"The Hitchhiker's Guide to the Galaxy" was originally a 1979 BBC radio series, written by Douglas Adams, which first premiered in the US on PBS in 1980. The subsequent TV show (available on DVD) recreates the insight and beauty of the radio broadcast with visuals that were precognizant and beyond "state of the art." The book of the same name was actually a transcript of the original audio. The book pales by comparison to the original radio episodes because of the genius of the audio effects. (The 2005 movie version was an abomination.)

The original radio version of "The Hitchhiker's Guide to the Galaxy" is likely the most humorous and insightful source of philosophical wisdom created in the last 50 years, and comparable to (but much funnier than) the works of Jules Vern in terms of predictive fiction.