British Comedy Guide
The cast of the radio series. Copyright: BBC / Above The Title Productions
The Hitchhiker's Guide To The Galaxy

The Hitchhiker's Guide To The Galaxy

  • Radio sitcom
  • BBC Radio 4
  • 1978 - 2018
  • 32 episodes (6 series)

A science fiction radio comedy series written by Douglas Adams that started off the H2G2 multi-media franchise phenomenon. Stars Simon Jones, Geoffrey McGivern, Peter Jones, William Franklyn, John Lloyd and more.

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The Primary Phase, Episode 5 - Fit The Fifth

Sent to find the Ultimate Question to Life, the Universe and Everything, Arthur Dent and his companions have been cornered by two humane cops who, nevertheless, have left them in a certain-death situation.

Further details

Arthur, Ford, Zaphod and Trillian discover that the explosion caused them to travel forward through time. They are at Milliways: The Restaurant at the End of the Universe. Here, they wine and dine whilst all of creation is destroyed around them.

Zaphod then gets a telephone call from Marvin, who has been waiting for his return for several billion years. Everyone meets up in the car park, and they steal a space ship which is totally black.

As everything in the ship is black, they cannot control it. During the voyage, Marvin claims that he is able to tell what the Ultimate Question is by reading Arthur's brain wave patterns. However, they are distracted when they discover that they are going backwards through time, at which point they discover that the ship they stole is at the head of an intergalactic battle fleet.

Broadcast details

Date
Wednesday 5th April 1978
Time
10:30pm
Channel
BBC Radio 4
Length
30 minutes

Cast & crew

Cast
Simon Jones Arthur Dent
Geoffrey McGivern Ford Prefect
Peter Jones The Book
Mark Wing-Davey Zaphod Beeblebrox
Stephen Moore Marvin
Susan Sheridan Trillian
Guest cast
Anthony Sharp Garkbit
Anthony Sharp Zarquon
Roy Hudd Max Quordlepleen
Writing team
Douglas Adams Writer
John Lloyd Writer

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