Douglas Adams, the Universe, and Cricket

Cambridge, England

 

While the set pieces of the first two novels in Douglas Adams' Hitchhiker's Guide to the Galaxy series were familiar to me from their TV and movie adaptations, the rest of the series represented a fresh step forward. Nevertheless, as I read, aspects of the novels occasionally evoked a Deja Vu feeling. This suggests that even if my conscious mind didn't remember the stories, those decades-old reading experiences had found a foothold in the subconscious regions of my brain.

The third novel, Life, the Universe, and Everything, reunites Ford and Arthur with a friend called Slartibartfast. The trio leave prehistoric Earth, and travel forward in time to Earth shortly before the Vogons arrive to demolish the Earth to make way for a hyperspace bypass. There, at Lord's Cricket Ground in London, a group of robots from the planet Krikkit arrive in a spaceship during a test match and start attacking everyone. 

I immediately recognized the premise of this third novel, having heard how Douglas Adams originally pitched it to the Doctor Who TV series. When the producer vetoed his idea, Adams offered up the story of "Shada" instead, which was what they filmed. Or should I say, tried to film, until labor union strikes prevented the story from being completed. Nonetheless, I've watched "Shada" many times over the years, as various attempts have been made to complete the story, and craft all the filmed sequences into a coherent story. In fact, "Shada" was one of the primary reasons I wanted to visit Cambridge, as the location filming took place there.

Cambridge, England

 

Douglas Adams' novels are always big on ideas. At the heart of this third Hitchhiker novel is the premise of the planet Krikkit. It is a planet blockaded by time from the rest of the universe. While life passes at a normal pace for its inhabitants, it passes at a completely different rate for everyone else. This idea was later used by Robert Charles Wilson in his Hugo award-winning novel Spin. I don't know if Wilson got the idea from Adams' story, but he certainly wrote a beautifully compelling novel, different from the Hitchhiker books in every conceivable way. 

I met Robert Charles Wilson once, before he published Spin. Even though I arrived late to the convention, and missed his signing, he graciously stopped what he was doing to sit down with me, sign his books, and answer a few questions. Years later, when talking with a friend about Spin, she asked if she could borrow my copy. She loved it so much she asked if she could loan it to her friends. While I never got the novel back, I'm glad I was able to introduce others to such a special novel.

I wish I could have met Douglas Adams. Apart, that is, than through his stories.

 

Cambridge, England

 

I don't know if Douglas Adams, who worked as Script Editor for Doctor Who, was as mad about Cricket as Anthony Ainley, the actor who later played the Doctor's chief nemesis of the Master. It's a game I've seen played many times on British TV programs, and generally portrayed as one that some Brits have a real passion for. I wish I understood the rules of the game. I liked Adams' idea that every planet in the universe has some variation on the game, and that all of them derive from the planet Krikkit.

I wonder if, in whatever portion of the multiverse the souls of Doctor Who alum end up, if Douglas Adams and Anthony Ainley aren't playing a game of Cricket right now, either with or without robots.

Dragon Dave

Douglas Adams at the End of the Universe

Cambridge, UK

 

In Douglas Adams' second novel in the Hitchhiker's Guide to the Galaxy series, The Restaurant at the End of the Universe, the crew of the spaceship Heart Of Gold travel to the famous restaurant. Here Adams' scientific imaginings run riot, as diners at the restaurant watch the final, dying gasps of the universe. After each meal, the restaurant is maneuvered through time and space to allow the next group of diners to experience the end of everything all over again. Arthur Dent, Ford Prefect, Trillian and Zaphod also meet the Norse god Thor there. It seems even the gods frequent this restaurant.

Afterward, Arthur and Ford end up on another spaceship crewed by people who love bureaucracy so much that they never actually accomplish anything. Along with the crew of the ship, who are constantly organizing committee meetings, Arthur and Ford land on Earth amid the prehistory of Man. There, no one aside from Arthur and Ford possess survival skills. But there are Hominids, and Arthur learns to communicate with them.

Sadly for dinosaur fans, but fortunately for Arthur and Ford, all the dinosaurs have been wiped out. I know, bummer, right? Who wouldn't like seeing Arthur and Ford being chased by dinosaurs?

 

Kings College, Cambridge, UK

 

It's an intriguing way to end the novel, with Arthur returned to Earth, and being in no danger of living to see the Vogons demolish Earth to make way for an interstellar bypass. Considered together, the two books also suggest a fear of abandonment, or getting stuck somewhere you don't belong. In the first novel, The Hitchhiker's Guide to the Galaxy, Ford had gotten stuck on Earth for years until the Vogons arrived, and someone aboard ship kindly allowed him to hitch a ride. Now The Restaurant at the End of the Universe finishes with both trapped on prehistoric Earth, again with little hope of rescue. 

I guess that's one of the dangers of hitchhiking: getting stuck somewhere, and waiting a long time until you can get a ride somewhere else. You can certainly feel for Ford here. When he got stuck on 20th Century Earth, at least he had plenty to do to occupy his time. What's he going to do this time on prehistoric Earth?

To me, these two books feel like the halves of a complete story. Indeed, while the six-part BBC adaptation diverged greatly from these two books, this is where the miniseries ended.

Cambridge, UK

 

As I read these novels, I was reminded that Douglas Adams studied in Cambridge, and graduated from this prestigious university town. While Ford cannot call Earth his home planet, he continually reminisces throughout the series about arguing some topic with a group of British students or college professors. When I visited Cambridge a few years ago, I didn't attend any university parties, or join in a scientific discussion in a pub. Still, it was easy to imagine Adams doing that.

I wonder if there wasn't a lot of Ford Prefect in Douglas Adams.

Dragon Dave

 

Douglas Adams: The Hitchhiker's Guide to Cambridge

 

Life along the River Cam in Cambridge, England

 

I wonder if anyone on Earth hasn't heard of The Hitchhiker's Guide to the Galaxy? While I've never listened to the original radio series, I've read Douglas Adams' novel--and watched the TV and movie adaptations--several times. I discovered this novel in my teens, and thought it was the coolest thing ever. As a member of the Science Fiction Book Club, I ordered each successive novel as soon as it was offered. Adams' story about Arthur Dent being whisked off Earth just before it's destruction with the help of his friend Ford Prefect, an interstellar hitchhiker and guidebook contributor--is indelibly inscribed upon my brain. 

For years, I've yearned to read the entire series again. Inevitably, I'd start with the best of intentions. Yet each time I read the first novel, other books forced their way into my hands, and I read no farther. This seemed strange as I remembered loving the novels so much. 

I might even go so far as to label the situation a paradox.

 

A busy street in Cambridge, England

This year, I vowed things would be different. To accomplish this, I broke my rule of never following one novel with another by the same author, and read each installment without allowing any other books to push their way into my hands. As a result, my memories of each individual novel may be a bit muddled, but I finished the Hitchhiker journey, and can now look back on the entire series as a whole.

The first novel, The Hitchhiker's Guide to the Galaxy, introduces us to Arthur Dent and Ford Prefect, a Humanoid who can pass for an Earthling. It also introduces us to Trillian. Arthur once met at a party, and liked her, but she left Earth with Zaphod Beeblebrox in his spaceship. After the destruction of Earth, all four end up on a stolen spaceship named the Heart Of Gold, along with a morose robot named Marvin. The first novel ends rather abruptly, and leads directly into the second. 

 

The Blogger in Cambridge, England

 

After reading the novel, it was interesting to reflect on the scenes and characters the filmmaker's included in their big screen adaptation, and how much of Adams' novel they changed to make their more cinematic.

Aside from its more spectacular elements, I wonder if Adams was decrying the notion of destroying the old simply to build something new. Key events early in the novel, which prompt Arthur and Ford to begin their journey, include the destruction of Arthur's home to build a highway bypass, and the destruction of Earth to build a hyperspace bypass. 

 

St. John's, Adams' college in Cambridge, England

Before writing this novel, Adams backpacked across Europe. Did he see modernization trends that disturbed him, and prompted him to write a novel about the need for preservation? If so, his time in the university town of Cambridge would have taught him to appreciate historic places.

Dragon Dave