The Heart of Gold escapes the Vogons by using the Infinite Improbability Drive, materializing in what looks like a cave on the planet Brontitall. Technically, though, it’s not on the planet – it’s 13 miles above the planet, as Arthur discovers when he falls out of the opening. Luckily for him, he lands on the back of a large and apparently sentient bird, who informs him that he’s actually just fallen out of a statue. When Arthur sees the statue in full, he’s aghast to see it’s a representation of himself, throwing a cup of badly made synthetic tea from the Heart of Gold’s nutrimat. Every oriface of the anatomically correct statue has become home to this race of intelligent birds. Much to his alarm, Arthur finds that he may have changed the very course of evolution on Brontitall, and he also finds that an archaeologist named Lintilla is currently attempting to work out quite how he did it.
written by Douglas Adams
directed by Alick Hale-Munro
music by Paddy KingslandCast: Peter Jones (The Voice of the Book), Simon Jones (Arthur Dent), Geoffrey McGivern (Ford Prefect), Mark Wing-Davey (Zaphod Beeblebrox), Stephen Moore (Marvin), David Tate (Eddie), Ronald Baddiley (Bird One), John Baddeley (Bird Two / Foot Warrior), Rula Lenska (Lintilla), John Le Mesurier (Wise Old Bird)
Notes: It may surprise Hitchhiker’s fans to learn that it wasn’t until this episode of the radio series that the now-legendary tirade on uses for the towel was introduced to the Hitchhiker mythos, along with the words “hoopy” and “frood.”