Ken

## Ken Adams

**Ken** is a character in the television series *Dirk Gently's Holistic Detective Agency*.

Ken is a tech-savvy man who was hired by The Men of the Machine to build a weird device for them. When trying to complete the job, he is kidnapped by Bart Curlish but soon becomes her willing companion in her quest to find Dirk Gently.

## Biography

### Early life

Ken Adams was an electrician.

Having intensive knowledge of electrical systems, Ken was often hired by criminals to partake in illegal projects. He had hoped to acquire a real job eventually but his clients just kept piling up.

### A Completely Lost Dog

#### Kidnapped by Bart

Ken is hired by the Men of the Machine to build somewhat of a replica of the machine that the cult already possesses. While working at a remote location with one of the members standing guard, the two are attacked by a woman named Bart Curlish who is a self-proclaimed holistic assassin and is on a search for a man named Dirk Gently. For some unknown reason, she decides to kidnap Ken to accompany her on her mission.

Bart is driving Ken to their next location when the car suddenly breaks down. When a motorcyclist happens upon them, Ken first tries to convince the biker to call him a cab and then tries to convince him to leave before Bart can kill him. After fixing the car, the biker reveals his plan to murder them both and take the car. However, Bart disposes of him before he can.

#### Helping Bart

Later on, the rest of the biker gang track Ken and Bart down and attempt to avenge their comrade. Ken resigns himself to his fate of death but Bart is able to eliminate all of the men without Ken being harmed. Believing that Bart is some sort of angel, Ken decides to help her.

Sometime following the event, the two switch vehicles to travel in an ambulance which runs out of gas in Seattle. Ken comments that they must be there for a reason because their cars always break down when Bart needs to kill someone. Ken convinces a distressed Bart to take a break and eat in a Chinese restaurant where he discovers that she doesn't understand the concept of restaurants nor hotels. Using the large sum of money that Bart is carrying around, Ken books a room for the two. After taking a shower, Bart becomes aggravated once again and leaves the hotel to kill a seemingly random man standing across the street before Ken can stop her. Ken is then threatened that he had better not get in her way again.

#### Finding Dirk Gently

While traveling with Bart, the two of them overhear a man proclaiming himself to be Dirk Gently. Bart leaves to kill Dirk but is stabbed and thrown down a flight of stairs by Dirk's companion Farah Black before she can, forcing Ken to carry her body to their hotel room, strangely unnoticed by everyone around them. To drown out the sounds of Bart's screaming, Ken turns on the TV and overhears a news report stating that the random man Bart killed previously was holding two women captive in his house. Seeing as Bart was unable to kill Dirk, Ken begins to believe that her mission is to aid Dirk rather than kill him.

Ken continues to help Bart recover so that they can continue to find Dirk Gently. When Bart expresses no desire to continue her mission, Ken convinces her that her injury was just a minor setback but she can still accomplish anything. Since there are only two bullets left in her gun, he tells her to start walking and see where the two bullets lead them. They are eventually led to the Spring Mansion where they come across Dirk, Todd and Lydia Spring being threatened by two members of the Men of the Machine. After Bart kills the two men with her remaining bullets, Ken recognizes the machine in the room as the one he was hired to create. He is able to successfully repair the machine, finally fulfilling his purpose. After leaving the mansion, Bart comments that Ken is now free to go but Ken responds that he's happy right where he is.

### The Middle of Everywhere

#### Prisoner

Ken was held captive with Rapunzel at Project Blackwing, code named **Project Alpha**. He was believed to also have powers, due to surviving his week-long exposure to Bart, Project Marzanna. Because of this he was continually questioned by scientists, while Ken was trying to convince them that he was entirely normal. Both Ken and the dog were sitting in the taxi they had been captured in, still wearing the livery he had at that time, placed in a large white cell; it could be brightly lit, but was apparently kept dark when no Blackwing personnel were inside. Ken kept a record of the time spent captivity, by scratching a mark per day into the taxi's dashboard.

After 70 days of captivity (possible approximation), Ken was visited by Hugo Friedkin, who also believed him to have some sort of power, too. Ken tried to convince him, too, but failed. In return he was told a bit about the existence of the Blackwing subjects. When he told Friedkin that the subjects inherently belonged out in the world and hence couldn't be contained, it inadvertently inspired Friedkin to try exposing the subjects to each other.

...

#### Taking over

At some point Friedkin gave Ken the same clearance as himself.

...

...
After portraying the knowledge and objects gained from the Bergsberg case and recent Knight incursion as a discovery of unparalleled importance and proof of the supernatural, Wilson officially recognized him as new Supervisor of Project Blackwing.

After Bart returned to Backwing, Ken met her in her cell, accompanied by Mr. Priest. Ken informed her of the new nature and goals of Project Blackwing, and that they would bring control and order to the universe. Bart told him that she now felt he was a target of hers that she was supposed to kill. Ken stated he expected that might happen, but also displayed confidence Bart wouldn't act on it. Then he and Priest left Bart's cell.

## Character

After his time in Blackwing at the start of Season Two, he has longer hair and a full beard. Bored and unstimulated by his time imprisoned in the taxi, he eagerly accepts some tech duties from Friedkin and learns about Blackwing subjects, becoming fascinated. he eventually takes over the entire project, tricking Friedkin into making them of equal rank and doing a far more efficient job.

## Behind the scenes

* Ken is portrayed by actor Mpho Koaho.
* Ken's Blackwing code name is "Project Alpha", his Blackwing project symbol is a triangle with the tip crossed by a horizontal line, which itself ends on both sides with a small orthogonal line. (The design may refer to the taxi he was found in, a silhouette with the roughly triangular shape and the rear view mirrors to the sides.) His uniform is a light color (possibly light grey or blue, or white) with a yellow band.

### Appearances

* Season 1 (BBC America)
* Season 2 (BBC America)
	+ Space Rabbit
	+ Fans of Wet Circles
	+ Two Broken Fingers
	+ The House Within the House
	+ Girl Power
	+ Little Guy, Black Hair
	+ Trouble Is Bad
	+ Nice Jacket

## Notes

* He knows the song "As Long As You Love Me" by the Backstreet Boys.
* Much like the way Bart and Dirk parallel each other by often saying the same things when talking and describing how they function as a holistic assassin and detective, respectively, Ken parallels Todd due to going through a similar experience to him and often says the same things as he does when experiencing situations with Bart similar to Todd and Dirk. Both encounter someone claiming to believe in holistics, and both find themselves stuck with them. They then slowly befriend the individual who in turn slowly convinces them that they are telling the truth.

1. ↑ 1.0 1.1 1.2 *Nice Jacket*
2. ↑ "Horizons"
3. ↑ "Lost & Found"
4. ↑ "Rogue Wall Enthusiasts"
5. ↑ *Very Erectus*
6. ↑ *Fix Everything*
7. ↑ *Two Sane Guys Doing Normal Things*
8. ↑ 8.0 8.1 *Space Rabbit*
9. ↑ *Fans of Wet Circles*
10. ↑ *Two Broken Fingers*
11. ↑ *The House Within the House*
12. ↑ *Girl Power*
13. ↑ *Little Guy, Black Hair*
14. ↑ 14.0 14.1 *Trouble Is Bad*