Marvin (Marvin The Paranoid Android Song)
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Marvin the Paranoid Android is a fictional character in ''
The Hitchhiker's Guide to the Galaxy ''The Hitchhiker's Guide to the Galaxy'' is a Science fiction comedy, comedy science fiction franchise created by Douglas Adams. Originally a The Hitchhiker's Guide to the Galaxy (radio series), radio sitcom broadcast over two series on BBC ...
'' series by
Douglas Adams Douglas Noel Adams (11 March 1952 – 11 May 2001) was an English author, humorist, and screenwriter, best known as the creator of ''The Hitchhiker's Guide to the Galaxy''. Originally a 1978 BBC radio comedy, ''The Hitchhiker's Guide to the ...
. Marvin is the ship's
robot A robot is a machine—especially one Computer program, programmable by a computer—capable of carrying out a complex series of actions Automation, automatically. A robot can be guided by an external control device, or the robot control, co ...
aboard the
starship A starship, starcraft, or interstellar spacecraft is a theoretical spacecraft designed for interstellar travel, traveling between planetary systems. The term is mostly found in science fiction. Reference to a "star-ship" appears as early as 1 ...
''Heart of Gold''. Originally built as one of many failed
prototypes A prototype is an early sample, model, or release of a product built to test a concept or process. It is a term used in a variety of contexts, including semantics, design, electronics, and software programming. A prototype is generally used to ...
of Sirius Cybernetics Corporation's ''GPP'' (Genuine People Personalities) technology, Marvin is afflicted with severe depression and
boredom In conventional usage, boredom, , or tedium is an emotion characterized by Interest (emotion), uninterest in one's surrounding, often caused by a lack of distractions or occupations. Although, "There is no universally accepted definition of bo ...
, in part because he has a "brain the size of a planet" which he is seldom, if ever, given the chance to use. Instead, the crew request him merely to carry out mundane jobs such as "opening the door". Indeed, the true horror of Marvin's existence is that no task he could be given would occupy even the tiniest fraction of his vast intellect. Marvin claims he is 50,000 times more intelligent than a human (or 30 billion times more intelligent than a live mattress), though this is, if anything, an underestimation. When kidnapped by the bellicose Krikkit robots and tied to the interfaces of their intelligent war computer, Marvin simultaneously manages to plan the entire planet's military strategy, solve "all of the major
mathematical Mathematics is a field of study that discovers and organizes methods, Mathematical theory, theories and theorems that are developed and Mathematical proof, proved for the needs of empirical sciences and mathematics itself. There are many ar ...
, physical,
chemical A chemical substance is a unique form of matter with constant chemical composition and characteristic properties. Chemical substances may take the form of a single element or chemical compounds. If two or more chemical substances can be combin ...
,
biological Biology is the scientific study of life and living organisms. It is a broad natural science that encompasses a wide range of fields and unifying principles that explain the structure, function, growth, origin, evolution, and distribution of ...
,
sociological Sociology is the scientific study of human society that focuses on society, human social behavior, patterns of social relationships, social interaction, and aspects of culture associated with everyday life. The term sociology was coined in ...
,
philosophical Philosophy ('love of wisdom' in Ancient Greek) is a systematic study of general and fundamental questions concerning topics like existence, reason, knowledge, Value (ethics and social sciences), value, mind, and language. It is a rational an ...
,
etymological Etymology ( ) is the study of the origin and evolution of words—including their constituent units of sound and meaning—across time. In the 21st century a subfield within linguistics, etymology has become a more rigorously scientific study. ...
,
meteorological Meteorology is the scientific study of the Earth's atmosphere and short-term atmospheric phenomena (i.e. weather), with a focus on weather forecasting. It has applications in the military, aviation, energy production, transport, agriculture ...
and
psychological Psychology is the scientific study of mind and behavior. Its subject matter includes the behavior of humans and nonhumans, both consciousness, conscious and Unconscious mind, unconscious phenomena, and mental processes such as thoughts, feel ...
problems of the Universe, except his own, three times over", and compose several
lullabies A lullaby (), or a cradle song, is a soothing song or piece of music that is usually played for (or sung to) children (for adults see music and sleep). The purposes of lullabies vary. In some societies, they are used to pass down cultural know ...
.


Name

According to Douglas Adams, "Marvin came from Andrew Marshall. He's another comedy writer, and he's exactly like that." (Indeed, in one of the early drafts for ''Hitchhiker's'', the robot was called Marshall. It was changed to "Marvin" partly to avoid causing offence, but also because it was pointed out to Adams that on radio the name would sound like "
Martial Marcus Valerius Martialis (known in English as Martial ; March, between 38 and 41 AD – between 102 and 104 AD) was a Roman and Celtiberian poet born in Bilbilis, Hispania (modern Spain) best known for his twelve books of '' Epigrams'', pu ...
", which would have undesirable military connotations.) However, Adams also admitted that Marvin is part of a long line of literary depressives, such as
A. A. Milne Alan Alexander Milne (; 18 January 1882 – 31 January 1956) was an English writer best known for his books about the teddy bear Winnie-the-Pooh, as well as children's poetry. Milne was primarily a playwright before the huge success of Winnie-th ...
's
Eeyore Eeyore ( ) is a fictional character in the ''Winnie-the-Pooh'' books by A. A. Milne. He is an old, grey stuffed donkey and friend of the title character, Winnie-the-Pooh. Eeyore is generally characterised as pessimistic, depressed, and an ...
or
Jacques Jacques or Jacq are believed to originate from the Middle Ages in the historic northwest Brittany region in France, and have since spread around the world over the centuries. To date, there are over one hundred identified noble families related t ...
in
Shakespeare William Shakespeare ( 23 April 1564 – 23 April 1616) was an English playwright, poet and actor. He is widely regarded as the greatest writer in the English language and the world's pre-eminent dramatist. He is often called England's natio ...
's ''
As You Like It ''As You Like It'' is a pastoral Shakespearean comedy, comedy by William Shakespeare believed to have been written in 1599 and first published in the First Folio in 1623. The play's first performance is uncertain, though a performance at Wil ...
'', and even owes something to Adams's own periods of depression. Marvin does not actually display any signs of
paranoia Paranoia is an instinct or thought process that is believed to be heavily influenced by anxiety, suspicion, or fear, often to the point of delusion and irrationality. Paranoid thinking typically includes persecutory beliefs, or beliefs of co ...
, though
Zaphod Beeblebrox Zaphod Beeblebrox () is a fictional character in the comic science fiction series ''The Hitchhiker's Guide to the Galaxy'' by Douglas Adams. He is from a planet in the vicinity of Betelgeuse, and is a "semi-half-cousin" of Ford Prefect, wi ...
refers to him as "the Paranoid Android". Nor does he show any signs of
mania Mania, also known as manic syndrome, is a Psychiatry, psychiatric Abnormality (behavior), behavioral syndrome defined as a state of Abnormality (behavior), abnormally elevated arousal, affect (psychology), affect, and energy level. During a mani ...
, though
Ford Ford commonly refers to: * Ford Motor Company, an automobile manufacturer founded by Henry Ford * Ford (crossing), a shallow crossing on a river Ford may also refer to: Ford Motor Company * Henry Ford, founder of the Ford Motor Company * Ford F ...
refers to him as a "manically depressed robot". He merely remains consistently morose throughout. In fact, he exhibits remarkable
stoicism Stoicism is a school of Hellenistic philosophy that flourished in ancient Greece and Rome. The Stoics believed that the universe operated according to reason, ''i.e.'' by a God which is immersed in nature itself. Of all the schools of ancient ...
, being willing to wait hundreds of millions of years for his employers to come.


Radio and TV series

According to his autobiography read in the Secondary Phase of the radio series, Marvin was constructed, much against his own wishes, by the Sirius Cybernetics Corporation to prototype human personality artificial intelligence. In his own words: The cutaway illustration of Marvin made by Kevin J. Davies for the "Depreciation Society" featured a "rat cavity". As the menial labourer on the ''Heart of Gold'' spaceship, he grew immensely resentful of the insistence of his new masters (
Zaphod Beeblebrox Zaphod Beeblebrox () is a fictional character in the comic science fiction series ''The Hitchhiker's Guide to the Galaxy'' by Douglas Adams. He is from a planet in the vicinity of Betelgeuse, and is a "semi-half-cousin" of Ford Prefect, wi ...
and Trillian; later also
Ford Prefect The Ford Prefect is a line of British cars which was produced by Ford UK between 1938 and 1961 as an upmarket version of the Ford Popular and Ford Anglia small family cars. It was introduced in October 1938 and remained in production until ...
and
Arthur Dent Arthur Philip Dent is a fictional character and the hapless protagonist of the comic science fiction series ''The Hitchhiker's Guide to the Galaxy'' by Douglas Adams. In the radio, LP and television versions of the story, Arthur is played b ...
) that he open doors, check airlocks and pick up pieces of paper. He reserved a particular contempt for the sentient doors, despising their blissful satisfaction with existence. When the ''Heart of Gold'' crew arrive on the ancient planet of Magrathea, they abandon Marvin on the surface. During an apparently suicidal confrontation with a pair of trigger-happy cops, the crew are teleported directly from Magrathea into the future to the Restaurant at the End of the Universe to find that, in fact, they have not travelled at all. The Restaurant was constructed on the ruins of the planet they had just left, and, while there, they find Marvin, who had been waiting patiently for their return for 576,000,003,579 years (he counted them). According to Marvin, "The first ten million years were the worst, and the second ten million years, they were the worst too. The third ten million I didn't enjoy at all. After that I went into a bit of a decline." Apparently, the best conversation he had was over 40 million years ago with a
coffee Coffee is a beverage brewed from roasted, ground coffee beans. Darkly colored, bitter, and slightly acidic, coffee has a stimulating effect on humans, primarily due to its caffeine content, but decaffeinated coffee is also commercially a ...
machine. Deciding they had better leave, the crew make a desperate and futile attempt to engage Marvin's enthusiasm (he "hasn't got one") before he simply does what they really want and opens the door to the ship they want to steal. The ship turns out to be a Haggunenon battle cruiser, and the entire group, including Marvin, but excluding
Ford Prefect The Ford Prefect is a line of British cars which was produced by Ford UK between 1938 and 1961 as an upmarket version of the Ford Popular and Ford Anglia small family cars. It was introduced in October 1938 and remained in production until ...
and
Arthur Dent Arthur Philip Dent is a fictional character and the hapless protagonist of the comic science fiction series ''The Hitchhiker's Guide to the Galaxy'' by Douglas Adams. In the radio, LP and television versions of the story, Arthur is played b ...
, who escape, are eaten by its crew. Marvin's subsequent survival is never explained, but against all probability, he eventually finds himself on Ursa Minor Beta, just in time to rescue Zaphod from a robotic tank. A subsequent section of Marvin's biography occurs only in the Secondary Phase of the radio series. Marvin rejoins the crew on the ''Heart of Gold'', and using the improbability drive programmed by Zaphod Beeblebrox the Fourth, takes them to the ravaged planet Brontitall. Having landed in a giant floating marble copy of a plastic cup, the crew accidentally find themselves falling several miles through the air. The carbon-based members of the crew manage to stay alive by grabbing onto passing giant birds. Marvin has no such luck, and, upon impact with the ground, creates his own archaeological excavation site. Cruelly intact, he grudgingly saves the crew multiple times from the Foot Soldiers of the Dolmansaxlil Shoe Corporation. Marvin remains in ''Heart of Gold'' whilst Ford, Zaphod, Zarniwoop and Arthur bother the Ruler of the Universe, leaving when an enraged Arthur hijacks the ship. However, in the Tertiary Phase, Trillian claims this story is Zaphod's hallucination, especially as the reverse temporal engineering explanation has not entered the plot yet. However, of the stories of Zaphod's visit to the Frogstar, the Guide says "10% are 95% true, 14% are 65% true, 35% are only 5% true and the rest are told by Zaphod Beeblebrox", and listeners are presented with one "version" of that visit. In the television series, the black ship stolen at the Restaurant at the End of the Universe is actually the stunt ship of the
Disaster Area A disaster area is a region or a locale that has been heavily damaged by either natural, technological or social hazards. Disaster areas affect the population living in the community by a dramatic increase in expense, loss of energy, food and se ...
rock band, and, having taken them back in time two million years before the present, is set on an irreversible course to collide with the sun of Kakrafoon. Forced to flee in the ship's barely functional teleport, the crew politely ask Marvin to stay behind and operate it. He does so and stoically awaits his fate "almost as good as death" in the heart of the blazing sun.


Portrayals


Radio and TV

Marvin's voice was performed by Stephen Moore on the first five radio series and
television series A television show, TV program (), or simply a TV show, is the general reference to any content produced for viewing on a television set that is broadcast via over-the-air, satellite, and cable, or distributed digitally on streaming plat ...
and by
Jim Broadbent James Broadbent (born 24 May 1949) is an English actor. A graduate of the London Academy of Music and Dramatic Art in 1972, he came to prominence as a character actor for his many roles in film and television. He has received various accolades ...
in the sixth radio series. David Learner operated his body on television, having previously played and voiced the part for the stage version.


Film

Warwick Davis Warwick Ashley Davis ( ; born 3 February 1970) is an English actor and television presenter. Active within the industry since he was eleven, Davis is one of the highest grossing supporting actors of all time and has the highest average gross r ...
wore the Marvin costume in the 2005 film. He is voiced by
Alan Rickman Alan Sidney Patrick Rickman (21 February 1946 – 14 January 2016) was an English actor and director. Known for his distinctive deep, wikt:languid#Etymology 1, languid voice, he trained at the Royal Academy of Dramatic Art in London and b ...
. This Marvin's design is a departure from the Marvin of the television series, featuring shorter with an oversized head and stubby limbs. The original television costume from the 1981 television series was refurbished for a cameo role in the film, standing in a queue in the Vogon office on Vogsphere, where the main characters are trying to release Tricia, with various other life forms.


Novel series

A difference between the radio and TV series occurs in the novels when the ''Heart of Gold'' crew arrive on the ancient planet of Magrathea. Marvin inadvertently saves the crew by plugging himself into the onboard computer of a police vehicle, which, when exposed to the true nature of Marvin's view of the universe, commits suicide, taking the two police who were then firing at the ship's crew with it. The crew leave Magrathea on the '' Heart of Gold'', but are teleported summarily to Ursa Minor Beta, where Zaphod's great grandfather, in an apparent fit of vicious humour, forces Marvin to accompany Zaphod on his mission of self-discovery. Marvin subsequently saves Zaphod's life by engaging in a battle of wits with a vicious (yet stupid) automated tank and then is abandoned on the planet Frogstar B when Zaphod is sent to the Total Perspective Vortex. Eventually, the crew arrive at the Restaurant at the End of the Universe (which was built over the ruins of Frogstar B in this continuity) and the story continues as with the TV series. In the third novel, ''
Life, the Universe and Everything ''Life, the Universe and Everything'' (1982, ) is the third book in the six-volume '' Hitchhiker's Guide to the Galaxy'' science fiction "trilogy of six books" by British writer Douglas Adams. The title refers to the Answer to Life, the Unive ...
'', we find that Marvin survived his collision with the sun of Kakrafoon, and was sent back in time by the Improbability Field projected by the ''Heart of Gold'' to be rescued by a scrap metal merchant on Sqornshellous Zeta. The merchant grafted a steel rod to Marvin's now-lost leg and sold him to a Mind Zoo, where excited onlookers would try to make him happy. This made him something of a celebrity on the planet of Sqornshellous Zeta, and he was asked to open the brand new bridge that was meant to revitalise the planet's economy. Marvin dutifully plugged himself into the bridge's opening circuit, and, just like the police computer, the bridge committed suicide, taking the entire gathered crowd with it. Marvin was left in the swamp, his false leg having trapped him in the mud, so he spent just over 1.5 million years walking around in a circle, "just to make the point." He planned to keep walking in a circle for another million years before trying it backwards. "Just for the variety, you understand." Suddenly, he is kidnapped by a squad of Krikkit war robots, who are after his leg, a fragment of the key that will reopen their imprisoned world and restart the genocidal Krikkit War. Thinking that Marvin's intelligence will be an asset, they wire his brain into the interfaces of their intelligent war computer. This is a mistake. The once formidable Krikkit robots find themselves overcome with crippling sorrow and depression, and rather than focusing on their mission of extermination, instead sulk in corners doing
quadratic equation In mathematics, a quadratic equation () is an equation that can be rearranged in standard form as ax^2 + bx + c = 0\,, where the variable (mathematics), variable represents an unknown number, and , , and represent known numbers, where . (If and ...
s. It is also due to Marvin's influence that Zaphod and the others' lives are spared by the Krikkit robots. Marvin is (presumably) rescued by his friends, who bring him back to the ''Heart of Gold.'' From here his story is unknown. Marvin reappears in the second-to-last chapter of ''
So Long, and Thanks for All the Fish ''So Long, and Thanks for All the Fish'' is the fourth book of the '' Hitchhiker's Guide to the Galaxy'' "trilogy of six books" written by Douglas Adams. Its title is the message left by the dolphins when they departed Planet Earth just befo ...
''. Arthur and Fenchurch find him on the planet where God's Final Message To His Creation is located. He is barely functional, claiming that, due to time travel, he is now "thirty-seven times older than the Universe itself." Every part of his body has been replaced, with the exception of "all the diodes down isleft side", which have been giving him severe pain for the whole of his existence. Arthur and Fenchurch end up carrying him, enduring the robot's constant abuse, to the God's Final Message viewing station, where they lift him up to see the words of the message: "We apologise for the inconvenience." Astonishingly, Marvin responds "I think... I feel good about it." The lights in his eyes go out and his already-worn circuits completely stop working; Marvin is no more. (In the radio dramatisation, his last words are "Goodbye, Arthur." Marvin's 'death' prompts Arthur to say, "Miserable git!" and then, to his own obvious astonishment, to add, "I'll ''miss'' him.") However, in the 2005 radio adaptation of the fifth novel in the series, ''
Mostly Harmless ''Mostly Harmless'' is a 1992 novel by Douglas Adams and the fifth book in the '' Hitchhiker's Guide to the Galaxy'' series. It is described on the cover of the first edition as "The fifth book in the increasingly inaccurately named Hitch Hik ...
'', in which Marvin did not originally appear, he has a cameo at the end of the last episode alive and well. He explains that it turned out he was still covered by his
warranty In law, a warranty is an expressed or implied promise or assurance of some kind. The term's meaning varies across legal subjects. In property law, it refers to a covenant by the grantor of a deed. In insurance law, it refers to a promise by the ...
agreement and is back to parking cars at Milliways, the Restaurant at the End of the Universe.


Songs

Stephen Moore released two
pop Pop or POP may refer to: Arts, entertainment, and media * Pop music, a musical genre Artists * POP, a Japanese idol group now known as Gang Parade * Pop! (British group), a UK pop group * Pop! featuring Angie Hart, an Australian band Album ...
singles Singles are people not in a committed relationship. Singles may also refer to: Film and television * ''Singles'' (miniseries), a 1984 Australian television series * ''Singles'' (1992 film), written and directed by Cameron Crowe * ''Singles'' ...
—"Marvin/Metal Man" and "Reasons to Be Miserable/Marvin I Love You" (double
B-side The A-side and B-side are the two sides of phonograph record, vinyl records and Compact cassette, cassettes, and the terms have often been printed on the labels of two-sided music recordings. The A-side of a Single (music), single usually ...
)—in the UK in 1981, though neither reached the
top 40 In the music industry, the Top 40 is a list of the 40 currently most popular songs in a particular genre. It is the best-selling or most frequently broadcast popular music. Record charts have traditionally consisted of a total of 40 songs. "To ...
. One song was re-recorded and rearranged to coincide with the 2005 Hitchhiker's movie release, "Reasons To Be Miserable (His Name Is Marvin)", performed by
Stephen Fry Sir Stephen John Fry (born 24 August 1957) is an English actor, broadcaster, comedian, director, narrator and writer. He came to prominence as a member of the comic act Fry and Laurie alongside Hugh Laurie, with the two starring in ''A Bit of ...
(singing in the third-person, not as Marvin).


"Marvin"

"Marvin" was released in 1981. It was a minor hit, reaching number 52 in the British Charts. The song involves Marvin describing his woes ("My moving parts are in a solid state") and frustrations ("You know what really makes me mad? They clean me with a
Brillo Pad Brillo is a trade name for a scouring pad, used for cleaning dishes, and made from steel wool filled with soap. The concept was patented in 1913, at a time when aluminium pots and pans were replacing cast iron in the kitchen; the new cookware ...
"), to a
synthesiser A synthesizer (also synthesiser or synth) is an electronic musical instrument that generates audio signals. Synthesizers typically create sounds by generating waveforms through methods including subtractive synthesis, additive synthesis and ...
backing. The intro to the song consists of a simple
guitar The guitar is a stringed musical instrument that is usually fretted (with Fretless guitar, some exceptions) and typically has six or Twelve-string guitar, twelve strings. It is usually held flat against the player's body and played by strumming ...
figure, but with the tape reversed so that the notes play backwards. The vocal was performed by Stephen Moore, who had played Marvin on the radio and television series. Moore also narrated the ship's captain on the B-side. "Metal Man" was the B-side. The song involves a spoken exchange between the starship captain (also played by Moore, as is a cameo radio voice) and the depressed robot Marvin. The starship is falling into a black hole, and can only be saved by assigning control to Marvin. In thanks for saving the ship, Marvin is relegated back to a menial servant. Such is the lot of a robot. "Marvin" was incorporated into the 2012 live radio show.


The Double B-Side

"Reasons To Be Miserable" was released in 1981. Its official title was ''The Double 'B'-Side'', and it was a double B-side single released by
Polydor Polydor Limited, also known as Polydor Records, is a British record label that operates as part of Universal Music Group. It has a close relationship with Universal's Interscope Geffen A&M Records label, which distributes Polydor's releases in ...
on Depressive Discs. The song involves Marvin describing his views on life ("I'd feel a little better if they broke me up for spares", "If I had my time again, I'd rather be a lemming"), to a
synthesiser A synthesizer (also synthesiser or synth) is an electronic musical instrument that generates audio signals. Synthesizers typically create sounds by generating waveforms through methods including subtractive synthesis, additive synthesis and ...
backing. The title is a reference to the hit song "
Reasons to be Cheerful, Part 3 "Reasons to Be Cheerful, Part 3" is a song and single by Ian Dury and the Blockheads, initially released as the single "Reasons to be Cheerful, Part 3 / Common as Muck" on 27 July 1979, which reached number 3 in the UK singles chart the followin ...
" by
Ian Dury Ian Robins Dury (12 May 1942 27 March 2000) was an English singer, songwriter and actor who rose to fame in the late 1970s, during the punk rock, punk and new wave music, new wave era of rock music. He was the lead singer and lyricist of Kilburn ...
and
The Blockheads The Blockheads are an English rock music, rock band formed in London in 1977. Originally fronted by lead singer Ian Dury as Ian Dury and the Blockheads or Ian and the Blockheads, the band has continued to perform since Dury's death in 2000. me ...
. "Marvin I Love You" was the other B-side. Marvin describes finding a love letter in his data banks eons after receiving it. The female vocal is provided by Kimi Wong-O'Brien. The song was a frequently requested tune on the
Dr. Demento Barret Eugene Hansen (born April 2, 1941), known professionally as Dr. Demento, is an American radio broadcaster and record collector specializing in novelty songs, comedy, and strange or unusual recordings dating from the early days of phonograp ...
radio show, and was featured on several Dr. Demento compilation albums. As of 2008, it is ranked 56 out of the top 100 favorite novelty tunes on the official Dr. Demento web site.


Marvin's lullaby

"How I Hate the Night", also known as "Marvin's lullaby", was published in the book ''
Life, the Universe and Everything ''Life, the Universe and Everything'' (1982, ) is the third book in the six-volume '' Hitchhiker's Guide to the Galaxy'' science fiction "trilogy of six books" by British writer Douglas Adams. The title refers to the Answer to Life, the Unive ...
'', where it is described as "a short dolorous ditty of no tone, or indeed tune." The first verse of "Marvin's Lullaby" appears close to the end of the episode "Fit the Seventeenth", and the second verse soon after the start of "Fit the Eighteenth" as listed below: :Now the world has gone to bed :Darkness won't engulf my head :I can see by infra-red :How I hate the night :Now I lay me down to sleep :Try to count electric sheep :Sweet dream wishes you can keep :How I hate the night The line "try to count electric sheep" is a reference to Philip K. Dick's novel ''
Do Androids Dream of Electric Sheep? ''Do Androids Dream of Electric Sheep?'' (retrospectively titled ''Blade Runner: Do Androids Dream of Electric Sheep?'' in some later printings) is a 1968 dystopian science fiction novel by American writer Philip K. Dick. It is set in a post- ...
'', which inspired the movie ''
Blade Runner ''Blade Runner'' is a 1982 science fiction film directed by Ridley Scott from a screenplay by Hampton Fancher and David Peoples. Starring Harrison Ford, Rutger Hauer, Sean Young, and Edward James Olmos, it is an adaptation of Philip K. Di ...
''. According to ''Don't Panic'', Douglas Adams wrote a guitar tune for the lullaby, and thought it should have been released. In the radio series, Stephen Moore sings the words to a tune resembling "Abendsegen" from
Humperdinck Humperdinck or Humperdink is a surname. Notable people with the surname include: * Engelbert Humperdinck (composer) (1854–1921), German composer * Adelheid Wette née Humperdinck (1858–1916), German author, composer, and folklorist; librettist o ...
's opera ''
Hansel and Gretel "Hansel and Gretel" (; ) is a German fairy tale collected by the Brothers Grimm and published in 1812 as part of ''Grimms' Fairy Tales'' (KHM 15). Hansel and Gretel are siblings who are abandoned in a forest and fall into the hands of a witch ...
''. The song was performed at the very end of the 2012 live radio show.


Outside the ''Hitchhiker's'' universe

In the episode "Sibling Tsunami" of the animated series ''
My Life as a Teenage Robot ''My Life as a Teenage Robot'' is an American animated science fiction superhero comedy television series created by Rob Renzetti for Nickelodeon. It was produced by Frederator Studios and Nickelodeon Animation Studio. Set in the fictional to ...
'', when asked what's wrong, XJ-7, a chronically depressed robot character, replied: "The usual, life, the universe, everything", a reference not only to Marvin, but the " Ultimate Question of Life, the Universe, and Everything", a central tenet of the series' storyline (as well as the title of the third book). British alternative rock group
Radiohead Radiohead are an English rock band formed in Abingdon-on-Thames, Abingdon, Oxfordshire, in 1985. The band members are Thom Yorke (vocals, guitar, piano, keyboards); brothers Jonny Greenwood (guitar, keyboards, other instruments) and Colin Gre ...
named "
Paranoid Android "Paranoid Android" is a song by English alternative rock band Radiohead, released as the lead single from their third studio album, '' OK Computer'' (1997), on 26 May 1997. The lyrics were written by singer Thom Yorke following an unpleasant e ...
", the lead single from their 1997 album ''
OK Computer ''OK Computer'' is the third studio album by the English rock band Radiohead, released on 21 May 1997. With their producer, Nigel Godrich, Radiohead recorded most of ''OK Computer'' in their rehearsal space in Oxfordshire and the historic m ...
'', after Marvin. "Paranoid Android" frequently appears on lists of greatest songs of all time and has been described as "possibly the most acclaimed song from the most acclaimed album of all time." Marvin's origins (including those of the Sirius Cybernetics Corporation, and the HitchHikers handheld device) are referenced in the 2008 radio series ''
The Long Dark Tea-Time of the Soul ''The Long Dark Tea-Time of the Soul'' is a 1988 humorous fantasy detective novel by Douglas Adams. It is the second book by Adams featuring private detective Dirk Gently, the first being ''Dirk Gently's Holistic Detective Agency''. Adams had ...
''. In episode 4, Dirk Gently phones his friend Richard McDuff, who now works for a new startup, Sirius Cybernetics. Occasionally, background noises of electronic groans and air pistons can be heard. At the end of the phone call, the electronic voice of Stephen Moore says "Richard, I think we might have a problem with these diodes." Marvin appeared and was declared the winner in the Q-series episode "Quests: Part II" of the panel game show QI.


References


External links


BBC's page on MarvinMarvin's desolated fan pageZZ9 Plural Z Alpha – The Official HHGTTG Appreciation Society
{{DEFAULTSORT:Marvin Literary characters introduced in 1978 The Hitchhiker's Guide to the Galaxy characters Fictional androids Fictional domestic workers hu:A Galaxis útikalauz stopposoknak szereplőinek listája#Marvin