Editing Ford Prefect (character) (section)

==Character and role==
Adams conceived Ford as a polar opposite to [[The Doctor (Doctor Who)|The Doctor]] from the British science fiction television series, ''[[Doctor Who]]'', for which he served as script editor in the late 70s. "My original concept behind Ford Prefect was that given the choice between saving the planet and going to a good party, Ford would choose the party", Adams said in an interview with ''[[Macworld]]''.<ref>{{cite journal|title=A Hitchhiker's Guide to Douglas Adams|author=Jeffrey Young|journal=[[Macworld]]|date=May 1985|page=152|url=https://archive.org/details/MacWorld8505May1985/page/n159/mode/2up|accessdate=2025-04-13}}</ref> 
Ford takes an [[existensialism|existential]] view on the universe, sometimes bordering on joyful [[nihilism]]. He is eccentric and endlessly broad-minded – no doubt due to his vast experience of roughing it around the galaxy – and possesses of an off-key and often very dark sense of humour. He is described as being able to smile in a way that would "send hitherto sane men scampering into the trees". In his role as guide to the universe for the often bewildered [[everyman]] Arthur Dent, he serves to link the disparate elements of the story together. As well as rescuing Arthur, he introduces him to the other major characters – such as Zaphod, [[Trillian (character)|Trillian]] and [[Marvin the Paranoid Android]] – and to numerous mind-boggling concepts, from "teasers" (an explanation of [[UFO sightings]] on Earth) to the extraordinary usefulness of towels. Ford's other chief characteristic is his constant pursuit of an alcohol-fueled good time (in contrast to Arthur's quest for a cup of tea). Although his heart is in the right place and he is shown to be highly intelligent, resourceful and even brave, Ford is essentially a dilettante when it comes to causes such as the search for the question to the ultimate answer of "life, the universe and everything".

Ford carries the essential items of his profession in a leather satchel, hiding them under copies of play scripts in keeping with his public persona as an actor in search of work. Among the contents are his copy of the ''Guide''; an Electronic Thumb, which he uses to signal passing spaceships in an attempt to hitch a ride; a Sub-Etha Sens-O-Matic, which monitors interstellar activity and alerts him to ships' proximity and origin; and a bath towel from [[Marks and Spencer]].

Ford is approximately 200 years old, as supported by the books. When, in the first novel, Zaphod steals the spaceship ''Heart of Gold'', it is on Zaphod's two-hundredth birthday. It is later mentioned that Ford and Zaphod attended school together, even having some of the same classes, which would indicate that they are roughly the same age.<ref>The Ultimate Hitchhiker's Guide to the Galaxy omnibus edition, printed by Ballantine Books</ref> He had originally planned to spend a week on Earth doing research for the ''Guide'', but wound up being stranded there for 15 years prior to helping Arthur escape the planet when the [[Vogon]]s demolish it.

At the end of the final novel in the series, ''[[Mostly Harmless]]'', Ford is apparently vaporised along with all the other main characters when the Vogons once again destroy the Earth. It is hinted, however, that he and the others may have survived. In the final episodes of the radio series, Ford, along with all the other main characters, is teleported to safety by the Babel Fish in his ear. The episode ends with a selection of possible outcomes for this last-second-teleportation, as the "unstable" nature of the section of galaxy Earth is in means that there are a variety of realities that the characters could find themselves in. The outcomes focus mostly on Arthur, but Ford features in the final possibility, where they all end up at Milliways ([[The Restaurant at the End of the Universe]]), drinking and chatting - and in Ford's case, flirting.<ref>Hitchhiker's Guide to the Galaxy Radio Series, The Quintessential Phase, Fit the Twenty-Sixth</ref>