[[quoteright:350:https://static.tvtropes.org/pmwiki/pub/images/DouglasAdams_douglasadams_com.jpg]]
[[caption-width-right:350:The hoopiest frood of them all.]]

->''"He's just this guy, y'know?"''

''Website/TVTropes.org has this to say about Douglas Noel Adams (March 11, 1952 – May 11, 2001)...''

A British humorist and {{science fiction}} writer, most renowned for having written ''Franchise/TheHitchhikersGuideToTheGalaxy'' [[TrilogyCreep "trilogy"]], the ''Literature/DirkGently'' series, [[Recap/DoctorWhoS16E2ThePiratePlanet and]] [[Recap/DoctorWhoS17E6Shada three]] ''Series/DoctorWho'' [[Recap/DoctorWhoS17E2CityOfDeath stories]] during the Creator/TomBaker era (he was the script editor during Season 17).

A really hoopy frood, he was very fond of deadlines ([[RidiculousProcrastinator he "liked the whooshing sound they made as they flew by"]]) and always knew where his towel was.[[note]]Actually, he didn't. That was where the joke came from: he could never, ever find his towel, and figured that it was probably symptomatic of the general disorganization of his whole life. Anyone who actually knew where their towel was, he reasoned, would have to be a really together person.[[/note]] His interests included evolutionary biology, software technology, Apple computers, the music of Music/PinkFloyd, Bach, and Music/TheBeatles, and SCUBA diving. He was involved in a BBC radio production (and then book) with Mark Carwardine called ''Last Chance To See'', where he made his case for the necessity of biodiversity and the need for conservation initiatives, and also for [[VacationDearBoy paying comedy writers to go on holiday]]. He also considered himself a radical [[UsefulNotes/{{Atheism}} atheist]], but the "radical" bit was just to show people that he was serious about it (as opposed to merely being agnostic), not because he was intolerant or aggressive.

''Hitchhiker'' was constructed in a typically Adams fashion -- he was notorious for cribbing from his own previous works, and a good many aspects of ''Hitchhiker'' had been put to paper in some form (mostly Adams' own plays and unpublished short stories) before the series itself was conceived.

In true Douglas fashion, he advocated using exercise as a way of combating his depression, then died of a massive heart attack at age 49 [[DeathByIrony while at the gym]]. Because of where he was living at the time (Santa Barbara, 2001), Adams actually ''was'' carrying a towel when he died. Many of his fans find this to be very bittersweet.

Adams has been honored with an asteroid, 25924 Douglasadams, being renamed for him; the asteroid's prior designation (2001 [=DA42=]) is notable in that it coincidentally carries the year of Adams' passing; his initials; and the Answer to the Great Question of Life, the Universe, and Everything. Adams would quite probably see such a coincidence as solid proof that the universe has a sense of humour.

His gravestone is in Highgate Cemetery in London, which is open to the public (it houses the graves of many famous people, including Creator/KarlMarx) and is frequently to be found adorned with a small towel (of course), and also a pot of visitor-donated ball-point pens, both in reference to him being a writer, and to a passage in Hitch-Hikers where he mused on how ballpoint pens, by dint of their habit of disappearing whenever you really needed one, were probably some kind of advanced life form that had slipped away to enjoy a uniquely bioroid lifestyle on their home planet.

Little known fact: Adams invented the wiki before Website/{{Wikipedia}} even existed. Website/H2G2, an online encyclopedia system conceived by Adams, was launched in 1999, and predated Wikipedia by two years. Both Wikipedia and [=H2G2=] depended on information contributed by the public, although [=H2G2=] required that ''editors'', staff on Adams' payroll (later, staff on Creator/TheBBC's payroll), approve of certain contributions before it can be published.

!!Works:
[[index]]
* ''Franchise/TheHitchhikersGuideToTheGalaxy''
** ''Radio/TheHitchhikersGuideToTheGalaxy1978'' (radio, with John Lloyd)
** ''Literature/TheHitchhikersGuideToTheGalaxyTrilogy'' (novels)
*** ''Literature/TheHitchhikersGuideToTheGalaxy1''
*** ''Literature/TheRestaurantAtTheEndOfTheUniverse''
*** ''Literature/LifeTheUniverseAndEverything''
*** ''Literature/SoLongAndThanksForAllTheFish''
*** "Literature/YoungZaphodPlaysItSafe" (short story)
*** ''Literature/MostlyHarmless''
** ''Series/TheHitchhikersGuideToTheGalaxy1981'' (TV series)
** ''VideoGame/TheHitchhikersGuideToTheGalaxy1984'' (game, with Creator/{{Infocom}})
** ''Film/TheHitchhikersGuideToTheGalaxy2005'' (film, with posthumous revisions by Karey Kirkpatrick)
* ''Literature/DirkGently''
** ''Literature/DirkGentlysHolisticDetectiveAgency''
** ''Literature/TheLongDarkTeatimeOfTheSoul''
** ''Literature/TheSalmonOfDoubt'' (unfinished as he DiedDuringProduction; the finished chapters of the book were later compiled into an eponymous anthology also containing various short stories and non-fiction articles by Adams)
** The first two Dirk Gently books were adapted for BBC Radio in 2007/8. The books also served as inspiration for [[Series/DirkGently a short-lived British TV series]] that aired on BBC Four from 2010-2012 and [[Series/DirkGentlysHolisticDetectiveAgency a slightly more successful US series]] that aired on Netflix from 2016-2017.
* ''Literature/TheMeaningOfLiff'' (with John Lloyd)
* ''Last Chance to See'' (with Mark Carwardine)
* ''Series/DoctorWho'': Credited writer on "[[Recap/DoctorWhoS16E2ThePiratePlanet The Pirate Planet]]" and "[[Recap/DoctorWhoS17E6Shada Shada]]" (which unfortunately was unfinished and never aired [[TroubledProduction due to a worker's strike]], although what was filmed was eventually released on home video; It has also been adapted as a webcast, audio drama, and novel), generally accepted as main writer[[note]]The original writer was unable to perform the requested rewrites, and Adams and producer Creator/GrahamWilliams had to perform a ground-up rewrite themselves. It was against BBC guidelines for a script editor or producer to receive a writing credit, and the final product so little resembled what Fisher had written that he couldn't be credited, so an AlanSmithee-like pseudonym was used[[/note]] of "[[Recap/DoctorWhoS17E2CityOfDeath City of Death]]" (under a pseudonym), and made heavy contributions to all of Season 17 as script editor.
* ''Radio/TheBurkissWay'': He contributed sketches for three episodes of the The Burkiss Way's second series: The "Erik von Kontrik interview", "A sketch is due in Sawbridgeworth" and the "Kamikaze Pilot" sketch.
* "Literature/ThePrivateLifeOfGenghisKhan" (short story)
* ''Script/OurShowForRingoStarr'' (unproduced script)
* ''VideoGame/{{Bureaucracy}}'' (game)
* ''VideoGame/StarshipTitanic'' (game)
* ''WesternAnimation/DoctorSnuggles'': Co-wrote "The Remarkable Fidgety River" and "The Great Disappearing Mystery" with John Lloyd.
[[/index]]

!![[TropeNamer Tropes Named:]]
!!! In ''The Hitchhiker's Guide to the Galaxy''
* BitsOfMeKeepPassingOut
* DeconstructorFleet (pun on Vogon Constructor Fleet)
* FutureImperfect
* GargleBlaster
* InsignificantLittleBluePlanet
* LetsMeetTheMeat
* PuffOfLogic
* RealityIsOutToLunch
!!! Elsewhere
* TheAllegedCar (''Literature/TheLongDarkTeatimeOfTheSoul'')
* BeautifulVoid (What he termed the setting of ''VideoGame/{{Myst}}'')
* {{Zeerust}} (''Literature/TheMeaningOfLiff'')
** ZeerustCanon

!!Tropes Associated with his Work:
* AuthorUsurpation: Douglas Adams grew tired of ''Hitchhiker's Guide'' very early in TheEighties. Also, he did not think of himself as a science fiction writer and actually wasn't that much of a fan of the genre. For him, science fiction was just a convenient medium for the comedy ideas that he had at that time. He aspired more to be a comedy writer in the tradition of P.G Wodhouse. With the exception of ''Dirk Gently'' and the game ''Starship Titanic'' (the tie in novel was actually written by Terry Jones of Creator/MontyPython fame), most of his other Non "Hitchhiker's Guide" related fiction works are SliceOfLife instead of fantasy/sci fi.
* {{Bathos}}: A lot of the humour of his work runs on this.
* BrickJoke:
** Douglas was infamous for these. It could be several ''books'' before he finally dropped the punch line.
** With some sense of black humour, you could consider the fact that he wore a towel when he died his last Brick Joke.
* CreatorBacklash: After ''Life, The Universe and Everything'', Adams had grown tired of being typecast as a writer of sci-fi comedy. His next book, ''So Long and Thanks for All the Fish'' allowed Adams to indulge his desire to write a romantic comedy. This is why the majority of the book is set on Earth, Zaphod and Trillian are PutOnABus, and [[DemotedToExtra Ford's involvement is minimal]]. He wanted the relationship between Arthur and Fenchurch to be focus.
* LeftFieldDescription: This trope is part of his SignatureStyle: "The ships hung in the sky in much the same way that bricks don't."
* LightmareFuel: Making you giggle and cower at the same time (or in stomach-churningly quick succession) is part and parcel of his signature style. Bonus points if you're doing this ''and'' spotting the pun or [[ShoutOut allusion]] at the same time. In short: if your ribs don't hurt, your brain and adrenal glands will.
* ObstructiveBureaucrat: One of Adams' pet peeves, which manifested in his work, such as the Vogons from ''Hitchhiker's'' or the doctor in his ''Series/MontyPythonsFlyingCircus'' sketch "Patient Abuse".
* RidiculousProcrastinator: Adams was notorious for turning in scripts late, and during his time as a novelist would often go off to start other projects to get out of finishing the ones with deadlines coming up. He described himself as a writer who took a certain perverse pleasure in Not Writing. It got to the point where his editor took to locking him in a hotel room with nothing but a typewriter when the worse came to the worst.
** Adams' editor actually moved in with him while he was writing So Long, and Thanks for All the Fish to ensure that he would finish it on time.
-->''"I love deadlines. I love the whooshing sound they make as they fly by."''
* SelfPlagiarism: Most of his ''Series/DoctorWho'' stuff eventually migrated its way into his novels. ''Literature/LifeTheUniverseAndEverything'' contains elements of "The Pirate Planet" and one of his rejected scripts, and ''Literature/DirkGentlysHolisticDetectiveAgency'' carries over a character from "Shada" and an entire plot thread from "City of Death".
* TemporalParadox: Played with constantly in both the ''Hitchhiker'' and ''Dirk Gently'' series.
* TrojanGauntlet: In his {{Website/TED}} talk "Parrots, the Universe and Everything", he relates a RealLife tale about trying to buy a condom in Shanghai in 1988 so he could drop a microphone into the Yangtze River and record its sound. What with a language barrier, the shopkeeper insisting the pill is better, and a dolphin involved, Hilarity Ensues.
* UnfazedEveryman: The trope used to be known as 'The Arthur Dent', and it is still used as a redirect.
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