Professor Bernard Quatermass (John Robinson), head of The British Experimental Rocket Group, reeling from the failure of his latest rocket tests becomes embroiled in an investigation into the appearance of meteorites falling near to where the town of Winnerden Flats has been bulldozed and replaced with a heavily guarded chemical plant.
Like the later Hammer movie version 'Quatermass II' has long been considered the poor relation amongst the various productions, but its impact far outweighs the respect it's given especially in regard to how often shows like Doctor Who ('Spearhead From Space') mined it for ideas. Bernard Quatermass has always been Nigel Kneale's avatar and in his layered allegorical script Kneale comments on post war (re)development, short sighted greed, the inexorable rise of technology, the dehumanising impact of industry and intractable bureaucracy.
Broadcast live, with extra pre-filmed scenes edited in, it suffers from the problems you'd expect - stumbled over lines (especially from Robinson, a last minute replacement as the Professor following the death of Reginald Tate), and lots of emoting while staring enigmatically off camera and it's always funny watching the actors freeze in place at the end of each episode as the credits roll, but it's a glorious achievement that's often surprisingly brutal but shot through with Kneale's dark optimism for the power of science to save us whether we want it to or not.
..........................................................................................
If you enjoy what we do here on Wyrd Britain and would like to help us continue, then we would very much welcome a donation towards keeping the blog going - paypal.me/wyrdbritain
No comments:
Post a Comment