Douglas Adams

THE HITCHHIKER'S GUIDE

TO THE GALAXY
 ABOUT THE
AUTHOR
• Douglas Adams was an English author and screenwriter

* 11 March 1952 (Cambridge, England)

† 11 May 2001, aged 49 (Montecito, California, US)

• best known for The Hitchhiker's Guide to the Galaxy

• other notable works: Dirk Gently's Holistic Detective
Agency, The Long Dark Tea-Time of the Soul, The
Salmon of Doubt
 ABOUT THE
AUTHOR
• self-proclaimed "radical atheist", a lover of fast cars, technological innovation
and the Apple Macintosh
• died of a heart attack after resting from his regular workout at a private gym
 ABOUT THE BOOK
• a comedy science fiction novel
• the first book in The Hitchhiker's Guide to the Galaxy "trilogy of
five books"
• an adaptation of Adams's radio series
• first published in London in 1979
• the 5-book series sold around 15 million copies
• translated into more than 30 languages
 • Slartibartfast - from the planet Magrathea, a planet architect
CHARACTERS
• Marvin - a depressed robot

• Zaphod Beeblebrox - • Tricia McMillan (Trillian) -

two-headed cousin of Earthling from England,
Ford Prefect, cunning "beautiful, charming,
and eccentric President devastatingly intelligent"
of the Galaxy

• Ford Prefect - from the planet Betelgeuse, brave and • Arthur Dent - Earthling from England, wears a
adventurous hitchhiker through the galaxy and dressing gown the whole time, "never quite at ease
contributor to "The Hitchhiker's Guide to the Galaxy" with himself"
 PLOT
• demolition of Arthur’s house
• Ford Prefect - Betelgeuse, The Hitchhiker's
Guide to the Galaxy, DON’T PANIC
• useful towel
• Earth is wiped out to make way for a new
intergalactic motorway
• Arthur and Ford saved by Zaphod, Trillian
and Marvin on-board Zaphod's stolen
spaceship "Heart of Gold" enabled with
infinite improbability drive
 PLOT
• they travel to the newly constructed Earth II, where they find out the Answer to
the Ultimate Question of Life, the Universe, and Everything
• Slartibartfast reveals the truth about the original Earth
 FILM & TV
ADAPTATIONS
• TV mini-series
• broadcasted in 1981 on UK television
station BBC Two
• 1 series, 6 episodes

• 2005 science fiction comedy

• dedicated to Adams
• grossed over $100 million worldwide
 GLOSSAR
Y
Term Translation Definition
bureaucratic byrokratický involving long, difficult and often unnecessary dealings with officials
celestial nebeský/nadpozemský of or from the sky; outside this world
extraordinary výnimočný/ very unusual; remarkable
mimoriadny
hitchhiker stopár someone who travels by getting free rides in someone else's vehicle
intertwine prepletať twist or twine together
oblivious nevšímavý not aware of or not concerned about what is happening around one
orbit obežná dráha the path that one object in space takes around another one
ploy ťah/trik something that is done or said in order to get an advantage, often dishonestly
seize chytiť/uchopiť take hold of quickly
vaguely nejasne/matne in a way that is uncertain, indefinite or unclear; roughly
 INTERESTING FACTS
“I love deadlines. I like
the whooshing noise they
• while hitchhiking around Europe with a Hitch-
make as they go by.”
hiker's Guide to Europe book, Adams thought it
would be a good idea to write a hitchhiker's guide
to the galaxy
• he struggled with deadlines
• the spelling of the word "hitchhiker"
• almost every medium: radio series, novel, TV
series, computer game, film...
• Towel day celebrated on 25 May
 MY OPINION
• a lot of plot twists
• humorously presented opinions with which I agree
• a wonderful world full of strange creatures PRO
S
• all kinds of spaceships, devices and gadgets

• more focused on the story than the characters CONS

THANK YOU FOR YOUR
ATTENTION