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List of The Hitchhiker's Guide to the Galaxy characters

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General referenceInterpretive dossier study · Crown Archives visual atlas
Record originEnglish Wikipedia
Text licenseCC BY-SA 4.0
Source revisionSep 18, 2026
Entity authorityQ1039078 ↗
Source-derived summary

The Hitchhiker's Guide to the Galaxy is a comedy science fiction franchise created by Douglas Adams. Originally a 1978 radio comedy, it was later adapted to other formats, including novels, stage shows, comic books, a 1981 TV series, a 1984 text adventure game, and 2005 feature film. The various versions follow the same basic plot. However, in many places, they are mutually contradictory, as Adams rewrote the story substantially for each new adaptation. Throughout all versions, the series follows the adventures of Arthur Dent and his interactions with Ford Prefect, Zaphod Beeblebrox, Marvin the Paranoid Android, and Trillian.

Main characters

Arthur Dent

Arthur Philip Dent, accompanied by Ford Prefect, barely escapes the Earth's destruction when it is demolished to make way for a hyperspace bypass. Arthur spends the next several years, still wearing his dressing gown, helplessly launched from crisis to crisis while trying to straighten out his lifestyle. He rather enjoys tea, but seems to have trouble obtaining it in the far reaches of the galaxy. In time, he learns how to fly (not in an airplane—but by throwing himself at the ground and missing) and carves a niche for himself as a sandwich maker. He is also worried about "everything."

Ford Prefect

Ford Prefect is Arthur Dent's friend.

Editorial summary

This brief starts where responsible research should: with the source description of “List of The Hitchhiker's Guide to the Galaxy characters” as wikimedia list article. Everything that follows is an evidence route, not borrowed authority.

Editorial reviewA concise reference frame for defining the subject, testing terminology and identifying the institution closest to the evidence. The current lead gives the account dated anchors—1978, 1981, 1984, 2005—that can be checked directly. The selected authority fields contribute no independent date. The account is most persuasive where List, Hitchhiker's and Guide can be independently traced.
Editorial analysis

Why this record matters

The subject matters to the general reference register because the source frames it as wikimedia list article. Its deeper value depends on whether names, dates, institutions and citations support that framing.

Evidence profile

Named sources, stable identifiers and responsible institutions provide the strongest route from overview to verifiable evidence. The source revision retrieved here is dated Sep 18, 2026. The linked authority identifier is Q1039078. None of the 0 selected statements returned an explicit reference. The first chronological checks are 1978, 1981, 1984 and 2005.

Critical limits

The absence of detail may reflect summary conventions rather than a lack of surviving documentation. The source lead contains qualifying language; that uncertainty should survive quotation, summary and reuse. Authority statements aid reconciliation but still require their own references, qualifiers and ranks to be checked.

How to read it

Use the entry as an orientation point, then follow its citations and revision history. Names, dates and institutional relationships should be checked against the original record.

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The closest primary source, responsible institution and strongest cited specialist reference.

Three-step research path

  1. Establish the record: confirm the title “List of The Hitchhiker's Guide to the Galaxy characters”, its source revision and the description used here.
  2. Expand the search: follow List of The Hitchhiker's Guide to the Galaxy characters primary sources, List of The Hitchhiker's Guide to the Galaxy characters archive and List research across catalogues and specialist indexes.
  3. Test the account: compare the strongest cited source with the responsible institution’s current record and note any disagreement.

Questions for further research

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  2. Which institution is responsible for the underlying evidence?
  3. Which cited source is closest to the event, object or claim?
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Source & attribution

This entry incorporates text from “List of The Hitchhiker's Guide to the Galaxy characters” on English Wikipedia. Contributors are listed in the page history. Text is available under the Creative Commons Attribution-ShareAlike 4.0 License. Selected authority identifiers and statements are retrieved from Wikidata under CC0; their references and qualifiers remain part of the verification path.