Editing Douglas Adams (section)

====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>