The Hitchhiker’s Guide to the Galaxy is a comic science fiction franchise created by British author Douglas Adams. It began as a radio series on BBC Radio 4 in 1978 and was later adapted into a series of novels, a television series, a feature film, stage plays, and various other media. The story follows Arthur Dent, an unwitting Englishman who is swept off Earth just before it is destroyed to make way for a hyperspace bypass. He travels the universe with an eccentric group of companions, including Ford Prefect, Zaphod Beeblebrox, Trillian, and Marvin the Paranoid Android, using the titular Guide—a digital encyclopedia for interstellar hitchhikers. Known for its absurdist humor, satire of bureaucracy, and philosophical undertones, the series has become a cornerstone of science fiction comedy.
