Doctor Who Magazine reported in the preview for this episode that the title "42" was chosen for the fact the episode is set in real time, and had little to do with the American series 24 (named for the same reason). However, producer Phil Collinson explicitly said the opposite in the episode commentary that was done for the official web site. He maintained there that the title is indeed a direct play on 24. Writer Chibnall has confused the matter further. When asked whether the title referred either to that television series or to the work of Douglas Adams (see Life, the Universe and Everything), he said yes, and acknowledged that "It's a playful title". Adams was a writer and script editor on the original Doctor Who series. A key plot point in the Hitchhikers Guide to the Galaxy story (book and television serial versions) is the protagonists being trapped on a spaceship which is pre-programmed to crash into the sun (as part of a rock concert special effect); the number 42 is a key element in the Hitchhikers Guide stories. Chibnall goes on to compare the episode itself to "The Satan Pit", at least from a visual standpoint.
