Ford Prefect (character) - Revision history

Kurt: /* Name */

2023-03-16T19:27:22Z

Name

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	Although Ford had taken great care to blend into Earth society, he had "skimped a bit on his preparatory research," and thought that the name "Ford Prefect" would be "nicely inconspicuous." The [[Ford Prefect]] was a popular British car manufactured from 1938 to 1961, and Adams later clarified in an interview that Ford "had simply mistaken the dominant life form" of Earth. This was expanded on somewhat in the film version, where Ford is almost run over while attempting to greet a blue Ford Prefect. He is saved by Arthur and, in the film version of events, this is how the pair meet (this meeting also prompting Ford to rescue Arthur in particular when the Vogons come to destroy Earth). The graphics in the TV series provide a similar explanation by listing a sequence of names including 'Ford', beginning with director [[John Ford]], [[Arthur Ford (psychic)\|Arthur Ford]], news reader [[Anna Ford]], carmaker [[Henry Ford]], the [[Ford Anglia]], the [[Ford Consul]] with the final name Ford Prefect being selected.		Although Ford had taken great care to blend into Earth society, he had "skimped a bit on his preparatory research," and thought that the name "Ford Prefect" would be "nicely inconspicuous." The [[Ford Prefect]] was a popular British car manufactured from 1938 to 1961, and Adams later clarified in an interview that Ford "had simply mistaken the dominant life form" of Earth. This was expanded on somewhat in the film version, where Ford is almost run over while attempting to greet a blue Ford Prefect. He is saved by Arthur and, in the film version of events, this is how the pair meet (this meeting also prompting Ford to rescue Arthur in particular when the Vogons come to destroy Earth). The graphics in the TV series provide a similar explanation by listing a sequence of names including 'Ford', beginning with director [[John Ford]], [[Arthur Ford (psychic)\|Arthur Ford]], news reader [[Anna Ford]], carmaker [[Henry Ford]], the [[Ford Anglia]], the [[Ford Consul]] with the final name Ford Prefect being selected.

	Adams later observed that this joke was lost on United States audiences who assumed it was a typing error for "perfect." In some versions, such as the French (''Le Guide Galactique'')<ref>Le Guide Galactique, Denoël, {{ISBN\|978-2-207-24914-7}}</ref> and the Greek (''Γυρίστε τον Γαλαξία με Ωτοστόπ''), Ford's name was changed to "Ford Escort". In the Dutch translation, the car reference was dropped entirely instead opting for "Amro Bank", the name of the biggest commercial bank in the Netherlands at the time.~~<ref>{{Cite web\|url=https://nl.m.wikipedia.org/wiki/Het_transgalactisch_liftershandboek_(boek)\|title = Het transgalactisch liftershandboek (Boek)}}</ref>{{Circular reference\|date=July 2021}}~~		Adams later observed that this joke was lost on United States audiences who assumed it was a typing error for "perfect." In some versions, such as the French (''Le Guide Galactique'')<ref>Le Guide Galactique, Denoël, {{ISBN\|978-2-207-24914-7}}</ref> and the Greek (''Γυρίστε τον Γαλαξία με Ωτοστόπ''), Ford's name was changed to "Ford Escort". In the Dutch translation, the car reference was dropped entirely instead opting for "Amro Bank", the name of the biggest commercial bank in the Netherlands at the time.

	Nowadays, the joke is largely lost on younger audiences in Britain as well, since the Ford Prefect is now a rare sight on British roads. In the film adaptation, his last name was never actually stated on-screen, but it is given in the film's credits as "Prefect."		Nowadays, the joke is largely lost on younger audiences in Britain as well, since the Ford Prefect is now a rare sight on British roads. In the film adaptation, his last name was never actually stated on-screen, but it is given in the film's credits as "Prefect."

Kurt at 20:38, 15 March 2023

2023-03-15T20:38:03Z

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	==References==		==References==

	~~{{Wikiquote\|The_Hitchhiker%27s_Guide_to_the_Galaxy_(film)#Ford_Prefect\|Ford Prefect}}~~
	{{Reflist\|30em}}		{{Reflist\|30em}}

Kurt at 20:37, 15 March 2023

2023-03-15T20:37:49Z

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	~~{{Short description\|Alien researcher, from The Hitchhiker's Guide to the Galaxy}}~~
	~~{{For\|the 1938 British automobile\|Ford Prefect}}~~
	{{Infobox character		{{Infobox character
	\| name = Ford Prefect		\| name = Ford Prefect
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	{{HitchhikerCharacters}}		{{HitchhikerCharacters}}
	~~{{Authority control}}~~

	{{DEFAULTSORT:Prefect, Ford}}		{{DEFAULTSORT:Prefect, Ford}}
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	[[Category:Male characters in literature]]		[[Category:Male characters in literature]]
	[[Category:Male characters in television]]		[[Category:Male characters in television]]

	~~[[hu:A Galaxis útikalauz stopposoknak szereplőinek listája#Ford Prefect]]~~

Kurt: 1 revision imported

2023-03-15T20:31:41Z

1 revision imported

← Older revision	Revision as of 15:31, 15 March 2023
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en>Galaktos: /* Character and role */ fix stray past tense when the rest of the section is in present tense

2023-01-05T01:03:02Z

Character and role: fix stray past tense when the rest of the section is in present tense

New page

{{Short description|Alien researcher, from The Hitchhiker's Guide to the Galaxy}}
{{For|the 1938 British automobile|Ford Prefect}}
{{Infobox character
| name = Ford Prefect
| image = David Dixon as Ford Prefect.jpg
| caption = [[David Dixon]] as Ford Prefect in Episode One of [[The Hitchhiker's Guide to the Galaxy (TV series)|the BBC TV series]]
| first = [[The Hitchhiker's Guide to the Galaxy Primary and Secondary Phases#Fit the First|Fit the First (radio)]]
| creator = [[Douglas Adams]]
| portrayer = [[Geoffrey McGivern]] (radio and LP versions)<br />[[David Dixon]] (television)<br />[[Mos Def]] (film)
| nickname = Ix
| species = Betelgeusian
| occupation = Researcher for the ''Hitchhiker's Guide to the Galaxy''
| gender = Male
| relatives = [[Zaphod Beeblebrox]] (semi-half cousin)
| lbl21 = Homeworld
| data21 = Betelgeuse Five
}}
'''Ford Prefect''' (also called '''Ix''') is a [[fictional character]] in ''[[The Hitchhiker's Guide to the Galaxy]]'' by the British author [[Douglas Adams]]. His role as [[Arthur Dent]]'s friend – and rescuer, when the Earth is unexpectedly demolished to make way for a hyperspace bypass at the start of the story – is often expository, as Ford is an experienced galactic hitch-hiker<ref>{{Cite web |last=Jones |first=Craig |date=2022-02-23 |title=What the Hitch-Hiker's Guide to the Galaxy Remake Needs to Get Right |url=https://movieweb.com/what-the-hitch-hikers-guide-to-the-galaxy-remake-needs-to-get-right/ |access-date=2022-11-01 |website=MovieWeb |language=en-US}}</ref> and explains that he is actually an alien journalist, a field researcher for the titular ''Guide'' itself, and not an out-of-work actor from [[Guildford]] as he had hitherto claimed.

==Name==
Although Ford had taken great care to blend into Earth society, he had "skimped a bit on his preparatory research," and thought that the name "Ford Prefect" would be "nicely inconspicuous." The [[Ford Prefect]] was a popular British car manufactured from 1938 to 1961, and Adams later clarified in an interview that Ford "had simply mistaken the dominant life form" of Earth. This was expanded on somewhat in the film version, where Ford is almost run over while attempting to greet a blue Ford Prefect. He is saved by Arthur and, in the film version of events, this is how the pair meet (this meeting also prompting Ford to rescue Arthur in particular when the Vogons come to destroy Earth). The graphics in the TV series provide a similar explanation by listing a sequence of names including 'Ford', beginning with director [[John Ford]], [[Arthur Ford (psychic)|Arthur Ford]], news reader [[Anna Ford]], carmaker [[Henry Ford]], the [[Ford Anglia]], the [[Ford Consul]] with the final name Ford Prefect being selected.

Adams later observed that this joke was lost on United States audiences who assumed it was a typing error for "perfect." In some versions, such as the French (''Le Guide Galactique'')<ref>Le Guide Galactique, Denoël, {{ISBN|978-2-207-24914-7}}</ref> and the Greek (''Γυρίστε τον Γαλαξία με Ωτοστόπ''), Ford's name was changed to "Ford Escort". In the Dutch translation, the car reference was dropped entirely instead opting for "Amro Bank", the name of the biggest commercial bank in the Netherlands at the time.<ref>{{Cite web|url=https://nl.m.wikipedia.org/wiki/Het_transgalactisch_liftershandboek_(boek)|title = Het transgalactisch liftershandboek (Boek)}}</ref>{{Circular reference|date=July 2021}}
Nowadays, the joke is largely lost on younger audiences in Britain as well, since the Ford Prefect is now a rare sight on British roads. In the film adaptation, his last name was never actually stated on-screen, but it is given in the film's credits as "Prefect."

===First birth name===
A footnote in the novel explains that Ford's birth name is "only pronounceable in an obscure Betelgeusian dialect" which was almost wiped out by the "Great Collapsing Hrung Disaster of Gal./Sid./Year 03758," a mysterious catastrophe which took place on the planet of Betelgeuse Seven and which Ford's father was the only man to survive. Ford never learned to pronounce his birth name, which was a matter that caused his father to die of shame (which is still a terminal disease in some parts of the Universe). At school, he was nicknamed "Ix," which translates as "boy who is not able to satisfactorily explain what a Hrung is, nor why it should choose to collapse on Betelgeuse Seven".

Despite all this, his cousin (in the film, TV series, and radio show they are said to share three of the same mothers) [[Zaphod Beeblebrox]] calls him "Ford" the first time they are reunited in all versions of the story except for the film, where Zaphod addresses him as "Praxibetel Ix," then introduces him by saying "This is my semi-half brother, Ix... I'm sorry, sorry, Ford." While not explained in the book, a footnote of the original radio scripts explains that "just before arriving (on Earth) he registered his new name officially at the Galactic Nomenclaturoid Office, where they had the technology to unpick his old name from the fabric of space/time and thread the new one in its place, so that for all intents and purposes his name had always been and would always be Ford Prefect."<ref>{{cite web |url=http://www.zootle.net/afda/faq/e.shtml#2-4 |title=The alt.fan.douglas-adams FAQ |publisher=Zootle.net |access-date=2013-08-29 |url-status=dead |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20130907010208/http://www.zootle.net/afda/faq/e.shtml#2-4 |archive-date=2013-09-07 }}</ref>

==Character and role==
Ford takes an [[existensialism|existential]] view on the universe, sometimes bordering on joyful [[nihilism]]. He is eccentric and endlessly broad-minded – no doubt due to his vast experience of roughing it around the galaxy – and possesses of an off-key and often very dark sense of humour. He is described as being able to smile in a way that would "send hitherto sane men scampering into the trees". In his role as guide to the universe for the often bewildered [[everyman]] Arthur Dent, he serves to link the disparate elements of the story together. As well as rescuing Arthur, he introduces him to the other major characters – such as Zaphod, [[Trillian (character)|Trillian]] and [[Marvin the Paranoid Android]] – and to numerous mind-boggling concepts, from "teasers" (an explanation of [[UFO sightings]] on Earth) to the extraordinary usefulness of towels. Ford's other chief characteristic is his constant pursuit of an alcohol-fueled good time (in contrast to Arthur's quest for a cup of tea). Although his heart is in the right place and he is shown to be highly intelligent, resourceful and even brave, Ford is essentially a dilettante when it comes to causes such as the search for the question to the ultimate answer of "life, the universe and everything".

Ford carries the essential items of his profession in a leather satchel, hiding them under copies of play scripts in keeping with his public persona as an actor in search of work. Among the contents are his copy of the ''Guide''; an Electronic Thumb, which he uses to signal passing spaceships in an attempt to hitch a ride; a Sub-Etha Sens-O-Matic, which monitors interstellar activity and alerts him to ships' proximity and origin; and a bath towel from [[Marks and Spencer]].

Ford is approximately 200 years old, as supported by the books. When, in the first novel, Zaphod steals the spaceship ''Heart of Gold'', it is on Zaphod's two-hundredth birthday. It is later mentioned that Ford and Zaphod attended school together, even having some of the same classes, which would indicate that they are roughly the same age.<ref>The Ultimate Hitchhiker's Guide to the Galaxy omnibus edition, printed by Ballantine Books</ref> He had originally planned to spend a week on Earth doing research for the ''Guide'', but wound up being stranded there for 15 years prior to helping Arthur escape the planet when the [[Vogon]]s demolish it.

At the end of the final novel in the series, ''[[Mostly Harmless]]'', Ford is apparently vaporised along with all the other main characters when the Vogons once again destroy the Earth. It is hinted, however, that he and the others may have survived.
In the final episodes of the radio series Ford, along with all the other main characters, is teleported to safety by the Babel Fish in his ear. The episode ends with a selection of possible outcomes for this last-second-teleportation, as the "unstable" nature of the section of galaxy Earth is in means that there are a variety of realities that the characters could find themselves in. The outcomes focus mostly on Arthur, but Ford features in the final possibility, where they all end up at Milliways ([[The Restaurant at the End of the Universe]]), drinking and chatting - and in Ford's case, flirting.<ref>Hitchhiker's Guide to the Galaxy Radio Series, The Quintessential Phase, Fit the Twenty-Sixth</ref>

==Portrayals==
In the [[The Hitchhiker's Guide to the Galaxy (radio series)|original and following radio series]] and subsequent LP adaptation, Ford was played by [[Geoffrey McGivern]]. On [[The Hitchhiker's Guide to the Galaxy (TV series)|television]], he was played by [[David Dixon]],<ref>{{cite web|url=http://www.rabid.oneuk.com/daviddixon |title=DAVID DIXON - The Dixionary - Unofficial fan page |publisher=Rabid.oneuk.com |date=1947-10-28 |access-date=2013-08-29}}</ref> and in the [[The Hitchhiker's Guide to the Galaxy (film)|film]] he was played by [[Mos Def]]. In ''The Illustrated Hitchhiker's Guide to the Galaxy'' he is portrayed by Tom Finnis. [[Richard Hope (actor)|Richard Hope]] played Ford in the first stage production of ''[[The Hitchhiker's Guide to the Galaxy]]'' with [[Ken Campbell]]’s The Science Fiction Theatre of Liverpool in May 1979 at the [[Institute of Contemporary Arts]] (ICA) in London.

==References==

{{Wikiquote|The_Hitchhiker%27s_Guide_to_the_Galaxy_(film)#Ford_Prefect|Ford Prefect}}
{{Reflist|30em}}

{{HitchhikerCharacters}}
{{Authority control}}

{{DEFAULTSORT:Prefect, Ford}}
[[Category:Fiction set around Betelgeuse]]
[[Category:The Hitchhiker's Guide to the Galaxy characters]]
[[Category:Fictional extraterrestrial characters]]
[[Category:Fictional writers]]
[[Category:Literary characters introduced in 1978]]
[[Category:Fictional reporters]]
[[Category:Male characters in film]]
[[Category:Male characters in literature]]
[[Category:Male characters in television]]

[[hu:A Galaxis útikalauz stopposoknak szereplőinek listája#Ford Prefect]]