The Rise And Rise Of Douglas Adams

The Rise And Rise Of Douglas Adams 

There's a theory that you only really become a full-fledged fan of 'Doctor Who' when you start taking notice of the names on the credits, which has now got me thinking about the first time I clocked the magic words 'Douglas Adams' on anything.

After a bit of pondering and head-scratching, I think it was the first couple of pages of the book version of 'The Hitch-Hiker's Guide To The Galaxy' which listed some lines from Douglas' CV : "He has also worked at various times as a hospital porter, barn builder, chicken shed cleaner, body guard, radio producer and script editor of 'Doctor Who'..."

Now it's arguable which of these jobs requires the most in the way of hard graft, but I can definitely remember being a little surprised at the unexpected mention of 'Doctor Who'. Surely, people who worked on the show didn't do other things as well?

But 'The Pirate Planet' has recently had an airing on the Internets, which is itself a trifle ironic, given how much The Guide resembles the loose collection of half-remembered 'facts' that make up many a webpage.

This story only really makes in onto our screens (and monitors) thanks to a few brave people digging their heels in and saying how this new chap that no-one had really heard of ought to be encouraged for his wild ideas.

This period in his life represents a total reversal for Douglas, going from being virtually ignored (after a brief association with 'Monty Python' in general and Graham Chapman in particular) to becoming a writer in great demand from both television and radio.

Some of my favourite stuff from Douglas (the second radio series of 'Hitch-Hiker' and, of course, 'City Of Death') is the result of him simply writing as fast as he can and hoping for the best. Something magical happens in these situations and these acts of the imagination have stayed with me for the whole of my life.

But he only ends up in that position because people gave him a chance in the first place. It's interesting how 'Doctor Who' suddenly switches from being mostly Robert Holmes & Chris Boucher to mostly Douglas Adams and David Fisher, with Bob Baker & Dave Martin unexpectedly acting as the glue that joins the two styles together.

The whole mechanics of television production have changed since the 1970s, of course, but the tales of how new writers broke into the field were always inspiring and often owed a great deal to chance.

These days, it seems less obvious how new talent is found and nurtured. All we can comment is that every now and then it shouldn't hurt to try out some new names - you never know what they'll come up with.

(By Andrew Trowbridge)