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Ford Prefect (character)
Encyclopedia
Ford Prefect is a fictional character
in The Hitchhiker's Guide to the Galaxy
by the British
author Douglas Adams
. He is the only character other than the protagonist, Arthur Dent
, to appear throughout the entire Hitchhiker's saga.
was, in fact, a British car manufactured from 1938 to 1961. This was expanded on somewhat in the film version, where Ford is almost run over while attempting to greet a blue Ford Prefect. He is saved by Arthur and, in the film version of events at least, this is how the pair meet. The graphics in the TV series provide a similar explanation by listing director John Ford
, psychic Arthur Ford
, news reader Anna Ford
, carmaker Henry Ford
, the Ford Anglia
, the Ford Consul
and finally Ford Prefect.
Adams later observed that this joke was lost on U.S.
audiences who assumed it was a typing error for "perfect." In some versions, such as the French (Le Guide Galactique) and the Greek, Ford's name was changed to "Ford Escort." Nowadays, the joke is largely lost on younger audiences in Britain as well, since the Ford Prefect is now a rare sight on British roads. In the film adaptation, his last name was never actually stated on-screen, but it is given in the film's credits as "Prefect."
Prior art
for Adams' satirical
point – that humans attach such importance to their automobiles that a visiting extraterrestrial might reasonably mistake them for the planet's dominant life form – can be found in a widely reprinted article from The Rockefeller Institute Review titled Life on Earth (by a Martian) by Paul Weiss. The idea was also expounded by Carl Sagan
, though this may have postdated Adams' creation of the character of Ford. The 1967 Oscar-nominated animated film What on Earth!
from the National Film Board of Canada
is also based on this premise.
Despite all this, his semi-cousin (in the film and radio show they are said to share three of the same mothers) Zaphod Beeblebrox
calls him "Ford" the first time they are reunited in all versions of the story except for the film, where Zaphod addresses him as "Praxibetel Ix," then introduces him by saying "This is my semi-half cousin, Ix...Excuse me, Ford." While not explained in the book, a footnote of the original radio scripts explains that "just before arriving (on Earth) he registered his new name officially at the Galactic Nomenclaturoid Office, where they had the technology to unpick his old name from the fabric of space/time and thread the new one in its place, so that to all intents and purposes his name had always been and would always be Ford Prefect."
Ford is approximately two hundred years old, as supported by the books. When, in the first novel, Zaphod steals the Heart of Gold, it is on his (Zaphod's) two hundredth birthday. It is later mentioned that Ford and Zaphod attended school together, even having some of the same classes, which would indicate that they are roughly the same age.
and subsequent LP adaptation, Ford was played by Geoffrey McGivern
. On television
he was played by David Dixon
, and in the film
he was played by Mos Def
. In The Illustrated Hitchhiker's Guide to the Galaxy he is portrayed by Tom Finnis.
Fictional character
A character is the representation of a person in a narrative work of art . Derived from the ancient Greek word kharaktêr , the earliest use in English, in this sense, dates from the Restoration, although it became widely used after its appearance in Tom Jones in 1749. From this, the sense of...
in The Hitchhiker's Guide to the Galaxy
The Hitchhiker's Guide to the Galaxy
The Hitchhiker's Guide to the Galaxy is a science fiction comedy series created by Douglas Adams. Originally a radio comedy broadcast on BBC Radio 4 in 1978, it was later adapted to other formats, and over several years it gradually became an international multi-media phenomenon...
by the British
United Kingdom
The United Kingdom of Great Britain and Northern IrelandIn the United Kingdom and Dependencies, other languages have been officially recognised as legitimate autochthonous languages under the European Charter for Regional or Minority Languages...
author Douglas Adams
Douglas Adams
Douglas Noel Adams was an English writer and dramatist. He is best known as the author of The Hitchhiker's Guide to the Galaxy, which started life in 1978 as a BBC radio comedy before developing into a "trilogy" of five books that sold over 15 million copies in his lifetime, a television...
. He is the only character other than the protagonist, Arthur Dent
Arthur Dent
Arthur Philip Dent is a fictional character, the hapless protagonist and anti-hero in the comic science fiction series The Hitchhiker's Guide to the Galaxy by Douglas Adams....
, to appear throughout the entire Hitchhiker's saga.
Name
Although Ford had taken great care to blend into Earth society, he had "skimped a bit on his preparatory research," and thought that the name "Ford Prefect" would be "nicely inconspicuous." Adams later clarified in an interview that Ford "had simply mistaken the dominant life form." The Ford PrefectFord Prefect
Ford Prefect may refer to:* Ford Prefect , a line of British cars produced by the UK section of the Ford Motor Company from 1948 - 1961* Ford Prefect , a character in The Hitchhiker's Guide to the Galaxy, named after the car...
was, in fact, a British car manufactured from 1938 to 1961. This was expanded on somewhat in the film version, where Ford is almost run over while attempting to greet a blue Ford Prefect. He is saved by Arthur and, in the film version of events at least, this is how the pair meet. The graphics in the TV series provide a similar explanation by listing director John Ford
John Ford
John Ford was an American film director. He was famous for both his westerns such as Stagecoach, The Searchers, and The Man Who Shot Liberty Valance, and adaptations of such classic 20th-century American novels as The Grapes of Wrath...
, psychic Arthur Ford
Arthur Ford
Arthur Ford was an American psychic spiritual medium, clairaudient and in 1955 founded the Spiritual Frontiers Fellowship.- Biographical problems :...
, news reader Anna Ford
Anna Ford
Anna Ford is a retired English journalist and television presenter, best known as a newsreader....
, carmaker Henry Ford
Henry Ford
Henry Ford was an American industrialist, the founder of the Ford Motor Company, and sponsor of the development of the assembly line technique of mass production. His introduction of the Model T automobile revolutionized transportation and American industry...
, the Ford Anglia
Ford Anglia
The 1949 model, code E494A, was a makeover of the previous model with a rather more 1940s style front-end, including the sloped, twin-lobed radiator grille. Again it was a very spartan vehicle and in 1948 was Britain's lowest priced four wheel car....
, the Ford Consul
Ford Consul
The Ford Consul is a car manufactured by Ford in Britain.Between 1951 and 1962 the Consul was the four-cylinder base model of the three-model Ford Zephyr range, comprising Consul, Zephyr and Zephyr Zodiac...
and finally Ford Prefect.
Adams later observed that this joke was lost on U.S.
United States
The United States of America is a federal constitutional republic comprising fifty states and a federal district...
audiences who assumed it was a typing error for "perfect." In some versions, such as the French (Le Guide Galactique) and the Greek, Ford's name was changed to "Ford Escort." Nowadays, the joke is largely lost on younger audiences in Britain as well, since the Ford Prefect is now a rare sight on British roads. In the film adaptation, his last name was never actually stated on-screen, but it is given in the film's credits as "Prefect."
Prior art
Prior art
Prior art , in most systems of patent law, constitutes all information that has been made available to the public in any form before a given date that might be relevant to a patent's claims of originality...
for Adams' satirical
Satire
Satire is primarily a literary genre or form, although in practice it can also be found in the graphic and performing arts. In satire, vices, follies, abuses, and shortcomings are held up to ridicule, ideally with the intent of shaming individuals, and society itself, into improvement...
point – that humans attach such importance to their automobiles that a visiting extraterrestrial might reasonably mistake them for the planet's dominant life form – can be found in a widely reprinted article from The Rockefeller Institute Review titled Life on Earth (by a Martian) by Paul Weiss. The idea was also expounded by Carl Sagan
Carl Sagan
Carl Edward Sagan was an American astronomer, astrophysicist, cosmologist, author, science popularizer and science communicator in astronomy and natural sciences. He published more than 600 scientific papers and articles and was author, co-author or editor of more than 20 books...
, though this may have postdated Adams' creation of the character of Ford. The 1967 Oscar-nominated animated film What on Earth!
What on Earth!
What on Earth! is a 1966 National Film Board of Canada animated short co-directed by Les Drew and Kaj Pindal, which takes a humorous look at car culture from the point of view of fictional Martians, who mistake automobiles for Earth's true inhabitants and people as their parasites...
from the National Film Board of Canada
National Film Board of Canada
The National Film Board of Canada is Canada's twelve-time Academy Award-winning public film producer and distributor. An agency of the Government of Canada, the NFB produces and distributes documentary, animation, alternative drama and digital media productions...
is also based on this premise.
First birth name
In the novel, we are told that Ford's original name is "only pronounceable in an obscure Betelgeusian dialect" which was almost wiped out by the "Great Collapsing Hrung Disaster of Gal./Sid./Year 03758," a mysterious catastrophe which took place on the planet of Betelgeuse Seven and which Ford's father was the only man to survive. Ford never learned to pronounce his original name, which was a matter that caused his father to die of shame (which is still a terminal disease in some parts of the Universe). At school, he was nicknamed "Ix," which translates as "boy who is not able satisfactorily to explain what a Hrung is, nor why it should choose to collapse on Betelgeuse Seven".Despite all this, his semi-cousin (in the film and radio show they are said to share three of the same mothers) Zaphod Beeblebrox
Zaphod Beeblebrox
Zaphod Beeblebrox is a fictional character in the various versions of the humorous science fiction story The Hitchhiker's Guide to the Galaxy by Douglas Adams who based him on his Cambridge contemporary, Johnny Simpson....
calls him "Ford" the first time they are reunited in all versions of the story except for the film, where Zaphod addresses him as "Praxibetel Ix," then introduces him by saying "This is my semi-half cousin, Ix...Excuse me, Ford." While not explained in the book, a footnote of the original radio scripts explains that "just before arriving (on Earth) he registered his new name officially at the Galactic Nomenclaturoid Office, where they had the technology to unpick his old name from the fabric of space/time and thread the new one in its place, so that to all intents and purposes his name had always been and would always be Ford Prefect."
Ford is approximately two hundred years old, as supported by the books. When, in the first novel, Zaphod steals the Heart of Gold, it is on his (Zaphod's) two hundredth birthday. It is later mentioned that Ford and Zaphod attended school together, even having some of the same classes, which would indicate that they are roughly the same age.
Portrayals
In the original radio seriesThe Hitchhiker's Guide to the Galaxy (radio series)
The Hitchhiker's Guide to the Galaxy is a science fiction comedy radio series written by Douglas Adams . It was originally broadcast in the United Kingdom by BBC Radio 4 in 1978, and afterwards on global short wave radio on the BBC World Service, National Public Radio in the U.S. and CBC Radio in...
and subsequent LP adaptation, Ford was played by Geoffrey McGivern
Geoffrey McGivern
Geoffrey McGivern is an English actor in film, radio, stage and television. He was born in Balham, South London and grew up in York. There he attended Archbishop Holgate's School, where he was made Head Boy...
. On television
The Hitchhiker's Guide to the Galaxy (TV series)
The Hitchhiker's Guide to the Galaxy, is a BBC television adaptation of Douglas Adams's The Hitchhiker's Guide to the Galaxy broadcast in January and February 1981 on BBC Two...
he was played by David Dixon
David Dixon
David Dixon is an English actor and screenwriter. He was born in the Nightingale Maternity Home, Derby, near his father's shop in 94 London Road and brought up there before the family moved to 14 St...
, and in the film
The Hitchhiker's Guide to the Galaxy (film)
The Hitchhiker's Guide to the Galaxy is a 2005 comic science fiction film based on the book of the same name by Douglas Adams. Shooting was completed in August 2004 and the movie was released on April 28, 2005 in Europe, Australia and New Zealand, and on the following day in Canada and the United...
he was played by Mos Def
Mos Def
Dante Terrell Smith is an American actor and Emcee known by the stage names Mos Def and Yasiin Bey. He started his hip hop career in a group called Urban Thermo Dynamics, after which he appeared on albums by Da Bush Babees and De La Soul. With Talib Kweli, he formed the duo Black Star, which...
. In The Illustrated Hitchhiker's Guide to the Galaxy he is portrayed by Tom Finnis.