Douglas Adams

Douglas Adams is probably best known for his comedy science fiction series, The Hitch Hiker's Guide to the Galaxy. The idea for the series originated in 1978 as a BBC radio comedy before developing into a "trilogy" of five books that went on to sell 15 million copies and spawned a television series, several stage plays, comics, a computer game, and in 2005 a feature film.

"There is a theory which states that if ever anyone discovers exactly what the Universe is for and why it is here, it will instantly disappear and be replaced by something even more bizarre and inexplicable. There is another theory which states that this has already happened." - The Hitch Hiker's Guide to the Galaxy

After graduating with a B.A. in English literaturein 1974, Adams persued his goal of breaking into TV and radio as a writer. An opportunity led him Monty Python where he received writing credit in episode 45 of Monty Python for a sketch called "Patient Abuse" and eventually led to two brief appearances in the fourth series of Monty Python's Flying Circus. After this early success though his career stalled. His style of writing didn't match with the style of that time in radio and TV comedy. To get by Adams took on various jobs including, hospital porter, barn builder, chicken shed cleaner and as a bodyguard for a Qatari family, wealthy in oil. Adams continued to write and submit sketches, though few were accepted. This period hit Adams hard and affected his confidence, but he continued to press on.

"I have terrible periods of lack of confidence [..] I briefly did therapy, but after a while I realised it was like a farmer complaining about the weather. You can't fix the weather – you just have to get on with it" - Douglas Adams

In 1978, Adams was commissioned to write "The Pirate Planet" episode for Doctor Who. Previous to this he had attempted to submit a potential movie script, called "Doctor Who and the Krikkitmen", this would go on to become his novel Life, the Universe and Everything (which in turn became the third Hitchhiker's Guide radio series). Adams then went on to serve as script editor on the show for its seventeenth season in 1979. Altogether, he wrote three Doctor Who serials starring Tom Baker as the Doctor.

"A common mistake that people make when trying to design something completely foolproof is to underestimate the ingenuity of complete fools." - The Hitch Hiker's Guide to the Galaxy

Adams pitched a concept for a science-fiction comedy radio series which would become, The Hitchhiker's Guide to the Galaxy, to BBC Radio 4 in 1977. Adams came up with an outline for a pilot episode, as well as a few other stories that could be used in the series. According to Adams, the idea for the title occurred to him while he lay drunk in a field in Innsbruck, Austria, gazing at the stars. He was carrying a copy of the Hitch-hiker's Guide to Europe, and it occurred to him that "somebody ought to write a Hitchhiker's Guide to the Galaxy". The success of the radio series led to the publishing of the novel.

Adams was legendary for missing deadlines. Most times he had to be forced to finish his writing. Despite the difficulty with deadlines, Adams wrote five novels in the series, published in 1979, 1980, 1982, 1984, and 1992. In 1980, Adams began trying to get the inital novel turned into a film. The following year the radio series became the basis for a BBC television mini-series broadcast in six parts. At the time of his death in 2001, Adams was again trying to get the movie project started with Disney, which had bought the rights in 1998. The screenplay got a posthumous re-write by Karey Kirkpatrick, and the resulting film was released in 2005.

"I love deadlines. I love the whooshing noise they make as they go by." - Douglas Adams

In 2005, the asteroid 25924 Douglasadams was named in his memory. The film, released in 2005, posthumously credits Adams as a producer, and several design elements – including a head-shaped planet seen near the end of the film – incorporated Adams's features. On 25 May 2001, two weeks after Adams's death, his fans organised a tribute known as Towel Day, which has been observed every year since then.

Learn more about Douglas Adams and his work.

"I seldom end up where I wanted to go, but almost always end up where I need to be." - Douglas Adams