I read an intriguing theory about 42 once. Apparently, in ASCII language, 42 is an asterisk. In computing the asterisk is used as a "Wildcard", or anything at all. So the idea of 42 being the answer is that it is, in effect.....Whatever you want it to be!
I've always considered The Joker (the Bat-villain, not just the playing card!) the same way. "Multiple choice past" and all that. Also, this year, I turn 42. Nice, huh?
It's basically the reverse of the deus ex machina. While simultaneously being a machine that fits all your plot needs. So I guess it's a machine without the god inside. I guess you could call it a plot elevator? XD
The fact that the Vogons pretty much echo Prosser shows exactly how very "like us" they are. Prosser has no sympathy for Arthur as "[he] had plenty of time to make a formal complaint" because the plans had been _on display_ in the bottom of a locked filing cabinet stuck in a disused lavatory (in an unlit and inaccessible basement) with a sign on the door saying "Beware of the Leopard" for *months* and the Vogons likewise have no sympathy for the inhabitants of Earth because the plans had been on display at Alpha Centauri - a mere 4.5 light years away - for years.
Imagine seeing the TV version at the age of 3-4. Then by 3rd grade having seen both it and the making of enough times to have the dialogue memorized, only to find the books were a different view on the subject.
Awesome book, good movie. When I read it, I couldn't help but think of an ant colony in a field. And its destruction when the farmer tills it. Same concept as the interstellar bypass.
This is perfect timing as I just watched that 5-part look at Douglas Adams. This is a good tie-in. It's a crying shame that Douglas passed on. Had he continued I'm sure more great works could've been produced. Heck I'd be interested to see what a New Who Douglas Adams story would look like.
Man, I had forgotten about those people trapped in that space-ship awaiting launch, screaming in panic and confusion desperately attempting to escape in the brief moments of lucidity they have every few hundred years. I was happier for it.
Remember how amazing the radio story was, and then actually reading the first book.. comparing it to Monty Python seems exactly right. I scratched my head a bit after reading the first book, given that it really doesn't end on a proper note due to the nature of the story. It wasn't until the second book that I found my footing with them. This is like my simultaneous love and hate for the Monty Python films which tend to tell fun and interesting stories and then peter out by the end.. if they got that far. My utter detest for the end of Holy Grail contrasts nicely to my delight at the rest of the movie. Thank goodness the people doing the rest of the radio show came up with a truly satisfying conclusion to the final story.
I remember reading the entire book series and listened the radio show and I was dissapointed that they didnt tell what the ultimate question to wich answer was 42 was. Then I started to actually think about it and I fell like a sucker and then I got the whole thing 😅
Interesting that you bring up Monty Python in relationship to the Hitchhiker's Guide book series. Two episodes of Flying Circus immediately sprung to my mind; carnivorous blamanges from Andromeda and Mr Neutron. Both were pokes at sci fi tropes.
Have you ever heard the original radio version? Honestly, I think you might like it better than an audio book, since you won't know exactly what's going to happen.
But... if the city wants to tear down your house to build a freeway, they have to go through an eminent domain process and pay you fair market value. So we are not as bad as the beings who destroy the Earth in this story.
I think later in the book it says that the demolition of the Earth was a mistake because the intergalactic bypass was to follow a different route but the Vogons fucked it up.
