What's so great about The Hitchhiker's Guide to the Galaxy?

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Today, I'm guiding you through Douglas Adams' wacky scifi hit, the Hitchhiker's Guide to the Galaxy! What's so cool about it? Is life really meaningless? Why 42?
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[@Jess_of_the_Shire]

Go to mondly.app/jessoftheshire to get 96% off of lifetime access to 41 languages and start learning today!

[@1nvisibleAcropolis]

im wondering if the news about Gaiman has affected your thoughts of him

[@halfsourlizard9319]

ffs, couldn't they have added a 42nd language for the sake of this vid? Esperanto or some other useless thing that nobody would even fact check / learn anyhow!?

[@johnnyjet3.1412]

It is a re-write of the hunting of the snark, you want proof? 42

[@davidsaville5239]

I love your eyeliner and lipstick 💄!! I also really enjoy your videos too !!!

[@rikhuravidansker]

@@1nvisibleAcropolis I have assumed the benefit of the doubt, and that it was a consensual relationship: it would be inappropriate (given the power dynamics), and adulterous, but not illegal.

[@JustLikeTheSimulations]

“In the beginning, the universe was created. This has made a lot of people very upset & has widely been regarded as a bad move.” I still love that book.

[@Jess_of_the_Shire]

A classic line

[@sebastianevangelista4921]

@@Jess_of_the_Shire 100%

[@mrhed0nist]

“Anyone who is capable of getting themselves made President should on no account be allowed to do the job.” This quote comes to mind whenever I see a politician or anyone else in a position of power. More often than not its narcissism that got them there. Those that crave power should not be the ones given it.

[@InhabitantOfOddworld]

​@@mrhed0nist *Kamala crazy laugh intensifies*

[@markp8214]

@@mrhed0nist absolute power corrupts absolutely

[@DeliveryMcGee]

The fun thing is, "throw yourself at the ground and miss" is pretty much the base-level explanation of orbital mechanics.

[@alansmith8893]

Was coming here to say this. I'm convinced Adams did that deliberately. Speaking of things that are crazy and make no sense. Where else can you speed up twice and wind up going slower than when you started?

[@shanewallace2564]

Just have to make sure the ground has gotten out of the way by the time you get to it

[@JonathanRossRogers]

I'd say it's more like throwing yourself past the ground so fast that it gets out of the way.

[@DeliveryMcGee]

​@@JonathanRossRogers That's the in-depth explanation of HOW you miss.

[@JonathanRossRogers]

@@DeliveryMcGee Thanks Obi-Wan. Now, try it in Kerbal Space Program.

[@SMccrate01]

Adams used to drive his agent and publisher crazy, he once said something to the effect of "I love deadlines, I enjoy the whooshing sound when they go past" LOL

[@Jess_of_the_Shire]

That sounds about right haha

[@SlipdeGarcondeJour]

He wrote some of the scripts to the original radio episodes in a taxi to the recording studio, I believe.

[@sebastianevangelista4921]

@@Jess_of_the_Shire He called up Terry Jones of Monty Python on short notice to write the novelization of his Starship Titanic game because he wasn't getting anywhere with it.

[@jon-paulfilkins7820]

Oh he didn't say that, once, he said that at just about every convention he spoke at. And it was always a hit. Once he said that his publisher was so frustrated that he was locked into a hotel. Terry Pratchett was there and quipped "Yes, my publisher keeps locking me in hotels as well, but I keep breaking out and writing another book".

[@Quadr44t]

Hahaha, based! Can't rush art! He was such a smartass, but for him I think that's justified. I have seen one talk with the man. And from the books I had a feeling that guy was a smart man. The talk really confirmed that idea. Too bad he had to go relatively young (under 50 I think). Can't say a lot about the character since I didn't meet him (though I am pretty sure I'd like the guy), but for sure his creative output will be missed!

[@JohnWebster-n3f]

First time I think I ever giggled out loud at something I’d read: The ships hung in the sky in much the same way that bricks don't.

[@Jess_of_the_Shire]

It's such a perfectly concise line

[@jsbrads1]

There are so many books that had me LoL. Brandon’s Bike scene in Librarian is one of the easiest to recall.

[@manyeyedcrow9391]

The babelfish breaking down communication barriers between people and, as a consequence, causing more and bloodier wars than anything in history is the best (and most prophetic) metaphor for the internet I have ever heard.

[@BanazirGalpsi1968]

But that's one of the crazy things about it, IT WAS NOT a metaphor for the internet, for the simple reason the internet did not exist yet! It was a prediction based on human nature which turned out to be true!

[@manyeyedcrow9391]

@@BanazirGalpsi1968yes, exactly. Extrapolating the unintended side effects of communication breakthroughs on human history, he surmised the negative impact that universal understanding would have, and also foreshadowed the negative aspects of the internet. This making humor out of the way that innovation gives with one hand and takes with another is one of the remarkably deep qualities of the series.

[@Jess_of_the_Shire]

Yes! There are so many fundamental truths that he breaks down in such a strikingly accurate way

[@sebastianevangelista4921]

@@Jess_of_the_Shire The internet has made us all depressed!

[@michaelsommers2356]

@@BanazirGalpsi1968 The internet certainly existed then. The first four nodes in the Arpanet went live in 1969. The name of the Arpanet was eventually changed to the Internet, but it's the same net.

[@kenbrown2540]

Anytime I didn't know the answer on a math test I would write 41. Sooner or later the instructor would notice and ask, and I'd say "Well, I almost had the answer. And that's almost the answer." Only one of them ever got it.

[@jsbrads1]

A math prof once asked, “Is this the answer or is this the answer?” To which I replied “This.” She didn’t catch on, nor did anyone else. I used it a few times thereafter.

[@surfinbird1238]

42. the number from the book was 42, not 41.

[@Elora445]

@@surfinbird1238 ...that is the point of the original comment. They "almost had the answer", the keyword here being almost. Hence, the right answer is 42.

[@kenbrown2540]

@@surfinbird1238 Well, yeah. Hence 41 ALMOST being the answer.

[@gordonbrinkmann]

​@@surfinbird1238 As Ken said in his comment, "only one of them ever got it." That one certainly wasn't you.

[@TheDelinear]

I love this series so much. One of my favourite jokes is a very simple and silly inversion of expectations quite early in the book, when Ford is describing to Arthur the process of being teleported, "It's unpleasantly like being drunk." "What's so unpleasant about being drunk?" "You ask a glass of water." This kind of sets the tone for every time Arthur thinks he's starting to get a handle on things, the universe flips on him.

[@stephenbenner4353]

When the hitchhikers guide to the galaxy movie came out, I grabbed a towel and went to see it, but the showing was about an hour and a half after I bought the ticket. So I went to a coffee shop near the movie theater where I ran into a beautiful girl who was waiting for the same showing, and she had also brought her towel. So we decided to go see the movie together. It turns out she hated the film, and I loved it, and we never saw each other again.

[@jsbrads1]

Did she leave with an unusual chap? 😅

[@5ilver42]

she apparently had better taste than you

[@bob_the_bomb4508]

Did she realise while she was sitting in the coffee shop how it would be if everyone was just nice to each other for a change?

[@Beery1962]

To be fair, for those of us who loved the radio series, it's a terrible movie.

[@lars-hendrikschilling3531]

The engraving in our wedding rings reads "DON'T PANIC!" in large and friendly letters.

[@richardthomas9597]

One evening, back in 1980, having listened to an episode of HGTTG on the radio, I went out for a walk. It was clear, cool, starry night, and as I walked along I stopped to look in the window of an antique shop. There, on the wall, were a couple of digits carved from tree branches - the number "42". I was gobsmacked. I went cold. Eventually, I managed to pull myself together and continued my walk. The next shop along was number 40, then 38........

[@Jess_of_the_Shire]

Haha that's awesome

[@TheMysteryDriver]

@@Jess_of_the_Shirethat's a known joke :)

[@biovmr]

And believe it or not I just clicked the thumbs up for your 42nd like on this comment.😅

[@richardthomas9597]

@@biovmr Many thanks from all the diodes down my left side!

[@daffyscribbler]

Jess of the Shire is one hoopy frood whom always knows where her towel is. Stay mostly harmless, cheers.

[@hughfisher9820]

A hoopy hobbit?

[@rikhuravidansker]

What is a hoopy frood?

[@hughfisher9820]

@@rikhuravidansker From the book. Praise for one of the lead characters "Hey, you sass that hoopy Ford Prefect? There's a frood who really knows where his towel is."

[@rikhuravidansker]

@@hughfisher9820 So "froopy" and "hood?"

[@cally77777]

@@rikhuravidansker sigh. as the book explains, a frood is 'a really amazingly together guy' and 'sass' means alternatively to know or have sex with, but its not necessary that you know this. its hippy shit talk. the book is all about not caring very much about anything. except fjords.

[@venomdrenched]

Aha, I see you have your towel with you.

[@Jess_of_the_Shire]

I always have it. Very useful in a tricky spot, that

[@PeteOtton]

@@Jess_of_the_Shire You hoopty frood!

[@thethegreenmachine]

I noticed that too :)

[@voiceofthevoid2284]

I always know where my towel is.

[@Simian-bz7zo]

Well you never know when you might run into a Ravenous Bugblatter Beast of Traal

[@Moeller750]

It's really hard to describe the love I have for Hitchhikers Guide to the Galaxy. On the one hand, it is everything my analytical over schooled mind would normally criticize: meandering plot, sloppy world building, characters with no growth. Yet, it is also everything I need to be moved: funny and recognizable. I'm not a person who rereads books, but I can't count how many times I have reread Hitchhiker's. Wherever Adams is, I hope he is enjoying a massive pan galactic gargle blaster, and cheering himself for making so many people happy

[@Beery1962]

Eccentrica Gallumbits has to be the least-developed character ever, apart from Paula Nancy Millstone Jennings of course.

[@mackdog3270]

The man was a great author, it's a shame he died so young. I particularly liked the Dirk Gently series. I even used his holistic direction finding method once when my gps died somewhere in Los Angeles. I found someone who looked like they knew where they were going and followed them. It worked! It wouldn't be such a big deal if I were driving a car, but I was in a semi truck, and let me tell you, being lost is no joke in that situation.

I've used that method too, although not with a semi 😅

[@thethegreenmachine]

No one on the radio was helpful?

[@NefariousKoel]

I always got paranoid when I noticed people following me. Obviously I had nothing to worry about. They were just lost.

[@mackdog3270]

@@thethegreenmachine Nope, no CB. Besides, I didn't even know what city I was in. I'm convinced if that truck driver I followed hadn't come along, I'd still be in LA, 10 years later 😁

[@thethegreenmachine]

@@mackdog3270 Nah, you'd have found a McDonald's or other place that gets truck deliveries and followed the next guy :P I thought all trucks had those radios.

[@chrissmith7091]

My favorite joke was the explanation of the band Disaster Area. Where they come from, how loud they are, how their lead singer is dead for tax purposes, and their accountant proving that space-time isn't merely curved but in fact totally bent! I use to have the whole bit memorized because i loved it so much.

[@GreyPilgrim_Mithrandir]

When they all get to The Restaurant At The End Of The Universe by time travel and discover that Marvin had to wait millennia for them is just a diamond moment. Q. What are you doing in the car park Marvin? A. Parking cars, sigh. Marvin is another hero without a cape.

[@ZephyrOptional]

Paranoid android is truly his anthem

[@Lukesmithbrfc]

*SPIOLERS FOR 'LIFE, THE UNIVERSE AND EVERYTHING'* The fact that he gets left again and has been on a planet were mattresses have grown sentient so he's just been talking to mattresses for 12 million years 🤣🤣🤣

[@BrodieVickers-tk9sd]

Arthur: What's he doing in a car park? Zaphod: Parking cars what else dumb-dumb😄

[@sulljoh1]

"the first million years were the worst" "Oh, well, um..." "The second million, they were the worst, too"

[@Limerick98]

@@sulljoh1 "The third million I didn't enjoy at all. After that I went into a bit of a decline."

[@MrAlsachti]

Thank God I can stop thinking for 1 hour 10 minutes 13 seconds about the existential questions that assail me about life and the universe, relax, and enjoy an insightful video narrated by a charming and witty hostess.

[@bob_the_bomb4508]

It really should have been edited down to 42 minutes… :)

[@GravesRWFiA]

Douglas Adams was the script manager for a series of Dr Who and you could see him influence. At one point the Doctor was pinned and waiting for rescue and takes out a book to read to pass the time- Oofon Kalofid 's (sp?) beginning of the universe- leading the doctor to declare 'he got it wrong on the first page, he should have asked someone who was there. David Tennant's doctor, first appearing in a bathrobe commented he had sort of an arthur dent image going "It's unpleasantly like being drunk." "What's unpleasant about that?" "you ask a glass of water." in just that exchange he shows exactly how his mind was too off beat.

[@Jess_of_the_Shire]

Yes! So many moments in the later books feel like an episode of Who. And I had forgotten about the 10th doctor bathrobe moment. That's excellent

[@stephengray1344]

@@Jess_of_the_Shire The third book was actually Adams reusing an unused Doctor Who script. As were both of his non-H2G2 novels featuring Dirk Gently (though one of those two novels was abandoned halfway through shooting due to a strike).

[@petersvillage7447]

@@Jess_of_the_Shire That third book was even developed from an unmade DW script Adams had written (as was the first Dirk Gently novel). Incidentally... have you ever considered covering Watership Down on your channel? I basically ask because I used to have the animated film of that, and the animated Lord of the RIngs, on the same video tape as a kid and it wasn't long before I noticed that Aragorn and Boromir were voiced by the same actors as Hazel and Bigwig... and kind of seemed to have the same relationship, too...

[@josephfisher426]

I recall reading in a Doctor Who history (of the first seven Doctors) that a lot of the staff and possibly fans were annoyed with Adams because everything was jokey and disconnected. But it definitely worked for the first two or three Hitchhiker books, and I think it worked even better for the Dirk Gently novel I've read (Teatime). Surrealism is helped by having *some* rules.

[@NemoThorx]

@@stephengray1344 pedantically, only the first Dirk Gently novel was based on Doctor Who (it combined elements of both Shada (the one left unfinished due to a strike) and City of Death). The second Dirk Gently novel was a wholly original story.

[@sourisvoleur4854]

He was writing the radio show on the fly; he'd write one week's show after the previous one aired. At one point he had written himself into a hole: he had Arthur and Ford ejected into space without suits, and had no idea how to rescue them. He had a week to come up with it. Everything he thought of, he rejected because it was infinitely improbable. He just needed something to generate infinite improbability. And a genius idea was born.

[@grahamhaller8181]

More controversial than the trilogy of block busters, "Where God went wrong", "Some more of Gods greatest mistakes" and "Who is this God person anyway."

[@ninjalectualx]

Nowadays it would be listicles. "God's top 10 mistakes, #4 killed 30 trillion beings!"

[@dryfus423]

On my first reading of the series, my favorite chapter by far was where you find out the reason for that "Oh no, not again"

[@Jess_of_the_Shire]

Yes! This moment made me actually scream

[@fordexyzable1597]

That reveal was next level of crazy

[@sebastianevangelista4921]

@@Jess_of_the_Shire Same here.

[@dryfus423]

And you covered it.

[@hewasfuzzywuzzy3583]

Poor and unfortunate Agrajag. LOL

[@brianhanna3128]

I'm with you on the favourite joke - I am a clumsy fellow and when I was 20, I was cycling to work when a pick-up truck pulled out in front of me (I was in the US) and I came off the bike for the 2nd time that week (swerved to avoid a very wide-turning car and found myself upside down on the steep bank of a pond the first time around - I have funny accidents) & as I flew through the air I had one of those bizarrely peaceful moments as I thought "oh no, not again" & was genuinely distracted by remembering the bowl of petunias. Still hit the ground though, all good in the end but it adds a little extra flavour to the original joke now.

[@Jess_of_the_Shire]

I'm so sorry about the accident but wow! What a moment!

[@amberadams9310]

“Arthur Dent and Bilbo Baggins; the British Everyman” So the Everyman is Martin Freeman?

[@bob_the_bomb4508]

Also his character in the UK version of The Office…

[@pwmiles56]

Hitchhikers lives on. May I tell a personal anecdote? About 10 years ago, I went on my first assignment as a social care worker. It was a respite visit, to take a man with learning difficulties away from his (by now rather elderly) parents for a few hours. I pretty much fluffed the assignment, through compete inexperience I got no more work for a few weeks, then mysteriously I was called back. I visited and got to know this family for several more years. The father (originally a farm worker from Norfolk) would say to me: "Don't panic"

[@pwmiles56]

To reply to myself, "Don't panic" was a catchphrase from the earlier TV series "Dad's Army". Said by Corporal Jones if I recall

[@Jess_of_the_Shire]

Haha that's great

[@1amazeme]

I’ve called the writing style “non-sensicle logic”. I loved every minute of it.

[@rbweston]

No glass of wine this week, so poured myself a Pan Galactic Gargle Blaster to drink. :D

[@Jess_of_the_Shire]

Be careful! I hear that thing hits like a solid gold brick wrapped in a wedge of lemon

[@sebastianevangelista4921]

@@Jess_of_the_Shire You know your stuff, Jess!

[@billberndtson]

I remember reading this for the 1st time and laughing so hard that the tears obscured my vision and I had to keep rereading it. Took me more than a day to get through the 1st 100 pages. 🤣🤣🤣 Funniest book I've ever read - funniest ANYTHING I've ever read.

[@Jess_of_the_Shire]

That's totally respectable. It got numerous actual laugh out loud moments from me.

[@CrushedFemur]

When I read the entire series in middle school, it radically changed my outlook on life. Until I became an angst teen. But it was rereading the books that pulled me out of the depression that came from lacking meaning. Marvin's reaction to God's message always brings a smile to my face and a chuckle to my throat

[@TobiasFangorIsntCis]

Yeah, that was really sweet :)

[@Qenton]

So my friend who introduced me to this book found it by deciding to read the very first book in the Science Fiction section at the local library, Douglas Adams. This was in about 1980/1981 or so. Got to hear the radio series 2 years later. Note this was an Achievement in it's own right since it was California and no internet and well clunky tape recorders, but friends and I managed to get them on tape (via recording live from the radio) except for the 10th episode which I never heard it until was able to buy the tapes of the radio series, years later. I only mentioned this because the radio series is so good. It made a lasting impression and effected my whole life. So yea, important.

[@davidbooth9142]

The Hitchhiker's Guide to the Galaxy is the best trilogy of 6 books I ever read. The dolphins, Oh! the dolphins. The Vogon poetry sessions, learning how to fly by throwing yourself at the ground and accidentally missing the ground and "WE APOLOGIZE FOR THE INCONVENIENCE" God's last message to the the universe guarded by the Lajestic Vantrashell of Lob.

[@billmcdonough3950]

Favorite Jokes (both from _Life, the Universe, and Everything_ I should note): Ford: "I spent some time in Africa being cruel to animals. I won't disturb you with the details because they would." Arthurt: "Would what?" Ford: "Disturb you. Suffice it to say I am singularly responsible for the evolved shape of the creature you come to know as the giraffe." and: Ford: "You'll drive yourself crazy trying to stay sane. Why not... go mad? Save your sanity for later."

[@ryangreen6255]

Ford was the bane of Arthur's existence.

[@msyoungau]

Ford:"Time is an illusion. Lunchtime, doubly so!"

[@emrek99205]

Ford: "It's unpleasantly like being drunk." Arthur: "What's so unpleasant about being drunk?" Ford: "Ask a glass of water."

[@alexcrouzen1130]

In a very direct sense, Douglas Adams - and THHGTTG in particular - Is responsible for my life as it is right now. As a teenager in The Netherlands, I was bored with Dutch literature and THHGTTG must have been the first English book I read of my own volition. It sparked my passion for British humor and eventually had me move to the UK to marry my (very British) wife. To celebrate this, for our wedding, my wife had a pocket watch engraved with "Time is an illusion, lunchtime doubly so." which I wore walking down the nave. (I've even become the pedant that knows it's not the aisle you walk down on your wedding...)

[@Dowlphin]

I could imagine a supermarket wedding.

[@digitalcareline]

Comedic philosophy - The idea that money is a shared illusion. If money were to disappear then humanity would be in trouble but if humanity was gone then Money would be irrelevant. So when leaves are declared as currency, there is instant hyperinflation, cured by burning all the trees. Starship Titanic was also fun - a whole PC game and then a book that sprang from a one line gag. The PC game was beautifully rendered (for the time) but madly infuriating to get through.

[@samtaholo]

Money isn't an illusion as long as you live in a civilisation that accepts the Flanian Pobble Bead as currency. (I'm also two-thirds of the way to owning a Triganic Pu, but I don't want to brag.)

[@digitalcareline]

@@samtaholo So Close! - almost had a conversation about made up currencies on the web of all places. It's State backed illusion for me today but if you'd like to invest in my procrastination tokens....

[@Incoming1983]

Every good story starts with a really good cup of tea. Sometimes it's wired into a finite improbability generator.

[@IronHead42]

Only one second in, and I would like to offer a definitive response to the question posed by the title of this video. Everything. That's it. Now i shall watch the rest, and sincerely expect your conclusion to resonate with mine.

[@DavidSmith-jj7ll]

Gotta say that a big chunk what Adams did was find jokes in just subverting English grammar and language overall. He just turns it into a plaything that he could only play with it by loving it so much. The whole “there is a problem… to summarize the summary of the summary…” passage is grammatically correct but so tortured that the torture is half the joke. I learned so much about writing and language from Adams.

[@emrek99205]

It was very much the British humor of the time. Monty Python did a lot of wordplay jokes as well.

[@DneilB007]

“Pelutho-a South American ball game in which the balls are whacked against a brick wall until the prisoner confesses” [the Meaning of Liff]

[@tapiolautavaara9532]

"We are getting dangerously close to Vogon poetry here, boss." (not quite) Raul Tejada

[@Juggler4071]

Love the parallel between Wowbagger and Sisyphus in the absurdist philosophy. He even acknowledges the impossibility of completing his task. But it gives his life meaning.

[@Foxbat320]

Douglas Adams said that each that each iteration (Radio play, Novels T.V. and films) are different .As an observer we see the universe changed ,because in every iteration because of the use total improbability changes the universe we observer . Or words to that effect.

[@Jamie_E_Pritchard]

I think one of my favourite Douglas Adams quotes is "I love deadlines. I love the whooshing noise they make as they go by.” My life operates in a very similar manner, lol.

[@aboynam3dblu3]

“I never could get the hang of Thursdays.” Same my person. Same. I mean, same for the other six days, but I get you.

[@arahman137]

Marvin the depressed robot is a seriously under-appreciated character, especially the movie version. Alan Rickman was so good ...

[@user-ol2so9ce2q]

"The regular early morning yell of horror was the sound of Arthur Dent waking up and suddenly remembering where he was." is one of the greatest opening sentences of a novel, ever! And one that speaks to me in a deeply personal way. I need a new pair of Joo-Janta 200 super chromatic peril sensitive sunglasses. 😊

[@cally77777]

the ones that turn totally black to prevent you seeing anything that might disturb you?

[@user-ol2so9ce2q]

@@cally77777 Bingo!👍

[@useeee616]

The Hitchhikers Guide to the Galaxy is one of the greatest movies ever made. There is simply no words. I’ve watched it thousands of times as a teen. I still watch it. It is such a brilliant classic and the Maestro of film diversion. No comedy or scifi categorically is near it. Maybe, maybe Starship Troopers is the only near contender or Galaxy Quest. Such a legendary film. So unbelievable. Life long entertainment.

[@Christobanistan]

"The Hitchhikers Guide to the Galaxy is one of the greatest movies ever made." Said no sane person, ever. It's absolute trash. WTFFFFFFuckkkk.

[@Jess_of_the_Shire]

It's such a fun film!

[@brianhanna3128]

Well, that just goes to show, different strokes for different folks - I liked the radio play, know the books so well I could speak in tandem with huge chunks of Jess' script & really enjoyed the TV show when I was a kid. I'm not a fan of the film at all, but I'm glad you get so much from it.

[@Christobanistan]

@@brianhanna3128 Same here, practically everything I've read or read HGTTG has been amazing, particularly the BBC TC show. But as I was leaving the movie theater, I, my friends and everyone else around us was saying stuff like "what the heck was THAT?" I think it was not something that Hollywood was equipped to make, especially in a 90 minute movie.

[@thethegreenmachine]

The movie's great, but I think Galaxy Quest is better. Starship Troopers is so good that it's better than the book, which is something that I rarely say about a movie (or a book).

[@Peugeot-uq9vy]

The radio play is, in my opinion, the absolute top tier of Adam's work. No matter how often I listen to it is never not funny. I will go out on a limb and say the book and UK TV show are equal in awesome. And I would rather forget the "movie" exists...

[@IanStreet]

“The Vogon fleet hung in the sky like bricks don’t”. (Probably not exact line from the book). The opening parts of Hitchhiker’s is so great. One of the best of all time. Thank you for this video & the reminder of why I should dip into THGTTG again being in a period of feeling the pointlessness of it all just now. At least I’m not alone.

[@davidsaville5239]

I like how the crew chief for the demolition crew is related to Genghis Khan!!!

[@davidsaville5239]

The people destroying Arthur Dent's home!!!!

[@mattanthony2277]

The spaceship hung there much in the same way as a brick doesn't. It's my favourite piece of writing.

[@andyrint]

One of the most lasting memories of the book series I have is Arthur's love interest - Fenchurch from 'So long and thanks for all the fish'. If I remember correctly she was the product of the computation of the ultimate question (the answer to which is 42) and there was something very special about her that no one ever noticed - her feet didn't reach the ground! Really going to have to read those books again they are so good.

[@RobertTempleton64]

I did contract work for "The Lord of the Rings Musical" involving software to import/export the dynamic set's motion controls. Never had a chance to see the show. Now I see why.

[@jon-paulfilkins7820]

As someone as a kid from the days before Star Wars, AND a 3rd generation Sci-Fi fan, Grandparents were Goon Fans, Mum a Monty Python Fan. This book/radio show just hit the spot with us.

[@rexharrison6827]

There's a good dose of Milligan and Sykes in Adams, I think!

[@thejohnsaye]

I've heard that the reason the story keeps changing is an overarching joke because every time they use the Infinite Improbability Drive, the whole universe changes in some fundamental way.

[@frenchpressfinance]

To me, the original BBC radio plays were the best version. I bought them on CD years ago, ripped them, and they've been on my ipods/phones ever since. I usually listen to them a couple of times a year when on road trips by myself

[@Jess_of_the_Shire]

They're such a great use of the format

[@GeoffAdams-pj3ec]

Yup. I listened to them live as they came out week by week on BBC radio 4. Loved the theme the very first time I heard it

[@hazelleblanc8969]

My favorite chapter in any of his books was Adams' description of the encounter with Agrajag. I was saddened at the time that it didn't appear in either the TV series or the movie, but since then I have realized that they probably wouldn't have done justice to my own envisioning of that scene. My favorite line? - " The ships hung in the sky in much the same way that bricks don't. " Thanks for this analysis!

[@CraigFlowersMusic]

That scene in the movie where they zoom out to all the ships around the planet, and then it vaporizes and a lone banjo starts playing . . . Not many moments out there that move me more.

[@thethegreenmachine]

I just wish the ships were yellow, but I know they'd have been too hard to see in the zoom out.

[@eleventy7]

Someone would need to verify, cause I'm too lazy to hunt down the movie clip. But, hearing banjo, I think they used the song "Journey of the Sorceror" by the Eagles. This was previously used as the Hitchhiker's theme in other media.

[@thethegreenmachine]

@@eleventy7 Yeah the Hitcher's Guide song is the Eagles song. When I recognized it in the movie, I decided to watch the credits to be sure. I don't remember the guy's name, but he's an Eagle.

[@dlxmarks]

I listened to the radio series as a kid on my local public station long before I read the books so that version is my favorite. I was so happy when the Tertiary Phase, Quandary Phase, and Quintessential Phase came out in the 2003 and 2004 after Adams' death to adapt the remaining novels. They featured most of the surviving cast members including Jonathan Pryce whose professional standing was much higher than it was in 1980.

[@BanazirGalpsi1968]

Me too. We got to listen to an episode ofthe NPR Star wars before an episode of hitchhikers every sat morning in the 80s. So much fun!

[@dlxmarks]

@@BanazirGalpsi1968 That was back when NPR still believed in broadcasting radio drama. _HHGTTG, Star Wars,_ a credible version (well the BBC one, not the NPR one) of _The Lord of the Rings_ plus a lot of smaller adaptations and original works. Those days are long gone.

[@markp8214]

I remember as a child watching the tv series from the BCC when I grew up in Canada

[@dlxmarks]

@@markp8214 I watched the series in the early 90s I think. The budget and effects were sadly insufficient to do the story justice.

[@markp8214]

@@dlxmarks just like the original Doctor Who which I used to watch with my father

[@LeoAngora]

Kudos for the details you added to the video for ambience: music, visual effects, audio effects, makeup, the mug, even. Thanks for pouring your magic in the world once more.

[@reidatherton7743]

Was touched by this thoughtful commentary far more than i would've guessed. I found this book series at the library as a teen (the cover strange green circle with a tongue hanging out is attention grabbing...). KZbin algo, send this video zipping across the site like an infinite improbability drive!

[@mgass1354]

When talking about Hitchhiker's Guide, we must only talk about the books and BBC series. What's so great about them? The humor. The roasting of society through the humor is just chef's kiss and it doesn't stop.

[@kellyscott5675]

It has been way too long since I read this series, so this was a brilliant reminder. We lost Douglas Adams far too soon. Thanks for this lovely overview of this wonderful writing.

[@madrangadan5210]

I remember being aware of Douglas Adams and the Hitchhiker's Guide to the Galaxy books when I was young but wasn't into science fiction books at the time (I was mostly reading fantasy and loved science fiction tv/movies). On day, I was listening to the radio and the news came on, one of the headlines was Douglas Adams passing and thinking to myself "why haven't I read his books" out of nowhere. Years later I finally saw the movie and remembered that moment. The next day I purchased a set and have never looked back. His books have inspired me to read outside my normal comfort zone's and later helped me during hard times in my life (yes we are small, yes it probably is all meaningless, that doesn't mean we can't have fun alone the way and have purpose in the end. After all "I may not have gone where I intended to go, but I think I have ended up where I needed to be".) I also love his book Last Chance to See. I'm a bit of a nature geek and it was amazing to read the experience of someone who was learning, for the first time, about so much of the natural world and the issues it faces.

[@monikadeinbeck4760]

I remember sitting in the classroom of my english class at highschool and I was so bored that I read "the Hitchhiker's Guide to the Galaxy" under the table. It was the part when it talks about the marketing branch of the sirius cybernetic corporation and their main building, which had their slogan "Grab it and enjoy" written in mile-high letters on top. Soon after the opening, the letters broke into the building below, killing millions of marketing employees, and the part still sticking out on top in the local dialect meant "put your head in a pig", and isn't illuminated any more, except for special occasions. And I laughed my ass off and couldn't stop, very much to the confusion of my english teacher.

[@PeteOtton]

Her full name is Random Frequent Flier Dent. Arthur had realized that genetic material would get him space ship tickets.

[@georgekoufop4866]

Holy shit , I got recommended to read this and now my favorite channel is covering it i think it's a sign

[@PeteOtton]

It is, now go listen to the HHGTTG!

[@georgekoufop4866]

@@PeteOtton I found an audio read from the author! I hope I remember to come back here to tell you all about it once I finish it!

[@PeteOtton]

@@georgekoufop4866 Cool! I suggest listening to it after the radio series if you can :)

[@Thecuervogold]

I too saw the film quite young, and obsessively rewatched it until I found the books in middle school. Looking back, I can see how Adams shaped a lot of my worldview, and gave voice to much of the existential dread and religious trauma I experienced growing up. Fantastic video Jess!

[@tonybalinski2398]

Discovered it when I was fourteen and a friend told me at what time I should listen on Radio 4. Unfortunately at dinner time, requiring parental dispensation to leave the table. It was the start of the second series. I was hooked: the Lintillas, the shoe event horizon, the Nutrimatic machine and the Cup suspended by Art, and Peter Jones’ mildly amused voicing of the Book - not to mention the Eagles’ oh so fitting “title track”. Read the book, then books, and caught the first series on rerun, read the book and saw the BBC TV adaptation on first release. You’ve brought it all back to me! Thank you!

[@RedAngelSophia]

I know you usually do LOTR videos (and those videos are great) - but something about the way you talk lends itself _really_ well to producing HITCHHIKERS GUIDE TO THE GALAXY content such as this video!!!

[@danfocke]

I don't remember word for word, but "hanging the air exactly as bricks don't". To me it just sums it all up.

[@RedwoodTheElf]

"Arthur Phillip Dent?" "Yes?" "Oh, wait, I've done you already, haven't I?" - Wowbagger the infinitely prolonged

[@carterknudsen525]

". . .whose name is not important. . ." had me ROLLING Edited to add: the sandwich segment is my absolute favorite, too! Also, this has been my favorite trilogy since childhood. And my birthday is Towel Day.

[@shannonmcglumphy5967]

I read The Hitchhiker’s Guide series about 20 years ago on a long round trip bus ride. I’ve underestimated its impact on me, much more than being just a funny read: when I first started seriously getting into philosophy and reading about absurdism. I just sort of nodded and thought “well, yeah!” I hadn’t made the connection til this video.

[@sparklietines9384]

i did not think you could be more delightful. and now you're discussing hgttg for an hour ❤

[@mattanthony2277]

"The spaceship hung there much in the same way a brick doesn't" is the only writing that tops Tolkiens "He stands not alone said Legolas, stringing an arrow faster than sight, you will be dead before your stroke falls" bit

[@PhillipSmithstargazer]

Reallt enjoyed this video, the hitchhiker's guide to the galaxy is in one off my beloved books. My favourite line is “We apologize for the inconvenience.”

[@markadams7046]

There's a quote in the game Civilization VI from Douglas Adams' Hitchhikers' Guide, "The problem with trying to make something foolproof is the tendency to underestimate the ingenuity of complete fools."

[@jordanwill7233]

Loved this one!! As much as I love some Tolkien content, I did grow up on Hitchhiker’s guide & enjoyed hearing you go off about Adams’ work for over an hour!

[@FreviriousQuigby]

i was always convinced that there was some kind of significance to the explanation of the babel fish being on page 42

[@glassisland]

I love the idea of doing an Arthur/Bilbo comparison, and not just because Martin Freeman played both perfectly. AWESOME video, and Don't Panic.

[@cally77777]

Not in my opinion. But he did play Tim, his character in the Office absolutely as though Adams himself had invented it. The thing that he and Dawn have in common is that (like my favourite kind of Brit) there's not much they take completely seriously, including themselves, and they delight in sending up anyone who does. The polar opposite to Gareth, and of course, David Brent himself, who thinks he's like this, but absolutely isn't. Martin never really quite reached those heights again, because that character was perfect.

[@Lordn_HighMaster]

And yes read them all and watched the movie. I still watch it every now and then. R.I.P Douglas Adam's, you will be missed.

[@danielwatson2701]

When I first read this, I was 14 years old. I started to realise how bullshit and wrong everything was with the world. It made me think “why would I want to live in, where I don’t matter?” I learned that, we are all going to die soon, people try to deal with the absurdity of life with even more absurd beliefs, violence is a part of our intrinsic nature, we won’t ever be satisfied with answers for our place in the universe and we can mathematically prove we don’t exist. But I am currently having a really lovely cup of tea, I have a job that allows me to live comfortably and I’m watching one of my favourite KZbinrs talk about my favourite book. That’s why Hitchhiker’s is so popular

[@allenporter6586]

Not reading the Hichhiker's Guide till my 30's, because it didn't exist in my time-space contiunum yet, and me not having access to a time machine to travel to the future where it had already had been written, further led me to believe the purpose of existence it to be a positive influence on those who interact with you. Douglas Adams was a positive influence on me, ergo he fufilled his purpose with at least one person, what more can one ask?

[@nexx410]

I use to listen to this as an audiobook while riding my bike to college. Best commute ever.

[@thomaskalinowski8851]

Jess, you'd make a good Trillian.

[@christopherwhittaker2620]

The HGTTG was the first book I read as a teenager. The second book(s) I read as a teenager was the lord of the rings trilogy. And I can honestly say these books had an enormous impact and influence on me and I’d go as far as to say helped to shape me as a young man. That might sound a bit dramatic but I stand by it. It’s kind of hard to articulate exactly how these books helped shape me but shape me they did to a certain extent. Both books are a real celebration of the human imagination and both books are very human at their core. And to this day I’ve never read any other books that have been so good at transporting me into their worlds. Arthur Dent is to HGTTG ax Frodo is to the lord of the rings in some ways. I absolutely loved this video. Thank you for such a fascinating and thoughtful piece of work.

[@pufthemajicdragon]

51:59 "...Yet." I see your master plan! The joke's on you, I have been in an existential spiral since long before I had ever heard the name Arthur Dent!

[@Designer4952]

I was in middle school at that time and was just reading LOTR, Hobbit, and Watership Down, when I was introduced to Hitchhiker's Guide...it blew my mind!!

[@ariwl1]

I discovered Hitchiker's randomly as a friend gave me a USB drive with a bunch of audio books on them and a production of the radio play was among them. I fell in love instantly and have listened to it multiple times to the point where the phrase "Perfectly safe penguin" has been in the descriptor of nearly all my online profiles ever since.

[@Jess_of_the_Shire]

That's such a perfect way to discover this story

[@sebastianevangelista4921]

@@Jess_of_the_Shire I first discovered the film and then read the complete Barnes and Noble edition of the series in 8th grade (I turn 24 soon btw).

[@DavePigott2000]

There are so many reasons I’m now following you. You’re deep understanding of Douglas Adams, my daughter’s love of his work, and she was born in the US. Brilliant.

[@jimluebke3869]

The whale's last mortal thoughts were something like: "Oooh, the ground is coming up at me very quickly! I wonder if it will be friends with me?"

[@buckysinister]

One of my favorites. I first read Hitchhiker's when I was maybe 12 years old. It was around this same time that I discovered HP Lovecraft. And it's only this morning, as I listened to this Hitchhiker's appreciation, that I've realized how much encountering them both at the same time has shaped my world-view: We live in an uncaring universe that we are not remotely equipped to understand, and our lives are largely meaningless in the face of it. And that is horrifying. But it's also kind of funny when you think about it. And if my choices are to laugh or go insane, I'll take the former, thank you very much. Sometimes it's hard to remember the funny part of that, though. So thanks for reminding me. Time for another Hitchhiker's re-read, I think...

[@rogerelliss9829]

A man and his towel? Don't forget the much more important storyline of his quest for a cup of tea

[@bob_the_bomb4508]

If you’ve ever tried to drink Lipton Yellow Label you’ll be familiar with the experience of drinking something that’s almost, but not quite, utterly unlike tea… :)

[@mrstooshnov]

Thanks for covering H2G2 in addition to the LOTR and other fantasy topics. My personal favourite gag from SLaTfAtF is Rob McKenna, the miserable rained upon lorry driver who confronts Arthur in his Thundercloud Corner to learn that each is living in a different reality from the other.

[@Rubbly]

Whoa! Another great trilogy to cover!! edit: oh, right, you make that joke a minute in as well 😅

[@marcbennett9232]

I have always loved hitchhikers. thank you for explaining why better than I ever could. favorite line? wow so many, cant pick just one! the talking cow wanting to be eaten? gods last message was also great. so many more. the only book out of the series I though was Meh, was so long and thanks for all the fish. I loved mostly harmless, I think it was also my favorite.

[@SpaceShot]

I was first introduced to Hitchhiker's via the computer text adventure. These were pretty common when i was a kid getting into computers and i played it without any knowledge of the story or was based on. Still, much of it stuck with me until i decided to read the entire trilogy in 2004/2005 timeframe because i knew the movie was coming. I came away feeling my favorite joke payoff in the series was the same as yours and I i marveled at how cleverly it was paid off as if i was being rewarded for sticking it through past Restaurant, where many readers end their journey. I found your take on this refreshing, well researched and quite insightful. Adams did make an impression on me such that I've struggled greatly with the question of why we're here and i haven't quite gotten the hang of being small and just having fun. I am not well versed in the Tolkien works that often drive your channel. I've struggled to stay engaged and i liked how the Jackson movies began more than they ended. I was enthralled by the adventure of Fellowship but always find myself lost by the end of the series... just struggling to make sense of it. That said you have always been entertaining and thoughtful and I watch even though i have yet to really devour the works. Maybe I'll try again.

[@tgif1345]

I've only read the first four books in this series, as that's all I had available to me in the 2000s, but the first book is one of my favourite books. I first got it in 2001 from my eighth grade teacher as a graduation/get well gift as I was moving on to high school in the fall of 2001, and also because I'd just had surgery on my right knee and was laid up in bed for a few weeks while it healed. I've read it so many times since then, I love it.

[@jonathanstern5537]

For the year after my 4th year of college (through the summer and 5th year) I read all of Adam's novels. I started with The Complete Hitchhiker's Guide to the Galaxy, a book which is now being held together by brown electrical tape, then The Long Dark Teatime of the Soul, then Starship Titanic, and finally, Dirk Gently's Holistic Detective Agency. I wish he had lived longer.

[@Blairington]

Learning later in the series why the pot of petunias thought what it did is probably my favourite scene in the entire series!

[@seasidescott]

Calculating probabilities for hyper jumps requires massive computing power while one that runs on improbability is much more efficient since everyone knows how improbable something is. And don't forget Bistro Math. Those got me through physics in college. Despite a few epic failures I still believe it's possible to throw yourself at the ground and miss - it's one of the few things I take on faith.

[@lyleswanson7557]

My favorite homage to Hitchhikers Guide to the Galaxy is that in the TV show The X Files the number of Mulder's apartment is 42.

[@Indra-Ant]

Dear Jess in a chair, with a towel. You rock! Thanks for tackling one of my favorite series. Can we ever know who we are and why we are here? Yes! The mistake we make is looking out into the universe, or towards the great unwashed expanse of humanity, and assuming there is a singular answer that is true for all of us, all the time. There's not. Each person has their own self and their own answer. We are who we are. We can't be anything else. We only don't see it because we aren't paying attention to ourself. We'd rather be running around screaming and licking things than sitting still and "being". Likewise, we each are here for our own reasons and need only pay a little quiet attention to ourselves to have that reason. Luckily, there's a simple thing we can do to get at our own answers. Pay attention to how you feel throughout the day. If you feel good, happy, hopeful about life, excited to do something: then you're moving in the right direction. You're getting closer to what you're here to do. If, on the other hand, you feel confused, dull, depressed, and don't want to get out of bed in the morning: you're going in the wrong direction. Mind you, knowing that you're going in the wrong direction is nice and all. But changing direction is hard. Especially if you have to go in a completely opposite direction. Life can get difficult then. But even so, it's worth changing direction. You'll feel inspired, excited, and ready to bounce out of bed in the morning. You'll be who you always intended to be and you'll do exactly what you intended to... or you can continue to grind out levels in the hellscape of mediocrity. You know, "do what you're told, not what you want." I'm not saying devolve into hedonism. I'm saying sit still for a bit and ask yourself what you actually want to do. Ask if there's something you regret not doing. Ask what you can do to make life worth living again. You hold the answers to all your questions. So look for the fun in life. It's there. I promise. And everyone knows I only lie on Galactic Tuesdays.

[@NitroGTRi]

I read the 1st book in an afternoon, in a vacation trip... specificaly, in a rainy day, locked in a small appartment at the beach. I was around 17 years old... And read again and again ever since, every time my sight finds the cover, all dusted and wrecked by time and use. And I'll read it again, at least one more time (repeating this same sentence every time I finish reading). I'll be honest: I already love your content, but this one video brought tears of joy and nostalgia to my eyes, especialy when you explained the nuances of the storytelling and it all made sence... Thank you for this one hour and ten of happiness in my life, Jess... and keep on keeping on with you extraordinary work!

[@Jess_of_the_Shire]

Books have a truly magical way of preserving moments from the past. Thank you so much for your kind words!

[@emrek99205]

It isn't a very long book. Paperback is only 215 pages. Always felt like it was 600+ just cause of how much is in it.