Restaurant At The End Of The Universe (1980 album version)
*Bill Paterson played Arcturan Number One in the second radio series (1978) and Rob McKenna in the fourth (2005)
*Jonathan Pryce played Autopilot in the second radio series (1980) and Zarniwoop in the second and fifth (2005)
*Griff Rhys Jones played Old Thrashbarg in the fifth radio series (2005)
*Matthew Scurfield played Number One in the sixth episode of the TV series (1981)
*Christian Slater played Wonko the Sane in the fourth radio series (2005)
*Bernd Stephan played the Magrathean PA voice in the German radio series (1982)
*Richard Vernon played Slartibartfast in the first radio series (1978) and the TV series (1981)
*Sven Wollter played the Book in the Swedish radio series (Fits 1 to 6, 1987)
==Notes==
* Simon Jones played Arthur Dent in all radio versions and on TV. After he moved to New York City, his son Timothy (then four years old) appeared on Sesame Street in 1991, as one of the Kids.Slide, Anthony. Some Joe You Don't Know: An American Biographical Guide to 100 British Television Personalities. Greenwood Press, 1996. p. 139
==Sources==
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Category:Literary References
Category:Audio Mentions
Category:Radio References
Category:TV References
Category:Space