Answer To The Ultimate Question - The Hitchhiker's Guide To The Galaxy - BBC

Sdílet
Vložit
  • čas přidán 8. 02. 2017
  • After seven and a half million years, the super computer Deep Thought finally reveals the ultimate answer to the Universe, the question of life and everything else. What is slightly more challenging however is, what is the ultimate question?
    Taken From The Hitchhiker's Guide To The Galaxy
    This is a channel from BBC Studios who help fund new BBC programmes. Service information and feedback: www.bbcstudios.com/contact/co...
  • Zábava

Komentáře • 831

  • @kraigbailey3321
    @kraigbailey3321 Před 6 měsíci +61

    On April 29, 2005 at the Disney El Cap theater in Hollywood, I attended the first showing of the film version of H2G2. I had a wonderful conversation with an older gentleman who said he was part of the original H2G2 radio broadcast cast. He mentioned that he asked Douglas Adams why the answer to life, the universe and everything was 42. Adams told him that if you count the # of dots on a pair of dice, you will see there are 42- and life is just a roll of the dice.

    • @vtancredi1717
      @vtancredi1717 Před 2 měsíci +3

      That is brilliant! never heard that before. Also ties in with Douglas Adams being an athiest.

    • @gregorythomas4878
      @gregorythomas4878 Před měsícem

      ​@@bens2718That's a pretty good answer though. Even If it is by coincidence.

    • @dveneky1212
      @dveneky1212 Před měsícem +2

      42 likes

    • @Murray-wk3hz
      @Murray-wk3hz Před 19 dny

      Diceman in a great book, up there with Johnathan Livingston Seagull and Zen and The Art of Motorcycle Maintenance.

    • @marvinthemartian6788
      @marvinthemartian6788 Před 7 dny

      Roll the bones

  • @UncleFexxer
    @UncleFexxer Před rokem +29

    "... You're really not going to like it..." God I love that line

  • @robg521
    @robg521 Před 4 lety +495

    Marvin...”I know the question”
    Everyone...” you do?”
    Marvin... “it’s written in the Earth Man’s brainwave patterns”
    Arthur... “you can actually read my mind?”
    Marvin... “yes”
    Arthur ... “and ???”
    Marvin... “I’m amazed that you can live in anything that small”

    • @olgaschegoleva8492
      @olgaschegoleva8492 Před 3 lety +14

      In numerology every number combination equals a sinhle number.
      Hence, 42= 4+2
      4+2 = 6.
      In Kabbalah, 666 is the number of MAN( 6 protons, 6 neutrons 6 electrons).
      661 is the “ number of the Beast”, contrary to popular belief it is not 666 but 661.
      Hence , given that 42=6 and 6 is the number of man , the convo makes a lot more sense now, isn’t it?
      LOL.

    • @aconfusedlacroix3965
      @aconfusedlacroix3965 Před 3 lety +6

      @@olgaschegoleva8492 k

    • @pmacamfg7655
      @pmacamfg7655 Před rokem +3

      @@olgaschegoleva8492 So 666 is a carbon atom, and 661 is a high energy cosmic ray carbon nucleus at +5, probable from a white dwarf supernova.

    • @petevan8942
      @petevan8942 Před rokem +4

      And no one ever finds out from Marvin the answer....no wonder he's so depressed

    • @dallassegno
      @dallassegno Před rokem +5

      5 is the number of man. this is why numerology is stupid.
      5 fingers 5 appendages 5 butts. gfy

  • @dnomyarnostaw
    @dnomyarnostaw Před 4 lety +109

    "You're not going to like it ... you're REALLY not going to like it"

  • @alexandrealexandre53
    @alexandrealexandre53 Před 3 lety +749

    In ASCII language, the most basic computer software, '42′ is the designation for an asterisk. So, when Deep Thought was asked what the true meaning of life was, it answered as you might think a computer would - 42, in other words, “Anything you want it to be!”

    • @tropicheist6347
      @tropicheist6347 Před 2 lety +38

      42 thumbs up

    • @johnforbes8282
      @johnforbes8282 Před 2 lety +50

      RISK - the board game RISK has 42 territories. Alla the answer is Risk

    • @joesomers3949
      @joesomers3949 Před 2 lety +40

      In programming the asterisk is mostly use as a wildcard which means the meaning of life could be anything.

    • @zaphodbeeblebrox4574
      @zaphodbeeblebrox4574 Před 2 lety +25

      ASCII is NOT softwre, it is a code and even at that it is not the most basic !

    • @aacallison1535
      @aacallison1535 Před rokem +2

      Makes digital sense.

  • @TheMr2122
    @TheMr2122 Před 3 lety +413

    Having spent my entire working life as a programmer (now retired), I think this very neatly sums up the whole systems development process perfectly. Although perhaps exaggerated, users never know what they want, so programmers have to guess the solution!

    • @magicmulder
      @magicmulder Před 3 lety +19

      I once had a project manager whose MO literally was “just do what you think is required, and I’ll tell you whether I like it when you’re done”.
      Sounds awful but the one project we worked on ended up running for a decade with zero issues (and he changed very little about the things I did).

    • @jorgepeterbarton
      @jorgepeterbarton Před 2 lety +8

      It reminds me of fundamental maths constants. Like why is eulers number or pi just some seemingly random seed that goes on infinitely, why do simple equations produce a mandelbrot set? Why does conways game of life produce complex turing complete organic complexity from two rules.
      Maybe.. its fractal, that complexity can arise from almost mundanity.

    • @cityman1111
      @cityman1111 Před rokem +9

      42 equals 101010 in binary. Seen on the wall going into the planet Magrathea.

    • @fivish
      @fivish Před rokem +3

      As I retired senior systems analyst I agree that the users who specify their requirements in vague terms dont get exactly what they expected as its often not technically possible. You tell them but they dont believe you.

    • @rizzochuenringe669
      @rizzochuenringe669 Před rokem +1

      Exactly my experience! That's why I never wanted to know the exact wishes of my customers otherwise they would always come up with the most hilarious expectations and crazy side effects. Let it be my job to define the results, they'll like it.

  • @primtones
    @primtones Před 2 lety +92

    Somehow, this scene is much funnier in the book, with Adams' comedic timing and narration.

    • @magicmulder
      @magicmulder Před 5 měsíci +1

      Especially when DT enumerates all the other great computers and shows his contempt for them. 😂

  • @LordZontar
    @LordZontar Před 4 lety +59

    "IT WAS A DIFFICULT ASSIGNMENT."

  • @ashroskell
    @ashroskell Před rokem +100

    The incomparable penmanship of Douglas Adams there; a genuine genius (a word too often abused but worthy in this case) taken from us too soon, proving the axiom that, “Only the good die young.” We can only begin to guess at what wonders his brilliantly satirical mind would have conjured for us if only he’d lived longer. He was in his early 40’s, I believe, when struck down by a massive heart attack. A terrible loss to the world. Especially to those who love comedy, science, science fiction and grotesque parody. RIP dear boy. RIP.

    • @dayegilharno4988
      @dayegilharno4988 Před rokem +6

      :) I get the sentiment, but then again... Age has a way of creeping up on us - I would have liked to see Douglas Adams gettng unimaginative and bitter as little as watching James Dean getting fat and wrinkly!

    • @DavidHRyall
      @DavidHRyall Před rokem +3

      If he does old, he would have lived long enough to become the villain - and no longer good 😂

    • @collegeman1988
      @collegeman1988 Před 10 měsíci +4

      Douglas Adams was 49 at the time of his death.

  • @ellisg5623
    @ellisg5623 Před 6 lety +565

    I was watching this and the I checked my battery... 42%

  • @LawtonDigital
    @LawtonDigital Před 7 lety +332

    42 was Adam's age when his daughter was born (many years after he wrote the book).

    • @philipdalton1000s
      @philipdalton1000s Před 5 lety +21

      It may not have been coincidental when you consider that babies are not really brought by the stork.

    • @Thunderlord1738
      @Thunderlord1738 Před 5 lety +13

      @@philipdalton1000s How else are they brought?

    • @philipdalton1000s
      @philipdalton1000s Před 5 lety +31

      Try Googling sexual reproduction, there's a fairly simple answer. Although maybe you're not going to like it.

    • @Thunderlord1738
      @Thunderlord1738 Před 5 lety +10

      @@philipdalton1000s D:

    • @plebulus
      @plebulus Před 5 lety +11

      It was 42 minutes into the original movie (in the original)

  • @Ysckemia
    @Ysckemia Před 7 lety +154

    i so enjoy the english accent, especially when they say "forty twooo???!" with that precious tone of voice :D

    • @Life_42
      @Life_42 Před 4 lety +2

      Lol! 42 can also be written as 42.0

    • @Puppy_Puppington
      @Puppy_Puppington Před 4 lety +2

      Life = 42 and also as 42.00000000000000000

    • @elonif4125
      @elonif4125 Před rokem +1

      Sounds like Eric Idle from Monthy Python.

    • @wesleywarsmith1113
      @wesleywarsmith1113 Před rokem

      So important it is and was that they had a man In the background of the remake do the same.

    • @Ysckemia
      @Ysckemia Před rokem

      @@wesleywarsmith1113 damn! i need to watch the movie again :o (and in original version, maybe they cut it out in the french dubbing, because i don't remember hearing it..)

  • @vtc8570
    @vtc8570 Před rokem +85

    Great scene. I remember laughing out loud when I first watched it. Now that I'm older, it still brings on a chuckle, but with a bit of a sad twist.

    • @zapkvr
      @zapkvr Před rokem +1

      So you never heard the radio show then?

    • @vtc8570
      @vtc8570 Před rokem +2

      @@zapkvr wasn't even aware there was one. I remember watching these episodes on pbs when I was a kid, but now that you've mentioned it, I think I'll look for them online. Thx!

    • @davidlaw689
      @davidlaw689 Před rokem +3

      So you never heard of the books ?

  • @contessa.adella
    @contessa.adella Před rokem +25

    The majesty of this performance and its epic booming delivery far far outshines the cartoonish equivalent in the HGTTG reboot

  • @stevemurray5606
    @stevemurray5606 Před rokem +21

    I've seen this many times over the years and my favorite line is the way he says "tricky".

  • @SecularFelinist
    @SecularFelinist Před 2 lety +15

    They played this on PBS when I was little, and I loved it so much.

  • @AlexJones-ue1ll
    @AlexJones-ue1ll Před 4 lety +108

    I think the most ironic part of it is, that upon first activation Deep Thought already said, that he would only be the second most powerful computer and that the one that was to follow him would be even more powerful. So Deep Thought already calculated what was going to happen even before the question was asked of him and he had to calculate the answer.

    • @zapkvr
      @zapkvr Před rokem +4

      Not irony

    • @dayegilharno4988
      @dayegilharno4988 Před rokem +4

      :( Too bad it's simply not possible to give this comment any more likes, for obvious reasons...

    • @guitarslim56
      @guitarslim56 Před rokem +2

      It's a nod to the Bible, how John Baptist referred to the Savior who would come after him. Just a literary illusion, nothing more.

    • @whirled_peas
      @whirled_peas Před rokem +2

      @@guitarslim56 allusion.

    • @cerealdude890
      @cerealdude890 Před 11 měsíci

      @@zapkvr it’s dramatic irony

  • @sorelsuareztube
    @sorelsuareztube Před 6 lety +23

    The voice of the computer in the Audiobook is the most brilliant Ive ever heard

  • @magicmulder
    @magicmulder Před 3 lety +68

    There’s a great sci-fi short story - whose name escapes me - where the final insight was that to formulate a question, you already have to know a lot about the answer.
    The plot was similar to here, folks built (or found) the ultimate computer and kept asking it questions like “what is death” and “what is the meaning of life”. Its answer to the first one was “I can’t explain an anthropomorphism”.

    • @user-jd3bv3vh8j
      @user-jd3bv3vh8j Před rokem +12

      "Ask a foolish question" by Robert Sheckley, perhaps?

    • @magicmulder
      @magicmulder Před rokem +5

      @@user-jd3bv3vh8j Thanks so much, I've been looking for that for ages. That is indeed the one.
      You don't happen to know two more short stories I"ve been searching for? One was called "The Last Weapon" I believe, and was about some scalpers on Mars finding a weapons arsenal the Martians left behind when they died out.
      The other was some supernatural story where demons declared "God is dead", and the main villain was a demon called Lucifuge Rofocale.

    • @user-jd3bv3vh8j
      @user-jd3bv3vh8j Před rokem +4

      @@magicmulder First is indeed Last Weapon by the same author
      And I don't know anything about second }:c

    • @magicmulder
      @magicmulder Před rokem +1

      @@user-jd3bv3vh8j Man you are saving me today. Thank you so much!

    • @RIXRADvidz
      @RIXRADvidz Před rokem +7

      Asimov wrote ''The Last Question'' over the course of several billions of years life merges with a computer with the ''Last Question'' yet to be answered, no one to tell, the computer demonstrates, ''Let There Be Light'' and a New Universe is Born.

  • @amigalemming
    @amigalemming Před 6 lety +593

    These guys look like being from Monty Python.

  • @STho205
    @STho205 Před 6 lety +142

    This was the most Pythonesque skit in the story.
    #2 was the sensitive cops shooting at them.

    • @jonathanmichaeldavis9394
      @jonathanmichaeldavis9394 Před 5 lety +5

      I'm in a meeeeean mood!

    • @davidwise1302
      @davidwise1302 Před 4 lety +2

      To my knowledge, Douglas Adams was never directly related to Monty Python. He was a writer and head writer for Doctor Who back in the day (ie, before 1990 and not a part of the 2000's revival). At most, I'd think that he was tapping into the same British humour environment as Monty Python was, shared social experiences and all that, what?

    • @AlanCanon2222
      @AlanCanon2222 Před 4 lety +4

      @@jonathanmichaeldavis9394 It isn't easy being a cop!

    • @AlanCanon2222
      @AlanCanon2222 Před 4 lety

      @@davidwise1302 He was, however, in the Cambridge Footlights, though way after the Pythons were.

    • @BraveApollo42
      @BraveApollo42 Před 3 lety +6

      @@davidwise1302 Douglas Adams was close to Graham Chapman and worked with him on some projects, but these projects were not broadcast ... one of these is a program called "out of the trees" You can search for it on CZcams. As for me, I got to know Adams through this program, after that I looked for his work and watched this series.
      Adams is also credited with writing one of Monty Python episodes. I don’t know how true this is, But I remember reading that on imdb.
      ** And Excuse the bad language, I'm using Google Translate to help me write this..

  • @Scyllax
    @Scyllax Před 4 lety +80

    The voice of the computer is Valentine Dyall’s, The Fourth and Fifth Doctor’s enemy, The Dark Guardian.

    • @ClunkerSlim
      @ClunkerSlim Před 4 lety +1

      I came to the comments just for this.

    • @skadoink1736
      @skadoink1736 Před 3 lety +2

      I seem to recognise the voice as from the guardian from the Blakes 7 episode City at the Edge of the World/Forever?? not sure - but I think Forever is a Star Trek OS episode tho, so probably Edge of the World
      /Edit, yup, just checked and it is him, and it is City at the Edge of the World - always like that episode, and ofc Colin Baker in that is also the 6th Doctor

    • @raksh9
      @raksh9 Před 2 lety +2

      The BLACK Guardian.

    • @AlanCanon2222
      @AlanCanon2222 Před 2 lety

      He's in The Haunting (1963) too, playing Mr Dudley, the caretaker of Hill House (with a New England accent, though the movie was filmed in England).

  • @Noonycurt
    @Noonycurt Před 5 lety +182

    Today is my birthday. I am now -
    (wait for it)
    - 42!

  • @converse3670
    @converse3670 Před 3 lety +12

    LIFE IS THE ANSWER ITSELF, YOU ARE LIVING IT!

  • @girlygirl642
    @girlygirl642 Před 4 lety +334

    Harry Potter finds out he’s a wizard on page 42 js

  • @mobiustrip1400
    @mobiustrip1400 Před 6 měsíci +3

    Best book I've ever read! The movie does it no justice

  • @hellobeautiful5225
    @hellobeautiful5225 Před rokem +12

    Douglas was a huge fan of Monty Python. He wanted to write for them. When you read the dialog with the inflection and timing of the Monty Python boys , it all makes sense, and it’s a lot funnier.
    Tricky.

    • @ethanmillward675
      @ethanmillward675 Před rokem

      He actually did write for Monty Python’s Flying Circus

    • @nkt1
      @nkt1 Před 8 měsíci

      He wrote Out of the Trees with Graham Chapman. Roger Brierley, the chap on the right, appeared in it.

  • @worsethanhitlerpt.2539
    @worsethanhitlerpt.2539 Před 4 lety +89

    This is waaaay better than the remake that cost 100 million dollars

    • @MySerpentine
      @MySerpentine Před 4 lety +2

      Weird how that tends to happen.

    • @Shadowkey392
      @Shadowkey392 Před 4 lety +3

      Well of course it does, it’s the original. You can’t beat the original, everyone knows that.

    • @SangTheCryptek
      @SangTheCryptek Před 4 lety +6

      @F P and the movie comes off as a bastardized hack job that removes all of the spirit and wit of the original books. The best part of the movie were the Guide animations that were taken directly from this show. The show that essentially uses the books as a script.

    • @esecallum
      @esecallum Před 4 lety +5

      @@SangTheCryptek yes it was awful. i was waiting and waiting and waiting for a laugh.....but none came..it was awful

    • @freedomishealthy1086
      @freedomishealthy1086 Před 3 lety +2

      I just came from the clip of this scene from that

  • @mcradu9261
    @mcradu9261 Před 3 lety +80

    As 42 is the ASCII code for * which is the wildcard for everything and anything... nicely done... :)

    • @dnomyarnostaw
      @dnomyarnostaw Před 2 lety +6

      As Douglas Adams himself said repeatedly, "42 is NOT significant, I made it up, I f'ing MADE IT UP!"

    • @trynnallen
      @trynnallen Před 2 lety

      @@dnomyarnostaw Yeah...but being that * is the proverbial "any" key when booting early PC/Amiga/Commodore games and his love of all things computer...it makes sense. Of course if you wanna take it in the vein of the philosophers and keep bickering about it on the chat shows. I'm up for it. We start small, and work our way up to the major networks. It'll either be brilliant or dull as hell.

    • @dnomyarnostaw
      @dnomyarnostaw Před 2 lety +1

      @@trynnallen It certainly wasn't the "booting" key in IBM PC, Tandy, CPM or DOS controlled computer. And it wasn't on the Amiga or Commodore either!
      Considering that Douglas should be the expert on the significance of 42, it boggles the mind how people make sh.t up!

    • @trynnallen
      @trynnallen Před 2 lety

      @@dnomyarnostaw Sure was: LOAD "*" 8,1 used something similar on the Atari 400 & 800 too.

    • @dnomyarnostaw
      @dnomyarnostaw Před 2 lety +1

      @@trynnallen A command line ascii character is not a boot key .

  • @unclerabbit254
    @unclerabbit254 Před 4 měsíci +3

    It shall be called "The Earth!"
    Oh, what a dull name?

  • @judgeboony2695
    @judgeboony2695 Před 3 lety +9

    Eric Idle gave so much sass when he asked what the question was lol.

    • @kramrollin69
      @kramrollin69 Před rokem +1

      I think you will find that is definitely Not Eric Idle, It is just another British actor of the period. In fact, the sketch is very pythonish....Well, the Chinese and blacks do say all white people look the same.....except the blonde ones, the brown haired ones, the red head ones, the tall ones, the short ones, etc etc. 😆

  • @cherilynnfisher5658
    @cherilynnfisher5658 Před rokem +6

    Even after all these many years, this still cracks me up!

  • @wilsonj4705
    @wilsonj4705 Před 4 lety +17

    If the voice of Deep Thought sounds familiar it's the voice of Valentine Dyall who also played The Black Guardian on Dr. Who

  • @dlee645
    @dlee645 Před 7 lety +114

    I miss Douglas Adams.

  • @tomahawkmissile241
    @tomahawkmissile241 Před 9 měsíci +4

    love how the computer is 42 degree prisim that create life based on energy of a computer lol which entails 7 layers inside of it by the 3 bottom , 3 middle and 1 roof boxes during the building go back in time 7 blocks

  • @Kkardemumma
    @Kkardemumma Před 6 lety +8

    The greatest story ever told.

  • @kevinstroud3472
    @kevinstroud3472 Před 2 lety +39

    I think this is actually really deep, Douglas Adam’s being a programmer he would have known the ASCII character for 42 was the ‘*’. And since the start of programming it’s basically been the thing that denotes everything and has no meaning unless you give it one…

    • @LtPowers
      @LtPowers Před rokem +16

      Adams thought that interpretation was clever but insisted he picked 42 only because it was funny.

    • @52flyingbicycles
      @52flyingbicycles Před rokem +2

      He picked it at random

    • @nicholaskehler9169
      @nicholaskehler9169 Před rokem +1

      If you do the mathematical equation
      life the universe and everything
      substituting the number of characters for the words in the equation and treating 'the' as a separation between terms and treating 'and' as a term of addition you get
      (life=4)(universe=8)+(everything=10)
      following order of operations 4*8+10
      4*8=32
      32+10=42
      Technically speaking the only question, the computer had was the mathematical one it could infer, and it just happens that the answer to that is 42.

    • @sidneymonteiro3670
      @sidneymonteiro3670 Před rokem

      You really didn't read the book, did you?
      It is 42 in base 13.

    • @LtPowers
      @LtPowers Před rokem +3

      @@sidneymonteiro3670 What do you mean? Adams has specifically stated he didn't know that when he came up with the number.

  • @domainofthesun4400
    @domainofthesun4400 Před 4 lety +6

    Valentile Dyall performs the Deep Thought voice with sooooo much relish

  • @4Nanook
    @4Nanook Před 6 lety +168

    If you stand in a mirror and make the binary number 4, 0100, on your left hand with fingers up for 1, folded for zero, and 2, 0010 on your right hand, the meaning of this computers answer will make total sense.

    • @jayrat321
      @jayrat321 Před 6 lety +18

      what really makes sense is " the celsius temperature of the perfect cup of tea"

    • @duncanthomson5564
      @duncanthomson5564 Před 4 lety +6

      @@jayrat321 Luke-warm tea! Disgusting!

    • @normanlumhee
      @normanlumhee Před 4 lety +7

      (booming voice of Deep Thought)
      " ...it will make total sense
      ...but you're not going to like it"
      😆😆

    • @Quid34zip
      @Quid34zip Před 4 lety

      agreed

    • @firstupbestdressed9568
      @firstupbestdressed9568 Před 4 lety

      Ha ha ha...wonderful.x

  • @ndhammer
    @ndhammer Před 3 lety +5

    Douglas Adams wrote a few episodes of Classic Doctor Who.

  • @chippysteve4524
    @chippysteve4524 Před rokem +1

    RIP Magic Thighs and Broomfondle.
    They got us where we are today.

  • @RichardGillard321
    @RichardGillard321 Před 3 lety +5

    How many roads must a man walk down, before they call him a man?
    The answer is 42.
    Thank you Peter, Paul and Mary. Thank you so very much!

  • @davidwise1302
    @davidwise1302 Před 4 lety +3

    Over two decade ago, there was a very long web page of references to 42 -- I printed it out at the time and it was well over 20 printed pages long.
    What they left out was:
    1. On the X-Files, Fox Muldar's apartment number was 42.
    2. Fox Muldar had watched "Plan 9 From Outer Space" 42 times.
    And it's been so long a time that I forget the rest.
    Though more than two decades ago there was a newspaper article that the Hubble Constant (which apparently is difficult to nail down) had at one point come up as ... 42.

    • @guitarslim56
      @guitarslim56 Před rokem

      I lost 42 seconds of my life reading that post.

  • @tr7b410
    @tr7b410 Před rokem +1

    Knowing your infinite & eternal nature while gathering new information from a different dimension & relaying that information to the supreme being, is why we have taken these rather restrictive bodies.

  • @Nyxiality
    @Nyxiality Před 8 měsíci +5

    Valentine Dyall does an excellent job in this role!

  • @nekocalico454
    @nekocalico454 Před 6 lety +4

    Can't believe you guys uploaded this, where can I watch the full episode?

  • @nobodynevermind583
    @nobodynevermind583 Před 5 lety +2

    'Though I don't think you're going to like it..." 0:54 Bwahaha! :)

  • @axjagfilms
    @axjagfilms Před rokem +1

    “THE EARTH!!!”
    *(first note of Freebird plays)*

  • @speculesgorgoth4055
    @speculesgorgoth4055 Před 4 lety +3

    46 now went insane about 2015 or so dont remember exactly when it started but 2015 was when things started to get really weird

  • @jackal59
    @jackal59 Před rokem +4

    I love that both the costumes and most of the set are made of cheap silver mylar.

  • @Klockorino
    @Klockorino Před 3 lety +3

    1:06 “constable,” she said, “But be gentle.”

  • @cedricgist7614
    @cedricgist7614 Před 3 lety +2

    I saw "The Hitchhiker's Guide..." a few years ago and I believe Dame Helen Mirren was the voice of Deep Thought in the movie. I didn't know what a phenomenon Douglas Adams' work was: I probably still don't appreciate how popular it is. Started as a radio program?
    Am familiar with a CZcams channel, "Thoughty Two," on which I recently viewed a segment on why we gravitate toward conspiracy theories. Good segment. And for some reason I woke up pondering the name "Thoughty Two" and wondering if it was somehow related to the "Adams Answer." I didn't think "32" was the answer, so I came a-searching.
    Interestingly, "42" was the number Jackie Robinson wore as the African-American who "broke" the color barrier in Major League Baseball. Don't know why I didn't make that connection before. In honor of Robinson's achievement and distinguished career, Baseball retired his number on all 30 current teams. Also, the "Numberphile" channel does a good treatment of "42."
    Odd, the things that occupy our minds....

  • @magicmulder
    @magicmulder Před 5 měsíci +1

    I really hope some large streaming service turns all 5 books into a great series.
    Take Martin Sheen again, let Sir Ian McKellen play Slartibartfast, David Tennant as Ford, Ben Stiller as Zaphod… a dream.

  • @davidpeters6536
    @davidpeters6536 Před 5 měsíci +1

    Douglas was a genius. Between Deep Thought and Marvin we have a glimpse of the near future. Of course there's a good chance we will see Arnold Schwarzenegger too.

  • @pex_the_unalivedrunk6785
    @pex_the_unalivedrunk6785 Před 6 lety +33

    The question is: What do you get when you multiply six by nine?
    54...
    And there you have it. The universe is fundamentally flawed.

    • @peNdantry
      @peNdantry Před 4 lety +6

      ... now try it in base 13 ;)

  • @allisonlewis2115
    @allisonlewis2115 Před rokem

    Loved it.

  • @BobbyMasteria
    @BobbyMasteria Před rokem +3

    wait a minute, so there was a Hitchhiker's Guide To The Galaxy before The Hitchhiker's Guide To The Galaxy ??

    • @only257
      @only257 Před 11 měsíci

      ❤this was a short lived tv series came out in 1981 only lasted 6 episodes 😊

  • @artiek1177
    @artiek1177 Před rokem +1

    I was looking at these two actors and I was just envisioning Eric Idle and Terry Jones doing this.

  • @LDixon007
    @LDixon007 Před 4 lety +1

    Starring: Simon Jones
    , David Dixon, Mark Wing-Davey, Sandra Dickinson, David Learner, Stephen Moore.
    Narrated by: Peter Jones

  • @r.f.switch5847
    @r.f.switch5847 Před 2 lety +1

    It has now been 42 years since the original radio drama first aired. 10/12/1979-10/12/2021

  • @kneekoo
    @kneekoo Před rokem +4

    I'm as old as Douglas Adams' novel, which was published 42 years ago. Coincidence? I think not! 🤣

  • @reginaldperiwinkle
    @reginaldperiwinkle Před 4 lety +36

    "I speak of none but the computer that is to come after me, a computer whose merest operational parameters I am not worthy to calculate". This is a biblical allusion to the Gospel of Mark. John the Baptist speaks about Jesus as follows: "After me is coming someone more powerful than I, the thongs of whose sandals I am not worthy to stoop down and untie".

    • @carminemurray6624
      @carminemurray6624 Před 2 lety

      Believe it or not, many others actually knew 🤔 that was a messianic reference or did you think you were the only one to realize this 🤔 ?

    • @reginaldperiwinkle
      @reginaldperiwinkle Před 2 lety +5

      @@carminemurray6624 I figure most people didn't catch the reference, but that some people did.

    • @chasecollins3263
      @chasecollins3263 Před 2 lety +1

      Never knew that, thanks for the cool fact

  • @IslandForestPlains
    @IslandForestPlains Před 6 lety +67

    3:18: "A computer that can calculate the answer to the ultimate question"? Shouldn it be "the question to the ultimate answer" as they just got the answer as 42?

    • @Elso310
      @Elso310 Před 5 lety +1

      i noticed that

    • @Akario3
      @Akario3 Před 4 lety

      Because it can calculate it,it means it also knows the question or finds it by going backwards.

    • @JustDoIt12131
      @JustDoIt12131 Před 4 lety +1

      It wouldn't make sense anyway. If he doesn't know the question how could he know the answer? xD Just nonsense.

    • @nmatavka
      @nmatavka Před 4 lety +7

      @@JustDoIt12131 Just ask the quantum computer nerds that. You can totally have the answer, but not the question that the answer actually answers.

    • @JustDoIt12131
      @JustDoIt12131 Před 4 lety +6

      @@nmatavka You can have infinite answers for infinite questions, but you cannot know which one of those is the answer to the "ultimate question" if you don't know what the "ultimate question" is. Furthermore, the idea "ultimate" in that concept is subjective and therefore there are as many "ultimate questions" as thinkers.

  • @philipdalton1000s
    @philipdalton1000s Před 7 lety +16

    The thing about the Sinclair ZX Spectrum is that it didn't attempt to answer questions it couldn't really comprehend the meaning of. If you'd asked it what the answer to life, the universe and everything was it would've just displayed "Syntax error" on your TV screen.

    • @K-o-R
      @K-o-R Před 5 lety

      "Syntax error" isn't actually a ZX Spectrum error message though. You'd get a flashing ? cursor, or a red flashing cursor if you were in 128K mode. Maybe "A Invalid argument, 40:2" if it was part of a program.

    • @Loganberrybunny
      @Loganberrybunny Před 5 lety +2

      Given this is a BBC series, a BBC Micro would do the trick. Though it's surprisingly tricky to get a "Syntax error" message if you don't know the computer. Just typing gibberish simply returns "Mistake". (Mind you, this is a machine that has "Silly" as a genuine error message.)

    • @philipdalton1000s
      @philipdalton1000s Před 2 lety

      @@K-o-R I used to have a 16K Spectrum and "Syntax error" used to come up on the TV screen if you made an error in programming. I think basically the idea behind the story of "Hitchhiker's Guide to the Galaxy" is that no matter how advanced computers become they can never be expected to work something out that a human wouldn't be able to.

  • @only257
    @only257 Před 11 měsíci

    Love this tv series 🎉

  • @apiny4
    @apiny4 Před 7 lety +41

    Before it said it, I was like, "42!"

    • @daveconrad6562
      @daveconrad6562 Před 5 lety +1

      Boy don't be spoiling the movie like that, sheesh

    • @123fishpond
      @123fishpond Před rokem

      How could you be “like” 42 ????

  • @williamscherer9803
    @williamscherer9803 Před 4 lety +3

    The computer is the Earth, whattttt. I've heard that our time on Earth is Heaven. It's already super dope to live and to appreciate all that you have, when you appreciate everything everything becomes perfect like in Heaven.

  • @enviosinterdimencionales8612

    this is extremely deep and meaningful. does anybody know the truth? like, the psychedelic truth? is this computer... god? is reality as we know it, a dream? a program?

  • @mikekrier1465
    @mikekrier1465 Před 6 lety +5

    I just turned 42 right now as for 55 minutes ago, so I came here to get the url to post on my fb.

  • @tay-basswalker3964
    @tay-basswalker3964 Před 4 lety +2

    Wow 1:42 pm when I clicked on this lol

  • @TheNerdCorporation
    @TheNerdCorporation Před 3 lety +3

    Am I the only one getting mad at everyone for not listening more to Marvin since he is the smartest being and computer in the universe and therefore know the question and the answer?

  • @yutehube4468
    @yutehube4468 Před 10 měsíci +1

    This is so much better than the remake, they should have never made a remake.

  • @johnsensebe3153
    @johnsensebe3153 Před rokem +5

    42 is indeed an asterisk in ASCII, but if you interpret it as hexadecimal, "42" becomes the capital letter B. Perhaps the Ultimate Question is multiple choice.

    • @BigZ971
      @BigZ971 Před rokem

      In binary 42 is also 101010

    • @MrGreensweightHist
      @MrGreensweightHist Před 6 měsíci

      In another of the books, Adams goes on to explain that if the universe were ever understood, it would cease to exist and be replaced by something even more bizarre.
      There is no question for 42.
      That's the point of 42.
      To illustrate that even bothering to question it is irrational and futile

    • @MrGreensweightHist
      @MrGreensweightHist Před 6 měsíci

      @@BigZ971
      No it isn't.
      1010 = 10
      You're missing a 10...
      101010 = 42

    • @BigZ971
      @BigZ971 Před 6 měsíci

      @@MrGreensweightHist yes you're correct

  • @princevegeta1542
    @princevegeta1542 Před 4 lety +6

    My dad named our cat Ford Prefect in 1988. He handed down his collection to me

    • @magicmulder
      @magicmulder Před 3 lety +2

      A good friend of mine named her cat Random Frequentflier Dent, or “Randy” for those in her family who don’t get it.

    • @arwelp
      @arwelp Před 6 měsíci

      A Ford Prefect actually was our family car in the 1960s…

  • @karanlucky5
    @karanlucky5 Před 3 lety

    Ultimate

  • @msspieler
    @msspieler Před 5 lety +2

    Could it be that this scene was staged in allusion to the audience scene in in "Wizard of Oz"? The green gleam, the dust, trembling of the ground (is there one in WoO ?), the powerful voice and the subservient questioners?

  • @waliurrashid1133
    @waliurrashid1133 Před 7 lety +92

    The number 42 is, in The Hitchhiker's Guide to the Galaxy by Douglas Adams, the "Answer to the Ultimate Question of Life, the Universe, and Everything", calculated by an enormous supercomputer named Deep Thought over a period of 7.5 million years. Unfortunately, no one knows what the question is.

  • @Spoomis
    @Spoomis Před 5 lety +11

    I like this better then the movie's adaption of the scene.

    • @KingdomHeartsBrawler
      @KingdomHeartsBrawler Před 3 lety +1

      Same. It's so much grander and thought-provoking while also being funnier.

  • @Inglese001
    @Inglese001 Před rokem +2

    I think Deep Thought is actually Marvin in disguise!

  • @jordanmielbrecht3360
    @jordanmielbrecht3360 Před 6 lety +16

    Much better than the newer film

  • @caronstout354
    @caronstout354 Před 6 měsíci +1

    Legend days that if the Ultimate Question and it's Answer were to exist in the same space-time the Galaxy would collapse and Life would cease to exist...

  • @mikebasil4832
    @mikebasil4832 Před 7 lety +59

    How could Deep Thought work out the answer without being able to work out the question to begin with? It might have been a calculated trick to help make 42 systematically more understandable. The best part was of course that we had the Earth. The worst parts were the Vogons and the Golgafrinchans.

    • @tehs3raph1m
      @tehs3raph1m Před 7 lety +7

      Mike Basil considering the question ended up being "how many roads must a man walk down?"

    • @omp199
      @omp199 Před 6 lety +14

      The Earth never revealed the final results of its calculation, because just before it was due to do so, it was demolished, supposedly to make way for a new hyperspace bypass.

    • @camerononeil2266
      @camerononeil2266 Před 6 lety +3

      tehs3raph1m it isn't actually in the radio series and the books they find out that they can never know the question

    • @camerononeil2266
      @camerononeil2266 Před 6 lety +1

      kasegi Yabu only in the tv series

    • @omp199
      @omp199 Před 6 lety +12

      Arthur Dent was only part of the ultimate configuration. He wouldn't necessarily have had access to the final output, any more than a randomly chosen fragment of a demolished laptop would necessarily contain the expected output from whatever program was running on that laptop at the time that it was destroyed.

  • @h4tchetman
    @h4tchetman Před 4 lety +1

    Well, just everything, you know, everything

  • @user-pl2wm7vt6r
    @user-pl2wm7vt6r Před 8 měsíci

    I don't know, look like they when back time to explore. The scene with the space ship or rocket ship and two actors; was really educational and having a great school. Kia

  • @speculesgorgoth4055
    @speculesgorgoth4055 Před 2 lety +1

    The meaning of life the universe and everything = eternal involuntary servitude

  • @qazyguy
    @qazyguy Před 5 měsíci +1

    It was a Tough Assignment

    • @PianoandKeysStudio
      @PianoandKeysStudio Před měsícem

      F..HORTY... T..WHOOOWH???
      Is that all you've got to show for seven and a half million years WORK??!!

  • @yinloveyang
    @yinloveyang Před 4 lety +7

    Well, now we know where the LOST writers got their numbers idea from.

  • @markkonzerowsky8871
    @markkonzerowsky8871 Před 7 lety +6

    Valentine Dyall is also famous as the voice of the Black Guardian.

    • @garethhayes3470
      @garethhayes3470 Před 4 lety +1

      Mark Konzerowsky he started off as “the man in Black” on BBC radio back in the ‘50’s . And did ALL sorts of stuff over his long & distinguished career

    • @Super_Mario128
      @Super_Mario128 Před 4 lety +1

      Mark Konzerowsky Norl in Blake's 7 too.

  • @Mark73
    @Mark73 Před rokem +2

    The psychiatrists didn't want the program to complete, because if the galaxy had both the ultimate question and answer to life, the universe and everything, no one would need them any more (same as the philosophers that tried to stop the answer from being given).
    That's why the Vogon captain's psychiatrist encouraged him to destroy the Earth just before the program completed.
    They got more into that in the books than the TV show.

  • @GuinessOriginal
    @GuinessOriginal Před rokem

    Shades of his floodlights/pre cursor to Monty Python career here

  • @CailenCambeul
    @CailenCambeul Před 3 lety +1

    "How many roads must a man walk down?" 42!!!!

  • @johnarizona3820
    @johnarizona3820 Před 6 lety +2

    The answer has been in front of each throughout life.

  • @speculesgorgoth4055
    @speculesgorgoth4055 Před 4 lety

    was watching thoughty2 but when the guy introduces himself he says 42 made me think of this movie.

  • @misfit2022
    @misfit2022 Před rokem +2

    The great Valentine Dyall in the best comedy science fiction series

    • @biffyqueen
      @biffyqueen Před rokem

      I didn't realize it was him, he was a villain in Doctor Who and City of the Dead

    • @misfit2022
      @misfit2022 Před rokem

      @BiffyQueen Indeed and before that was in a number of 40’s and 50’s films including the Paul Temple films and was The Man in Black on the radio.

  • @scottgenther7010
    @scottgenther7010 Před 3 lety +9

    I think I know the question - it's an engineering detail: "What seed did God use in his random number generator when he created the universe?".

  • @malvanlondon8683
    @malvanlondon8683 Před 2 lety +7

    Over 40 years ago......but still utterly brilliant!!!

    • @juskahusk2247
      @juskahusk2247 Před rokem +1

      Maybe once it gets to 42 years ago the earth will have finished it's calculations and will spell out the answer in Scrabble tiles.

    • @kevinkor2009
      @kevinkor2009 Před 6 měsíci

      Now at 42 years.

  • @thaovuive5806
    @thaovuive5806 Před 7 lety +5

    Any body in here know the website for learning upper rp accent? I extremely like this voice.

  • @davetaylor2088
    @davetaylor2088 Před rokem

    Funny thing, that number. It was my first post box number, my mother's rural address scheme number and Fox Mulder's apartment number. I didn't know about 42 being ASCII for * (thanks Alexandre), just goes to show really...

  • @paulhall170
    @paulhall170 Před 6 měsíci

    "What a dull name" You have to wonder what DA was on when he wrote this amazing stuff lol

  • @hayleydodds8751
    @hayleydodds8751 Před rokem

    I’m 42 years old now and mad things are going on in my universe!! What on earth?!!