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Douglas Adams at the BBC: A Celebration of the Author's Life and Work
Simon Jones, who played Arthur Dent in The Hitchhiker's Guide to the Galaxy, presents a look back at the life and work of a writer who has captivated the imagination of millions.
When Douglas Adams created The Hitchhiker's Guide to the Galaxy for BBC Radio 4, it was the genesis of a science fiction comedy legend. Yet his career at the BBC had begun in Light Entertainment, with contributions to The Burkiss Way, Week Ending, and other sketch shows of the time. He went on to script edit a series of Doctor Who, and to write a series of Hitchhiker and Dirk Gently books.
In programme, Simon Jones takes an A-Z look at Douglas Adams's career, taking in extracts from the many radio and TV programmes he contributed to. These include personal appearances on Wogan, Tomorrow's World, and Desert Island Discs, his own radio programmes such as Last Chance to See (about the search for endangered species) and The Hitchhiker's Guide to the Future (a look at impending technology), and even a 'lost' segment of The Hitchhiker's Guide to the Galaxy which Adams wrote specially for Radio 4's Steafel Plus in 1982. Also included are some of the many tributes paid to Adams following his untimely death in May 2001.
This is a fascinating and in-depth audio biography of a man whose brilliant work has inspired, enraptured, and entertained millions of people worldwide.
When Douglas Adams created The Hitchhiker's Guide to the Galaxy for BBC Radio 4, it was the genesis of a science fiction comedy legend. Yet his career at the BBC had begun in Light Entertainment, with contributions to The Burkiss Way, Week Ending, and other sketch shows of the time. He went on to script edit a series of Doctor Who, and to write a series of Hitchhiker and Dirk Gently books.
In programme, Simon Jones takes an A-Z look at Douglas Adams's career, taking in extracts from the many radio and TV programmes he contributed to. These include personal appearances on Wogan, Tomorrow's World, and Desert Island Discs, his own radio programmes such as Last Chance to See (about the search for endangered species) and The Hitchhiker's Guide to the Future (a look at impending technology), and even a 'lost' segment of The Hitchhiker's Guide to the Galaxy which Adams wrote specially for Radio 4's Steafel Plus in 1982. Also included are some of the many tributes paid to Adams following his untimely death in May 2001.
This is a fascinating and in-depth audio biography of a man whose brilliant work has inspired, enraptured, and entertained millions of people worldwide.
4 pages, Audiobook
First published September 6, 2004
2 people are currently reading
106 people want to read
About the author
Douglas Adams
120 books23.5k followersLibrarian Note: There is more than one author in the Goodreads database with this name.
Douglas Noel Adams was an English author, humourist, and screenwriter, best known for The Hitchhiker's Guide to the Galaxy (HHGTTG). Originally a 1978 BBC radio comedy, The Hitchhiker's Guide to the Galaxy developed into a "trilogy" of five books that sold more than 15 million copies in his lifetime. It was further developed into a television series, several stage plays, comics, a video game, and a 2005 feature film. Adams's contribution to UK radio is commemorated in The Radio Academy's Hall of Fame.
Adams also wrote Dirk Gently's Holistic Detective Agency (1987) and The Long Dark Tea-Time of the Soul (1988), and co-wrote The Meaning of Liff (1983), The Deeper Meaning of Liff (1990) and Last Chance to See (1990). He wrote two stories for the television series Doctor Who, co-wrote City of Death (1979), and served as script editor for its seventeenth season. He co-wrote the sketch "Patient Abuse" for the final episode of Monty Python's Flying Circus. A posthumous collection of his selected works, including the first publication of his final (unfinished) novel, was published as The Salmon of Doubt in 2002.
Adams was a self-proclaimed "radical atheist", an advocate for environmentalism and conservation, and a lover of fast cars, technological innovation, and the Apple Macintosh.
Douglas Noel Adams was an English author, humourist, and screenwriter, best known for The Hitchhiker's Guide to the Galaxy (HHGTTG). Originally a 1978 BBC radio comedy, The Hitchhiker's Guide to the Galaxy developed into a "trilogy" of five books that sold more than 15 million copies in his lifetime. It was further developed into a television series, several stage plays, comics, a video game, and a 2005 feature film. Adams's contribution to UK radio is commemorated in The Radio Academy's Hall of Fame.
Adams also wrote Dirk Gently's Holistic Detective Agency (1987) and The Long Dark Tea-Time of the Soul (1988), and co-wrote The Meaning of Liff (1983), The Deeper Meaning of Liff (1990) and Last Chance to See (1990). He wrote two stories for the television series Doctor Who, co-wrote City of Death (1979), and served as script editor for its seventeenth season. He co-wrote the sketch "Patient Abuse" for the final episode of Monty Python's Flying Circus. A posthumous collection of his selected works, including the first publication of his final (unfinished) novel, was published as The Salmon of Doubt in 2002.
Adams was a self-proclaimed "radical atheist", an advocate for environmentalism and conservation, and a lover of fast cars, technological innovation, and the Apple Macintosh.
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Displaying 1 - 9 of 9 reviews
April 7, 2020
I’m not sure that this should even count as a book. A collection of Douglas Adams and his work’s on BBC radio and television with Simon Jones holding everything together is a must listen to for any fan, and this contains some choice moments from his career.
August 26, 2022
A mixed collection of scraps and loose ends from various stages of Douglas Adams's career, with only a few glancing references to Hitchhiker's Guide. Die-hard fans such as myself will have probably already heard/seen/read most of this stuff, and the alphabetical structure is a little too quaint (G is for Graham Chapman!), but it's likely to whet the appetite of anyone who only knows the author through his most famous work and besides, it's never really a bad time to catch a few Adams repeats.
Simon Jones, who should already be familiar to galactic hitchhikers, turns in a perfectly adept job as the between-chapters emcee, giving the program an extra note of familiar authenticity and warm joviality. I'd have appreciated more deep cuts and less verbatim lifts from Douglas's Last Chance to See serials, which are excellent on their own but over-represented as a part of his career retrospective.
Simon Jones, who should already be familiar to galactic hitchhikers, turns in a perfectly adept job as the between-chapters emcee, giving the program an extra note of familiar authenticity and warm joviality. I'd have appreciated more deep cuts and less verbatim lifts from Douglas's Last Chance to See serials, which are excellent on their own but over-represented as a part of his career retrospective.
September 19, 2024
I mildly enjoyed this audiobook. It’s an A-Z compilation of Douglas Adams’s appearances on BBC radio and TV and a biography of his professional life. It is narrated by Simon Jones (the voice of Arthur Dent in The Hitchhiker’s Guide to the Galaxy). The bits I found most interesting were the clips from The Hitchhiker’s Guide to the Future, a radio series about the future of technology that was broadcast in 2000, the year before Adams died.
March 31, 2021
journey back the nostalgia line; for fans of the author & entertainer
March 16, 2022
Great to actually hear Douglas Adams talking about his work, interests, ideas…
January 2, 2023
Douglas Adams was a pretty great person it sounds like, too bad he's not around.
February 7, 2017
I listened to this book via Audible.
I'm not sure what I was expecting this to be, but I don't think I considered how emotional it might make me before I started through it. Douglas Adams at the BBC is an excellent look at many of the things DNA created in his short time with us, from the the famous Hitchhiker's Guide to the Galaxy to his conservation work with endangered species and everything in between. Hearing him speak and others speak of him was a joy but a sad reminder of how long we've been without his influence.
If you are interested in learning more about Douglas Adams, or are already a fan and just want to revisit the many things he accomplished and shared with us, I would certainly recommend you give this a go. It's a worthy tribute to the author of some of my favorite books who still makes me laugh and imagine to this day.
I'm not sure what I was expecting this to be, but I don't think I considered how emotional it might make me before I started through it. Douglas Adams at the BBC is an excellent look at many of the things DNA created in his short time with us, from the the famous Hitchhiker's Guide to the Galaxy to his conservation work with endangered species and everything in between. Hearing him speak and others speak of him was a joy but a sad reminder of how long we've been without his influence.
If you are interested in learning more about Douglas Adams, or are already a fan and just want to revisit the many things he accomplished and shared with us, I would certainly recommend you give this a go. It's a worthy tribute to the author of some of my favorite books who still makes me laugh and imagine to this day.
August 24, 2015
Seems strange to call this a book because it "reads" like a radio program. I really liked this one. I liked learning things about Adams that I didn't know. I liked listening to him during interviews. I enjoyed listening to his friends and co-workers talk about this amazing guy. Definitely worth a listen to if you're a fan of HHGG. Or Doctor Who. Or zoology, or computers, space. Really, this is good for anyone in my tribe. It's a quick listen.
November 26, 2012
Very interesting 3 hour radio show about the life and times of Douglas Adams. Sound clips from his shows and his favorites.
Displaying 1 - 9 of 9 reviews