Listen free for 30 days

Listen with offer

Offer ends May 1st, 2024 11:59PM GMT. Terms and conditions apply.
£7.99/month after 3 months. Renews automatically.
Pick 1 audiobook a month from our unmatched collection - including bestsellers and new releases.
Listen all you want to thousands of included audiobooks, Originals, celeb exclusives, and podcasts.
Access exclusive sales and deals.
£7.99/month after 30 days. Renews automatically. See here for eligibility.
Pick 1 audiobook a month from our unmatched collection - including bestsellers and new releases.
Listen all you want to thousands of included audiobooks, Originals, celeb exclusives, and podcasts.
Access exclusive sales and deals.
The Hitchhiker's Guide to the Galaxy: The Original Albums cover art

The Hitchhiker's Guide to the Galaxy: The Original Albums

By: Douglas Adams
Narrated by: Full Cast, Peter Jones, Simon Jones, Geoffrey McGivern, Mark Wing-Davey
Get this deal Try for £0.00

Pay £99p/month. After 3 months pay £7.99/month. Renews automatically. See terms for eligibility.

£7.99/month after 30 days. Renews automatically. See here for eligibility.

Buy Now for £7.99

Buy Now for £7.99

Pay using card ending in
By completing your purchase, you agree to Audible's Conditions of Use and authorise Audible to charge your designated card or any other card on file. Please see our Privacy Notice, Cookies Notice and Interest-based Ads Notice.

Listeners also enjoyed...

The Hitchhiker's Guide to the Galaxy: The Primary Phase (Dramatised) cover art
The Hobbit (Dramatised) cover art
Dirk Gently: Two BBC Radio Full-Cast Dramas cover art
Doctor Who: Classic TV Adventures Collection One cover art
Blackadder: The Complete Collected Series cover art
Nebulous: The Complete Series 1-3 cover art
You’ll Have Had Your Tea: The Doings of Hamish & Dougal cover art
The Hitchhiker's Guide to the Future cover art
Yes Minister & Yes Prime Minister - The Complete Audio Collection cover art
Monty Python's Flying Circus cover art
Sherlock Holmes: The Complete BBC Collection cover art
My Effin' Life cover art
Charles Paris: A Second BBC Radio Collection cover art
The Lord Of The Rings: The Return of the King (Dramatised) cover art
The Lord of the Rings: The Fellowship of the Ring (Dramatised) cover art
The Lord of the Rings: The Two Towers (Dramatised) cover art

Summary

Don’t Panic! Reissued for the first time in 40 years, two unique recordings of Douglas Adams's sci-fi comedy drama.

When Earthman Arthur Dent learns that first his house and then his planet are about to be bulldozed, it’s the beginning of an interplanetary adventure for him and his friend, Ford Prefect. After fleeing Earth they hitch a lift with hoopy frood Zaphod Beeblebrox, who hurtles from one improbability to another - literally. With Trillian and Marvin the Paranoid Android in tow, the answer to Life, the Universe and Everything is soon revealed: 42. But what was the question…?

Following the success of the BBC radio series, Douglas Adams adapted his scripts for these two full-cast albums, with incidental radiophonic music provided by Paddy Kingsland. First released by Original Records in 1980, The Hitchhiker’s Guide to the Galaxy and The Restaurant at the End of the Universe star Peter Jones as The Book, Simon Jones as Arthur Dent, Geoffrey McGivern as Ford Prefect and Mark Wing-Davey as Zaphod Beeblebrox.

Produced by Geoffrey Perkins and Tim Souster, the cast also includes Cindy Oswin, Stephen Moore, Richard Vernon, Valentine Dyall, David Tate, Jim Broadbent, Bill Wallis, Roy Hudd, Frank Middlemass, Stephen Greif and others.

Hang onto your towel – it’s going to be the ride of a lifetime.

PLEASE NOTE: When you purchase this title, the accompanying PDF will be available in your Audible Library along with the audio.

©2020 BBC Studios Distribution Ltd (P)2020 BBC Studios Distribution Ltd

What listeners say about The Hitchhiker's Guide to the Galaxy: The Original Albums

Average customer ratings
Overall
  • 5 out of 5 stars
  • 5 Stars
    109
  • 4 Stars
    6
  • 3 Stars
    4
  • 2 Stars
    3
  • 1 Stars
    1
Performance
  • 5 out of 5 stars
  • 5 Stars
    96
  • 4 Stars
    6
  • 3 Stars
    1
  • 2 Stars
    0
  • 1 Stars
    0
Story
  • 5 out of 5 stars
  • 5 Stars
    100
  • 4 Stars
    2
  • 3 Stars
    1
  • 2 Stars
    1
  • 1 Stars
    0

Reviews - Please select the tabs below to change the source of reviews.

Sort by:
Filter by:
  • Overall
    5 out of 5 stars
  • Performance
    4 out of 5 stars
  • Story
    5 out of 5 stars

enjoying show.

I enjoyed the show and it was funny. the show was good and funny with story.

Something went wrong. Please try again in a few minutes.

You voted on this review!

You reported this review!

1 person found this helpful

  • Overall
    5 out of 5 stars
  • Performance
    5 out of 5 stars
  • Story
    5 out of 5 stars

A re-recording of the original BBC radio scripts

The hugely influential and widely admired Hitchhiker's Guide started life on BBC Radio as a comedy drama. because recordings of this were unavailable Douglas Adams adapted the scripts for a commercially released two disc album which included material from the first 4 radio episodes. This was followed by a second release of scripts for the last two episodes - Restaurant at the End of the Universe. while the first Album may even have been better than the Radio series, the Restaurant album lacks the spark of the original, possibly becuase the new material that was added to make it long enough for an album acts like filler rather than contributing to the comedy. It's all still a good listen though and great value for one credit.

Something went wrong. Please try again in a few minutes.

You voted on this review!

You reported this review!

  • Overall
    5 out of 5 stars
  • Performance
    5 out of 5 stars
  • Story
    5 out of 5 stars

Wonderful

Truly wonderful, funny, clever and even funnier every time I listen to it, thank you so much

Something went wrong. Please try again in a few minutes.

You voted on this review!

You reported this review!

  • Overall
    5 out of 5 stars
  • Performance
    5 out of 5 stars
  • Story
    5 out of 5 stars

Favourite classic

My always go to favourite classic story. This narration (the original) is just iconic. A brilliantly funny and timeless story!

Something went wrong. Please try again in a few minutes.

You voted on this review!

You reported this review!

  • Overall
    5 out of 5 stars
  • Performance
    5 out of 5 stars
  • Story
    5 out of 5 stars

My favourite version of Hitchhiker, at last!

For me, this always trumped every other version. So pleased people can hear it again!

Something went wrong. Please try again in a few minutes.

You voted on this review!

You reported this review!

3 people found this helpful

  • Overall
    5 out of 5 stars
  • Performance
    5 out of 5 stars
  • Story
    5 out of 5 stars

Good to hear original full production!

Original BBC radio production, excellent play for any audience and recommend to any sci-fi fan!

Something went wrong. Please try again in a few minutes.

You voted on this review!

You reported this review!

  • Overall
    5 out of 5 stars
  • Performance
    5 out of 5 stars
  • Story
    5 out of 5 stars

I know im gonna get a bundle of kicks out of any problem you can’t run through me

Hitchhiker’s guide to the galaxy in my opinion the best book ever

My reason

Funny

Interesting story that confuses you to get you hooked

So many quotes

Unlimited replay ability

Great characters

And a bowl of petunias and the number of roads a man must walk down (42) is a very important

Something went wrong. Please try again in a few minutes.

You voted on this review!

You reported this review!

  • Overall
    5 out of 5 stars
  • Performance
    5 out of 5 stars
  • Story
    5 out of 5 stars

Great to hear these albums again

Apparently taken from the vinyl rather than the master tapes, this sounds pretty good. I love all the versions of the Hitch Hiker’s Guide to the Galaxy but this one is extra special to me as for a long time it was the *only* way to listen to the show after the repeats had finished on Radio 4 in the late 70s. Despite the vinyl origins the sound quality is better than the original radio show (though the Dirk Maggs remixes have greatly improved them) and the backing music, from Tim Souster and Paddy Kingsland of the Radiophonic Workshop is completely recomposed, and rather better for the most part - Rainbow in Curved Air, Jean Michel Jarre, Pink Floyd, the Beatles and Louis Armstrong are all missing (rights issues) but you don’t miss them that much as the new music is so well fitted to the script with a delightfully light pizzicato feel shading to passages of choral synth grandeur - additional sound effects throughout make for a very rich and textured experience. This is the first appearances of Disaster Area (predating the TV show and novel adaptation) and Valentine Dyall as Deep Thought. David Jason is absent, but Jim Broadbent and Roy Hudd are both there. The rewritten scene with the mice is much funnier than the original with mouse voices that crack me up every time. The performances are great across the board, tight and finely honed. The only thing that I really miss - and it’s a big one - is Susan Sheridan in her role as Trillian as she was recording the dialogue for a Disney cartoon at the time, but Cindy Oswin does a great interpretation and gets to appear as one of the two operators of Deep Thought, which makes those scenes feel a fair bit more modern. These albums, lost for decades, bring fresh perspective to THHGTTG - if you’re a fan of the original show and into completism then these are a must-have. If you’re new to Hitch Hiker then this is a great - and compact - way to get into the show. Right, I’m going back to the desert of Kaktafoon Kappa for the finale of Disaster Area’s gig...

Something went wrong. Please try again in a few minutes.

You voted on this review!

You reported this review!

4 people found this helpful

  • Overall
    5 out of 5 stars
  • Performance
    5 out of 5 stars
  • Story
    5 out of 5 stars

Always funny

No matter how many times I listen as good and funny as always, a great production

Something went wrong. Please try again in a few minutes.

You voted on this review!

You reported this review!

  • Overall
    5 out of 5 stars
  • Performance
    5 out of 5 stars
  • Story
    5 out of 5 stars

The original and best

For some reason, someone saw fit to change the original story slightly, shorten it a bit and re-release it as a 'modernised' version. I don't know why. This is the original version where they leave Milliways in the ship belonging to the rock band. I was very disappointed with the other version missing this out and regretted using a credit to buy it. This version is well worth the credit and just like the original radio series

Something went wrong. Please try again in a few minutes.

You voted on this review!

You reported this review!

1 person found this helpful