Babel Fish - The Oddest Thing In The Universe - The Hitchhiker's Guide To The Galaxy - BBC

[@2011Rodders]

In the beginning the Universe was created. This has made a lot of people very angry and been widely regarded as a bad move.

[@Rgoid]

“WEHATETHEUNIVERSEANDWANTITDESTROYED!”

[@Ozzy_2014]

Very unhappy. It made them unhappy, not mad.

[@susanmoseley4509]

😅😅😅😅

[@davefandango1303]

😂😂😂

[@zoppie]

The one drawback from having a Babel fish in your ear is that it allows you to understand Vogon Poetry.

[@mephostopheles3752]

That's a good point. Ford should've ripped the Babel fish right out of Arthur's ear the moment he knew the Vogon's were coming (but then again, it's Ford we're talking about).

[@Ephraim225]

Well you kind of need it to get the atomic vector plotter, so. (Wait, wrong media?)

[@Loganberrybunny]

Even after all these years, that is the puzzle that made me tear my hair out most. And no internet walkthroughs in those days!

[@Goofy4u223]

i thought it was bad in any language...

[@blaster23456]

I thought humans were immune due to the fact that we have the universe's worst poetry.

[@BovineDesigns]

The Babel Fish also translates every language into the most British sounding versions of themselves.

[@BovineDesigns]

heh. 42 likes.

[@AndyTheDwemer]

Makes sense when you realise that it feeds on brain wave energy of one of the most stereotypically British men imaginable.

[@daniels7907]

Well, if you are a native English speaker then it is most likely to translate into BBC English, as this is the closest thing to canonical English there is.

[@wojtek1582]

Yes, and ES2020 to ES5 ;)

[@johayes7529]

And that's exactly why we love the babel fish.

[@AndewMole]

1:20 "What's so wrong about being drunk?" "Ask a glass of water."

[@ladyalicent705]

Do you get it? It’s not like getting drunk as in having too much alcohol, it’s like LITERALLY getting drunk

[@terrorstroika]

@@ladyalicent705 Yes, a paraprosdokian delight from dear old Doug x

[@fornkly]

Lord Davrox Thank you so much! I sincerely feel like an idiot but I guess without at Babel Fish or an actual brain sloshing around up there, it pretty much just goes out the other ear

[@Vysair]

i felt like you need to be an actual idiot to understand that

[@G6JPG]

"I'll never be cruel to a gin and tonic again."

[@AdeBamforth]

One of my favorite things in TV Hitchhikers is how the towels end up behind their heads after hyperspace.

[@Ozzy_2014]

That's because they were turned upside down and inside out before having the process reversed. The towels didn't move!!

[@DaveDexterMusic]

@@Ozzy_2014 some citation needed for that one

[@deker0954]

Could have been somewhere very uncomfortable instead.

[@TheCunningStunt]

The way this was all hand animated is pretty incredible.

[@edgarbeat275]

kzbin.info/www/bejne/nIjQkHWmo8eZnLs I'm using these effects on my stain glass work. I adore this style. I love how the colours are slightly dirty. Modern retro wave is too crisp and colours too strong. My avitar will be my 1st larg glass panel inspired by early 80s graphic style. I also love the baroque synth music. Baroque inthe 70s early 80s was also futuristic and an enlightened futuristic feeling. I love the sparkly effects Link Kevin Davis who did the back light animation. Enjoy

[@ZwaneMakki]

John Priest. I know him. Ridley Scott was inspired by this for Blade Runner. Brummie

[@AlanCanon2222]

Yeah, still looks fantastic. A long way to go for a joke, as always with Adams.

[@Greg-lo1tl]

It's gorgeous.

[@differous01]

"I'll never be cruel to a gin & tonic ever again" 2:00

[@waynedarronwalls6468]

"What's so wrong about being drunk?" "Ask a glass of water"

[@njujuznem6554]

It took me years before I finally understood that joke

[@zetametallic]

I was 5 in 1981 when this came out but I remember pestering my parents to let me watch it (they hated this kind of programme) as I loved the visuals and the synth riffs. No idea what it was all about then or now 😂😂😂

[@remotecamper9113]

I was 11 and it came on the local PBS. But I only got 15 min episodes a week. Right about the same time there was a TV show called Tripods that I have been unable to find anywhere.

[@worldcomicsreview354]

@@remotecamper9113 I remember seeing a few references to tripods in books about sci-fi as a kid in the 90's. I guess it was a cult classic with rather more "cult" than "classic".

[@Ozzy_2014]

@@worldcomicsreview354 i saw that series. Future earth. 3 legged eyes about 6'6 tall control the Earth. Wiki has a write up on the series. Was very well written.

[@typhoon3356]

I was 9 when I saw it for the first time. HHGTTG was the first book I ever bought for myself.

[@nightw4tchman]

Every single page of the book was draw and animated by hand.

[@Super_Mario128]

done by the very talented Mr Kevin Jon Davies, an expert on all things to do with British sci-fi.

[@rodlord1197]

Er ... not exactly ! Kevin was a young junior assistant and carried out SOME of the artwork. He has since become the guru on everything H2G2 and congratulations to him for that !

[@Rocket1377]

The BBC tried to draw and animate it by foot, but they had a 5-a-side football match against ITV that month, and none of them knew how to walk on their hands.

[@worldcomicsreview354]

I always thought it was primitive CGI, but I suppose in those days even that level of CGI would have pushed the show way over budget. Escape from New York had a "CGI" sequence with wireframe graphics, which was actually bright green gaffer tape on a load of black boxes.

[@kyletitterton]

I learnt that 20 years ago when I studied animation. Blew my tiny little mind. It looks absolutely wonderful.

[@dragonridley]

I just realized that getting killed at a zebra crossing did not involve actual zebras.

[@Reprodestruxion]

Served Roland Barthes right

[@terrylong8894]

The Hitchhiker's Guide to the Galaxy is a wholly remarkable book....

[@Rgoid]

3:45 Adams clearly believed that communication is the greatest cause of war.

[@MrPr1nglz]

I think it was more like the Babel fish being proof of the non existence of a higher power

[@Ozzy_2014]

@@MrPr1nglz it was because instead of putting effort into understanding something totally alien and coming to understand how it sees the univesre to establish communication, it just becomes that neighbour down the street who does not hold the obvious sensible views you do so you just go straight to intolerance and hate. Under the concept familiarity breeds contempt. Blame the other for everything that's wrong and provoking you into action. Hence war!

[@luminouswolf7117]

That sounds awefully familiar

[@RAFMnBgaming]

Well it's a lot easier to call someone a dickhead to their face if they can understand you.

[@patreekotime4578]

Well, it was much easier to pretend that the neighbors were all reasonable people before we read all of their inner thoughts on Social Media. So I think he had a good point.

[@thegreenmanofnorwich]

I loved how matter of fact the book narration was in the 80s series

[@rjcmick]

vanishes in a puff of logic

[@roys3580]

The book, read by Peter Jones, is like a human version of Alexa, and the book itself, is like the Internet, full of information. Ford keeps referring to the book, " I wonder what the book has to say", just like the internet.

[@Ozzy_2014]

Absoloutley the vision Douglas had. His actual passion was computers and music. Writing paid the bills. Full of ideas. Hated writing due to writer's block.

[@RAFMnBgaming]

It's also much like the internet in that while all the information on it is correct, reality is frequently inaccurate.

[@Alixdkari]

funnily "I wonder what the book has to say" is how atheists think Christians refer to the bible

[@patreekotime4578]

​@@AlixdkariNo, we know theyve never actually read the bloody thing.

[@davefandango1303]

​@patreekotime4578 🤣🤣🤣

[@paulkrueger260]

Absolutely beautiful. This consolidated my thinking at the ages of 5 …

[@nickgreen4731]

This was the first fragment of HHGttG I saw, aged 7. Had no idea what it was or what it meant, but it haunted me for years until I was old enough to discover the books.

[@ernesthill4017]

No one does absurdist humour quite as well as our British cousins 😂

[@Nulono]

When I was a kid, I thought the man who was killed at a zebra crossing was trampled by zebras.

[@BoWeava]

Nulono Could you please explain further please? Wasn't the reason because he proved there's no difference between black and white, therefore not seeing the zebras at the zebra crossing?

[@gamermanh]

Zebra crossing is a type of crosswalk used throughout the world which consists of a pattern of white stripes on the black asphalt, looking like: | | | | | | | | They typically indicate that a pedestrian has the right-of-way even if there is no light or stop sign, providing a safe space for peds to cross without having to wait if Man proves that black=white then he is unable to tell the difference between the stripes of a zebra crossing, leading to an accident of some nature at some point Joke explained and thus, ruined

[@BoWeava]

Thanks for ruining it :P

[@Lord_Skeptic]

They said when they were a kid

[@scannaunderscore1]

Same here

[@MrUndersolo]

A very long time since I’ve seen this. Still looks like it was animated yesterday...

[@michaelbuehler3897]

So that's where the term Babel Fish comes from.

[@maineoutdoorsman677]

I hope our next lives are the hitchhiking guide to the galaxy awesome

[@caronstout354]

Fun fact: a LEGO fish piece closely resembles the Babel Fish.

[@robertporter7808]

What a deep and esoteric show... I NEED To watch

[@karlstriepe8050]

You know the word "esoteric" but have not read the Hitchhiker's Guide to the Galaxy?

[@robertporter7808]

@@karlstriepe8050 I’ve forty two reasons to know, right?

[@dmace81]

Why does this have no views. It should have well over a million views.

[@jimtaylor294]

Or 1,000,000,000,042 views :)

[@An_Ian]

the movie explained it better than the show

[@dcmastermindfirst9418]

Because most people are stupid

[@jeffzebert4982]

*Zebra Crossing:* The British English term for a crosswalk. Named after the striped pattern. Also, the Babel Fish would have you covered when it comes to languages "spoken" partially or entirely through pheromone * signals. This is because it's NOT the speaker's sound waves that the Babel Fish picks up and translates; rather, it's the speaker's BRAIN WAVES that the Babel Fish picks up and translates. * Pheromone: An airborne chemical substance that's used for communication by certain animals such as ants. And, I imagine that many sapient extraterrestrials might also "speak" through pheromones.

[@eNigma011]

A Zebra Crossing is on the cover of the Beatles "Abby Road" album. Probably the most famous one in the world.

[@ernesthill4017]

And here I was thinking zebra crossings are where zebras cross the streets

[@Foebane72]

The BBC Radiophonic Workshop (who did this music) was the best it ever was in 1981! Same for their work on Doctor Who at the time, when Tom Baker became Peter Davison.

[@vtc8570]

very clever series. I enjoyed it much more than the remake.

[@OolTube02]

I wonder whether the original animations are still archived on film somewhere. It would be cool to see them scanned in HD quality.

[@cygil1]

This is the BBC. They don't *do* archives.

[@OolTube02]

@@cygil1 Well, they've taped over their video tapes a lot. But much of their film footage is still around, by virtue of not being reusable. Those animations were done on film.

[@Ozzy_2014]

This was transferred onto dvd in the 90s. No doubt blu ray exists along with i player.

[@barrybend7189]

The inspiration for Farscape's Translator Microbes.

[@only257]

Love this mini series it's so funny😊

[@robertborich4524]

We all pretty much own a smaller version of the Hitchhiker's Guide to the Galaxy nowadays.It's called a smartphone.

[@MacTechG4]

My Lock Screen wallpaper has “Don’t Panic!” In large, friendly letters…

[@SamuelBlack84]

Nowadays known as the idiots guide to feeling superior

[@Williamfit]

I want babel fish in my ear

[@MaskinJunior]

Buy a couple of pixel buds

[@lolafinch]

Why do you want to cause more wars than anything in history?

[@caronstout354]

LEGO fish are remarkablely simular to Babel Fish in size.

[@ThePathStrider]

You see, the whole war thing is the reason I eat fish, and refuse to stick them in my ear.

[@KillerOrca]

Well NOW Im glad this got recommended to me. How is it the BBC got this so much better than the movie did?

[@G6JPG]

Made shortly after the radio series which started it all, and with mostly the same cast (Trillian being one exception).

[@RevStickleback]

They didn't have to condense it into movie length, and they didn't have to translate the English humour into something that would work with American teenagers.

[@typhoon3356]

Americans don't redo British humour very well.

[@poppybunny2526]

I loved these books when I was a kid and wanted a hitchhiker's guide to the galaxy book but, obviously, its sci fi and doesnt exist.......fast forward to today and every tablet and mobile device IS the hitchhiker's guide to the galaxy

[@longbottle]

I still prefer the graphics / voiceover of the BBC TV series (especially the Babel Fish sequence) over the film version.

[@zekeram129]

I was today years old when I realized that getting killed at a zebra crossing does not involve actual zebras

[@elwoodjacobs4353]

I love the noise he makes at 2:06.

[@MacStoker]

a wilhelm moan?

[@Ozzy_2014]

Gaaaaarrrrgghhhhh!

[@SaintDre7]

Language barriers never stopped wars before. I dont know if the babel fish should be blamed for that. I feel like the creation of man should take that title.

[@Rgoid]

SaintDre7 It seems that the point is: Communication is the single biggest cause of War everywhere.

[@ArgonTheAware]

That's just as much of a "load of dingo's kidneys" as the assumption that God refuses to prove he exists because it is much more often that misunderstandings due to language barriers are the cause of wars instead it is communication through diplomacy that stops wars

[@icemachine79]

It was just a joke about people talking behind each other's backs and getting away with it. I don't think it was meant to be taken that literally.

[@battlesheep2552]

I think the point is that understanding each other doesn’t prevent wars, it causes more wars because it gives us real reasons to hate each other

[@retrogamelover2012]

@@battlesheep2552 Then again, I guess it depends on the members of a culture/race of people itself.

[@robadams5799]

Finally I can pause and read all the text in the Guide.

[@LEARSIKCIGAM]

the Babel fish is your Pineal gland - it allows you to communicate telepathically- the universe’s universal language

[@HayTatsuko]

I see 24(+) Vogons have viewed this viddy.

[@BiaginiMatt]

Remake a new tv series based on all the books...PLEASE

[@screamtoasigh9984]

Omega Tutoriais they'll ruin it. just look at what they did to Hamish macbeth and agatha raisin. red dwarf was an anamoly.

[@machiner6]

My dad told me that the way the show could have been done is making a cartoon synced to the radio show. I think that works pretty well.

[@lostuser1094]

Machiner6 there's a really good independent series by Nick Land on KZbin atm

[@allthingswildlifeyt1218]

It worked for dirk gently.

[@limeyosu2000]

please cause the movie was awful.

[@TheDunnDusted]

While it's all part of his absurdist writing, I think Douglas Adams underestimated the impact of communication technology and translation software. While there have plenty of Twitter arguments, I argue that not knowing what another person is saying has led to large numbers of incredibly angry people getting riled up that they don't speak their own language and has led to greater misunderstandings on the behalf of the misinformed public.

[@Ozzy_2014]

But the lack of effort needed to understand the other's p.o.v. causes contempt. Familiarity breeds contempt. Not needing to expel energy to see things from their perspective you just see someome who tefuses to do/say/see things in the correct sensible way. IE: MINE!!

[@protoborg]

@@Ozzy_2014 Bologna!!!!

[@tskmaster3837]

"It proves you exist and therefore you don't." Never bring logic to a Religious Argument. Goes double for all Gods.

[@atomsmash100]

The effects money clearly went to the cartooning, which was always wonderful!

[@G6JPG]

And all done with rostrum camerawork - not a CGI bit in sight. The babel fish sequence is probably the best-ever example of that art.

[@Ozzy_2014]

That was Douglas stripping off on the beach and walking into the ocean. The money collected back up as soon as the cameras stopped rolling.

[@icemachine79]

*Babel fish = Modern-day internet*

[@P7777-u7r]

kind of but more intense

[@kennythekettle]

Ah I've listened to the radio show but never seen this. It's the same script basically!

[@are_you_local]

Matthew J If you can find all the episodes you'll find it better than the movie. Even though the effects might be a little dated it's really entertaining and closer to the original book.

[@wallacewallaby5782]

I have the series on DVD. It was made in 1981, so naturally the special effects and costumes are dated, but the casting was brilliant and beats the movie by a long shot. It's only 6 episodes and you can watch the lot in around 3 hours and from memory mostly covers the first book with just a bit from book 2 and 3. It was a shame they didn't make more seasons.

[@simon201063]

The producer was a clueless goon whom everyone loathed.

[@kitcarr4668]

True to the original writing ... Mr Adams was a genius RIP

[@G6JPG]

It had the advantage of having most of the original radio cast (Trillian being a notable exception, though the TV one was very attractive too). It wasn't so much the date that made the special effects somewhat ropey, it was BBC budgets - famously minimal, and to true aficionados, one of the things that actually appeals. (See, from the same era, some Dr. Whos, and Blake's 7, for example.)

[@CiceroLounge]

I still like the captain's poetry too thanks to the Babel Fish!

[@vanimapermai]

ford would make a good doctor who

[@mikesilva3868]

Classic miniseries 🙃

[@richbuilds_com]

They really don't write 'em like this any more :-( RIP DNA

[@G6JPG]

They didn't much then, either! DNA was one of a very few.

[@erickbergamini9722]

0:35 Oh, I didn't realize that Liam Neeson was in this TV Show.

[@HermitianAdjoint]

Happy Towelday!

[@jackbeecher4050]

I feel drunk listening to that documentary about the babel fish

[@G6JPG]

Drunk as in intoxicated, or like a glass of water?

[@Saxshoe]

why is the BBC deciding now to upload clips from TV series HGG?

[@MacStoker]

the answer is....42

[@Ozzy_2014]

The answer was the Blu-rays came out.

[@tabletopgamingwithwolfphototec]

Just making my rounds to watch some classics

[@GuitarGare]

Final sentence "in the history of *creation*" after saying God (Creator) disappears in a puff of logic.

[@Loganberrybunny]

> cover drain with towel

[@happysunshinydays6349]

Absolute comfy!!!

[@simplyhuman3982]

I'm watching this again. (Glad I own it)

[@P7777-u7r]

1:58 When the shrooms kick in

[@mareky1234]

Hey. All you bloody Vogons who keep downvoting this. Piss of home or we will sick Marvin on to you. You have been warned, as not even the Krikkit war robots could handle him, let alone the Frogstar Scout robot Class D’s (poor suckers).

[@Foebane72]

The nuclear explosion on the Guide at the end of this video, I wonder why the bottom line of text was blanked out?

[@BradiKal61]

This series was shot on video, and it's cheesy look perfectly reflected the cheesy way the universe was depicted.

[@RevStickleback]

Yet it would have looked fine on TVs of the day. KZbin clips from videotape look far worse than they used to when broadcast.

[@jackal59]

@@RevStickleback I saw it broadcast. It was _superbly_ cheesy.

[@TheTribalgame]

I still want one

[@TheRealSkillman]

I find my babel fish in church ;)

[@evoman1974]

It leaves out the other books by Oolon Colluphid or the "trilogy of philosophical blockbusters" entitled Where God Went Wrong, Some More of God's Greatest Mistakes and Who is this God Person Anyway?. He later uses the Babel Fish argument as the basis for a fourth book, entitled Well, That About Wraps It Up For God. Another trilogy in more than 3 parts

[@simonrancourt7834]

I read the book and saw the movie. Thoroughly enjoyed both. How can I watch the rest of this version ?

[@markthepcdoc7707]

It is available on Amazon video free with prime

[@Ozzy_2014]

Or blu ray.

[@thatguy3968]

Or hulu

[@donZeriouS]

​@@Ozzy_2014 it's in BD? I still have the DVD versions of it. Is the quality noticeably better?

[@cboyles84]

Ah memories Lol

[@danielwilliamson6180]

The Babel Fish must like earwax.

[@robleary3353]

Bril!. Nuff said. 🤣

[@JBMoney.]

Holy shit this is where The Hitchhikers Guide To The Galaxy got this

[@MacStoker]

@Himmarshee Street Live are you serious? 6 half hour episodes lol

[@Lord_Skeptic]

This is the Hitchhiker's Guide to the galaxy

[@battlesheep2552]

The funny thing is is that if theologicians dispute this reasoning, that means there exists people who still believe God exists, which means that this argument itself creates the doubt needed for God to exist, therefore God maybe still exists

[@stitchfan_8290]

The babel fish is a plot device created by Douglas Adams, it only exists in the fictional world. And not in the real world. So if the babel fish does not exist, then it can't prove the existence of God. Therefore, God exists because there is no real proof he does.

[@garyturner5739]

Great comedy but also made serious points like here it did.

[@fuzzy1237]

Greatest book in history

[@ashwynn4177]

But what's it about?

[@fuzzy1237]

@@ashwynn4177 42

[@ashwynn4177]

@@fuzzy1237 😂😂😂touche`

[@davefandango1303]

Just cane here yo say, this is sooo much better than that Luke Besson wannabe rubbish they made in this century.

[@jojidixonmidnightotaku2354]

I wish I had a babel fish

[@chessoc7799]

Ahh back when the beeb did good sci-fi :)

[@ernesthill4017]

Once again, reality mimics art, as exemplified by an lpod Pro in 1980. If you wish to go further back, Dave Bowman had one in 1968 in "2001: A Space 0dyssey"

[@3dmaxuser]

This is so much better than the shit film that was made a few years back

[@sirilluminarthevaliant2895]

Dmax according to the author. Every single rendition of hitchhikers guide is different and often enough disagree with each other so. No version is true to the others

[@3dmaxuser]

@@sirilluminarthevaliant2895 That maybe but it is no excuse for such a shit film

[@JBMoney.]

No that shit film is better than this disaster show

[@JLOFJAM]

And then there were Google Pixel Buds..

[@ivanostellato9478]

add mesh layers to amicrophone cleans sound adding mesh layers to an eatr piece clears sound .. and language a many meshed ear screen wil literally trabslate not just clear up sounds and dialoug

[@mrblack9791]

red light right so cell phone acc walks into frame

[@boikatsapiens499]

Then there's the Symbiotic Neural Optical Transceiver, also known as SNOT. It is a small, jellyfish-like organism one sticks in ones nose....

[@garyturner5739]

I used to use the site Babel Fish to translate foreign web pages. Utterly use I found it to be.

[@garyturner5739]

Is Babel Fish still on the internet?

[@connectorxp]

Why the voice describing the Babel Fish reminds me if KITT?

[@Cinepobrefilmfestival]

ask a glass of water

[@MontChevalier]

Looks like communication wasn't the way to move into a future of peace.

[@Ozzy_2014]

Lack of empathy, understanding of.the other caused the conflict. Now the alien is the jerk who keeps voting the other guys into office.

[@jimb9063]

Yes unfortunately the babel fish had the same effect as the invention of the telegraph. We can now attack each other far more efficiently.

[@TerryJonesPrinterRepairs]

the original was in stereo why is this in mono

[@ChrisMelville]

Indeed. In fact, the background music was recorded on a separate stereo channel to the narration - therefore allowing you to just enjoy the music. It's actually very good.

[@anonUK]

Made for TV- in 1981.

[@Scyllax]

too much kissing

[@apl175]

Always wanted to know what Brideshead did on his day off

[@TheTribalgame]

I want one

[@mrblack9791]

sorry wrong room

[@guillermomorales8253]

me: gets a girlfriend. god exactly 3 seconds after realizing the mistake he made:

[@forthrightgambitia1032]

3:45 sounds as if he could be talking of the internet...

[@Ozzy_2014]

Douglas started a project Encycopedia Humanity in effect where all human knowledge could be collected. Down to where shall we have lunch. That is the modern internet.

[@jwbizy118]

Who's here in 2023 after finding out google just created earbuds that does exactly this. The babel fish is among us now.