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How did you first come across Douglas Adams?

Books, telly, radio, films, recommendation?

I'm a little too young to have heard the Hitchikers' radio series first time round but was pretty much exactly the right age for the telly series.

I then forgot all about it until a mate leant me the first h2g2 book several years later. I got hooked and within a year had read pretty much everything he'd had published, bought the radio series on CD and the telly series on VHS. I think that was around about 1991.

How did you come across him?

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Replies to This Discussion

Permalink Reply by Brian Gregory on March 1, 2009 at 5:44pm

My father introduced me to Doctor Who (Tom Baker series) back when I was a young teenager (early eighties). I discovered the HG2G TV series later and then Red Dwarf (thanks to late-night public TV). I didn't start reading that much until later in HS, but once I started reading HG2G I didn't stop until I finished the whole series. Not until rather recently did I start listening to the radio plays (mainly because they are easy to get in places like audible).

Permalink Reply by Dave P on March 1, 2009 at 6:02pm

The DNA script-edited Dr Who stuff was something special. I think his and Tom Baker's senses of humour were a perfect match.

I've started listening to the radio series again recently. Smashing stuff.

Permalink Reply by Merelen on March 24, 2009 at 9:32pm

I'd forgotten about Red Dwarf. I didn't get into that one until college and still never caught much of it. Good stuff, though!

Permalink Reply by Larian LeQuella on March 1, 2009 at 9:51pm

The first BBC TV series is what hooked me. Went immediately to the books and have been a rabid fan since then. I didn't really get into his personal life and never really knew he was a strong atheist until much later.

Permalink Reply by Paul on March 2, 2009 at 1:11pm

I missed the radio series completely but heard about the books by way of 2000AD.

I would like to say that I read the books before I saw the TV series but I can't honestly remember that far back. However, once I saw the TV series - I was hooked. I even managed to tape the whole thing and it is the one series that I have gone back to and rewatched so many times that I can now quote large parts of it.

Whether that is a good thing or not, I will leave you to decide.

Permalink Reply by Merelen on March 24, 2009 at 9:31pm

I borrowed the H2G2 books from my sister. I haven't had time to hunt down any other versions yet, but I regularly go back to the books and reread them.

There's actually a story behind my current leather bound edition, but it's whiny, so I won't get into it.

Permalink Reply by deepthought42 on April 17, 2009 at 11:07pm

My friends. In Jr. High or High school they were reading HHGTTG. I wasn't into Sci-Fi/Fantasy yet, but eventually I caved and started reading the series. :)

Permalink Reply by Cameron Stevens on August 18, 2009 at 8:16am

Would you believe it's thanks to the education system here that I discovered H2G2? We had to read it in English in the context of a travel book (which was great because we didn't need to pick it to bits in that context and so I could just enjoy the book). Much scratching of heads was had by the rest of the class. I must have been the only one that liked the book.

Since then I have bought four of the five H2G2 books (I still haven't gotten around to getting the last one, but will).

Permalink Reply by OutlawGirl on September 5, 2009 at 4:13pm

I first heard about him when the moive came out (the latest one). While I was talking about the movie with my friends I heard one of them say he'd read the book. "The book?" I said. "What's it about?"

I don't remember what he said next. I think I found his description confusing. Anyway, I saw the film and didn't quite understand it, but I was interested. A few weeks later I saw The Ultimate Hithhiker's Guide on sale at the book store and decided to buy it. After that, it was love. <3

Permalink Reply by Clarence Dember on September 19, 2009 at 2:50pm

I first read "The Hitchiker's Guide to the Galaxy" and then got the movie.

Permalink Reply by Sandy on October 5, 2009 at 3:57pm

It was the radio series. When was it? Late seventies or early eighties, I think. I was living in Australia at the time and the ABC broadcast an episode every afternoon. I didn't pay much attention at first - I used to have the radio babbling in the background all day and didn't always listen too closely. I probably missed four or five episodes before I really heard it properly and then it was like a lightbulb going off and I was immediately hooked. Then came the books and then the TV series. I haven't seen the movie -- I've heard it's pretty dire and I don't want it to spoil all the images I have in my head.

Permalink Reply by Hannah D. on April 15, 2010 at 9:12pm

I'm not completely sure how old I was, but I think I was about nine or ten years old when I was first exposed to Douglas Adams. A wonderful couple from Britain moved into the apartment a few doors down from ours, and my mother befriended the wife almost immediately.

They both shared a passion for British humor and dark comedies, so it was only natural that our new friend began sharing her Hitchhiker's Guide to the Galaxy radio show tapes with us. I had never heard anything like it and was absolutely entranced. We couldn't wait to finish each tape so we could borrow the next one. It was fantastic!

Soon after, my mother bought the book. After she was finished with it, I tore through it. We eventually bought all the books in the series and devoured them as well. I adored Douglas Adams as he gave me a reprieve from what was an extremely fundamentalist Christian upbringing.

Later on, when I was in my early teens, I got the Hitchhiker's Guide to the Galaxy Infocom text game and became lost in the world of Arthur Dent yet again. It was heaven. I was actually a huge Infocom addict and would even skip school to play my text games, but that's for another post.