Douglas Adams

Eoin, Jakub, Niamh and Sinéad. Douglas Noel Adams

Douglas Adams was born on the 11th of March 1952 in Cambridge, England, and died on the 11th of May 2001.

He is a writer, humorist and a dramatist.

He is best known for writing the Hitchhiker’s Guide to the Galaxy “trilogy.”

Douglas Adams Writing

“He was famously late for deadlines and did not ever appear to enjoy the act of writing”.

He was clumsy; he would trip over things, sit on them and back into them.

Adams was never a prolific writer and usually had to be forced by others to do any writing. Personal Beliefs & Activism

Adams was a conservation enthusiast, a founding patron and dedicated spokesperson of “Save The Rhino.”

He considered himself an atheist. The existence of God, or lack thereof was a consistent theme within his work.

Admirer, early adopter and spokesperson for Apple . In the UK, Adams was the first to buy one of the original Macintosh machines. Second in line was .

Douglas Adams The Hitchhiker's Guide to the Galaxy Gently's Holistic Detective Agency The Long Dark Tea-Time of the Soul 's Flying Circus

Last Chance to See Party Political Broadcast on Behalf of the Liberal Party Mostly Harmless The Private Life of Genghis Khan Starship The Restaurant at the End of the Universe The Internet: The Last Battleground of the 20th century The Hitchhiker's Guide to the Galaxy Parrots, the universe and everything The Utterly Utterly Merry Comic Relief Christmas Book Bureaucracy The Hitchhiker’s Guide to the Galaxy

The Hitchhiker’s Guide to the galaxy began as a radio series, and then was developed it into a five part “trilogy” before being adapted for television, stage, a computer game and later a film.

The series follows the adventures of , , Marvin the Paranoid Android, Zaphod Radio Books TV Film Beeblebrox, and a number of others are constant throughout all the adaptations. The Hitchhiker’s Guide to the Galaxy Radio Series (1978-2005)

Adam’s first radio series was called "The Ends of the Earth". It had 6 episodes which all ended with the Earth being destroyed in a different way.

Adams created the character Ford Prefect the alien as someone who could provide context and move the story along.

Originally “The hitchhikers guide to the galaxy” was used by Adams to rationalise Ford’s presence on Earth however, the Guide quickly became the centre of his story, with the destruction of Earth becoming secondary. The Hitchhiker’s Guide to the Galaxy Novels (1979-2009) The Hitchhiker’s Guide to the Galaxy Novels (1979-2009)

Largely considered the canon, definitive edition of hitchhikers guide to the galaxy, being the most widely distributed accessible adaptation.

Sold 15 Million copies in Adams’ lifetime. It has been translated to over 30 languages.

Adams wrote five out of six installments. wrote a sixth novel - “And another thing”, released in 2009. The Hitchhiker’s Guide to the Galaxy Television Series (1981)

Initially thought unfilmable by BBC executives.

Won Royal Television Society Award for Most Original Program. Won several BAFTAs for its graphics and editing.

The programme is remembered for its mock computer animation sequences, produced on film using traditional cel animation techniques. The Hitchhiker’s Guide to the Galaxy Feature Film (2005) Film stuck in development hell for 24 years. Script rewritten multiple times by Adams.

Rights initially sold to Columbia Pictures. Ivan Reitman was set to direct but the pair couldn’t agree on a direction to take the screenplay.

Eventually Disney bought the rights to the film, but development stalled due to budget issues.

With Adams’ death in May 2001, a film adaptation was beginning to look like a pipe dream.

Ivan Reitman (Film Producer) The Hitchhiker’s Guide to the Galaxy Feature Film (2005)

In 2003, the film was finally greenlit. Karey Kirkpatrick took Adams’ place as screenwriter.

The film was Garth Jennings's directorial debut.

The film is a vast condensation of plot points across the novels. Much of Adams’ material didn’t make it into the final film.

This adaptation left many fans disappointed, many felt that it was detached from its source material. 's Holistic Detective Agency

Published in 1987

Sequel released in 1988

Thematically similar to ‘Hitchhiker’s Guide To The Galaxy’ Doctor Who

Worked as a script editor in 70s

Later on went on to write Hitchhiker’s Guide To The Galaxy

Various parts of Doctor Who intertwine with his later work Within the Doctor Who series Adams is most famous for ‘The Pirate Planet’ and ‘’

Influenced the whole series making it more entertaining which is still evident to this day

Continued to help the writers of Doctor Who after he left the show Monty Python

Adams worked on multiple sketches throughout the series

He is most known for ‘Patient Abuse’

Mind-boggling bureaucracy is a recurring comic theme of Adam’s work Influences

Writing style greatly influenced by Kurt Vonnegut and PG Wodehouse

Theme and method of portrayal of extraterrestrial creatures roughly based on Robert Sheckley Music

Used music as a way to overcome writer’s block.

Simply went to music for inspiration.

Gathered a collection of between 24-35 left handed guitars. Humour His style of humour has left a lasting impression on other writers.

“One of the great wits of our age, his sophisticated humour was founded in a deep, amalgamated knowledge of literature and science, two of my great loves”- Richard Dawkins

“You can't understand many of the jokes in Hitchhiker if you don't know a lot of advanced science”- Richard Dawkins Legacy

Remembered as one of the greatest science fiction writers in history. Certainly one of the most influential.

The on-line translator Babelfish is named after the Babelfish that Adams wrote of in his novel

On 11 March 2013, Adams 61st birthday was celebrated with an interactive Google Doodle

There is also an asteroid named after Adams himself. “Science has lost a friend, literature has lost a luminary, the mountain gorilla and the black rhino have lost a gallant defender, Apple Computer has lost its most eloquent apologist.”

Richard Dawkins Bibliography http://www.imdb.com/name/nm0010930/bio? http://douglasadams.s3-website-eu-west-1.amazonaws. ref_=nm_dyk_qt_sm#quotes com/press/dna2.jpg http://platypuscomix.cartoonsdammit. https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=k7C00i0cOZY com/fpo/newspaper/douglasadams.JPG https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Douglas_Adams http://douglasadams.eu/en_adams_guitare.php https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=D6tINlNluuY http://www.bbc.co. uk/doctorwho/s4/features/bulletins/bulletin_090922_01 http://www.douglasadams.com/ http://ichef.bbci.co.uk/images/ic/1200x675/p01gpsfv.jpg http://www.theguardian.com/uk/2001/may/14/books.booksnews https://www.savetherhino. http://www.bbc.co.uk/programmes/b00rp3dw org/about/trustees_and_patrons/douglas_adams http://www.theguardian.com/uk/2001/may/14/books.booksnews http://freevitathemes.com/wp-content/uploads/2012/10/marvin.png