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In the film of The Hitchhiker's Guide to the Galaxy, Arthur saves Ford from being run over, and later Ford saves Arthur from the Earth being demolished.

But in the original radio series and books, we don't seem to be told how the two met, and why Ford would select Arthur (of all Earth's inhabitants) to save.

Putting the film aside, did Douglas Adams ever describe anywhere the circumstances of their meeting, and why Ford chose to save Arthur?

Buzz
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Tim
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    Because Arthur is his friend. – Valorum Apr 26 '17 at 21:38
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    Uhh, I think it was in the books, but I dont recall what beyond "old friends, loaned something or other" – Radhil Apr 26 '17 at 21:38
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    "By a curious coincidence, none at all is exactly how much suspicion the ape-descendant Arthur Dent had that one of his closest friends* was not descended from an ape, but was in fact from a small planet in the vicinity of Betelgeuse and not from Guildford as he usually claimed.*" – Valorum Apr 26 '17 at 21:50
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    "Putting the film aside", oh, trust me, I often do... – Mikasa Apr 26 '17 at 22:17
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    I don't get all this hostility for the film. IIRC the book's forward says something about no two adaptations of Hitchhiker agreeing with each other. Why should the film be any different? – Kevin Apr 27 '17 at 04:27
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    the film? You should have a look at the old BBC series ;) (also @Mikasa) – Zommuter Apr 27 '17 at 08:25
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    Because Friends will be friends When you're in need of love they give you care and attention Friends will be friends When you're through with life and all hope is lost Hold out your hand, coz friends will be friends Right till the end – Zommuter Apr 27 '17 at 08:29
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    @Kevin Because at least with Douglas' own works, the inconsistencies are his own, and, to a certain extent, funnier; as with Red Dwarf and other sci-fi comedies. But, with the film, they omitted so much of what comprised the original Hitchhiker's Guide- i.e, the humour. When they attempted to add in their own humour, as with the "empathy gun", it just didn't work, especially as the original Hitchhiker's Guide had enough for them to go off. Basically, rather than telling their own story, they took Adams' story and tried to add bits in rather than simply telling the story of H2G2. – Mikasa Apr 27 '17 at 08:36
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    @Kevin People in general have a problem with accepting something new when it builds on already existing works, because they already have something in mind that they want to see and reality usually differs from it. It includes sequels and various adaptations. Hence constant bashing of LotR films, newer Star Wars films, and, of course, the Hitchhikers Guide to the Galaxy film. The film is much newer than the books or the original, that's why it gets the most heat. – Malcolm Apr 27 '17 at 09:28
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    @Mikasa Pinata: it seems that you are missing that lots of the screenplay was Douglas Adams’ own work, including the Empathy Gun and the inconsistencies. – Holger Apr 27 '17 at 12:55
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    @Holger ...on the other hand, one author being a good writer doesn't mean he is a good screenwriter – xDaizu Apr 27 '17 at 12:56
  • @Holger aye, doesn't mean I have to like the changes. He had a perfectly good radio play to build off. Although, I digress; I used to hate the Star Wars prequels, now I recognise that they're actually pretty decent movies, so maybe I'll eventually feel the same way about the H2G2 film. – Mikasa Apr 27 '17 at 15:53
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    I don't know if i would put this as an actual answer due to how coincidental it is, but what if Trillian is the reason that Ford befriended and then saved Dent? She's the one activating the improbability drive, and suddenly there is two stowaways onboard: The last survivor of her home planet and who she actually knew, and another guy that was an old friend of her traveling companion. Sounds improbable. – emptyother Apr 27 '17 at 16:21
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    @TomA.Vibeto: You seem to have mangled the timeline. The Heart of Gold (with Zaphod Beeblebrox and Trillian on board) rescues Ford and Arthur from the vacuum of space after being ejected from the Vogon ship (in Chapters 8 and 9 of the book) long after Ford rescues Arthur from the Earth seconds before the Vogons destroy it (in Chapters 1-3 and 5 of the book). – Peregrine Rook Apr 27 '17 at 19:00
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    @PeregrineRook It's incredibly improbable that she could affect the past. – Michael Apr 28 '17 at 01:08
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    @Michael, so you're saying that she almost certainly affected the past? – alexgbelov Apr 28 '17 at 03:54
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    Within Arthur's universe, only two people matter. That's Arthur and Agrajag. Everything else that happens does so to help those two interact. Nothing else matters. Arthur had to live. If Ford hadn't saved him, something or someone else would have had to. The entire point of that universe is for Arthur to inadvertently kill Agrajag time and again, from the ancient past to the far future - until they meet for the last time, at the only other use of 42 in the whole series. – JRE Jul 30 '18 at 05:01
  • people often forget that Adams worked on the film script pretty much until the day he died, so any additions you have problems with so probably be taken up with him, if you can find him – NKCampbell Jul 31 '19 at 01:43

5 Answers5

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Arthur was Ford's only real friend during the fifteen years he spent on Earth, which implies that Ford partially felt like he owed it to Arthur.

Arthur, your whole planet has been destroyed.

Arthur: Couldn't you have done something?

Ford: I saved your life.

[from the 2005 movie]

However, ultimately, it is made clear in the original radio production that Ford saves Arthur because he wants to. In fact, he is almost desperate to:

Ford: Arthur! Will you please just listen to me, I'm not fooling. I have got to tell you the most important thing you've ever heard, I've got to tell you now, and I've got to tell you in that pub there.

Arthur: Why?

Ford: Because you're going to need a very stiff drink. Now, just trust me.

[The Hitchhikers Guide To The Galaxy Original Radio Scripts, Fit The First]

Not only does Ford take the time to explain everything to Arthur, he even buys him a packet of peanuts. Ford saves Arthur from imminent death, because that's what good friends do; even when they're from Betelgeuse.

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Mikasa
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    What was that about putting the film aside...? :-P – Tim Apr 27 '17 at 00:32
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    Ford was emulating his Dad? Whatever the Hrung was, barely surviving its collapse as a child sensitized him to planet-destroying disasters. – Spencer Apr 27 '17 at 02:56
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    No-one ever knew what a Hrung was (nor why it should choose to collapse on that particular planet). Ford's childhood nickname (Ix) may have niggled throughout his life and inspired his reaction. I think @Spencer is on to something here. – Francis Davey Apr 27 '17 at 07:43
  • Didn't Ford originally want to return Arthur's towel, then felt bad about letting him die? – Arthur Dent May 15 '17 at 15:50
  • @ArthurDent not sure, which version of the story was this in? – Mikasa Jul 03 '17 at 17:28
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    @MikasaPinata I can't remember. Maybe it was the books, maybe the TV show or the text game. Almost certain there's at least one version that has it. – Arthur Dent Jul 05 '17 at 13:36
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    @arthur dent you're right; it does sound a lot like the text game – Mikasa Oct 05 '17 at 22:27
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In the Infocom text adventure (which was written by Adams and Steve Meretzky, and which Adams described as representing yet another version of the Hitchhiker's canon), it is clear that Ford is originally planning to leave Arthur behind. (Over the course of the game, you are able, thanks to infinite improbability, to play out their departure first as Arthur and then as Ford.) However, when Arthur is lying in the mud in front of the bulldozer poised by his house, he sees Ford and cries out to him, "What about my home?" Ford initially thinks that Arthur is talking about the immanent destruction of the Earth, and that Arthur has found out Ford's secret. Ford quickly realizes that Arthur is actually concerned about having his house bulldozed, but he feels sufficiently chagrined that he decides he really ought to take his best Earthly friend along with him when he escapes the doomed planet.

Moriarty
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Buzz
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    Hm, I'm tempted to dig up my copy and use its transcript copy for a quote, but someone in the internet probably already did – Zommuter Apr 27 '17 at 08:30
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    Link to 30th anniversary edition: http://www.bbc.co.uk/programmes/articles/1g84m0sXpnNCv84GpN2PLZG/the-hitchhikers-guide-to-the-galaxy-game-30th-anniversary-edition – Zommuter Apr 27 '17 at 08:31
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    The best thing about the canon of HHGttG is that it contradicts itself. – Mindwin Remember Monica Apr 27 '17 at 13:25
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    @Mindwin I'm pretty sure that according to the canon, that's the second best thing. – PatJ Apr 27 '17 at 14:26
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    @Mindwin it certainly makes Stack Exchange arguments more refreshing. – Mikasa Apr 27 '17 at 15:57
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    Adams' prose as Ford struggles with the idea of taking Arthur is just magnificent, and one more reason why the game should always be considered canon. "Ford starts to say something and stops. He starts to say something else, and stops. He starts to say something else, and actually starts" – VBartilucci Jun 21 '18 at 15:47
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The book is consistent with Mikasa Pinata’s answer: Ford, on his own initiative, chooses to save Arthur.  If he explicitly states a reason, I skimmed over it, but here’s an excerpt from the key conversation.  It occurs in front of Arthur’s house, with Arthur lying in the mud to block the bulldozers, and Ford seems to have deliberately made a special trip.

FP: Hello, Arthur.

AD: Ford!  Hello, how are you?

FP: Fine, look, are you busy?

AD: Am I busy?  Well, I’ve just got these bulldozers and things to lie in front of because they’ll knock my house down if I don’t, but other than that, …, well, no, not especially, why?

FP: Good, is there anywhere we can talk?

AD: What?

FP: We’ve got to talk.

AD: Fine, talk.

FP: And drink.  It’s vitally important that we talk and drink.  We’ll go to the pub in the village.

          ︙      (more discussion about the bulldozers)

FP: Listen to me—I’ve got to tell you the most important thing you’ve ever heard.  I’ve got to tell you now, and I’ve got to tell you in the saloon bar of the Horse and Groom.

AD: But why?

FP: Because you are going to need a very stiff drink.

          ︙      (more discussion about the bulldozers)

— The Hitchhiker’s Guide to the Galaxy, Chapter 1

The back story is equally sketchy, but this is relevant:

   …  “None at all” is exactly how much suspicion the ape-descendant Arthur Dent had that one of his closest friends was not descended from an ape, but was in fact from a small planet somewhere in the vicinity of Betelgeuse and not from Guildford as he usually claimed.1   [Emphasis added]

   Arthur Dent had never, ever suspected this.

   This friend of his had first arrived on the planet Earth some fifteen Earth years previously, and he had worked hard to blend himself into Earth society—with, it must be said, some success.  …

— The Hitchhiker’s Guide to the Galaxy, Chapter 1 (from before the above excerpt)

Subsequent paragraphs indicate that he (Ford) spent a lot of time drinking.  Which brings us to Chapter 2, in the pub:

FP: …  How long have we known each other?

AD: How long?  Er, about five years, maybe six.  Most of it seemed to make some kind of sense at the time.

FP: All right.  How would you react if I said that I’m not from Guildford after all, but from a small planet somewhere in the vicinity of Betelgeuse?

AD: I don’t know.  Why, do you think it’s the sort of thing you’re likely to say?

FP: Drink up.
The world’s about to end.

— The Hitchhiker’s Guide to the Galaxy, Chapter 2

____________
1 Already quoted by Valorum.

Peregrine Rook
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  • Just because Ford was one of Arthur's closest friends doesn't mean Arthur was one of Ford's closest friends. Just saying. – Wildcard Apr 28 '17 at 04:26
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    @Wildcard, actually, we see throughout the series that, even with other aliens, Ford is not that good at making friends – Mikasa Apr 28 '17 at 06:38
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I’ve probably thought about the ethics of Ford’s actions more than is strictly healthy, but here’s my take, supplemental to the several good answers already posted.

Ford is a genuinely good guy in an extremely difficult position. He knows that Earth is about to be destroyed, killing everyone on it. He doesn’t like that but can’t possibly stop it. Nor can really do much that’s even remotely helpful, as much as he might like to. He could tell people, but they, reasonably, would not believe him. He could persist, except that there’s very little time.

However, there’s a single person in the world to whom this doesn’t matter. If Ford tells Arthur to come along for a drink and tells him some apparent nonsense, Arthur will go along with it. Not forever, but long enough. Saving Arthur is probably the only thing Ford is capable of doing to make the situation less awful. Save one person, who happens to be his friend, because only his friend will listen to him. Arthur is probably the person Ford would most like to save, but he’s also probably the only one he can save, so he does.

Tom Harrington
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He just wanted to do it '-'
Probably didn't have a deep reason and everyone is overthinking it.
But really, after reading most of the comments, I think Ford woke up, discovered the Earth would be destroyed, and decided to take Arthur with him. He isn't human and looks like he is a bit more smart than we ape-descendents, so why overthink it? He just felt it's what he wanted to do.

Rand al'Thor
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Ix-ekaf
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