Slartibartfast
Encyclopedia
Slartibartfast is a fictional character in The Hitchhiker's Guide to the Galaxy
, a comedy
/science fiction
series created by Douglas Adams
. The character appears in the first
and third novels
, the first and third radio series (and the LP adaptation of the first radio series), the 1981 television series
and the 2005 feature film
. The character was modelled after actor John Le Mesurier
.
lines, the most notable of which are the fjord
s found on the coast of Norway
on planet Earth
, for which he wins an award. While trapped on prehistoric Earth
, Arthur Dent
and Ford Prefect
see Slartibartfast's signature deep inside a glacier
in ancient Norway.
When Earth Mk. II is being made, Slartibartfast is assigned to the continent of Africa
. He is unhappy about this because he wants to make more fjords (arguing that they give a continent a baroque
feel), and fjords in Africa would be hard for him to explain without natural glacial movement.
In any event, the new Earth is not required and, much to Slartibartfast's disgust, its owners suggested that he take a quick skiing
holiday on his glaciers before dismantling them.
In Life, the Universe and Everything
Slartibartfast has joined the Campaign for Real Time (or CamTim as the volunteers casually refer to it, a reference to CAMRA
) which tries to preserve events as they happened before time travel
ling was invented. He picks up Arthur and Ford from Lord's Cricket Ground
with his Starship Bistromath, after which they head out to stop the robots of Krikkit from bringing together the pieces of the Wikkit Gate.
that he wanted Slartibartfast's name to sound very rude, but still actually be broadcastable. He therefore started with the name "Phartiphukborlz", and changed bits of it until it would be acceptable to the BBC
. He came closer to achieving this goal in the following episode, with the double-act Lunkwill and Fook. He adds to this statement in Don't Panic: The Official Hitchhiker's Guide to the Galaxy Companion
, an analysis by Neil Gaiman
.
, who also portrayed him in the 1981 live-action miniseries
. Richard Griffiths
voiced him in the 2004 radio series. Finally, he was portrayed by Bill Nighy
in the 2005 film adaptation of the first novel.
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...
, a comedy
Comedy
Comedy , as a popular meaning, is any humorous discourse or work generally intended to amuse by creating laughter, especially in television, film, and stand-up comedy. This must be carefully distinguished from its academic definition, namely the comic theatre, whose Western origins are found in...
/science fiction
Science fiction
Science fiction is a genre of fiction dealing with imaginary but more or less plausible content such as future settings, futuristic science and technology, space travel, aliens, and paranormal abilities...
series created by 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...
. The character appears in the first
The Hitchhiker's Guide to the Galaxy (book)
The Hitchhiker's Guide to the Galaxy is the title of the first of six books in the Hitchhiker's Guide to the Galaxy comedy science fiction "trilogy" by Douglas Adams . The novel is an adaptation of the first four parts of Adams's radio series of the same name. The novel was first published in...
and third novels
Life, the Universe and Everything
Life, the Universe and Everything is the third book in the five-volume Hitchhiker's Guide to the Galaxy science fiction series by British writer Douglas Adams...
, the first and third radio series (and the LP adaptation of the first radio series), the 1981 television series
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...
and the 2005 feature 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...
. The character was modelled after actor John Le Mesurier
John Le Mesurier
John Le Mesurier was a BAFTA Award-winning English actor. He is most famous for his role as Sergeant Arthur Wilson in the popular 1970s BBC comedy Dad's Army.-Career:...
.
Character overview
Slartibartfast is a Magrathean, and a designer of planets. His favourite part of the job is creating coastCoast
A coastline or seashore is the area where land meets the sea or ocean. A precise line that can be called a coastline cannot be determined due to the dynamic nature of tides. The term "coastal zone" can be used instead, which is a spatial zone where interaction of the sea and land processes occurs...
lines, the most notable of which are the fjord
Fjord
Geologically, a fjord is a long, narrow inlet with steep sides or cliffs, created in a valley carved by glacial activity.-Formation:A fjord is formed when a glacier cuts a U-shaped valley by abrasion of the surrounding bedrock. Glacial melting is accompanied by rebound of Earth's crust as the ice...
s found on the coast of Norway
Norway
Norway , officially the Kingdom of Norway, is a Nordic unitary constitutional monarchy whose territory comprises the western portion of the Scandinavian Peninsula, Jan Mayen, and the Arctic archipelago of Svalbard and Bouvet Island. Norway has a total area of and a population of about 4.9 million...
on planet Earth
Earth
Earth is the third planet from the Sun, and the densest and fifth-largest of the eight planets in the Solar System. It is also the largest of the Solar System's four terrestrial planets...
, for which he wins an award. While trapped on prehistoric Earth
Prehistory
Prehistory is the span of time before recorded history. Prehistory can refer to the period of human existence before the availability of those written records with which recorded history begins. More broadly, it refers to all the time preceding human existence and the invention of writing...
, 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....
and Ford Prefect
Ford Prefect (character)
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.-Name:Although Ford had taken great care to blend into Earth...
see Slartibartfast's signature deep inside a glacier
Glacier
A glacier is a large persistent body of ice that forms where the accumulation of snow exceeds its ablation over many years, often centuries. At least 0.1 km² in area and 50 m thick, but often much larger, a glacier slowly deforms and flows due to stresses induced by its weight...
in ancient Norway.
When Earth Mk. II is being made, Slartibartfast is assigned to the continent of Africa
Africa
Africa is the world's second largest and second most populous continent, after Asia. At about 30.2 million km² including adjacent islands, it covers 6% of the Earth's total surface area and 20.4% of the total land area...
. He is unhappy about this because he wants to make more fjords (arguing that they give a continent a baroque
Baroque
The Baroque is a period and the style that used exaggerated motion and clear, easily interpreted detail to produce drama, tension, exuberance, and grandeur in sculpture, painting, literature, dance, and music...
feel), and fjords in Africa would be hard for him to explain without natural glacial movement.
In any event, the new Earth is not required and, much to Slartibartfast's disgust, its owners suggested that he take a quick skiing
Skiing
Skiing is a recreational activity using skis as equipment for traveling over snow. Skis are used in conjunction with boots that connect to the ski with use of a binding....
holiday on his glaciers before dismantling them.
In Life, the Universe and Everything
Life, the Universe and Everything
Life, the Universe and Everything is the third book in the five-volume Hitchhiker's Guide to the Galaxy science fiction series by British writer Douglas Adams...
Slartibartfast has joined the Campaign for Real Time (or CamTim as the volunteers casually refer to it, a reference to CAMRA
Campaign for Real Ale
The Campaign for Real Ale is an independent voluntary consumer organisation based in St Albans, England, whose main aims are promoting real ale, real cider and the traditional British pub...
) which tries to preserve events as they happened before time travel
Time travel
Time travel is the concept of moving between different points in time in a manner analogous to moving between different points in space. Time travel could hypothetically involve moving backward in time to a moment earlier than the starting point, or forward to the future of that point without the...
ling was invented. He picks up Arthur and Ford from Lord's Cricket Ground
Lord's Cricket Ground
Lord's Cricket Ground is a cricket venue in St John's Wood, London. Named after its founder, Thomas Lord, it is owned by Marylebone Cricket Club and is the home of Middlesex County Cricket Club, the England and Wales Cricket Board , the European Cricket Council and, until August 2005, the...
with his Starship Bistromath, after which they head out to stop the robots of Krikkit from bringing together the pieces of the Wikkit Gate.
"The rude name that is hard to type"
Douglas Adams writes in the notes accompanying the published volume of original radio scriptsThe Hitchhiker's Guide to the Galaxy: The Original Radio Scripts
The Hitchhiker's Guide to the Galaxy: The Original Radio Scripts is a book, published in 1985, containing the scripts for the original radio series version of The Hitchhiker's Guide to the Galaxy by Douglas Adams. Text present in the original scripts but cut to meet time constraints is printed...
that he wanted Slartibartfast's name to sound very rude, but still actually be broadcastable. He therefore started with the name "Phartiphukborlz", and changed bits of it until it would be acceptable to the BBC
BBC
The British Broadcasting Corporation is a British public service broadcaster. Its headquarters is at Broadcasting House in the City of Westminster, London. It is the largest broadcaster in the world, with about 23,000 staff...
. He came closer to achieving this goal in the following episode, with the double-act Lunkwill and Fook. He adds to this statement in Don't Panic: The Official Hitchhiker's Guide to the Galaxy Companion
Don't Panic: The Official Hitchhiker's Guide to the Galaxy Companion
Don't Panic: The Official Hitchhiker's Guide to the Galaxy Companion is a book by Neil Gaiman about Douglas Adams and The Hitchhiker's Guide to the Galaxy...
, an analysis by Neil Gaiman
Neil Gaiman
Neil Richard Gaiman born 10 November 1960)is an English author of short fiction, novels, comic books, graphic novels, audio theatre and films. His notable works include the comic book series The Sandman and novels Stardust, American Gods, Coraline, and The Graveyard Book...
.
Portrayals
Slartibartfast was first portrayed in the 1978 radio serial, in which he was voiced by Richard VernonRichard Vernon
Richard Vernon was a British actor. He appeared in many feature films and television programmes, often in aristocratic or supercilious roles...
, who also portrayed him in the 1981 live-action miniseries
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...
. Richard Griffiths
Richard Griffiths
Richard Griffiths, OBE is an English actor of stage, film and television. He has received the Laurence Olivier Award for Best Actor, the Drama Desk Award for Outstanding Actor in a Play, the Outer Critics Circle Award for Best Featured Actor and a Tony Award for Best Performance by a Leading Actor...
voiced him in the 2004 radio series. Finally, he was portrayed by Bill Nighy
Bill Nighy
William Francis "Bill" Nighy is an English actor and comedian. He worked in theatre and television before his first cinema role in 1981, and made his name in television with The Men's Room in 1991, in which he played the womanizer Prof...
in the 2005 film adaptation of the first novel.