The Hitchhiker’s Guide To The Galaxy: Episode 4 (Summary)

First Aired: 26-01-1981

Episode  4 of The Hitchhiker’s Guide to the Galaxy begins with Arthur Dent, the last earth man in the galaxy, trying to  get to grips with the information Slartybartfast shared with him about the history of his planet.

“Mice?” Arthur is still incredulous. The mice were running the earth! Apparently so.

Slarty explains the mice were a superior species and the planet Earth and its people formed part of the matrix of an organic computer that was running a ten million year research programme into the ultimate question of life, the universe and everything.

Unfortunately, for all concerned, five minutes before the programme was complete, the Vogons destroyed the Earth. Ten million years of planning and work ruined. Now the Magratheans have to make a new Earth.

There might be an alternative though.

The mice have realized that, because Arthur was part of the great programme and remained on Earth until its last few moments, the answer to life, the universe and everything may be somewhere in his brain. So they want to buy his brain, chop it and slice it up, etc and then read it electronically.

Zaphod is okay with the idea, but Arthur is less than keen. To their credit, his other companions can quite understand his reluctance.

More trouble arrives in the form of the intergalactic police, who are after Zaphod and although they are quick to say that they do not want to shoot Zaphod, they seem more than a little trigger-happy and very gay.

The episode ends with a bang and as the smoke rises it really does look like the gang have faced the final curtain. Don’t worry though, with two episodes of the series left to go things may not be what they seem.

CAST