Douglas Adams

Douglas Noel Adams (11th March 1952-11th May 2001) wrote The Pirate Planet and Shada, and co-wrote City of Death with producer Graham Williams under the pseudonym David Agnew. He was also script editor for Season 17. Having started his career as a contributor (and occasional bit player) in Monty Python's Flying Circus, he is most famous for creating The Hitchhiker's Guide to the Galaxy, which he wrote as a radio play and book while editing for Doctor Who.

His style of humor has left a lasting impression on other writers, and can still be seen even in the revived series which included a reference to his creation Arthur Dent in The Christmas Invasion (he also inserted a reference to one of his characters, Oolon Coluphid, in the Season 17 story Destiny of the Daleks.