The Sword and Laser discussion

1, The Radio Series pre-dates the Novel by a couple of years.

2. Most of the action in the Radio series is incorporated into the first two HitchHiker's novels. There is substantial re-ordering with the Restaurant at the End of the Universe and the Arkships appearing in episode 5 & 6 (out of 12) of the Radio series and at the end of the second novel (Restaurant at the End of the Universe)

3, The Hithchhiker's Guide to the Galaxy novel only covers the first 4 episodes of the radio series (with a different ending). The story goes that Douglas Adams was taking so long to finish the novel that the publishers told him to finish the sentence that he was on and hand in the manuscript

4. Episodes 5 and 6 of the Radio series were co-written with John Lloyd (creator of QI). Lloyd probably created the shape-shifting Haggunenons which Douglas Adams later replaced with Hotblack Desiato and Disaster Area.

5. Douglas Adams released an LP (vinyl record) version of Hitchhiker's Guide which was a re-recording of the first four episodes of the Radio series.

6. A Second LP called Restaurant at the End of the Universe was released. This was episodes 5 & 6 of the Radio series re-written exclusively by Douglas Adams and using Hotblack Desiato and Disaster Area

7. The Lintillas (and Allitnils) only exist in the Radio series

8. The 15 mile high statue of Arthur Dent (and the Nutrimatic Cup) also only exists exists in the Radio series.

9. The Shoe Event Horizon, the geological layer of shoes and the humanoids evolving into birds are dealt with in much more detail in the Radio series. It is a couple of pages in the book (Restaurant at the End of the Universe.

10. The Radio series was left open-ended so that further seasons of could be made. Unfortunately no further episodes were made (at the time).

11. The Third season of the Radio series (The Tertiary Phase 2004) was based on the 3rd novel and had to be retconned to match up the different endings of the Radio series and the second novel.

Hitch-Hiker's Guide to the Galaxy Timeline

1978 - 8th March-12 April — Radio Series episodes 1-6 (season 1) Episodes 5&6 co-written with John Lloyd

1978 - 24 December - Radio Series episode 7 (Christmas Special)

1979 - October - Hitchhiker's Guide to the Galaxy novel (based on first four episodes of radio series with changed ending) published

1979 - October - Hitchhiker's Guide to the Galaxy LP (rerecording of first four episodes) released

1980 - 21st-25th Jan - Radio Series episodes 8-12 (season 2)

1980 - 12th October Restaurant at the End of the Universe novel (ending with events of episodes 5&6 of radio series and incorporating elements of episodes 7-12) published

1980 - October Restaurant at the End of the Universe LP (re-recorded episodes 5&6 of radio series with John Lloyd contributions removed, replaced with Hotblack Desiato & Disaster Area)

1981 - 5 January–9 February - The Hitchhiker's Guide to the Galaxy TV series released. (same plot as episodes 1-6 of radio series with John Lloyd contributions removed, replaced with Hotblack Desiato & Disaster Area)

1982 - August - Life, the Universe and Everything novel released. Based, in part, on an outline for a Doctor Who movie

1983 - November - The Hitchhiker's Guide to the Galaxy video game released

1984 - 9th November - So Long, and Thanks for All the Fish. Douglas Adams claimed that the Dire Straits album Making Movies inspired some of the book sequences

1992 - 12th October - Mostly Harmless novel released

2001 - 11th May - Douglas Adams dies.

2004 - 21 September-26 October - The Hitchhiker's Guide to the Galaxy: Tertiary Phase radio series. Based on Life, the Universe and Everything novel but retconned so that the ending of the previous radio series and the beginning of the book match. Series uses Douglas Adams voice performing Agrajag

2005 - 3rd May-21st June - Quandary Phase (based on So Long and Thanks for all the Fish) and Quintesstial Phase (based on Mostly Harmless) radio series released

2005 - 28 April - The Hitchhiker's Guide to the Galaxy film released. Based on a Douglas Adams screenplay but rewritten. Largely covers first novel (episodes 1-4 of radio series) with additions based on Douglas Adams ideas/notes.

2009 - 12 October - And Another Thing by Eoin Colfer published. An authorised sequel. Douglas Adams had intended a sixth book to give his characters a happier ending than in Mostly Harmless.

2018 - 8 March 2018 (40 years to the day of the first series' original broadcast) - The Hexagonal Phase (based on And Another Thing) radio series released.

I listened to my CDs of the Radio Series again. The original radio series had a Pink Floyd song that Adams used without permission. It's been edited out.
It still has as the main theme the Bernie Leadon/Eagles song "Journey of the Sorcerer". Adams chose that song because he wanted a space theme that had a banjo in it.

"The Hitchhiker's Guide to the Galaxy" novel follows episodes 1-4.
"The Restaurant at the End of the Universe" novel follows episodes 5-6.
The BBC TV show follows the Radio episodes pretty much. "The Dish of the Day" and "Hotblack Desiato/Disaster Area" were added and stayed in the Restaurant novel.

I remember some changes for the US novel:
"zebra crossing" became "pedestrian crossing"
"biros" became "ballpoints"

Did Pink Floyd not give permission? 'Cause I kinda think they would have.

John (Taloni) wrote: "Did Pink Floyd not give permission? 'Cause I kinda think they would have."

The mess between Roger Waters and David Gilmour probably screws up a lot of that sort of thing. Waters is immensely talented but a genuinely terrible person, so who knows what they’re thinking when it comes to permission to use their music.

Hear frickin' hear! When I read what Waters did to Rick Wright I was appalled. Then there's the status games the upper middle class Waters played on working class Gilmour.

Oddly heartwarming though was Nick Mason. He was the most unassuming of the bunch and tried to be a friend to all of the band. True class, that guy. It was probably a decade ago I read that Mason is some form of British aristocracy and was wealthy long before the Floyd. I'm hard pressed to follow the thread; his great grandfather was Lord Mayor of Birmingham and, well, I'm sure Brits could decipher it but what I come up with is "aristocrat, small 'a'." But however you calculate it, he's higher in the hierarchy than Waters and not trying to show off. One of my few regrets in later life is that my tinnitus makes it a bad idea to go to rock concerts. I would gladly see Mason and his band.

John (Taloni) wrote: "Hear frickin' hear! When I read what Waters did to Rick Wright I was appalled. Then there's the status games the upper middle class Waters played on working class Gilmour.

Oddly heartwarming thoug..."

Definitely not an aristocrat. His grandfather would have been middle class done well (bourgeois). Am apprentice grocer who did well.

Fun fact: the only Pink Floyd song to feature both David Gilmour and Syd Barrett is the sci-fi flavoured 'Set the Controls for the Heart of the Sun'. This was recorded just before Barrett made his own personal voyage into space. Shine on...