On March 8, 37 years ago, in the unassuming timeslot of 10.30pm, a revolutionary radio show had its humble origin. The Hitchhiker’s Guide to the Galaxy — a franchise that would go on to become a tremendously successful book series, an acclaimed TV show, a few very weird video games, and one not-so-great film — did well in spite of its lackluster Wednesday night debut.

It was a stressful, low budget production. Notably it was the first comedy radio show to be recorded in stereo, on the insistence of the show’s creator Douglas Adams. The majority of the sound effects were generated from whatever analogue recordings could be found in the BBC archives. “It was hard to stay sane doing that,” said Adams. “Particularly when you would be doing one two-second sound effect, which would take you two days buried in the subterranean studio beneath Lower Regent Street. It was very difficult to tell at the end of those two days whether it was funny or not.”

The show would continue on for a season of six episodes, to outstanding praise, solidifying Adams as one of the undisputed greats of science fiction and comedy.