Minor characters from The Hitchhiker's Guide to the Galaxy

There are many minor characters in the various versions of The Hitchhiker's Guide to the Galaxy, by Douglas Adams. In fact, defining a major character is rather difficult. If the major characters are those the plot focuses on, they are Arthur Dent, Ford Prefect, Zaphod Beeblebrox, Marvin and Trillian, with the possible inclusion of Slartibartfast, Prostentic Vogon Jeltz, Random Dent and Fenchurch. If they are defined as characters appearing in all the books, they are only Ford Prefect and Arthur Dent. In this case, the definition of major characters will be those in the series with major plot significance not appearing on this list.

Zarniwoop

Zarniwoop works in the offices of the Guide, on Ursa Minor Beta. When Zaphod travels to Ursa Minor Beta to meet Zarniwoop, he is informed that Zarniwoop is unavailable, and too cool to see him right now. He is in his office, but he's on an intergalactic cruise. Zaphod subsequently discovers that Zarniwoop's intergalactic cruise has been spending 900 years on Frogstar B, waiting for its complement of small lemon-soaked paper napkins, and every single passenger has aged considerably. Only one person, who was not a passenger, but who hid himself on the spaceship, has not aged – Zarniwoop. Zaphod subsequently learns that, before he sealed part of his brain, he was collaborating with Zarniwoop to find out who rules the universe. In the books, he is marooned on the ruler of the universe's planet and is stuck outside the only shelter from driving rain because the ruler of the universe is unsure as to whether Zarniwoop's desperate thumping is real or not. At the end of the second radio series, he is again marooned, but this time with Ford Prefect and Zaphod Beeblebrox for company.

Related Topics:
Ursa Minor Beta - Cruise - Frogstar B - Lemon - Spaceship - Brain

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In the Quintessential Phase radio series, Zarniwoop is revealed to be the same person as the Mostly Harmless character Van Harl (Zarniwoop is his first name), and a Vogon in disguise.

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Appears in:

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• The Restaurant at the End of the Universe
• Life, the Universe, and Everything

On the radio, Zarniwoop is voiced by Jonathan Pryce.

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