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Archive-name: douglas-adams-FAQ
Maintained-by: nhughes@umich.edu (Nathan Hughes) Last-Changed: 21May96 Posting-Frequency: monthly Changes: dont-panic See reader questions & answers on this topic! - Help others by sharing your knowledge My friends, I apologize for my absence this past year. With DNA's new work coming out, and a general settling down of my life, I hope to once again resume a fairly regular and attentive role as FAQ maintainer - that is, if someone hasn't already taken my place! (If so, contact me so we can figure it all out!) I'll also be completing the "renovations" to my home page, bringing it up to date, and in general doing again what I started all those years ago. Heh. At least, all those years ago in Internet terms. Well, without any further ado... ---------------------------------------- FOREWORD Buy "Don't Panic" by Neil Gaiman. It is the best guide to 'The Guide' that is around. Relevant details are : TITLE: Don't Panic SUBTITLE: Douglas Adams & the Hitch Hiker's Guide to the Galaxy AUTHOR: Neil Gaiman (with additional material by David K. Dickson) PUBLISHER: Titan Books Ltd, 19 Valentine Place London SE1 8HQ PAGES: 225 ISBN: 1-85286-411-7 PRICE: UK price 3.99 (See section 7.2, Translations, for the German edition of Don't Panic) ---------------------------------------- This is the list of frequently asked questions (and their answers) for the newsgroup alt.fan.douglas-adams. There is biographical information about Douglas Adams, answers to the frequently asked questions that plague the group, interesting notes and tidbits that you may not have known, and anything else that I and readers of the group have found interesting. This FAQ is possible only through the support of the DNA fans around the world, mostly but not limited to the readers of alt.fan.douglas-adams. Without their help, this document would be pretty skimpy indeed. I wish I could maintain the names and originators of all the information found in this document, but that is nearly impossible. So accept this global thanks to all the contributors. And special thanks to Evan Macbeth (Paradox !-) ) for keeping me on track and up to date on EVERYTHING. As usual, any info you think pertinant, interesting, enjoyable, etc. that you think deserves a spot in this FAQ, send along to nhughes@umich.edu. I love reading the mail, even if I can't include your particular piece. Special Thanks go to Nathan Torkington for his origination of the FAQ, and his creation of much of the original text and structure for this FAQ. Where possible, pointers to existing information (such as books, magazine articles, and ftp sites) are included here, rather than rehashing that information again. Information is provided without guarantee -- if you get stung using any of the information provided here, or send off your personal fortune and are stuck, then I accept no blame or responsibility. It's your own damn fault. If you haven't already done so, now is as good a time as any to read the guide to Net etiquette which is posted to news.announce.newusers regularly. You should be familiar with acronyms like FAQ, FTP and IMHO, as well as know about smileys, followups and when to reply by email to postings. This FAQ is currently posted to news.answers and alt.fan.douglas-adams. All posts to news.answers are archived, and it is possible to retrieve the last posted copy via anonymous FTP from rtfm.mit.edu as /pub/usenet/alt.fan.douglas-adams/douglas-adams-FAQ. You can also retrieve it from the European mirror of rtfm, at ftp.uni-paderborn.de/pub/doc/FAQ. Those without FTP access should send e-mail to mail-server@rtfm.mit.edu with "send usenet/news.answers/finding-sources" in the body to find out how to do FTP by e-mail. You can ftp to ftp.umd.umich.edu in /people/nhughes to access what I have put in my ftp directory relating to DNA. I'll add things as I get them. Contributions, comments and changes should be directed to nhughes@umich.edu ---------------------------------------- By popular demand, I'm now marking up the FAQ to show areas that have been updated, added, or changed. In the table of contents you'll see a '*' at each section that has changed since the last revision, and a '#' for each section that has changed since two revisions ago. If you go to that section, I'll have marked the changed text with more '*''s, if applicable. I'll do this to any additions or significant edits that are done, but probably leave deletions or corrections out of the system. Hope you enjoy, and let me know if you have any other suggestions! ---------------------------------------- List of Answers 1 Biographical Information 1.1 Who the heck is Douglas Adams 2 Douglas Adams and Computers 2.1 Macintoshes 2.2 Computer Games 3 Merchandising 3.1 Audio Tapes & CDs 3.2 Albums 3.4 Videos 3.5 Laserdisc 3.6 CD-ROM / Computer Versions 3.7 The Illustrated Hitch Hiker's Guide Info-Blurb 3.8 10th Anniversary Radio Scripts 3.9 Voyager Books over the Web 3.10 DNA's New Company 4 Explanations 4.1 The Ending to "Dirk Gently's Holistic Detective Agency" 4.2 Young Zaphod Plays It Safe 4.3 Paul Neil Milne Johnstone (aka Paula Nancy Millstone Jennings) 4.4 The Incredible Disappearing 7th Episode 4.5 What the heck happened with Ford's name? 4.6 Why did Douglas participate in that Visions of Heaven and Hell program anyway? 4.7 Marvin, the Pink Floyd, and Everything 4.8 Probable Solution to the Ill Guide Puzzle 5 Miscellaneous 5.1 Stuff 5.1.1 "The Long Dark Tea-Time of the Soul" 5.1.2 The Islington phone number 5.1.3 That Dire Straits mystery song 5.1.4 Hotblack Desiato 5.1.5 Flaws in the More Than Complete Hitch Hiker's Guide 5.1.6 How Expensive _IS_ Milliways? 5.1.7 Theme Music to the Radio Series 5.1.8 The Towel Thing *5.1.9 Shada and City of Death 5.1.10 Arthur's House in the TV Series 5.1.11 Meaning of Liff <-> Meaning of Life? 5.1.12 The Death of the Cosmic Cutie 5.1.13 Zaphod Beeblebrox is Alive! 5.1.14 The New Fish on the Block 5.1.15 That Small Cafe in Rickmansworth 5.1.16 First Ever Dirk Gently Stage Production 5.1.17 Simon Jones in 12 Monkeys 5.2 Number Games (I.E. The 42 Thing) 5.3 Other Authors 5.4 The Future # 5.5 DNA and Pink Floyd 5.6 Related Electronic Information 5.6.5 The Ultra Complete Indexes 5.7 The Movie 5.8 Terran Pan Galactic Gargle Blaster Recipes 5.9 Differences Between the US and UK Editions of LtUaE #*5.10 Marvin, the Paranoid Rock Star 6 The Order of Everything 7 Book Information 7.1 ISBN Numbers # 7.2 Translations 7.3 The Salmon of Doubt 8 ZZ9 Plural Z Alpha ---------------------------------------- 1 Biographical Information In this section you will find information on Douglas Adams. The information isn't very detailed, because of (a) a desire to respect his privacy, and (b) you might as well buy "Don't Panic" anyway (see the very start of the file for information on Don't Panic). ---------------------------------------- 1.1 Who the heck is Douglas Adams Douglas Noel Adams (DNA) was born on March 11th, 1952. ---------------------------------------- 1.2 What's this about the barrister? After nearly a decade of saying in his blurbs that he was nearly married to a lady barrister, on November 25 1991 Douglas Adams and Jane Belson tied the knot in a quiet ceremony at Finsbury town hall in London. Bad luck, ladies. They live in Islington. ---------------------------------------- 1.3 What's this about Rocket Launches? (as quoted from DNA) A piece of personal information: My wife Jane gave birth to our first child on June 22nd (1994). Her name is Polly Jane Adams, but while she was in the womb she acquired the nickname Rocket. She's long and slim and dark haired and is incomprehensibly beautiful. Best, Douglas Adams ---------------------------------------- 2 Douglas Adams and Computers DNA definitely has a close association with computers. Here you will find about his love for Macintoshes, computer games he has (and hasn't) written, and electronic versions of his books. ---------------------------------------- 2.1 Macintoshes Douglas Adams likes Macintoshes, and at one stage lived with one in Islington (see the dedication to The Complete Radio Scripts and Dirk Gently's Holistic Detective Agency). He says that computers have completely changed the way he writes (he has gone from avoiding writing by finding food to eat, to avoiding writing by reconfiguring his Macintosh's operating system). He has even written a foreword to ``PowerBook, The Digital Nomad's Guide'' (ISBN 0-679-74588-2), saying how he couldn't see how he ever did without his PowerBook before. ---------------------------------------- 2.2 Computer Games With Infocom's Steve Meretzky (who no longer works for Infocom after their takeover by Mediagenic), he wrote "The Hitchhiker's Guide to the Galaxy" adventure game. "Bureaucracy" was credited to "Douglas Adams and The Staff of Infocom" - there were lots of Infocom people involved (Jeff O'Neill, Dave Lebling, Fred Morgan and others). The end sequence to the game "Hitchhiker's Guide" mentions a second game called "The Restaurant at the End of the Universe", but this game doesn't exist. Douglas Adams started to write it, as because "Bureaucracy" had poor sales, Adams and Infocom dropped the project. Infocom tried to revive the project later, but the virtual death of Infocom in 1990 brought this idea to an end. Douglas Adams also started work on another game, where the emphasis was to be on creating a virtual reality in the adventure, but petered out after his partner lost interest. Douglas has stated that he has just set up a whole new company, part of the remit of which is to allow him to develop CD ROM games, however, so perhaps we will see some new games from the man... Meretzky is still writing computer adventure games for "Legend Entertainment". Infocom only exists as a label for Activision, the company having been closed in 1989. The games are available from Virgin Mastertronic in "Infocom From Mastertonic" (a budget games house in the UK). Their address is : Customer Services Virgin Mastertronic Ltd 16 Portland Road London W11 2LA Tel: 071 - 727 8070 Probably the easiest way to play the games is to purchase the Infocom game compilations put out by Activision, the Lost Treasures of Infocom I & II. The HHG is in part I, Bureaucracy is in part II (of course. *sigh*). Here's the complete information: LOST TREASURES OF INFOCOM Includes: Moonmist Starcross Zork I, II, & III Spellbreaker The Witness Beyonk Zork Ballyhoo Planetfall Zork Zero Infedel Stationfall Sorcerer THE HITCHHIKER'S Suspended Enchanter GUIDE TO THE The Lurking Horror Deadline GALAXY Suspect Price: $39.95 LOST TREASURES OF INFOCOM II Includes: Nord and Bert A Mind Forever Voyaging Sherlock Bureaucracy (writ by DNA) Trinity Cutthroats Wishbringer Hollywood Hihinx Border Zone Plundered Hearts Seastalker Price: $19.95 TO ORDER, CALL 1 (800) 477-3650 Specially priced in Aus. & NZ at AUD$59.95 plus s&h for Lost Treas. and AUD$39.95 plus s&h for Lost Treas. II. To order, call (61) 2 809 4444. Specially priced in Europe at f29.99 plus s&h for Lost Treas. and f19.99 plus s&h for Lost Treas. II. To order, call (44) 295 252 524. Available only in English. Available on disk and CD-ROM for IBM and Mac. Another number to try for ordering info is (800)-533-4677. I don't have a name for this company, just the phone number. Good Luck! --- Activision has also recently re-released the Infocom games under several packages, with names such as "The Comedy Collection", "The Sci-Fi Collection", etc. You can find the HHG Game in the "Sci-Fi Collection", and Bureaucracy in the "Comedy Collection". These just might be easier to find than the "Lost Treasures" packages. Check your local software stores. CDD-3097 Infocom Sci-Fi Collection US$14.99 (THHGTTG game) CDD-3094 Infocom Comedy Collection US$14.99 (Bureaucracy) Activision 699 hertel Ave. Buffalo, NY 14207 1-800-477-3650 ----- You can also check out the Interactive Fiction Archive in Germany, which contains solutions etc. to the Infocom Games, as well as lots more. It's at ftp://ftp.gmd.de/. ----- Obviously Infocom related discussions are abound in the rec.games.int-fiction newsgroup. The Lost Treasures compilations haven't been made for quite a while now, and pretty much all stocks of these compilations have run dry (probably because of all the r.g.int-fiction folk hunting the last few out!) Although the smaller Activision compilations are suppossed to replace the Lost Treasures compilations, certainly in the UK they are near impossible to find. For people in the UK http://www.reserve.co.uk/ may possibly have a few copies of LTOI 1 & 2 as it is still in their on-line catalogue. You don't need a Mac or a PC to play the games, nor do you need the right versions of the games for the right machines. Infocom games were interpreted, and hence the game files themselves are useable across all platforms with a suitable Infocom interpreter. There are PD versions of suitable interpreters available for most machines, so it is quite possible to play HHGTTG on anything from UNIX to an Acorn Archamedies, even if your copy of HHGTTG is for a completely different machine. Chat to the folk in rec.games.int-fiction for more information. For Mac/PC users who can't find the Mac/PC versions of the Lost Treasures compilations, it should be noted that LTOI 1 was also released for the Commodore Amiga, and these might be easier to still get hold of. Assuming you can transfer the files from Amiga floppies to your system, and get hold of one of the freely available PD infocom game interpreters, then you can play all but one of the games in the compilation (including HHGTTG.) ---------------------------------------- 2.4 His e-mail Address(es) Owing to his globe-trotting, and his relatively late involvement with the Internet, DNA has several e-mail addresses. Unfortunatly, because of the large number of people on the internet who don't quite comprehend how many people there actually are on the internet, Douglas has to pick and choose what messages he actually has time to respond to. So if you don't get any response, don't pester - he probably just doesn't want to hear about it. Latest polls show you might be able to reach him at dna@tdv.com. Good Luck! Because of the volume of questions, one more polite method of getting questions answered is to mail them to the newsgroup (alt.fan.douglas-adams) or to me (see above). If you mail them to the group, you're almost assured of an answer. If you mail them to me, you'll probably get an answer as well. The chance that the answer is the wrong one, however, is greatly increased. The idea of this is to tie up as little of DNA's time as possible, thus increasing the likelihood he will stay on ``the Net''. If you wish, you can contact him via snail mail at: Maggie Phillips % Ed Victor Ltd 121 Wardour St London W1V 3AT ---------------------------------------- 3 Merchandising There are lots of merchandised products around. Here you will find where to order the cassette tapes, albums, CDs and videos from. The canonical address for most DNA stuff used to be: BBC World Service Mail Order P.O Box 76 Bush House London WC2B 4PH Tel: +44 71 379 4479 FAX: +44 71-497-0498 This might or might not still be valid information for the BBC. In any case, US orders can be directed to BBC Worldwide, at: http://www.bbc-worldwide-americas.com -or- Tel. 1-800-2161-BBC Ext 18 Canadian customers interested in home video products should contact: BBC Worldwide Americas tel: 212 705 9300 ext. 492 ------- 2001, a German mail order firm with German versions of the books, comics, and videos (as well as other stuff) can be contacted at: Zweitausendeins Versand Postfach 60381 Frankfurt/Main Germany Tel.: +49-69-420 8000 Fax: +49-69-415 003 -415 004 -417 089 A Live-CD of DNA's first reading in Goettingen in March of 1994 is also available from 2001. It's in English, and the info is: Title: CD - Douglas Adams Live Number: 56949 Price: DM 22,- (approx. US$ 15.00) ISBN: 3-8077-0290-3 Because of regulations, they are unable to send CD's, MC's, and LP's to foreign countries. Furthermore, the minimum order is DM50. ------- For Dutch availabilty: The bookshop W.H. Smith, at the end of the Kalverstraat, has (at least) the Hitch Hiker's Guide BBC TV Series, on PAL VHS cassettes. The price is about DF1 62,50. It also has all of the books, including the "Illustrated". ---------------------------------------- 3.1 Audio Tapes & CDs In the U.K., the place to start looking is any record or book shop! You really shouldn't have too many problems finding the material - if so, you could try the BBC contact information given above. The series is available in the UK in three formats. Record shops order by catalogue number, book shops order by ISBN: 6 CD set : BBCCD6001, ISBN 0 563 22615 3, approx. 40 GBP 6 tape set : ZBBC1035, ISBN 0 563 22560 2, approx. 26 GBP or, as two separate double-tape sets: "The Primary Phase" (Fits 1 - 6) : ZBBC1499, ISBN 0 563 40182 6, GBP 8.99 "The Secondary Phase" (Fits 7 - 12) : ZBBC1500, ISBN 0 563 40183 4, GBP 8.99 In the U.S., the audio tapes of the radio series can be found at: The Mind's Eye 4 Commercial Blvd Novato, CA 94949 --- Audio tapes of Stephen Moore (the voice of Marvin, of course) reading the text of the first four Hitch Hiker books were available through EMI Records Ltd in the early 80's. They are double cassette sets, each about 2.5 hours, and abridged fairly sensibly. Published by Music For Pleasure Ltd. Hayes, Middlesex. U.K. The Hitch-hikers Guide To The Galaxy Cat. No: LFP 7088 The Restaurant At The End Of The Universe Cat. No: LFP 41 7115 5 Life, The Universe And Everything Cat. No: LFP 41 7174 5 So Long And Thanks For All The Fish Cat. No: LFP 41 7208 4 ------- The Time Warner Audiobook release of the Hitch Hiker's Guide, billed as an abridged book series but actually the radio series (without the Pink Floyd reference) in disguise, is now available. These versions appear to be exactly the same as the CD/cassette version available in the UK, apart from the packaging. These should be available at most of the bigger bookstores, or you can call T/W themselves for it. It's a full cast with sound effects and musical score you'll recognize from the original radio series/tv show (because it is the original radio series...), and quite a good time. But best of all... Peter Jones, as the book. Title: The Hitch Hiker's Guide to the Galaxy Author: Douglas Adams Price: US $25.00 (cass.), $65.00 (cd) CAN $33.00 (cass.), $85.00 (cd) UK 26 GBP (cass.), 40 GBP (cd) Publisher: TWAB, licensed from BBC Enterprises # cass/CDs: 4/6 Running Time: 6 hours ISBN: 1-57042-126-9 (cass) 1-57042-155-2 (cd) Phone#: 1-800-830-8088 ------- Dove Audio has 4-tape unabridged Hitch Hiker's Audio Books, read by Douglas Adams, available. The information is: The Hitchhiker's Guide to the Galaxy ISBN 1-5580-273-1 The Restaurant at the End of the Universe ISBN 1-5580-294-4 Life The Universe and Everything ISBN 1-5580-292-8 So Long and Thanks for all the Fish ISBN 1-5580-293-6 Mostly Harmless ISBN 1-5580-568-4 Last I heard, Dove Audio can be reached at: 301 North Canon Dr. Beverly Hills, CA 90210 ------- An album consisting of two 90 min audio cassettes of "Dirk Gently's holistic detective agency" is available. The information I could gather: Simon & Schuster Audio Division: Dirk Gently's Holistic Detective Agency; Read by the author Douglas Adams; Runing time 180 min; ISBN 0-671-64724-5 $14.95 Audio Works Simon & Schuster, Inc. Rockefeller Center 1230 Avenue of the Americas New York, N. Y. 10020 USA ------- Shockwave Distribution offers a 60 minute tape which includes an interview with DNA. Details from David E. Romm (Grand High Puba): "Reviews of Writing Software/Dave Romm Interviews: Douglas Adams" Broadcast 2/5/94, Side one features reviews of creative writing tools for the Macintosh, and a Roger Zelazny story about the computer he uses for writing. Broadcast 11/9/93, Side 2 features the creator of 'The Hitchhiker's Guide To The Galaxy' talking about his latest book, his Newton, time zones, and more. Availability: "First one's free" These are not for sale. However, Shockwave is a non-profit effort and all expenses for these tapes come out of my pocket. I will gladly give you one tape, if it's in person and I can just hand you one and watch your expression. After the first one, or any by mail, I ask for a donation of $5 to cover my expenses. Tapes: Unless you make other arrangements, all tapes are standard Type I, duplicated at 2x speed on my double cassette deck. Shockwave is the longest running science fiction radio program in Earth's history, now in its 15th year. Broadcast Saturdays at 6pm on KFAI, 90.3FM, Mpls-St. Paul MN. Produced by: David E Romm 3308 Stevens Ave. S Mpls, MN/ 55408 (612)-823-8708 e-mail 71443.1447@compuserve.com ------- The Audiobook Source, a World Wide Web bookstore, offers a selection of Douglas Adams Audiobooks at discount prices. Check out their site at: http://www.ambook.org/bookstore/audiobook Or contact Charles Cowley: absource@pipeline.com voice: (800) HEAR-IT-9 FAX: (914) 232-4678 I've talked to the fellow, he's a great guy who'll be glad to answer any questions you may have. ------- All five books of the trilogy are available as 'talking books', read by the author. Check your local bookstore. ---------------------------------------- 3.2 Albums In the autumn of 1979, a double record album was released, which was a slightly contracted version of the first four episodes of the radio series. These were new recordings of essentially the same scripts. Information on this album is as follows: Hannibal Records (US) 611 Broadway, Suite 415 New York, New York 10012 (The records were originally released in the UK by Original Records) distributed in Canada by A&M Records of Canada Ltd. 939 Warden Ave Scarborough, ONT. M1L 4C5 In the autumn of 1980, a second album was made, consisting of a rewritten and expanded version of radio episodes 5 and 6. This was called _The Restaurant at the End of the Universe_. The pertinent info is identical to the first album. ---------------------------------------- 3.4 Videos In the UK, a two-cassette Hitch Hiker's video was released in mid-1992, including all 6 TV episodes. These are the TV series episodes re-edited into two 90-minute volumes (for subsequent UK showings, most episodes were cut down to fit them into neat 30-min time slots --- so, for example, the scene in the Vogon airlock was lost.) In addition, some EXTRA pieces are included, which were filmed, but never included in the original TV screening. (For example, Ford and Arthur searching for Slartibartfast's signature on a glacier.) The video cassette also features Hi-Fi Stereo sound. The order numbers are BBCV4751 (Part 1, 96min) and BBCV4752 (Part 2, 98min). The videos are also now available more cheaply in a double pack, "The Complete Hitch-Hikers' Guide to the Galaxy" (BBCV5135). This is priced at 16.99, whereas the two tapes sold separately are 10.99 each. Also released on 1st March 1993 is the video ``The Making of HHGG'', This has been put together by Kevin Davies, lifelong HHGG fan, and a person who was very much involved with the TV series (see Neil Gaimen's book). This includes outtakes from the show, behind-the-scenes shots, clips from earlier productions which the cast had appeared in, as well as newly-recorded interviews. The whole thing is put together as a story of Arthur Dent going back to his house, and finding many strange things going on .... The order number is BBCV4895 (~60min), 12.99 GBP. In Australia, at least, the VHS videos of the TV series are distributed by PolyGram with catalogue numbers A videocassette of the BBC television adaptation of Hitch-Hiker's is available in the US from Fox Video. The address on the box is: FoxVideo Inc. P.O. Box 900 Beverly Hills, CA 90213 and it is item number 5799. --- A list of Hitch Hiker's videos you can order through videoexpress.com has recently been shown to me. I have no other information about the service, so let me know what you think. Telnet to videoexpress.com to place your orders, or just browse. This list is as follows: 44427 HITCHHIKER'S GUIDE TO THE GALAXY/T HITCHHIKER'S GUIDE TO THE GALAXY $60.00 LASER DISC 26448 HITCHHIKER/SIXTEEN MILLIMETER SHRIN TWILIGHT ZONE $11.60 TELEVISION 1/93 NR VHS 26437 HITCHHIKERS GUIDE TO THE GALAXY INCLUDES BOOK $31.54 SCIFI 3/93 NR VHS 26447 HITCHHIKERS GUIDE TO THE GALAXY/EP EP MODE/NO BOOK $17.79 SCIFI 3/93 NR VHS 26280 MAKING OF THE HITCHHIKERS GUIDE MAKING OF THE HITCHHIKERS GUIDE $13.69 SCIFI 10/93 NR VHS ---------------------------------------- 3.5 Laserdisc There is a laserdisc set of the Hitchhikers Guide in the US now. It comes packaged on 2 discs, and the video edition can also be purchased on 2 tapes. The laserdisc runs for 195 minutes, has credits at the beginning of each disc and at the end of the last disc, and is recorded in CLV format. Canonical catalog information is as follows: The Hitchhiker's Guide to the Galaxy CBS-FOX Video Catalog number 5799-80 4 sides CLV 195 minutes Color Stereo CX ---------------------------------------- 3.6 CD-ROM / Computer Versions The Canonical Address is: The Voyager Company 578 Broadway Suite 406 New York, NY 10012 1-800-446-2001 --- Last Chance to See "Douglas Adams and Mark Carwardine's book Last Chance to See is an account of the authors' travels to view endangered species. The CD ROM version is simply the text of the book, read aloud by Adams (also the author of The Hitchhiker's Guide to the Galaxy) and accompanied by a slide show of photos. Adams is an engaging speaker, making you laugh out loud as he describes difficult traveling conditions or the kakapo parrot's mating problems." "Last Chance to See" was originally a radio series, and the book was written subsequently from the series. Recent sources state that the series first ran in 89/90 on the BBC, and featured Douglas Adams and Mark Carwardine chatting, joking, and describing what is going on. Featuring Douglas Adams reading the voice, information on the animals by Mark Carwardine, and numerous photographs. Available for the Mac and Windows from the Voyager Company, and some software stores. ISBN - (For Mac & Windows) 1-55940-427-2 Catalog No. (through Voyager) (Ditto) LS56 --- The Complete Hitch Hiker's Guide to the Galaxy is also available through Voyager Expanded Books. It's about $25.00, and has a nice device with 'Don't Panic' on it in nice, friendly letters. ISBN: 7-15515-00184-7 System Requirements: 386SX or higher processor; 16 color/grayscale display; 4 MB RAM; Microsoft Windows 3.1; MS-DOS 5.0 or later. Books with audio annotations require an MPC-compatible audio device. ---------------------------------------- 3.7 The Illustrated Hitch Hiker's Guide Info-Blurb (taken from the Bertram's Buyers Notes for September, 1994) Title: THE ILLUSTRATED HITCH HIKER'S GUIDE TO THE GALAXY Author: Douglas Adams ISBN: 02978333936 Publisher: Weindenfeld and Nicolson Format: HB 96pp Price: GBP25.00 Pub Date: 22/09/94 The ultimate title for Hitch-Hiker fans. The book is crammed with gimmicks such as voice chips, double gatefolds, 3D effects and the sort of tricksy visual puns that one would expect. The book is illustrated throughout with graphics created using the latest state-of-the-art technology and is packaged in a shiny silver and "starfield" jacket that is so stunning that we couldn't possibly reproduce it. Now for the commentary: It doesn't have voice chips OR 3D effects. What it does have is an annoying puzzle created for the book and credited on the opposite of the title page to DNA, and no one knows what in blue blazes it is! Also, The reviews on this little item have been less than glowing. My opinion is it stands as a fine gift for the collector that must have every DNA item in existence. You should be able to find it discounted for around US21.00 at many US chain bookstores... ---------------------------------------- 3.8 The 10th Anniversary Radio Scripts The definitive information is: 10th Anniversary Original Hitch-Hiker Radio Scripts Harmony Books, New York Trade Paperback, First US Paperback Edition US $15.00 ISBN 0-517-88384-8 ---------------------------------------- 3.9 Voyager Books over the Web From a blurb posted in alt.fan.douglas-adams: The complete content of the first four books can be purchased for a total of five dollars. How? Over the web, in electronic form! The Hitchhiker's Trilogy has been a staple of Voyager's Expanded Books line, and can now be purchased and downloaded from our web site (http://www.voyagerco.com/). Using a new web technology called TRADES, you can now purchase digital content safely and efficiently over the web. No password. No account number. No "cybercash." No mailman. No paperwork. Just enter your credit card number, and follow the simple directions for downloading your own copy of these books! And since we don't have to pay for floppies, packaging, and distribution, we can afford to offer these titles for only 5 dollars! To find out more about TRADES, purchasing over the web, and Hitchhiker's, go to: http://www.voyagerco.com/TRADES/trades.html Expanded Books are books designed to be read on your computer. Douglas Adams is a big fan of them. Really! You don't believe us? We've got proof--just point your browser to: http://www.voyagerco.com/TRADES/what.html and hear Douglas discuss the wonders of the Expanded Book. Peter Merholz V O Y A G E R http://www.voyagerco.com/ ---------------------------------------- 3.10 DNA's New Company You may be interested to know that DA has set up with others a new CD-ROM company called "The Digital Village". They'll be doing educational stuff, and possibly, VERY possibly in the distant future, a CD-ROM version of the Guide. And maybe Dirk Gently too. As an interesting sidenote, here's what InterNIC thinks of tdv.com, the internet domain for The Digital Village: The Digital Village (TDV-DOM) 4 St Albans Place Islington London N1 0NX UK Domain Name: TDV.COM Administrative Contact, Technical Contact, Zone Contact: Adams, Douglas (DA142) postmaster@DADAMS..CO.UK +44-1-71 3450855 Record last updated on 01-Mar-95. Record created on 1-Mar-95. Domain servers in listed order: NS0.DEMON.CO.UK 158.152.1.65 NS2.DEMON.NET 192.68.174.95 NS1.DEMON.CO.UK 158.152.1.193 Neat. ---------------------------------------- 4 Explanations Not all of DNA's writing is easily grasped. This section includes explanations of some of the trickier sections. ---------------------------------------- 4.1 The Ending to "Dirk Gently's Holistic Detective Agency" In our reality, Coleridge claimed to have composed _Kubla Khan_ in its entirety in his sleep, and was in the process of writing it down when a local interrupted him. When Coleridge returned to his work, he found that he could not remember the rest of the poem. Hence, there never was a second part of the poem. Yet, at the end of Chapter 6 when The Director Of English Studies is reading _Kubla Khan_ the book states `The voice (that of the director of english studies) continues, reading the second, and altogether strange part of the poem.' In the book, _Kubla Khan_ has a second part. The book is not actually set in our existence. It is set in an existence in which the second part of _Kubla Khan_ exists. This second part of the poem tells the ghost about the existence of the time machine and how to travel back and stop the ship from exploding. As we well know the explosion of the ship is what caused life to begin on this miserable little planet of ours. When Dirk and Reg realised this they simply went forward in time to when Coleridge was writing the second part of _Kubla Khan_ and stopped him. Dirk just interrupted him and talked so much that Coleridge forgot what the second part was going to be about and therefore could not finish it! This change of history sent reality back into our perspective and the human race lived on (Yay, yippee!). Quite simple really. ---------------------------------------- 4.2 Young Zaphod Plays It Safe This thing has caused quite a lot of argument for a 10 page story. *grin* Anyways, you can find it in "The More Than Complete Hitch Hiker's Guide" from Wing Books (NJ), ISBN 0-517-69311-9. The big deal seems to be about the escaped robot, and his/her identity. So who/what exactly is this? Good question. The reference to the shining city on a hill is probably a reference to Matthew 5:14. Some people reckon they can see Ronald Reagan in the story. Some people also assume the "mystery person" in question is Jesus Christ. As YZPIS was originally published in the Comic Relief *Christmas* special book, it makes sense. ---------------------------------------- 4.3 Paul Neil Milne Johnstone (aka Paula Nancy Millstone Jennings) Paul is a real person, who wrote some appalling poetry. DNA used his name, but was forced to retract it for the books and later recordings of the radio series. Hence the original programmes have Paul Neil ... whereas the later works have Paula Nancy .... Either way the poetry still sucks. Check it out at http://www.umd.umich.edu/~nhughes/dna/docs/poetry.html ---------------------------------------- 4.4 The Incredible Disappearing 7th Episode It's a crock, actually. What happened is that the original 6 episodes were 35 minutes long in the original BBC run. When they came to the states, in the interests of American advertising they were edited and cut, giving birth to a legendary 7th episode. ---------------------------------------- 4.5 What the heck happened with Ford's name? Okay, this is the footnote from the original radio scripts, and clears up all this speculation and questioning of how it is everyone calls Ford by his Earth name, and not by his Betelgeusing (sp?) one. "Ford meeting Zaphod" Many people have asked me angrily why it is that Zaphod Beeblebrox instantly greets Ford _as_ Ford when I had stated quite clearly that he had only changed his name to Ford Prefect when he came to Earth It was very simple. Just before arriving he registered his new name officially at the Galactic Nomenclaturoid Office, where they had the technology to unpick his old name from the fabric of space/time and thread the new one in its place, so that to all intents and purposes his name had always been and would always be Ford Prefect. I included a footnote explaining this in the first Hitch-Hiker book, but it was cut because it was so dull [DNA] [Original Radio Series Scripts, p50] ---------------------------------------- 4.6 Why did Douglas do that Visions of Heaven and Hell program anyway? [Insert handy description of Heaven and Hell program here] Straight from DNA: I'm feeling slightly wrong-footed about VHH. I was asked by someone I know and like if I would do an interview on my own visions of the future of info-technology and I said OK. From what I've heard of the programs that my interview was made a part of (which I haven't actually seen) I feel a bit cross that I've been made to look as if I was endorsing a view and a style of putting it over that could not be further removed from my own view. Best, -------------------------------------------------- Douglas Adams [...] -------------------------------------------------- ---------------------------------------- 4.7 Marvin, the Pink Floyd, and Everything Why was Pink Floyd's music taken out of the radio series? Well, from the man himself: "That's a very good question, and quite an instructive answer (I think!). The BBC Clearing the Use of Seventies Rock Music in Comedy Science Fiction Stories Department tried to clear the use of this snatch of music. They didn't ask me about it and had no idea that I knew any of the band. In fact there's no reason why they should ask me P if I had every detail of every obscure copyright negotiation referred back to me it would be a full time job. The BBC department in question would have been dealing with PF's lawyers, and exactly the same applies. So we were all locked in a legal battle without any of the principals having the remotest idea. Another point is that I think that the actual piece was probably copyrighted at least in part to Roger Waters, whom I don't know at all. In fact, being a friend of Dave and Nick would probably have weighed against me in that case..." Anyway, to sum it up: Copyright Law. 'nuff said. ---------------------------------------- 4.8 Probable Solution to the Ill Guide Puzzle (This from Christ van Willegen) In an interview, published in 'Mostly Harmless' (The ZZ9 club magazine), DNA mentioned that he had made a puzzle that depicted 42 in 10 different ways. Here's the solution: There are 6 rowes of 7 spheres, making a grand total of 42. On the left is a white globe with a bar code on it. 4 lines have no thick line next to them, 2 do. Next, all 7 lines of the diagram can be read as: 0101010, which is 42 in binary, if: White, blue, green, 'light yellow' == 0 Red, purple, 'dark yellow', black == 1 Finally, if you take only the blue, green, purple, and black spheres, they spell '42' in quite big letters. Exactly 10 ways to solve the problem! ----- (From Douglas Adams, in his speech to Washington University): 42 spheres Bar Code = 42 Earth in bottom right corner [= "42"] spheres with red tint (orange, red, etc) = "1", spheres w/o red = "0" gets 0101010 lines = "42 in binary" spheres with blue tint gives a big "42" across the whole puzzle spheres with yellow tint gives a big "XLII" across the top of the page He didn't mention the "10" solutions, just that he fit in as many as were humane to include. ---------------------------------------- 5 Miscellaneous This section has stuff that didn't really fit anywhere else. ---------------------------------------- 5.1 Stuff The phrase "the long dark teatime of the soul" appears in Chapter 1 of "Life, The Universe and Everything". Wowbagger the Infinitely Prolonged is described as being eventually ground down by the Sunday afternoons, and "as you stare at the clock the hands will move relentlessly on to four o'clock, and you will enter the long dark teatime of the soul." Also, this explanation recently appeared in the group. Make of it what you wish: Where did the phrase "Long, Dark Tea-Time of the Soul" come from? DNA's mind, certainly, but there is a well-known mystical poem by Saint John of the Cross called "the Dark Night of the Soul" ("La noche oscura del alma", to be precise) and I always thought the title of the book was a great play on that. The poem describes how the soul feels lonesome, yearning for God (the Beloved, actually, as I recall from high school) and finally reaches him at dawn. All is well, ecstasy is shared (I don't mean pills) and, well, let's just say Spanish seventeenth-century mystical writing by Saint Theresa and Saint John (San Juan de la Cruz) is Spanish high-school students' introduction to highly erotic poetry. --- At the time the original radio series aired, the Islington telephone number belonged to friends of his who did not mind calls, but by 1989 they had moved. If you ring the number now, you will get some people who have nothing to do with Douglas Adams and who are sick of the whole bloody thing. Don't do it. --- Arthur plays Dire Straits' "Tunnel of Love" from their "Making Movies" album to Fenchurch, in "So Long, And Thanks For All The Fish". The Radio Scripts book has plenty of information on music used in the show. --- Hotblack and Desiato were Estate Agents in the Islington area. --- The More Than Complete Hitch Hiker's Guide printings seem to have a couple flaws in them. The first printing had a significant typo on the spine label, namely the books were named "The Hitch Hiker's Guide to the Universe" and "The Restraunt at the End of the Galaxy". A later edition is bound upside-down. --- Milliways is quite expensive. Had Zaphod deposited $0.01 in a bank on Ursa Minor Beta before visiting the Guide offices, and had he earned one ten-millionth percent interest annually over the five-hundred and seventy-six thousand million, three thousand five hundred and seventy- nine years that Marvin waited for him, he would have had $1.42 x 10^248 with which to pay his dinner bill. It seems that ``fabulous cost'' does not quite do justice to the expense of eating at the Restaurant at the End of the Universe. In fact, were Zaphod to withdraw all his money in bills of denomination $ 10^219, he would be able to, in principle, lay his money from one end of the observable universe (at that time) to the other. Were Zaphod to attempt to withdraw his money in bills of denomination $ 10^191, the bank would be unable to comply with his request, as the observable universe at that time would not contain the mass required to supply him with so many bills. --- The theme music to the radio series is a ditty called "Journey of the Sorceror", written by Bernie Leadon, originally performed by the Eagles. When Original Records re-recorded the show for the LP release, they used a new version arranged/performed by Tim Souster (presumably to avoid paying The Eagles wodges of cash). The TV series also used a Tim Souster arrangement, which was released as a 7" single by Original Records (backed with "Only the end of the World Again", a section of narration by The Book, and Max Quordlepleen warbling) --- It seems that the whole towel bit is taken from real life. Here's the scoop from DNA in an interview from 1987: 'I was vacationing with friends in Greece some years back. Every morning they'd have to sit around and wait for me because I couldn't find my blessed towel. It seemed to epitomise my disorganised state of being. I came to feel that someone really together, one who was well organised, would always know where his towel was. I thought of it as a Universal Truth.' --- In the UK you might be able to get a video of a Dr Who episode (written by DNA) called Shada. It was never completed, due to a strike at the BBC and has been released with a copy of the original script and Tom Bakers voiceovers to fill in the missing bits. This contains a number of plot elements which later turned up in Dirk Gently's HDA. A Professor Chronitis, a time machine which is an office in a university, a certain joke, etc. *Shada is no longer available from the BBS. You might still be able to *get the video from CBS/FOX in the US. The UK release (but not the US one) *included a copy of the script. DGHDA also contains plot elements from the DOCTOR WHO story "City of Death," which Douglas also wrote. That story is credited to "David Agnew," which is a pseudonym used on BBC programs where the writer's real name isn't used. The script was originally started by David Fisher, who couldn't finish it because of personal reasons. The story was available on video, but has recently (12/95) been deleted - you might still find copies lying about, however (BBCV4492, #10.99). --- In the TV series, the house that was used for Arthur's residence is in a town called Leatherhead in Surrey, near London. --- The opening scene of "The Meaning of Life" by Monty Python has the title "rock" changed from saying "Liff" to "Life" with a thunderbolt obscuring the bottom of the 'E'. (If you're confused, watch "The Meaning of Life". You should have seen it anyway.. *grin*) This has absolutely NO relation to DNA's "The Meaning of Liff". Just another one of those... hmm... meaningless coincidences. --- According to Douglas, the little green blobby planet thing (nickamed the "Cosmic Cutie") has been struck the final blow, and will not be featured on any of the new (American) HHG books. Here's what Adams had to say: "I HATE the little green blob and have spent years locked in arguments with my publishers with me trying to get rid of the obscene little thing. I've finally secured its demise with the new Ballantine editons of the soft cover backlist." Non-American readers are perhaps unaware of this book adornment, as it was only the American publishing houses that determined that without a consistent motif, all of us Yanks would become hopelessly confused by a series of books with different names. Ahh well. Farewell, green thing. --- Zaphod Beeblebrox is alive and well and living in Sydney, Australia. A consultation of the Sydney White Pages lists one Beeblebrox, Z. Stop in and seem him next time you're passing through, I'm sure he'd enjoy the company. --- From Chris Paulin (chrispa@aotahi.monz.govt.nz): Recently I described a new species of fish from Fiordland New Zealand and gave it the scientific name "Fiordichthys slartibartfasti", and a second new species from northern New Zealand as "Bidenichthys beeblebroxi" . -- So it seems DNA's genius will love on forever... as a fish. --- From a loyal fan: Did you know there are only two cafes in Rickmansworth? The one that existed when Adams wrote his book is the Cafe Suisse in Bury Lane. I should know, I live in Rickmansworth. --- The first every stage production of "Dirk Gently's Holistic Detective Agency" was performed at the Old Fire Station, Oxford (entitled DIRK) last summer (May 1995) and was a complete success. I enjoyed being involved with it, and DNA, his editor and associated persons said that they enjoyed watching it. --- Simon Jones was in the Terry Gilliam movie "12 Monkeys", which starred Bruce Willis. He played one of the maniacal scientists. ---------------------------------------- 5.2 Number Games (I.E. The 42 Thing) Yes, 6 times 9 equals 54. Yes, 6 times 9 equals 42 in base thirteen, and we don't want to know about the implications for the number of fingers on cavemen. The bit about monkeys was a reference to someone's comment that if you get an infinite number of monkeys at typewriters, eventually one will bash out a script to Hamlet. If you want to discuss probability, quantum physics or anything else that has nothing to do with Douglas Adams, bugger off to another group. DNA himself has said: The answer to this is very simple. It was a joke. It had to be a number, an ordinary, smallish number, and I chose that one. Binary representations, base thirteen, Tibetan monks are all complete nonsense. I sat at my desk, stared into the garden and thought `42 will do'. I typed it out. End of story. And if you STILL won't believe it, here's the answers that were in the books themselves. So consider yourself informed. Answer one: Well, of course it's...ehm...uh.. oh, I forgot. /Fenchurch. Answer two: I know, but nobody asked me. /Marvin Answer three: Six times 9 is forty-two. /Arthur. Answer four: How many roads must a man walk down? Forty-two. /Benji mouse. Answer five: The square root of minus one is forty-two. <Deducted from several facts about marvin> Answer six: Pick a number, any number /Marvin, to the Mattress Pick your favourite one, and shut up about it already! (As an aside, Lewis Carroll was also obsessed with the number 42.) ---------------------------------------- 5.3 Other Authors If you like Douglas Adams' writing, you might appreciate books by: -Neil Gaiman -Terry Pratchett -Tom Sharpe -P J O'Rourke -P G Wodehouse -Tom Holt -Grant Naylor -Dave Barry -Robert Sheckley -Iain Banks -Woody Allen -Robert Rankin -Fran Lebowitz -Robert Anton Wilson -Robert Shea -Daniel Manus Pinkwater (For kids) .. but I offer no guarantees. ---------------------------------------- 5.4 The Future Having just released "Mostly Harmless", Douglas Adams says he wants to do a TV series about the Universe and the stuff in it. He estimates this will run around 12 episodes in length. Plans are being bandied around for a ``Last Chance To See'' type book with the wildlife photographer Jody Boyman (married to Berke Breathed). DNA says ``it won't be happening for a while, though.'' ---------------------------------------- 5.5 Adams and Pink Floyd So what's the story with Adams and Pink Floyds newest album, The Division Bell? Well, as told by Douglas on a.f.d-a: #Dave Gilmour asked me to fiddle around some of the lyrics, which I did, #though I don't think he used any of my suggestions in the end. The only #suggestion of mine that I know was used was that the album should be called #'The Division Bell'. I didn't think up the title, of course, I merely #pointed out that the phrase was lying there in one of the song lyrics and #would make a great title. In fact, there's a story there. I had given a #talk at the Royal Geographical Society in aid of the Environmental #Investigation Agency's work on rhino conservation. Both Dave and Nick came #along and we all went out to dinner afterwards. Dave was a bit preoccupied #about the title problem - they had to have the title by the following #morning, and no one could decide what it should be. I said, OK, I'll give #you a title, but it'll cost you a #5,000 contribution to the EIA. Dave #said, Well, tell me what your title is and we'll see. So I suggested The #Division Bell. And Dave said, Hmmm, well seems to work. Sort of fits the #cover art as well. Yeah, OK. #So - it' called the Division Bell. On a related note, Dave's birthday present to DNA was an invitation to play one number with the band at Earl's Court in October 1994. That night's show will also be in aid of the EIA. ---------------------------------------- 5.6 Related Electronic Information I've attempted to start a DNA ftp site at my site, and if you want to take a look I'd love it. The address is ftp://ftp.umd.umich.edu/people/. You'll find pretty much everything I can think of to put there; whatever documents I have, sound files, pictures, etc. There's also a public upload area, so if you have something I don't, please feel free to donate! PGG (Project Galactic Guide for long) accepts entries on real-life subjects, as well as unreal-life subjects. A reader for the guide is available, as ftp://vela.acs.oakland.edu/pub/swbaker/. Don't forget binary mode, ftp outside of business hours and contact swbaker@vela.acs.oakland.edu if you have any questions. There is also a web site for PGG at http://www.willamette.edu/pgg. Check out the newsgroup alt.galactic-guide, where PGG is alleged to be happening. The person to contact is the Editor-In-Chief, Supreme-God-Over-All-Beings and Leader-of-The-Hack, Paul Clegg (cleggp@aix.rpi.edu). After long and protracted discussions on which format is best for this, a decision was reached and I wasn't interested enough to record it for posterity. Contact Paul for information. There is also a paper-based list, maintained by David Hodges. It is used to raise money for charity and has been approved by Douglas Adams. You can buy copies (for charity), it is very large, and would be tremendously illegal (and most would find it immoral) to put on the net. Contributions to this can be sent to alexmc@biccdc.co.uk (remember to say they're for David Hodges as this isn't his account). There is a bibliographic FAQ posted alt.fan.douglas-adams and news.answers. The title of the article carrying the FAQ is "alt.fan.douglas-adams Bibliographic FAQ". It was initially compiled by David Polak (ak515@cleveland.freenet.edu) and is maintained by Nathan Torkington (Nathan.Torkington@vuw.ac.nz). ---------------------------------------- 5.6.5 The Ultra-Complete Indexes Before asking questions like "I simply cannot find the place where Vroomfondel has his first appearance in the Guide, can someone help me?" in the newsgroup, please take a look at "The Ultra-Complete Index to the Hitch Hiker's Guide to the Galaxy" or, if your question refers to one of the Dirk Gently books, "The Ultra-Complete Index to Dirk Gently's Holistic Detective Agency" first. Both indices are posted semi-regularly (usually every two months) in this newsgroup and are available via anonymous ftp at vela.acs.oakland.edu (the PGG Mothership) in /pub/galactic-guide/fan. The latest release of the Index to the Guide is five, the latest Dirk Gently Index release is two. Write to the author, <mathias_maul@wi2.maus.de> for further information. ---------------------------------------- 5.7 The Movie Here's the latest and most true sounding story so far: DNA bought back the rights to the movie, which he had sold in the early eighties (to his regret), after the people that had bought the rights never got around to actually producing any film. DNA said they now had the backing to make the movie, which would ironically be far better now in the 90s because of the advancements in computer graphics. Latest word is that Michael Nesmith's movie company Pacific Arts is handling the project. It's also rumored that a movie script was completed, which has several different aspects to other versions of THHGTTG. The latest I've heard from Michael Nesmith, however, is that (and I quote): "We are on hiatus right now until DNA finishes a new Dirk Gently. The HHGG script needs a re write so we are waiting for that." Leif Rustvold (leif@agora.rain.com) has posted a list that Douglas apparantly gave him at a book signing when asked who he would like to play the different roles. Here it is: Arthur: Simon Jones Ford: Jeff Goldblum Slartibartfast: Sean Connery Zaphod: Michael Keaton Marvin: Stephen Moore Trillian: Amanda Donahoe ---------------------------------------- 5.8 Terran Pan Galactic Gargle Blaster Recipes This is a VERY abridged recipe of the original, which you can read at http://www.umd.umich.edu/~nhughes/dna/docs/pggb.html. I highly recommend you seek out the real thing, it's a much better read. 1) 1 oz. EverClear 2) 4 oz. Bombay Sapphire or Jeremiah Weed 3) 4 oz. Cold Wild Turkey 4) 2 oz. Herredura Tequila 5) 5 oz. Rum 6) 1 worm from bottle of Mezcal 7) 2 oz. Gatorade This makes one approximately 18 ounce Pan Galactic Gargle Blaster. The reason this drink seems so large is that Zaphod Beeblebrox has two heads, so when he created it, it came out to 9 ounces per head, so both were happy. --------------------------------------- 5.9 Differences Between the US and UK Editions of LtUaE You can find this (lengthy) discussion at my ftp site at ftp.umd.umich.edu in people/nhughes/hhg/diff.us.uk. I decided to take it out of the FAQ to conserve space (and bandwidth), but will put it back if I'm requested to. It's also available on the IHG at http://www.umd.umich.edu/~nhughes/dna/faqs/diff.html. Cheers! --------------------------------------- 5.10 Marvin, the Paranoid Rock Star Marvin was a (UK) pop-star. He not only had a number of singles released, but he even appeared on "Top of The Pops" (BBC's rather popular pop-music programme.) Entry from the Guinness "British Hit Singles" book (verbatim): ----------------------------------------------------------- MARVIN the PARANOID ANDROID UK, Robot 4 wks ----------------------------------------------------------- 16 May 81 MARVIN Polydor POSP 261 .......... 53 4 wks #There were two singles: 'Marvin' and 'Reasons to be Miserable'. The B-sides #were 'Metal Man' and 'Marvin I Love You'. The 'Reasons to be #Miserable'/'Marvin I Love You' single was actually a 'double B-Side'. #(Disclaimer: I think I've matched the flipsides to the right A-sides, but I #could be wrong!) As a point of interest, "Reasons tot be Miserable" was #almost certainly a parody of "Reasons to be Cheerful" by Ian Dury and the #Blockheads. I've no idea how easy it would be to get these on the Vinyl collectors market nowadays, very hard indeed I would presume. I've no idea whether or not the recordings are still available in some other format, but I somehow doubt it - sadly unless polydor & friends can be persuaded to release the copyright most hikerholics will never get to hear Marvin singing... *As a last resort, you might try locating some of the Marvin songs on *a Dr. Demento compilation. ---------------------------------------- 6 The Order of Everything 1978 : Fits 1-6 of the radio series were aired. : Fit 7 (The Christmas Episode) aired. 1979 : Pan Books releases "The Hitchhiker's Guide To The Galaxy" book in Britain (expanded Fits 1-4). : Double album released (contracted Fits 1-4). 1980 : Fits 8-12 of the radio series were aired. : Pan Books releases "Restaurant at the End of the Universe" in Britain (contracted Fits 7, 8, 9, 10, 11, 12, 5 and 6). : Harmony Books releases the first book in the United States. : Second record album recorded (expanded Fits 5 and 6). 1981 : Six television episodes aired by the BBC, based on Fits 1-6 (used revisions made in the books). 1982 : Harmony Books releases the second book in the United States. 1982 : "Life the Universe and Everything" released simultaneously in Britain and the United States. 1983 : "The Meaning of Liff" with John Lloyd released. 1984 : "So Long, And Thanks for All the Fish" released simultaneously in Britain and the United States. : "The Hitchhiker's Guide to the Galaxy" computer game released. 1985 : Harmony releases "The Original Hitchhiker's Radio Scripts'' in the US, and Pan Books releases the same book in the UK as "The Hitchhiker's Guide To The Galaxy: The Original Radio Scripts". 1987 : "Dirk Gently's Holistic Detective Agency" hard bound released. : "Bureaucracy" computer game released. 1988 : "The Long Dark Tea-Time of the Soul" hard bound released : "Don't Panic: The Official Hitch-Hiker's Guide to the Galaxy Companion" released by Neil Gaiman 1989 : "The More Than Complete Hitchhiker's Guide" published in the US by Wings Books in 1989. : "Easy Does It" published in MacUser (GB) 1990 : "Last Chance to See" released. 199? : "Last Chance to See" CD-ROM released. 1991 : "The Deeper Meaning of Liff" released with John Lloyd. : November, "Under-the-Desktop Publishing" published in MacUser 1992 : "Mostly Harmless" released. 1993 : "Don't Panic: Douglas Adams and the Hitch-Hiker's Guide to the Galaxy" by Neil Gaiman released. 1994 : "The Illustrated Hitch Hiker's Guide to the Galaxy" released 1995 : "The Original Radio Scripts" re-released. 1996 : "A Trilogy in Five Parts" released ---------------------------------------- 7. Book Information Here we'll put other information about the books, radio series, etc that didn't fit anywhere else, or was too specific for other sections. ---------------------------------------- 7.1 ISBN Numbers The ISBN Numbers of DNA's Works I've gathered so far are as follows: Hitch-Hiker Stuff -------------------- The Hitch-Hiker's Guide to the Galaxy - 0-330-25864-8 The Restaraunt at the End of the Universe - 0-330-26213-0 Life, the Universe, and Everything - 0-330-26738-8 So Long, and Thanks for All the Fish - 0-330-28700-1 Mostly Harmless - 0-434-00926-1 The Radio Scripts - 0-517-55950-1. Dirk Gently Books ----------------- Dirk Gently's Holistic Detective Agency - 0-671-62582-9 The Long Dark Teatime of the Soul - 0-671-62583-7 The Salmon of Doubt - Liff Books ---------- The Meaning of Liff - 0-330-28121-6 The Deeper Meaning of Liff - 0-330-32220-6 Other Stuff ----------- Last Chance to See - 0-345-37198-4 Feel free to send me any others that I don't have added. ---------------------------------------- 7.2 Translations DNA's works have been translated into many different languages. Here's some info on these other works. If you're not familiar with the languages, it still should be quite easy to figure out what's what. ;) Dutch ----- Title : Het Transgalactisch Liftershandboek ISBN : 90 261 0163 5 RRP : NLG 24.90 Title : Het Restaurant aan het Eind van het Heelal ISBN : 90 261 0168 6 RRP : NLG 24.90 Title : Het Leven, het Heelal en de Rest ISBN : 90 261 0174 0 RRP : NLG 24.90 Title : Tot ziens en bedankt voor de vis ISBN : 90 261 0208 9 RRP : NLG 24.90 Title : Grotendeels Ongevaarlijk ISBN : 90 261 0629 7 RRP : NLG 29.50 Title : Dirk Gently's Holistisch Detectivebureau ISBN : 90 261 0314 x RRP : NLG 24.90 Title : De Lange Donkere Theetijd van de Ziel ISBN : 90 261 0357 3 RRP : NLG 24.90 Title : Voor Het Te Laat Is ISBN : 90-261-0483-9 RRP : f39.50 German ------ Title : Das Leben, das Universum und der ganze Rest ISBN : 3-8077-0205-9 Verlag: Rogner & Bernhard Format: Oktav Title : Das Restaurant am Ende des Universums ISBN : 3-8077-0192-3 Verlag: Rogner & Bernhard Format: Oktav [Ed: Seems there are two editions of the following. 'Der elektrische Monch' looks to be the original, while 'Dirk Gently's holistische Detektei' seems to be the newest one.] Title : Der elektrische Mönch ISBN : 3-8077-02261 Verlag: Rogner & Bernhard Format: Oktav Title : Dirk Gently's holistische Detektei ISBN : 3-548-22231-5 Verlag: Ullstein Format: Oktav (12.5 x 20cm) Title : Der lange dunkle Fünfuhrtee der Seele ISBN : 3-8077-0230-X Verlag: Rogner & Bernhard Format: Oktav Title : Die letzten ihrer Art ISBN : 3-8077-0256-3 Verlag: Rogner & Bernhard Format: Oktav Title : Einmal Rupert und zurück ISBN : 3-455-00075-4 Verlag: Hoffmann und Campe Format: Oktav Title : Macht's gut und danke für den Fisch ISBN : 3-8077-0211-3 Verlag: Rogner & Bernhard Format: Oktav Title : Per Anhalter durch die Galaxis ISBN : 3-548-22491-? Verlag: Rogner & Bernhard Format: Oktav For all books the publisher is "Fontein", and the format is always 5" x 8" (12.5 x 20 cm) paperback. The RRPs are for late 1994/early 1995. Information courtesy of book shop "Het Verboden Rijk", Roosendaal, The Netherlands. The German edition of Don't Panic: Titel: Keine Panik Mit Douglas Adams durch die Galaxis Autor: Neil Gaiman Verlag: Ullstein,1990 Nr. 22272 ISBN: 3-548-22272-2 Seiten: 253 Preis: DM 19,80 (1990) Hebrew ------ Title : Madrikh ha-trempist la-galaksyah. [HHGG] (1985) Title : ha-Misadah shebe-sof ha-yekum. [RATEOTU] (1986) Title : ha-Hayim, ha-yekum ve-khol ha-shear. [LTUAE] (1986) Title : Heyu shalom ve-todah al ha-dagim. [SLATFATF] (1986) Title : Lo mazik be-rubo. [MH] (1993) Title : Sokhnut ha-bilush shel Dirk G'entli. [DGHDA] (1989) Title : Sheat ha-teh ha-arukah veha-afelah shel ha-nefesh. [TLDTTOTS] (1991) Finnish ------- Title : Linnunradan kasikirja liftareille (HHGTTG) Title : Maailmanlopun ravintola (RATEOTU) Title : Elama, maailmankaikkeus ja kaikki (LTUAE) Title : Terve, ja kiitos kaloista (SLATFATF) Title : Enimmakseen harmiton (MH) Title : Dirk Gentlyn holistinen etsivatoimisto (quite obvious!) Italian ------- Title : La Vita, l'Universo e tutto quanto (Classici Urania n.209, 1994) [LTUAE] Title : Addio, e grazie per tutto il pesce (Classici Urania n.217, 1995) [SLATFATF] Title : Praticamente Innocuo (Urania n.1209, 1993) [MH] #French #------ #Title: Le (Guide du) Routard Galactique (HHGTTG),=20 #PdF n=B0340 #ISBN : 2-207-50340-2 #Title: Le Dernier Restaurant Avant La Fin Du Monde (RATEOTU), #PdF n=B0351 #ISBN : 2-207-30351-9 #Title: La vie, l'Univers et le Reste (L,U&E) #PdF n=B0369 #ISBN : 2-207-30369-1 #Title: Salut, et Encore Merci Pour le Poisson (SLATFATF) #PdF n=B0547 #ISBN : 2-207-30549-X #Title: Globalement Inoffensive (Mostly Harmless) #PdF n=B0552 #ISBN : 2-207-30548-1 ---------------------------------------- 7.3 The Salmon of Doubt Well, he's done it again. I'll keep the below in for reference, for a while, but it sounds as if Douglas has dropped Dirk out of the next book (which was supposed to be another Dirk book). No word yet on any other plot issues, but it is also pretty apparent the new release date of November 1996 is probably correct. Douglas Adams has announced the next book is going to be a Dirk book, called A Salmon of Doubt (previously A Spoon Too Short). This used to have an apparent release date of sometime in October - it now sounds like you're going to have to wait until November 1996 for it (or the epoch.) The blurb goes something like this: "A gorgeous woman approaches Dirk Gently, holistic detective, and requests his help in finding the missing half of her beloved cat. He looks at her with the disdain he reserves for achingly beautiful women he knows will never go out with him. 'I don't do cats,' he sneers. Happily, he doesn't have time to regret his decision before untraceable deposits in Dirk's checking account indicate that someone has indeed hired him. But who? And for what? Acting on his principle that all things are interconnected, he tails the very next person who walks by his London apartment. "The following day, in Los Angeles, Dirk finds himself enmeshed in a case that will turn up the missing bit of cat, replenish his depleted finances, and answer the most important question of all: What is the salmon of doubt, anyway?" Pertinent Info is: The Salmon of Doubt Harmony ($23) ISBN: 0-517-57743-7 -or- ISBN: 0-09-178524-4 Hutchinson Education bibl.: 23cm.288. #14.99 (W) Fiction (Science Fiction) With luck, the movie scripts will be the next project for Adams... (see section 5.7 for more details.) ---------------------------------------- 8 ZZ9 Plural Z Alpha ZZ9 is the Hitch Hiker's Guide to the Galaxy Fan club. They offer a wide range of Hitch Hiker's merchandise, as well as publishing a pretty snazzy newsletter/magazine. Comes highly recommended. Last I heard, this was the person to contact for membership information: Noel Collyer (ZZ9 Membership secretary), 26 Northampton Road, Croydon, Surrey, CR0 7HA, Great Britain, --- Don't Panic! -- /(o\ Nathan D. Hughes \o)/ nhughes@umich.edu User Contributions:
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