Douglas Adams

Doctor Who

Douglas sent the script for the HHGG pilot radio programme to the Doctor Who production office in 1978, and was commissioned to write The Pirate Planet (see below). He had also previously attempted to submit a potential movie script, called "Doctor Who and the Krikkitmen," which later became his novel Life, the Universe, and Everything (which in turn became the third Hitchhiker's Guide radio series). Adams then went on to serve as script editor on the show for its seventeenth season in 1979. Altogether, he wrote three Doctor Who serials starring Tom Baker as the Doctor:

Related Topics:
Doctor Who - The Pirate Planet - ''Doctor Who'' serials - Tom Baker

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• The Pirate Planet (the second serial in the "Key To Time" Season 16 arc)
• City of Death (with producer Graham Williams, from an original storyline by writer David Fisher. It was transmitted under the pseudonym "David Agnew")
• Shada (only partially filmed and not broadcast due to industrial disputes)

Elements of Shada and City of Death were reused in Adams's later novel Dirk Gently's Holistic Detective Agency, in particular the character of Professor Chronotis. Shada was eventually remade by Big Finish Productions as an audio play starring Paul McGann as the Doctor. Accompanied by partially-animated illustrations, it was webcast on the BBCi website in 2003.

Related Topics:
Dirk Gently's Holistic Detective Agency - Professor Chronotis - Big Finish Productions - Paul McGann - Webcast - BBCi

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Adams is credited with introducing a fan of his, the zoologist Richard Dawkins, to Dawkins' future wife, Lalla Ward, who had played the part of Romana in Doctor Who.

Related Topics:
Richard Dawkins - Lalla Ward - Romana

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Coincidentally, years before he wrote for Doctor Who, when he was at school, he wrote and performed a play called Doctor Which.

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