JACK WHITHAM PhD MEng
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The "Missing Magrathea Scene"

This is the scene from The Hitch Hiker's Guide to the Galaxy radio series (episode 3, "fit the third") in which Arthur, Ford, Zaphod, Marvin and Trillian step out onto the surface of Magrathea. The scene has been cut from every commercial release of the radio series on CD and tape, and appears also to have been cut from the versions that are broadcast by radio stations from time to time. As a result, a lot of H2G2 fans probably haven't heard it.

In the interests of preventing a piece of H2G2 history from being lost, I copied the scene off a tape recording of the original broadcast, and put it on the web. Quite a few people downloaded it, even though the quality of the tape had deteriorated somewhat since 1978. I was later contacted by another fan (Andrew Rodland) who sent me a new recording from the Pink Floyd bootleg "A Tree Full of Secrets". The quality of the new recording is much higher, but it is slightly shorter than my own recording (a few lines of dialogue are missing). So I have edited both recordings with the CD release of the radio series to make a "definitive" version that restores the original scene.

Files

The definitive high-quality version: The version I recovered from a tape: The "Tree Full of Secrets" version.

The script

Here's the script for the missing scene. The text is from the first edition of the H2G2 radio scripts book. A newer edition is available from Amazon. This is worth reading if you are a fan. You can see that this short sample is filled with stage directions and notes that can't be (directly) heard in the radio programme; the book is full of similar material. 
EDDIE       It'll all end in tears, I know it

F/X         HATCH CLOSES LEAVING TOTAL SILENCE. WIND.

GRAMS       PINK FLOYD `SHINE ON YOU CRAZY DIAMOND' INTRO.
            FROM THE ALBUM `WISH YOU WERE HERE'

            (They all have to shout into the wind)

ARTHUR      It's fantastic!

FORD        Desolate hole if you ask me.

TRILLIAN    It's bloody cold. It all looks so stark and dreary.

ARTHUR      I think it's absolutely fantastic!

ARTHUR      It's only just getting through to me... a whole alien world,
            millions of light years from home. Pity it's such a dump though.
            Where's Zaphod?

ZAPHOD      (Calling from a distance) Hey! Just beyond this ridge you can see
            the remains of an ancient city.

FORD        What does it look like?

ZAPHOD      Bit of a dump. Come on over. Oh and watch out for all the bits of
            whalemeat.

GRAMS       THEY ARE ALL WALKING OFF AND THEIR VOICES FADE, WITH THE MUSIC

ARTHUR      Do you realize that robot can hum like Pink Floyd? What else can
            you do Marvin?

MARVIN      Rock and roll?

F/X: GRAMS  AS THEY FADE INTO THE DISTANCE THE PINK FLOYD MUSIC CHANGES
            ABRUPTLY INTO `ROCK AND ROLL MUSIC' BY THE FAB FOUR WITH JUST A
            SLIGHT ELECTRONIC DISTORT AND ECHO TO MAKE IT CLEAR THAT THE ROBOT
            IS IN FACT SINGING IT

TRILLIAN    I wish I knew where my mice were.

ZAPHOD      (Approaching) OK, I've found a way in.

ARTHUR      In? In what?

ZAPHOD      Down to the interior of the planet - that's where we have to go.
            Where no man has trod these five million years, into the very
            depths of time itself...

GRAMS       THEME MUSIC FROM 2001 (ALSO SPRACH ZARATHUSTRA) HAS BEEN BUILDING
            UP UNDER THIS AND NOW REACHES A CLIMAX

ZAPHOD      Can it, Marvin

GRAMS       2001 THEME STOPS ABRUPTLY

ARTHUR      Why underground?

ZAPHOD      Well according to the legends the Magratheans lived most of their
            lives underground.

ARTHUR      Why, did the surface become too polluted or overpopulated?

ZAPHOD      No, I think they just didn't like it very much.

TRILLIAN    Zaphod, are you sure you know what you're doing? We've been
            attacked once already you know.

Legal note

Naturally, I don't have permission to put these files on the web, but I hope that the BBC, Pink Floyd and the estate of Douglas Adams do not mind given that the sample is so short. If any rights holder does object, they can (of course) contact me and I will remove the files. However, since the BBC has linked to this page, I don't think there is a problem.

News

23/06/09. An anonymous person has sent me off-air recordings of episodes 1 to 12. The quality seems to be good, and I hope to carry out a comparison of these recordings and the CD release in order to find further places where edits have been made. This webpage will be expanded with new sound clips when I have time to do this, probably an episode at a time.

The ultimate goal must be the provision of all information required to restore the episodes as originally broadcast, so that anyone with the commercial CD release can reconstruct them.

To the anonymous donor - thankyou very much for your help. It is good to know that others are interested in preserving this significant piece of radio history, and you have made a great contribution to the process.


       
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