British manned space flights; an insidious threat from outer space; a man mutating into an evil alien, his human consciousness being eaten away; and a scientist - utterly anti-Establishment, courageous and cerebral - the only man who can fight it. No, not Doctor Who, but his highly distinguished predecessor, Prof Bernard Quatermass. A decade before Doctor Who first aired, the
The Quartermass Experiment was the first science-fiction TV serial produced for adults, and a
live-to-viewers BBC production, to boot. The show ran for six episodes in 1953, of which
only the first two episodes are known survive. The short sci-fi series spun off
three original sequels and
a radio drama-documentary, along with movie re-makes of the
first three series by
Hammer Films. BBC brought back live TV with a
2005 adaptation of the original 1953 series. You can watch the various series on online (in parts on Daily Motion), thanks to
fans of The British Rocket Group.
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posted by filthy light thief
on Jul 23, 2011 -
21 comments
King of the Rocket Men was the first appearance of the "atomic powered rocket flying suit" from
Republic Pictures.
The characters changed but the suit remained for
four action-packed serials. In 1949,
King of the Rocket Men starts out with a bang, or rather
a series of bangs (YT playlist), as scientists die in accidents, but science and fists save the day. Civilian researcher Commando Cody is the next hero to don the rocket pack in 1952, for 12 chapters of
Radar Men from the Moon. But when
Zombies of the Stratosphere attack that same year, Commando Cody is out sick (or something), so Larry Martin steps up to duke it out in the rocket suit (though
thin on the "zombies", the serial starred
Leonard Nemoy as a Martian). Commando Cody returned in 1953 to face the evil alien "Ruler" in
Commando Cody: Sky Marshal of the Universe (
vid 1,
vid 2).
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posted by filthy light thief
on Jul 14, 2011 -
17 comments
