Must-see TV shows are futuristic classics that shouldn't be missed. Of course, not every must-see is perfect. That's why we've rated them 1-5 on the patented "crunchy goodness" scale. Must see by Sherilyn Connelly.

Title: The Hitchhiker's Guide to the Galaxy

Date: 1981

Vitals: Moments before the Earth is destroyed, a hapless Englishmen is whisked off the planet by a friend who turns out to be an alien doing research for The Hitchhiker's Guide to the Galaxy. Then things get nutty.

Famous names: Created and written by Douglas Adams.

Crunchy goodness: 3

Spinoffs/Sequels/Copycats: It's taken many forms, all of Adams worked on: a radio show, books, a record, a text-based video game, stage productions, and a big-budget Hollywood film (whose existence is justified by the expression on Arthur Dent's face from 1:22:48 to 1:22:53).

Design breakthrough: The pages of the computerized Hitchhiker's Guide were created via animation designed to resemble wireframe computer graphics; then and now, actual computer graphics would be lucky to look as good.

Deadliest spoiler: What the hell is a digital watch, and why would you need both hands to operate it?

BBC Guide to the Hitchhiker's Guide

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