The Hitchhiker's Guide To The Galaxy Special Edition

Arthur Dent is having a bad Thursday. His house is about to be demolished, his best friend is actually an alien and the world is ending in five minutes!

Arthur Dent and Ford Prefect suffer Vogan poetry, then are ejected into space, only to be improbably rescued by Zaphod and Trillian on board the Heart of Gold.

Zaphod Beeblebrox heads the stolen spaceship Heart of Gold for the legendary planet of Margrathea in the company of his girlfriend Trillian. Will they avoid the pursuing nuclear missiles?

Arthur discovers that mice are actually pan-dimensional beings, Earth was a super computer to find the ultimate question, and he's about to die.

Having been blown up on the planet of Margrathea, Arthur, Ford, Trillian and Zaphod are mystified when they awake in the restaurant at the End of the Universe.

Arthur and Ford escape from a space craft diving into the sun before discovering that Humans were descended from Hairdressers and Management Consultants.

Contributions from the author, cast and crew of TV series Hitchhiker's Guide to the Galaxy. Clips and interviews including an amateur video from Slartibartday '81 - a convention for the fans on 8th August 1981, London.

A documentary looking at the making of The Hitchhiker's Guide to the Galaxy (1981), including interviews with leading members of the cast and production team, behind-the-scenes footage and out-takes.

A muted clip of Earth exploding from the TV series Hitchhiker's Guide to the Galaxy.

Peter Jones warms up a studio audience.

An announcement for the inhabitants of a measly speck of dust called Earth... The official trailer to the TV series The Hitchhiker's Guide to the Galaxy and various others.

Deleted Scenes from Episode 2

Behind the Scenes of Episode 2

Studio footage and filming of a rehearsal of the BBC radio series Hitchhiker's Guide to the Galaxy with various cast, engineers, producer, Geoffrey Perkins and author, Douglas Adams.

A close look at the technology within Hitchhiker's President of the Galaxy's, Zaphod Beeblebrox, second head. The model, created by BBC's visual effects department in less than six weeks, was designed to look and act just like a human head.

An appearance by animator Rod Lord and producer/director Alan J W Bell on the January 23, 1981 edition of Pebble Mill at One, talking about Hitchhiker's with Donny McLoud.

A textless version of the opening title from The Hitchhiker's Guide to the Galaxy.

Numerous outtakes from TV series Hitchhiker's Guide to the Galaxy revealing the scope of effort required to perfect the final piece.

Graphics generated by starship Heart of Gold in The Hitchhiker's Guide to the Galaxy. The first spacecraft to make use of the Infinite Improbability Drive.

A candid interview with The Hitchhiker's Guide To The Galaxy creator, Douglas Adams. Looking at his perspective on life from childhood through to adulthood.

Robert Kee interviews Douglas Adams on BBC's weekly review programme, Paperbacks, discussing his career in radio, book and television. The approach to creating The Hitchhiker's Guide to the Galaxy is compared with that of The Restaurant at the End of the Universe.

A compilation of graphics used in the TV series Hitchhiker's Guide to the Galaxy. The hand animated "computer graphics" of Hitchhiker's Guide to the Galaxy have won multiple awards including a BAFTA, Design and Art Direction Silver award, several British Academy Television Awards and a London Film Festival award.

Behind the scene recordings of rehearsals and footage from the 'Hitchhiker' TV series, recorded at the end of the Universe...

Presenter Sue Cook interviews Douglas Adams on Nationwide, featuring the first televised footage of The Hitchhiker's Guide to the Galaxy, shown on BBC2 on 5th January 1981.

Marvin performs his Paranoid Android song on Blue Peter, followed by an update of his daily plans. Introduced by Peter Duncan.

Saturday Review host, Russell Davies reflects on the rising popularity of The Hitchhiker's Guide to the Galaxy and its crossover into computer gaming, merchandise, conventions and even subject matter in school examinations. Introduced are presenter, Minette Marrin and Douglas Adams who explore the author's involvement in computer gaming.

Online trailer to The Hitchhiker's Guide to the Galaxy Tertiary Phase. A six-part dramatisation of Douglas Adams' third book, Life, the Universe and Everything. Reuniting much of the cast of the original BBC Radio 4 series. Simon Jones as Arthur Dent, Geoffrey McGivern as Ford Prefect, Susan Sheridan as Trillian, Mark Wing-Davey as Zaphod Beeblebrox and Stephen Moore as Marvin the Paranoid Android. Also featuring Joanna Lumley.

Ten short films originally made for Penguin Books upon the 2009 publication of the official 6th 'Hitchhiker' novel, 'And Another Thing' by Eoin Colfer. Based on an interview with Douglas Adams. 1 Towels. 2 Radio Origins. 3 ICA Stage Show. First staged performance of The Hitchhiker's Guide to the Galaxy in May 1979. 4 Rainbow Theatre. Considered the most spectacular 'Hitchhiker' stage show directed by Ken Campbell at London's Rainbow Theatre in July 1980. 5 BBC TV Series. In 1980 Douglas adapted 'Hitchhiker' for TV but believed radio to be the superior medium. 6 TV Guide Graphics. Douglas Adams with animator Kevin Davies. 7 Promos & Porsches. Celebration of Douglas' success. 8 The Movie. Douglas had always planned to make a film of 'Hitchhiker', but sadly did not live to see this come to fruition. His family however, attended the World Premier in April 2005 screened at the Empire in Leicester Square. 9 Premier Party. TV crews from across the world see the arrival of attendees. The venue, Freemasons' Hall, appeared in the movie as Humma Kavula's temple. 10 This Never Happened. In 1981, a novel idea by Mark Wing-Davey, who played Zaphod, to do a simultaneous radio broadcast for two separate versions of 'Hitchhiker' failed to materialise, despite Douglas' enthusiasm

Nick Webb, Douglas Adams' official biographer and commissioning editor of the first 'Hitchhiker' novel, reflects anecdotally on the author's life and work. Joining him are Douglas' half-brother, James Thrift and Geoffrey Perkins, producer of BBC Radio episodes.

Filmed recordings of The Hitchhiker's Guide to the Galaxy sixth radio series with contributors from the cast and the creator's brother, James Thrift.

BBC Micro Live presenter, Connor 'Freff' Cochran, talks to Douglas Adams about The Hitchhiker's Guide to the Galaxy computing game and future software plans.

Film extracts, deleted scenes and behind the scene captioned descriptions of the use of props, sets, special effects and technology.

Radio Times trailer for The Hitchhiker's Guide to the Galaxy was written and produced by Bernard Newnham of the BBC Presentation Department. No longer in the BBC archive, it only survives as a low quality domestic recording. Narrated by Peter Jones.

A look at the sound processes used in 'Hitchhiker' using BBC sound dubbing suite 'Sypher 2', which at the time was considered state-of-the-art driven by a 28-channel, 16-group Neve desk largely aided by a computer. Sound Supervisor Mike McCarthy won a BAFTA for this TV series. Michael Rodd narrates.

Dirk Maggs, adapter, director and co-producer gives a breakdown of the technical treatment used to create Marvin the Paranoid Android's voice and the sounds of Zem, the mattress. With various contributions including Stephen Moore and Andy Taylor, the voices of Marvin and Zem.

The 2005 online trailer to Quandary and Quintessential Phases; the fourth and fifth The Hitchhiker's Guide to the Galaxy radio series. Adaptations of Douglas Adams' books 'So Long, and Thanks For All the Fish' and 'Mostly Harmless'.

BBC Presenters Charlie Stayt and Louise Minchin are joined on the couch by Simon Jones, best known for his multiple portrayals of Arthur Dent, protagonist of Douglas Adams' The Hitchhiker's Guide to the Galaxy.