Hitchhikers Guide to the Galaxy began as a 1978 BBC radio series by Douglas Adams, who later adapted the material as a novel in 1979. This six-part BBC television miniseries stars Simon Jones as gormless Arthur Dent, who while clad in his bedclothes manages to escape the Earths gravitational pull just before the Third Planet From the Sun is blown to bits. Ensconced in a strange space vessel festooned with all manner of confusing hardware, Jones finds that his life is dependent upon the instructions given by the cheery voice of the main computer--which may be loyal to the extraterrestrials whove obliterated the earth in order to make way for a galactic superhighway. The Hitchhikers Guide to the Galaxy was seen in the US on PBS affiliate stations. ~ Hal Erickson, All Movie Guide