Babel Fish - The Oddest Thing In The Universe - The Hitchhiker's Guide To The Galaxy - BBC
Why Hacker News recommends it
HN points to it for the memorable hand-animated computer graphics, which still hold up, and as the TV rendition of a famous passage.
What it is
The BBC TV version of the Babel Fish passage from The Hitchhiker's Guide to the Galaxy, with Ford and Arthur aboard a Vogon ship, narrated over the show's hand-drawn animated Guide entry.
Recommended by 1 HN commenters across 2 different months, 2020 to 2025.
What Hacker News said
Recommends open-source-ux · 2020-03 · on “How TV Logos Were Made Before Computers (2017)”
In the 1981 BBC TV series of the 'Hitchhiker's Guide to the Galaxy' , the animated sequences simulated the look of a computer display but weren't actually computer generated. They were drawn on sheets of acetate as traditional 2D animators had done for decades. The animation is one of the most memorable aspects of the TV series and, despite being almost 40 years old, still holds up really well: [this video]
Recommends open-source-ux · 2022-04 · on “HUDS and GUIs: an inspiration resource site featuring Future User Interfaces”
I think futuristic computer UIs in TV and films before computer graphics would make for a fascinating topic. For example, the computer UI in the BBC TV series The Hitchhiker's Guide to the Galaxy deserves a mention. The low-budget series was broadcast in 1981 - a time when computer graphics were limited and not widespread in TV and film. All the "computer graphics" were hand animated to simulate a computer display. The "computer" graphics still stands up brilliantly more than 40 years later: A clip: [this video]
Cites dspillett · 2020-10 · on “An earlier universe can still be observed today, says Roger Penrose”
It is from the Hitchhikers Guide to the Galaxy. See [this video] for the TV version's rendition of this bit. If you've not yet experienced H2G2 I suggest tracking down the original radio version before the books, TV, or more modern film - it is widely available to buy in various formats. It is justly recognized as a classic.
Cites RubberMullet · 2021-07 · on “Google and Facebook mandate vaccines for employees at U.S. offices”
I believe this goes way beyond the fear of vaccination. There is rampant distrust in many of our institutions and I would argue this isn't unfounded. We are witnessing profound and fundamental issues that go beyond what some perceive as antiscience and/or racist sentiments. All this is being compounded by technology in many different ways. Everyone has the ability to create their own version of Malleus Maleficarum and publish it to the world in an instant. Social media, especially with the lockdowns, has demonstrated the limits of our evolutionary biology. Twitter often reminds me of a very crude form of the Babel fish from THHGTG[0]. It's going to take more than love and respect to overcome
Cites kristianp · 2025-03 · on “So Long and Thanks for All the Words: A Toast to Douglas Adams”
The tv series was my introduction to Hitchhiker's. I loved the presentation of the guide entries. E.g. the babelfish at 2m5s: [this video]