As much as I love Mark-wing Davey's portrayal of Zaphod Beeblebrox in the Radio versions (we could really...BE...in this cave!), visually, he was just off in the TV one.


Mark-wing Davey as Zaphod, BBC TV series.

He had some interesting things there, but the whole raggedy outfit (I know he's supposed to be a bad dresser, but this was a bit too poor) and the pirate thing he had going didn't sit very well with me. Still, it's a look that's much better than the one the Illustrated Guide had to offer:


Zaphod, from the Illustrated Guide		 I'm sorry, a black Zaphod in tribo-heman attire? I'm not being racist, but there was no way my mind could reconcile the Beeblebrox character as anything other than caucasoid in appearance. 

Back to Adams' description:
"His fair tousled hair stuck out in random directions, his blue eyes glinted with something completely unidentifiable, and his chins were almost always unshaven."

Both versions just screamed WRONG WRONG WRONG at the book. No eyepatch, No scar, no black cropped cut. And where's that Presidential Orange sash?
Zaphod need a reformat from the ground up, in my opinion. I first tried following Adams' description to the letter, which ended with a pretty satisfactory look to Zaphod. There are no descriptions of what he wears, apart from having bad taste in clothes and the traditional orange sash, so I tried giving him a junked up, mishmash suit not unlike the one from the TV version. Part extrovert, part hippie, part space cowboy.

I didn't like it. 

  

Original  Zaphod sketch, integrating elements from the book and TV series plus plus
Click to zoom
After a lot of thinking I finally decided that while he may have been a bad dresser, he was still President, or rather, EX-President of the Galaxy, and that should mean some kind of extravagant outfit, and stylish in a bad way. Amalgamating a kind of crazee space-future alien look with elements inspired by Michael Jackson and Austin Powers, I came up with a wacko suit I think Zaphod would be proud to wear.  It's even got his initials on it in bright gold letters, how gaudy is that? 

 

  

Left: A picture of an experimental hairstyle for Zaphod...a bushy afro nest. Didn't like it. 
Right: A quick sketch of the design that eventually became the one I adopted.
Click to zoom


photos and pictures featuring the Zaphod Beeblebrox figure
Zaphod Front Front 2 sans accessories Back Right head Left head Right view Left view WHAZZAAaaP?? Pan galactic gargle Blaster & a Ray gun. Both will knock you out cold