Editing Douglas Adams (section)

===Writing===
After leaving university, Adams moved back to London, determined to break into TV and radio as a writer. An edited version of the ''Footlights Revue'' appeared on [[BBC2]] television in 1974. A version of the Revue performed live in London's [[West End of London|West End]] led to Adams being discovered by [[Monty Python]]'s [[Graham Chapman]]. The two formed a brief writing partnership, earning Adams a writing credit in [[List of Monty Python's Flying Circus episodes#6. Party Political Broadcast|episode 45]] of ''Monty Python'' for a sketch called "[[Patient Abuse]]". The pair also co-wrote the "Marilyn Monroe" sketch that appeared on the soundtrack album of ''[[The Album of the Soundtrack of the Trailer of the Film of Monty Python and the Holy Grail|Monty Python and the Holy Grail]]''. Adams is one of only two people other than the original Python members to receive a ''Monty Python'' writing credit (the other being [[Neil Innes]]).<ref name="times">{{cite news |last= |first= |title=Terry Jones remembers Douglas Adams, 'the last of the Pythons' |url=https://www.thetimes.com/article/terry-jones-remembers-douglas-adams-the-last-of-the-pythons-vfr2vd5hz3k |newspaper=[[The Times]] |date=10 October 2009}}</ref>

[[File:DNA in Monty Python.jpg|thumb|Adams in his first ''[[Monty Python's Flying Circus|Monty Python]]'' appearance, in surgeon's garb]]

Adams had two brief appearances in the fourth series of ''[[Monty Python's Flying Circus]]''. At the beginning of episode 42, "The Light Entertainment War", Adams is in a surgeon's mask (as Dr. Emile Koning, according to on-screen captions), pulling on gloves, while [[Michael Palin]] narrates a sketch that introduces one person after another but never gets started.{{CN|reason=This is suspect as THGTTG was written after MPFS.|date=May 2023}} At the beginning of episode 44, "Mr. Neutron", Adams is dressed in a [[List of recurring Monty Python's Flying Circus characters#Pepperpots|pepper-pot]] outfit and loads a missile onto a cart driven by [[Terry Jones]], who is calling for scrap metal ("Any old iron...").{{CN|date=May 2023}} The two episodes were broadcast in November 1974.<ref>{{cite web |last=Morgan |first=David |date=2014 |title=Monty Python's Flying Circus, Series 4 |url=https://www.montypython.com/tvshow_Monty%20Python's%20Flying%20Circus,%20Series%204/17 |access-date=2024-07-05 |website=Monty Python – Official Site}}</ref> Adams and Chapman also attempted non-Python projects, including ''[[Out of the Trees]]''.<ref>{{cite news |url=http://news.bbc.co.uk/2/hi/entertainment/6150254.stm |title='Lost' gems from the TV archives |last=Young |first=Kevin |date=1 December 2006 |publisher=BBC News |access-date=9 May 2018 |language=en-GB}}</ref>

At this point, Adams's career stalled; his writing style was unsuited to the current style of radio and TV comedy.<ref name=ODNB /> To make ends meet he took a series of odd jobs, including as a hospital porter, barn builder, and chicken-shed cleaner. He was employed as a bodyguard by a [[Qatari]] family, who had made their fortune in oil.<ref>{{Harvnb|Webb|2005a|p=93}}.</ref> Adams continued to write and submit sketches, though few were accepted. In 1976, his career had a brief improvement when he wrote and performed ''Unpleasantness at Brodie's Close'' at the [[Edinburgh Fringe]] festival. By Christmas, work had dried up again and a depressed Adams moved to live with his mother.<ref name=ODNB /> The lack of writing work hit him hard, and low confidence became a feature of Adams's life, "I have terrible periods of lack of confidence [...] I briefly did therapy, but after a while I realised it was like a farmer complaining about the weather. You can't fix the weather&nbsp;– you just have to get on with it".<ref name=Adams_prologue>{{harvnb|Adams|2002}}, prologue.</ref>

Some of Adams's early radio work included sketches for ''[[The Burkiss Way]]'' in 1977 and ''[[The News Huddlines]]''.<ref>{{harvnb|Simpson|2003|p=87}}.</ref> He also wrote, again with Chapman, the 20 February 1977 episode of ''[[Doctor on the Go]]'', a sequel to the ''[[Doctor in the House (TV series)|Doctor in the House]]'' television comedy series. After the [[The Hitchhiker's Guide to the Galaxy (radio series)|first radio series of ''The Hitchhiker's Guide'']] became successful, Adams was made a BBC radio producer, working on ''[[Week Ending]]'' and a pantomime called ''[[Black Cinderella Two Goes East]]''.<ref>Roberts, Jem. ''The Clue Bible: The Fully Authorised History of I'm Sorry I Haven't A Clue from Footlights to Mornington Crescent'': London, 2009, pp. 164–165.</ref> He left after six months to become the script editor for ''[[Doctor Who]]''.

In 1979, Adams and [[John Lloyd (producer)|John Lloyd]] wrote scripts for two half-hour episodes of ''[[Doctor Snuggles]]'', "The Remarkable Fidgety River" and "The Great Disappearing Mystery" (episodes eight and twelve).{{snf|Roberts|2015|pp=129–130}} John Lloyd was also co-author of two episodes from the original ''Hitchhiker'' radio series ("Fit the Fifth" and "Fit the Sixth", also known as "Episode Five" and "Episode Six"), as well as ''[[The Meaning of Liff]]'' and ''[[The Deeper Meaning of Liff]]''.

====Work on ''Doctor Who''====
{{main|Doctor Who}}
Adams sent the script for the ''HHGG'' pilot radio programme to the ''Doctor Who'' production office in 1978, and was commissioned to write ''[[The Pirate Planet]]''. He had also previously attempted to submit a potential film script, called ''Doctor Who and the Krikkitmen'', which later became his novel ''[[Life, the Universe and Everything]]'' (which in turn became the third ''Hitchhiker's Guide'' radio series). Adams then went on to serve as script editor on the show for its 17th season in 1979. Altogether, he wrote three [[List of Doctor Who episodes (1963–1989)|''Doctor Who'' serials]] starring [[Tom Baker]] as the [[Fourth Doctor]]:
* ''The Pirate Planet'' (the second serial in ''[[the Key to Time]]'' arc, in ''[[Doctor Who season 16|season 16]]'')<ref>{{cite book |title=[[The Discontinuity Guide]] |last1=Cornell |first1=Paul |author-link1=Paul Cornell |last2=Day |first2=Martin |author-link2=Martin Day (writer) |last3=Topping |first3=Keith |author-link3=Keith Topping |year=1995 |publisher=[[Virgin Books]] |location=London |isbn=0-426-20442-5 |chapter=The Pirate Planet |chapter-url=https://www.bbc.co.uk/doctorwho/classic/episodeguide/pirateplanet/detail.shtml}}</ref>
* ''[[City of Death]]'' (with producer [[Graham Williams (television producer)|Graham Williams]], from an original storyline by writer [[David Fisher (writer)|David Fisher]]. It was transmitted under the pseudonym "[[David Agnew]]")<ref>{{cite book |title=[[The Discontinuity Guide]] |last1=Cornell |first1=Paul |author-link1=Paul Cornell |last2=Day |first2=Martin |author-link2=Martin Day (writer) |last3=Topping |first3=Keith |author-link3=Keith Topping |year=1995 |publisher=[[Virgin Books]] |location=London |isbn=0-426-20442-5 |chapter=City of Death |chapter-url=https://www.bbc.co.uk/doctorwho/classic/episodeguide/cityofdeath/detail.shtml}}</ref>
* ''[[Shada (Doctor Who)|Shada]]'' (only partly filmed; not televised due to industry disputes but was later completed using animation for the unfinished scenes and broadcast as "Doctor Who: The Lost Episode" on [[BBC America]] on 19 July 2018)<ref>{{cite book |title=[[The Discontinuity Guide]] |last1=Cornell |first1=Paul |author-link1=Paul Cornell |last2=Day |first2=Martin |author-link2=Martin Day (writer) |last3=Topping |first3=Keith |author-link3=Keith Topping |year=1995 |publisher=[[Virgin Books]] |location=London |isbn=0-426-20442-5 |chapter=Shada |chapter-url=https://www.bbc.co.uk/doctorwho/classic/episodeguide/shada/detail.shtml}}</ref>

The episodes authored by Adams are some of the few that were not originally novelised, as Adams would not allow anyone else to write them and asked for a higher price than the publishers were willing to pay.<ref>{{cite web |url=http://www.skepticfiles.org/en001/drwhogde.htm |title=A 1990s Doctor Who FAQ |publisher=Skepticfiles.org |access-date=11 March 2013}}</ref> ''Shada'' was adapted as a novel by [[Gareth Roberts (writer)|Gareth Roberts]] in 2012<ref>{{cite web |last=Mulkern |first=Patrick |date=24 November 2017 |title=Review: Tom Baker returns in Shada but is this lost Doctor Who still a plodder? |url=https://www.radiotimes.com/tv/sci-fi/tom-baker-returns-in-shada-but-is-this-lost-doctor-who-still-a-plodder/ |access-date=9 March 2025 |website=Radio Times |language=en-GB}}</ref> and ''City of Death'' and ''The Pirate Planet'' by [[James Goss (producer)|James Goss]] in 2015 and 2017 respectively.<ref>{{cite web |date=19 February 2015 |title=City of Death novelisation for 21st May |url=https://www.doctorwhonews.net/2015/02/city-of-death-190215210008.html |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20240608142738/https://www.doctorwhonews.net/2015/02/city-of-death-190215210008.html |archive-date=8 June 2024 |access-date=2025-03-09 |website=Doctor Who News}}</ref><ref>{{cite web |last=Golder |first=Dave |date=30 April 2015 |title=Doctor Who Pirate Planet Novelisation Announced |url=http://www.gamesradar.com/pirate-planet-novelisation-announced/ |url-status=live |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20201229003454/https://www.gamesradar.com/pirate-planet-novelisation-announced/ |archive-date=29 December 2020 |access-date=2 May 2015 |work=GamesRadar+}}</ref>

Elements of ''Shada'' and ''City of Death'' were reused in Adams's later novel ''[[Dirk Gently's Holistic Detective Agency]]'', in particular, the character of [[Professor Chronotis]]. [[Big Finish Productions]] eventually remade ''Shada'' as an audio play starring [[Paul McGann]] as the Doctor. Accompanied by partly animated illustrations, it was [[Doctor Who spin-offs#Webcasts|webcast]] on the [[BBC Online|BBC website]] in 2003, and subsequently released as a two-CD set later that year. An omnibus edition of this version was broadcast on the digital radio station [[BBC7]] on 10 December 2005.

In the ''Doctor Who'' 2012 Christmas episode "[[The Snowmen#Production|The Snowmen]]", writer [[Steven Moffat]] was inspired by a storyline that Adams pitched called ''The Doctor Retires''.<ref>{{cite web |last=Moffat |first=Steven |author-link=Steven Moffat |title=Doctor Who Christmas special: Steven Moffat, Matt Smith and Jenna-Louise Coleman reveal all |url=http://www.radiotimes.com/news/2012-12-24/doctor-who-christmas-special-steven-moffat-matt-smith-and-jenna-louise-coleman-reveal-all |work=Radio Times |date=24 December 2012 |access-date=8 July 2013}}</ref>

====''The Hitchhiker's Guide to the Galaxy''====
{{main|The Hitchhiker's Guide to the Galaxy}}
''The Hitchhiker's Guide to the Galaxy'' was a concept for a science-fiction comedy radio series pitched by Adams and radio producer [[Simon Brett]] to [[BBC Radio 4]] in 1977. Adams came up with an outline for a pilot episode, as well as a few other stories (reprinted in [[Neil Gaiman]]'s book ''[[Don't Panic: The Official Hitchhiker's Guide to the Galaxy Companion]]'') that could be used in the series.

[[File:Towelday-Innsbruck.jpg|thumb|upright|[[Towel Day]] 2005 in [[Innsbruck]], Austria, where Adams conceived ''The Hitchhiker's Guide''. In the novels, a towel is the most useful thing a space traveller can have. The annual Towel Day (25 May) was first celebrated in 2001, two weeks after Adams's death.]]

According to Adams, the idea for the title occurred to him in 1971 while he lay drunk in a field in [[Innsbruck]], Austria, gazing at the stars. He was carrying a copy of the ''[[Hitch-hiker's Guide to Europe]]'', and it occurred to him that "somebody ought to write a ''Hitchhiker's Guide to the Galaxy''".<ref>{{cite book |author=Adams, Douglas |editor-first=Geoffrey | editor-last=Perkins |others=Additional Material by M. J. Simpson |title=[[The Hitchhiker's Guide to the Galaxy: The Original Radio Scripts]] |page=10 |edition=25th Anniversary |publisher=Pan Books |year=2003 |isbn=0-330-41957-9}}</ref><ref name="Deep#">{{cite web |last=Agustin |first=Francis |date=2025-03-03 |title='Lying drunk in a field': Douglas Adams on the unlikely origins of the cult space comedy that inspired Elon Musk |url=https://www.bbc.com/culture/article/20250226-the-hitchhikers-guide-to-the-galaxy-the-quirky-radio-show-that-became-a-phenomenon |access-date=2025-03-09 |publisher=BBC |language=en-GB}}</ref>

Despite the original outline, Adams was said to make up the stories as he wrote. He turned to [[John Lloyd (producer)|John Lloyd]] for help with the final two episodes of [[The Hitchhiker's Guide to the Galaxy Primary and Secondary Phases#The Primary Phase|the first series]]. Lloyd contributed bits from an unpublished science fiction book of his own, called ''GiGax''.<ref>{{Harvnb|Webb|2005a|p=120}}.</ref> Very little of Lloyd's material survived in later adaptations of ''Hitchhiker's'', such as the novels and the TV series. The TV series was based on the first six radio episodes, and sections contributed by Lloyd were largely re-written.

BBC Radio 4 broadcast the first radio series weekly in the UK starting 8 March 1978, lasting until April.<ref>{{cite news |last=Speed |first=Richard |date=9 March 2020 |title=Grab a towel and pour yourself a Pan Galactic Gargle Blaster because The Hitchhiker's Guide to the Galaxy is 42 |url=https://www.theregister.co.uk/2020/03/09/hhgttg_42/ |archive-url=http://web.archive.org/web/20200321043011/https://www.theregister.co.uk/2020/03/09/hhgttg_42/ |archive-date=2020-03-21 |access-date=2025-03-09}}</ref> The series was distributed in the United States by [[NPR|National Public Radio]]. Following the success of the first series, another episode was recorded and broadcast, which was commonly known as the Christmas Episode. [[The Hitchhiker's Guide to the Galaxy Primary and Secondary Phases#The Secondary Phase|A second series]] of five episodes was broadcast one per night, during the week of 21–25 January 1980.

While working on the radio series (and with simultaneous projects such as ''[[The Pirate Planet]]'') Adams found difficulty in keeping to writing deadlines; the problem became worse as he proceeded to publish novels. He was never a prolific writer and usually had to be forced by others to do any writing. This included being locked in a hotel suite with his editor for three weeks to ensure that ''[[So Long, and Thanks for All the Fish]]'' was completed.<ref>{{Harvnb|Felch|2004}}.</ref> Adams was quoted as saying, "I love deadlines. I love the whooshing noise they make as they go by."<ref name=Simpson_236>{{harvnb|Simpson|2003|p=236}}.</ref> Despite the difficulty with deadlines, he wrote five novels in the series, published in 1979, 1980, 1982, 1984, and 1992.

The books formed the basis for other adaptations, such as three-part comic book adaptations for each of the first three books, an interactive text-adventure [[The Hitchhiker's Guide to the Galaxy (computer game)|computer game]], and a photo-illustrated edition, published in 1994. This latter edition featured a [[42 Puzzle]] designed by Adams, which was later incorporated into paperback covers of the first four ''Hitchhiker's'' novels (the paperback for the fifth re-used the artwork from the hardback edition).<ref>[http://www.iblist.com/series.php?id=2 Internet Book List] {{webarchive |url=https://web.archive.org/web/20060220065441/http://www.iblist.com/series.php?id=2 |date=20 February 2006}} page, with links to all five novels, and reproductions of the 1990s paperback covers that included the [[42 Puzzle]].</ref>

In 1980, Adams began attempts to turn the first ''Hitchhiker's'' novel into a film, making several trips to Los Angeles, and working with Hollywood studios and potential producers. The next year, the radio series became the basis for a BBC television mini-series<ref>{{citation |url=https://www.imdb.com/title/tt0081874/ |title=''The Hitch Hiker's Guide to the Galaxy''|publisher=Internet Movie Database}}</ref> broadcast in six parts. When he died in 2001 in California, he had been trying again to get the film project started with [[Disney]], which had bought the rights in 1998. The screenplay was rewritten by [[Karey Kirkpatrick]] and the ''[[The Hitchhiker's Guide to the Galaxy (film)|Hitchhiker's Guide to the Galaxy]]'' film was released in 2005.

Radio producer [[Dirk Maggs]] had consulted with Adams, first in 1993, and later in 1997 and 2000 about creating a third radio series, based on the third novel in the ''Hitchhiker's'' series.<ref>{{cite book |author=Adams, Douglas |editor-first = Dirk |editor-last=Maggs |editor-link=Dirk Maggs |title=The Hitchhiker's Guide to the Galaxy Radio Scripts: The Tertiary, Quandary and Quintessential Phases |publisher=Pan Books |year=2005 |isbn=0-330-43510-8 |pages=xiv |no-pp=true}}</ref> They also discussed the possibilities of radio adaptations of the final two novels in the five-book "trilogy". As with the film, this project was realised only after Adams's death. The third series, ''[[The Hitchhiker's Guide to the Galaxy Tertiary to Quintessential Phases#The Tertiary Phase|The Tertiary Phase]]'', was broadcast on BBC Radio 4 in September 2004 and was subsequently released on audio CD. With the aid of a recording of his reading of ''Life, the Universe and Everything'' and editing, Adams can be heard playing the part of Agrajag posthumously. ''So Long, and Thanks for All the Fish'' and ''Mostly Harmless'' made up the fourth and fifth radio series, respectively (on radio they were titled ''[[The Hitchhiker's Guide to the Galaxy Tertiary to Quintessential Phases#The Quandary Phase|The Quandary Phase]]'' and ''[[The Hitchhiker's Guide to the Galaxy Tertiary to Quintessential Phases#The Quintessential Phase|The Quintessential Phase]]'') and these were broadcast in May and June 2005, and also subsequently released on Audio CD. The last episode in the last series (with a new, "more upbeat" ending) concluded with, "The very final episode of ''The Hitchhiker's Guide to the Galaxy'' by Douglas Adams is affectionately dedicated to its author."<ref>Adams, ''Dirk Maggs'', p. 356.</ref>

====''Dirk Gently'' series====
[[File:Douglas Adams San Francisco.jpg|thumb|Adams in March 2000]]
Between Adams's first trip to [[Madagascar]] with [[Mark Carwardine]] in 1985, and their series of travels that formed the basis for the radio series and non-fiction book ''[[Last Chance to See]]'', Adams wrote two other novels with a new cast of characters. ''[[Dirk Gently's Holistic Detective Agency]]'' was published in 1987, and was described by its author as "a kind of ghost-horror-detective-time-travel-romantic-comedy-epic, mainly concerned with mud, music and quantum mechanics".<ref>{{cite book |author=Gaiman, Neil |author-link=Neil Gaiman |title=Don't Panic: Douglas Adams & The Hitchhiker's Guide to the Galaxy |edition=second U.S. |publisher=Titan Books |year=2003 |page=169 |isbn=1-84023-742-2}}</ref>

A sequel, ''[[The Long Dark Tea-Time of the Soul]]'', was published a year later. It was Adams's first original work since ''So Long, and Thanks for All the Fish''. After the book tour, Adams set off on his round-the-world excursion, which supplied him with the material for ''Last Chance to See''. ''[[The Salmon of Doubt]]'' was incomplete when published posthumously.