Zarniwoop Vann Harl - Majikthise and Vroomfondel

Majikthise and Vroomfondel

Majikthise and Vroomfondel are philosophers (though they may not be). They make their appearance as representatives of the Amalgamated Union of Philosophers, Sages, Luminaries and other Professional Thinking Persons in order to protest a demarcation dispute against Deep Thought, the computer which is being asked to determine the Answer to the Ultimate Question of Life, the Universe and Everything, and to demand rigidly defined areas of doubt and uncertainty. They maintain that the search for ultimate truth is the inalienable prerogative of your working thinkers. Upon learning that Deep Thought was already committed to calculating the Ultimate Question, they were convinced by the sentient computer that a great deal of money could be made by philosophers who were willing to exploit the expected media interest in the Question, and presumably withdrew their protest. Their descendants revere them as "the greatest & most truly interesting pundits the universe has ever known."

Appear in:

• the novel The Hitchhiker's Guide to the Galaxy

On radio, Majikthise was played by Jonathan Adams, and Vroomfondel was played by Jim Broadbent. In the television series (but not on The Big Read), David Leland played Majikthise and Charles McKeown played Vroomfondel.

The characters were omitted from the 2005 movie The Hitchhiker's Guide to the Galaxy.