Douglas Adams - So Long and Thanks...

By: James T. Voelpel & Arnold T. Blumberg
Date: Friday, June 08, 2001

'There are of course many problems connected with life, of which some of the most popular are 'Why are people born?' 'Why do they die?' 'Why do they spend so much of the intervening time wearing digital watches?''

This was only one of the many biting philosophical questions asked by Douglas Noel Adams, who died suddenly following a heart attack on May 11, 2001. Adams, known for his legendary HITCHHIKER'S GUIDE TO THE GALAXY in all of its various forms, was one of the most gifted humorists of our time. His writings helped shape our view of the universe by commenting on its irony, stupidity and hypocrisy. While masters like Asimov and Clarke prophesized about our future through more serious discourse, Adams showed us that the universe could also have a sense of humor. Even his description of the size of space was intelligent, funny and to the point: 'Space is bigreally bigyou just won't believe how vastly, hugely mind-bogglingly big it is. You may think it's a long way down the road to the chemist, but that's just peanuts to space.' This was how he wrote, how he looked at our universe, and how he made us look at it in turn.

A HITCHHIKER IS BORN AND DIES

Douglas Adams was born in Cambridge on March 11, 1952. His early career brought him briefly into collaboration with the Monty Python troupe, leading some biographers to inaccurately claim he was a more substantial part of that historic series. He also served as a Script Editor for the 17th series of DOCTOR WHO in 1979-1980 and wrote eight episodes (composing the stories 'The Pirate Planet' and 'City of Death'), four under the pseudonym David Agnew.
He was the creator of all versions of THE HITCHHIKER'S GUIDE TO THE GALAXY, which started life as a BBC Radio series in 1978. When asked how he came up with the idea, in typical Adams' style he quipped, 'The story goes that I first had the idea for THE HITCHHIKER'S GUIDE TO THE GALAXY while lying drunk in a field in Innsbruck...or Spain, as the BBC TV publicity department authoritatively has it, probably because it's easier to spell.'

Following a successful run on radio, the bizarre sci-fi comedy series was transformed into a series of novels, a TV series, a record album, a computer game and several stage adaptations. It is currently under development as a major motion picture with Disney (yikes!). THE HITCHHIKER'S GUIDE TO THE GALAXY's success sent the book straight to #1 on the UK Bestseller List and in 1984 Adams became the youngest author to be awarded a Golden Pan. He followed the guide with other books in the series: THE RESTAURANT AT THE END OF THE UNIVERSE (1980); (1982); SO LONG AND THANKS FOR ALL THE FISH (1984); and MOSTLY HARMLESS (1992).

The first two books in the HITCHHIKER'S series were adapted into the cult TV series (soon to be released on DVD), which was an immediate success when first aired in 1982. Other Adams' scribblings include DIRK GENTLY'S HOLISTIC DETECTIVE AGENCY (1987) and its sequel, THE LONG DARK TEA-TIME OF THE SOUL (1988). In 1984, Douglas teamed up with John Lloyd and wrote THE MEANING OF LIFF and THE DEEPER MEANING OF LIFF (1990). He has sold over 15 million books in the UK, the US and Australia. He is also a best seller in German, Swedish and many other languages.

Douglas moved to California in 1997 and was the founder-director and 'Chief Fantasist' of The Digital Village, a digital media and Internet company. The company's most famous creation was the 1998 CD-ROM STARSHIP TITANIC, a Codie Award-winning (1999) and BAFTA-nominated (1998) adventure game. He also started the online guide H2G2 (now part of BBC online), which mimics the original HITCHHIKER'S GUIDE. He was working on a new novel at the time of his death. Adams married Jane Belson in 1991 and had a daughter, Polly, in 1994.

BRING YOUR TOWEL: THE HITCHHIKER'S SERIES IN BRIEF

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

THE HITCHHIKER'S GUIDE TO THE GALAXY series followed Arthur Dent, the every-Englishman, and his travels through time and space. Arthur's life is turned upside-down when he is taken from his planet just as it is demolished to make way for a new

hyperspace bypass by a Vogon constructor fleet. Along his travels, he learns many things: his best friend Ford Prefect is actually from Betelgeuse; the Earth was manufactured as a giant supercomputer to find out the ultimate question of life, the universe and everything (the answer, of course, is 42); and no matter where you go in time and space you can't get a decent cup of tea. THE RESTAURANT AT THE END OF THE UNIVERSE continued the adventures of Arthur, Ford, their companions Zaphod Beeblebrox (the two-headed former Galactic President and...well, Zaphod's just zis guy you know?), Trillian (formerly Tricia McMillan) and Marvin the Paranoid Android (who has a pain in all the diodes down his left side) as they go for a bite to eat at Milliways. Oddly enough, they wind up trapped on prehistoric Earth with the ancestors of the human race. LIFE, THE UNIVERSE AND EVERYTHING took the series into slightly darker territory as the gang faces the invasion of the Krikkitmen. In addition, a vengeful being that Arthur has not even met yet tries desperately to revenge himself on the hapless Englishman for crimes Arthur has yet to commit.

After three books filled with adventure, excitement, and really wild things, Adams did something even more bizarre and unexpected: he gave Arthur a girlfriend. Fenchurch, the girl whose feet don't touch the ground, came into Arthur's life in SO LONG AND THANKS FOR ALL THE FISH, the fourth book in the trilogy (yes, we know). This romantic installment also revealed that although the mice were the guiding force on the original super-computer Earth destroyed in the first book, the dolphins were also fairly bright, and arranged for the construction of a replacement Earth to save humanity and pay them back for all those fish. Arthur returns home, falls in love, and eventually journeys with some old friends to read God's Final Message To His Creation, the content of which should be strangely reassuring. A short story entitled 'Young Zaphod Plays it Safe' turned up in a 1986 omnibus collection.

Unfortunately for some fans, Adams didn't quit while he was ahead and in what would become, sadly, the final HITCHHIKER'S novel, MOSTLY HARMLESS ripped Fenchurch out of Arthur's life, brought the hero face-to-face with his estranged daughter, resolved a dangling plot thread involving the vengeful being from the third book, and destroyed the Earth...again. Even if the conclusion of the saga was disappointing, however, the series as a whole was groundbreaking and unforgettable. Adams used all mediums to bring the message of the Guide to a worldwide audience (whose cover, don't forget, featured the words 'Don't Panic' in large friendly letters). The radio, TV and book incarnations all of which were at times wildly different from one another made statements about politics, religion, the environment, greed and every person's place in the cosmos.

A GOOD CUP OF REALLY HOT TEA

'Anyone who is capable of getting themselves made President should on no account be allowed to do the job.' 

In 1987, Adams published his follow-up to the HITCHHIKER'S series with DIRK GENTLY'S HOLISTIC DETECTIVE AGENCY and its 1988 sequel, LONG DARK TEA-TIME OF THE SOUL. Borrowing heavily from his work on DOCTOR WHO (and incorporating many plot elements from 'The City of Death'), Adams introduced us to Dirk Gently, a P.I. who is more interested in telekinesis, quantum mechanics and lunch than fiddling around with fingerprint powder. His investigations thus tend to produce startling and unexpected results. A simple search for a missing cat uncovers a bewildered ghost, a secret time-traveler, and the devastating secret that lies behind the whole of human history.

Dirk continued his investigations in the sequel, where he doesn't have to figure out what caused an act of God, but rather...which God was it? The short-lived series, while not as popular as HITCHHIKER'S, once again showcased Adams' distinctive voice. Dirk's exploits feature more down-to-earth statements on society, religion and Coke machines. The books also include Adams' rather original approach to describing the simplest of events: 'Dennis Hutch had stepped up into the top seat when its founder had died of a lethal overdose of brick wall, taken while under the influence of a Ferrari and a bottle of tequila.'  

MEANINGS AND LAST CHANCES

THE MEANING OF LIFF (1984) and THE DEEPER MEANING OF LIFF (1990), co-written with John Lloyd, were Adams' dictionaries for our society, with all new words to describe the indescribable, such as: 'GLENWHILLY (n. Scots) A small tartan pouch worn beneath the kilt during the thistle-harvest,' or 'FRADDAM (n.)  The small awkward-shaped piece of cheese which remains after grating a large regular-shaped piece of cheese and enables you to cut your fingers.'

Through his new media company The Digital Village, Adams also leapt into the digital world. H2G2 was an online guide much like Ford Prefect's galactic text. Anyone can deposit information into this electronic guidebook to the human race, from how to make the perfect Martini to where to eat in Cleveland. It can still be found at www.h2g2.com.

STARSHIP TITANIC was a computer game that hearkened back to Adams' Infocom HITCHHIKER'S GUIDE TO THE GALAXY text adventure game (one of the best text computer games in the history of that genre). STARSHIP TITANIC had a distinctive Adams flavor, long on intelligent humor and short on logic. Beyond his entertainment projects for home computers and the web, he believed that the Internet was one of [IMG4R]humanity's greatest tools and he worked to inform people about how empowering it could be through lectures or net casts. 

One of Douglas's favorite books was written in 1990 when he teamed up with zoologist Mark Carwardine. LAST CHANCE TO SEE was a real-life account of a worldwide search for rare and endangered species. Adams was an out-spoken champion of many wildlife groups, including Diane Fossey's Gorilla Fund and Save the Rhinos. Abandoning much of his unbridled humor for this volume, he brought the plight of these animals to many readers who were more familiar with his fanciful work.

Douglas Adams was a rare talent who mixed raw intelligence with relentless, biting humor. Many fans first drawn to this singular humorist through the HITCHHIKER'S GUIDE series continue to revisit his books every year, at times with ritualistic fervor. To his legions of readers, Adams' work remains as meaningful and hysterically funny today as it was when it was first released. We hope many of you tipped back some Pan-Galactic Gargleblasters or a couple of pints in a toast to Adams and a career that was cut far too short.

Perhaps Adams is sitting right now at Milliways, watching the end of the universe, debating the cost of custom-built planets with Slartibartfast. Maybe he's on the Heart of Gold helping Marvin finally replace the diodes on his left side (nah, probably not). But wherever Adams is now, make sure that wherever you are, you have that Babel fish in your ear, a towel handy, and of course, a copy of that indispensable publication, THE HITCHHIKER'S GUIDE TO THE GALAXY.

And whatever you do, Don't Panic.