Eng 101 Foundations 1pm F21

Ian Keefer

The Fans of the Man who created the Answer

Figure 1

Douglas Adams (Betcher)

In 1978, the entire world of science fiction and humor was changed forever by one little radio broadcast on BBC Radio 4. This little radio broadcast was called Hitchhikers Guide to the Galaxy by the British satirist and genius Douglas Adams (see Figure 1). Adams then took his cult broadcast and made it into a five- part novel series. This series of books have been made into countless tv shows, movies, novels, and even a holiday or two. Douglas Adams may have sadly passed away in 2001 but the legacy of his masterpiece has never left the pop culture bubble.

One of the most important acts of fandom is how much famous and non-famous authors have added to the literary canon. Like I said before, Douglas Adams wrote five novels in the series and then tragically passed away. After his death, another author emerged with the sixth installment of the series. This author was Eoin Colfer, a man who was known most famous for creating his children series, Artemis Fowl. In 2009, Colfer wrote the novel, And Another Thing as the next installment in the Hitchhiker's series. Adams wrote that he always wanted to write another installment because the fifth novel was so bleak and he wanted the series to end happy and whimsically. Colfer was chosen by the widow of Adams and was given his linear notes for inspiration (Wired). One of the miraculous things for Colfer was that Adams created his universe with such improbability that a new author could easily create a new story for these beloved characters. Figure 2

Gaiman (right) and Adams (left) (Rowles)

And Another Thing was the only established book in the series by a different author but it was far from the only piece of literature added to the canon. Neil Gaiman, a genius of his own right declared Douglas Adams as the reason why he became a writer. Gaiman met Adams when he was in his teens and in 1988, Gaiman created Don't Panic; The Official Hitchhiker's Guide to the Galaxy Companion (Publishers Weekly). Gaiman conducted interviews with Adams and published his conversations in this companion guide (see Figure 2) (Flood). Douglas Adams was not only a creative genius but he was able to inspire other geniuses to take up writing to create literature that in turn would inspire new writers.

The Hitchhikers Guide did not only inspire countless novels and companion pieces but also was a popular subject of media adaptations. One of the major examples of this is the film adaptation. There was plans to make Hitchhikers a movie since the 1970s and the furthest it got before 2005 was in the early 80s but this project was scrapped in favor of Ghostbusters (Reynolds). In 2005, shortly after Adams untimely death, the movie was released to mixed reviews. The movie was received fairly by critics but most Hitchhiker fans did not enjoy this new adaptation. One of the large reasons why was that although Adams helped to write the screenplay, he never truly thought Hitchhikers should receive a film adaptation.

Figure 3

The 1981 TV adaptation, Ford Prefect (Left) and
Arthur Dent (Right) (Amazon)

One of the most beloved adaptations of Hitchhikers was the 1981 tv adaptation of Hitchhikers guide (see Figure 3). Unlike the film adaptation, this tv series completely helped to add to the popularity of Hitchhikers guide and was acclaimed critically by critics and fans. Many people originally watched the tv series and then sought out the books and radio series. The tv series for a short time was actually able to eclipse the popularity of the books and radio series. This tv series has become iconic in its own right and some of the characters are portrayed in pop culture by their portrayal in this tv series (Britt). Another reason why this adaptation was so much more favorable to fans was that it was adapted directly by Adams. Hulu has also been rumored to have ordered a new adaptation of Hitchhikers that is supposed to release in 2022 (Andreeva).

The Hitchhikers Guide has also been adapted for the stage multiple times. The first adaptation was in London at the Institute of Contemporary Arts and was unlike any other stage show at the time. The audience was limited to eighty people and the actors performed on ledges and platforms, the audience were even in a hovercar. It was an absolute success. The second production was at the Clwyd Theater Cymru had a company perform different episodes of the radio series on stage. This production was even more successful and almost made it on the west end. The third production was at the Rainbow Theatre in 1980 and was a more traditional big-budget production. It was three hours long and was set in a huge auditorium made to look like a spaceship. It was not successful and Adams himself called it a "financial disaster" (Life, DNA, and H2G2).

There is even an encyclopedialike website built all around the Hitchhikers Guide. The site was even founded by Douglas Adams in 1999 (H2G2). Fans are able to create posts to add to the mythos of the Hitchhiker series. This forum has over hundreds of thousands of entries and it is even constantly updated and modified today (H2G2). This forum shows a deep love and appreciation for Douglas Adams and his masterpiece. It is truly an encyclopedia of everything Hitchhikers. It can be found at this link, https://h2g2.com/. Figure 4

Me as Arthur Dent celebrating Towel Day

The Hitchhiker community and Douglas Adams fan community are a very devoted fan base and have created holidays out of Adams work. May 25th is known as towel day by fans of Douglas Adams. May 25th was chosen as the day of celebration because it was two weeks after Douglas Adams died (National Today). The towel is a major tool in the hitchhiker series and it is described as being the most essential item for any interstellar traveler. A towel has countless uses in the series and is one of the icons of the series (Adams). Fans usually cosplay as a character from the show and will carry a towel with them around where they are going. I even dressed up as the main character Arthur Dent one year (see Figure 4.)

One of the most iconic references in the Hitchhiker series is the solution to the ultimate answer to the life universe and everything (see Figure 5). Douglas Adams claims 42 is the answer to this question and this idea has entered into the pop culture lexicon (Adams). In fact, more people probably know about this idea but not about its origin through memes and pop culture references. There are countless references to this number, here are a few of my favorite. In Star Trek, there are 42 decks on the USS Enterprise. In the X-Files, Agent Mulder lives at appt 42. In Lost, 42 is one of the Hurley Numbers. There is a Doctor Who episode titled 42. The spider that bites Miles Morales has a number 42 on its abdomen. To escape newbie status on the Darwin Award forums, you need to post 42 posts. Adam wears a shirt with the number 42 on it, in Fosters Home for Imaginary Friends (Brown).

Figure 5

The 42 Formula (Bossenger)

Two asteroids have been named after Adams and Hitchhikers. The asteroid 18610 Arthurdent was named after the lead character in Hitchhikers (Radford). The asteroid named 25924 Douglasadams was obviously named after Douglas Adams (IAU). The character of Zaphod Beeblebrox also inspired the fish species Bidenichthys beeblebroxi and moth species Erechthias beeblebroxi (BBC America). NASA even tried using a plot point from Hitchhikers guide, by using harpoons and tethers (Epstein). It was called the Comet Hitchhiker idea. A couple different earbuds have resembled and been named after the babel fish. The babel fish is another iconic creation from the book series, it was a little fish that you would put in your ear that would translate any language real time (Adams). MIT came up with a pair of earbuds that connected Bluetooth and google translate and named the new earbuds after the babel fish (Metz).

The Hitchhikers Guide to the Galaxy fandom is a large and immersive group of fans. This fandom not only has dedicated fans who love Adams work but even has big name authors who are adding even more to the literary canon. These fans participate in many ways with new books, movies, and even holidays being made. Who knows what could be added to this fandom because it is an ever-growing fandom. Maybe even you will be part of this fandom one day.

Sources:

https://www.wired.com/2009/11/and-another-thing-a-totally-improbable-review/

https://www.publishersweekly.com/978-0-671-66426-8

https://www.theguardian.com/books/2015/mar/04/neil-gaiman-douglas-adams-writer-genius

https://thedoctorwhocompanion.com/2017/03/09/star-wars-with-jokes-the-guide-to-the-hitchhikers-guide-to-the-galaxy-movie/

https://www.inverse.com/entertainment/amazon-prime-scifi-shows-hitchhickers-guide

https://deadline.com/2019/07/the-hitchhikers-guide-to-the-galaxy-tv-series-in-works-at-hulu-from-carlton-cuse-jason-fuchs-1202652440/

https://douglasadams.eu/the-hitchhikers-guide-to-the-galaxy-on-stage/

https://nationaltoday.com/towel-day/

https://www.wired.com/2012/05/42-in-pop-culture/

https://www.theguardian.com/uk/2001/may/16/books.spaceexploration

https://www.minorplanetcenter.net/db_search/show_object?object_id=25924