The Quatermass Experiment (film)
This article needs a plot summary. (January 2021) |
The Quatermass Experiment | |
---|---|
Genre | Science fiction thriller |
Created by | Nigel Kneale |
Written by | Richard Fell |
Directed by | Sam Miller |
Starring | Jason Flemyng Adrian Dunbar David Tennant Indira Varma Mark Gatiss |
Composer | Tim Atack |
Country of origin | United Kingdom |
Original language | English |
Production | |
Executive producer | Richard Fell |
Producers |
|
Cinematography | Alan Stewart |
Running time | 97 minutes |
Original release | |
Network | BBC Four |
Release | 2 April 2005 |
Related | |
The Quatermass Experiment |
The Quatermass Experiment is a 2005 live
Casting
Jason Flemyng was cast as Quatermass, with long-time Kneale admirer Mark Gatiss as Paterson, Andrew Tiernan as Carroon, Indira Varma as his wife Judith, David Tennant as Briscoe, Adrian Bower as Fullalove and Adrian Dunbar as Lomax—as a Ministry of Defence official rather than a policeman.[1] Isla Blair was cast as Home Secretary Margaret Blaker, a combination of parts of Lomax's character and two officials from the original serial, and she brought to rehearsals a photograph of her husband Julian Glover on the set of the 1967 film version of Quatermass and the Pit.[1] Blair said that she was delighted to be joining "the Quatermass club".[2]
Original 1953 cast member Moray Watson, who had played Marsh, one of Quatermass's colleagues, visited the set during rehearsals. The 76-year-old was invited to make a cameo appearance in the live broadcast, but was not available that evening.[1] It was during the rehearsals for The Quatermass Experiment that David Tennant was offered the role of the Tenth Doctor in Doctor Who. This casting was not announced to the public until later in April, but his fellow castmembers, and crew, became aware of the speculation surrounding Tennant; in the live broadcast Jason Flemyng changed Quatermass's first line to Tennant's Dr Briscoe from "Good to have you back, Gordon" to "Good to have you back, Doctor" as a deliberate reference.[2]
Production
The remake was commissioned as part of a "TV on Trial" season being run by BBC Four, examining past television trends and productions.[1] Although it was scheduled in a two-hour slot, the production finished after one hour and forty minutes—under running its allotted time, whereas most of the original episodes had overrun. This was expected before transmission, however, after timings had been made at the dress rehearsal, and the increased pace was attributed to the nervousness involved in a live performance.[2]
Adapted from the original scripts by executive producer Richard Fell, the new broadcast was directed by
Cast
- Jason Flemyng as Professor Bernard Quatermass
- Mark Gatiss as John Paterson
- Andrew Tiernan as Victor Carroon
- Indira Varma as Judith Carroon
- David Tennant as Doctor Gordon Briscoe
- Adrian Bower as James Fullalove
- Adrian Dunbar as Lomax[1]
- Isla Blair as Home Secretary Margaret Blaker
Broadcast and reception
The production was the BBC's first live made-for-television drama broadcast in over twenty years.
Drawing an average audience of 482,000, The Quatermass Experiment became BBC Four's fourth-highest-rated programme of all time, behind
Other media
The production was released on DVD in October 2005 by DD Home Entertainment, with an audio commentary and other extra features, as well as some recuts.[7] It has also been repeated on BBC Four on several occasions.
See Also
- The Quatermass Xperiment for the 1955 film
References
- ^ a b c d e f g h i Hearn, Marcus (2005). The Quatermass Experiment—Viewing Notes. Chester: DD Home Entertainment. DD22098.
- ^ a b c d e f g Mark Gatiss, Trevor Hampton, David Tennant, Alison Willett (2005). The Quatermass Experiment (DVD). DD Home Entertainment.
- The Guardian Unlimited. Retrieved 26 January 2007.
- ^ Banks-Smith, Nancy (7 April 2005). "One-take wonder". The Guardian. Retrieved 26 January 2007.
- ^ Vine, Sarah (7 April 2005). "A better class of property porn; Last night's TV". The Times. p. 27.
- ^ Moore, Charles (9 June 2005). "A new British Thriller". Texas Monthly. p. 152.
- ^ December 2015, Posted 20th. "Dirty Feed – 'The Quatermass Experiment' Experiment". Retrieved 13 May 2021.
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External links
- The Quatermass Experiment at IMDb