Quatermass Rising: The Impact and Influence of Quatermass - Part Two

In Part One of this feature we looked at early examples of science fiction on air, and how despite the dramatic originality of The Quatermass Experiment, its creative impact was not immediately felt and if anything, it’s puzzling that so little was done to capitalise on its success. But in 1955 the BBC aired a second series and more importantly, in terms of global reach, Hammer’s The Quatermass Xperiment was a huge hit with audiences around the world. The Professor’s journey was entering a new phase, and was about to take some unexpected turns…

Buoyed by the success of The Quatermass Xperiment, Hammer, unlike the BBC, wanted more Quatermass as soon as possible. Three of the studio’s main players, Tony Hinds, Michael Carreras and Jimmy Sangster, found themselves (in the words of the latter) ‘sitting around the office one day’ exchanging and evolving ideas for a follow-up. Hinds told Sangster, ‘Go write it!’ and the resulting work became his first script for a feature-length movie.

At that point, Hammer had been unable to secure rights to further stories featuring Kneale’s hero, but Sangster’s screenplay reads suspiciously like a follow-up with just a few name changes. Was X – The Unknown (1956) an attempt to write a Quatermass without Quatermass? The only people who will ever know for sure are Jimmy Sangster, producer Tony Hinds, and practically everybody who’s ever seen over ten minutes of it. It oozes Quatermass, from the title (which once again deploys the seductive X), to the central character and the film’s overall feel and set-up.

Writing for the BFI, Vic Pratt noted, ‘X the Unknown… was a film that foreshadowed the more specifically gothic chillers that were soon to become the company’s [Hammer’s] trademark.’

Quatermass 2 was the more traditional sequel and delivered another hit for Hinds and co. But as Hammer’s Steve Rogers recently pointed out in this article, ‘Xperiment was followed very swiftly by a film called X the Unknown… and Hammer also adapted another Kneale science-horror BBC play into a film called The Abominable Snowman. So that’s the direction they were heading until The Curse of Frankenstein [released the same year as Q2] blew the doors off – and if the world wanted full colour gothic horror then Hammer would readily oblige.’

Again, it’s interesting to speculate how Hammer would have taken the Quatermass-style of films forward had Frankenstein not ushered in a new direction. That said, it could be argued that the studio’s gothic classics do owe a debt of gratitude to Quatermass. Many blend sci-fi with horror and the alumni of The Quatermass Xperiment learnt valuable lessons on that production, not least make-up artist Phil Leakey who later created Christopher Lee’s iconic look as Frankenstein’s creature, and composer James Bernard, who followed his first feature score (for Xperiment) with music for hits including Dracula (1958), The Hound of the Baskervilles (1959), The Devil Rides Out (1968) and Frankenstein Must Be Destroyed (1969).

Meanwhile, the BBC’s on-off relationship with science fiction pootled along. Quatermass and the Pit stunned audiences in 1958/59, but other developments precipitated a desire for more sci-fi. In early 1961, BBC Controller of Programmes, Kenneth Adam, noted that the hotting up of the space race between Russia and the US would mean the year would go down as ‘space year’. He told Donald Wilson, at that point the Head of the Script Department, that ‘it will be a great pity if the year goes by and we have had no space drama, either single or series’.

Paul Eddington (right), seen here alongside Christopher Lee and Sarah Lawson in The Devil Rides Out, played Michael Rabinowitz in The Escape of R.D.7.

To be clear, the minor influx of science fiction at the BBC was triggered by world events, as opposed to events on Hobbs Lane. The early 60s saw the Corporation put out the two Andromeda serials, the 5-part The Escape of R.D.7 (in 1961) and the 6-part The Big Pull in 1962. Of these, the latter has the most traces of Quatermass, concerning an alien invasion achieved through extra-terrestrials taking over pairs of humans and gradually (but with increasing rapidity) exerting their power across the globe. All 6 episodes are lost, but information on The Big Pull suggests that like the Quatermass serials, it was an intelligent, surprising spin on the ‘invasion from outer space’ playbook.

ATV’s The Trollenburg Terror from 1956 and ABC Weekend Television’s 1965 series, Undermind, also fall into this category, but the majority of sci-fi offerings in this period were for children (Fireball XL5, Space Patrol, Pathfinders in Space and similar) or, like ITC’s The Champions, they felt more influenced by US shows.

A 1962 BBC report that covered the merits (or otherwise) of science-fiction on television provides an indication as to why they weren’t more enthusiastic about it, despite the success of Quatermass. It concluded that the genre simply wasn’t as much of a draw as thrillers or mysteries, and that it barely appealed to women. In short, the report opined, ‘People aren’t all that mad about ‘SF’.’

The sign reads ‘These animals are dangerous’, but it’s unclear which creatures the warning is referring to… 

The show that’s most often claimed to be influenced by Quatermass is, of course, Doctor Who. On one level, the assertion doesn’t appear to withstand much scrutiny. The programme began in 1963 and concerns a time-traveling alien who wanders throughout time and space, saving the universe using a combination of futuristic tech and, to quote the character himself, ‘…a kettle and some string.’

But the best of Doctor Who often veers into Quatermass territory, like the William Hartnell 4-parter, The War Machines. This 1966 story placed - for the first time - the Doctor in present-day London, battling a non-human enemy, in this case a kind of supercomputer, which reflected public unease about mankind’s increasing reliance on ever-improving technology. More significantly, when ratings started to fall towards the end of the 60s, producer Derrick Sherwin fundamentally changed the show’s set-up and from its seventh season onwards, it largely eschewed alien worlds in a move that was, as he openly admitted, inspired by Quatermass.

The TARDIS first materialised in November 1963 and has been whisking the Doctor, plus countless millions of viewers, across the universe for over 60 years. (image © Gavin Collinson)

Derek Ritchie has served as both script editor and producer on Doctor Who. He’s also produced, amongst other things, Wizards vs Aliens, Doctor Who spin-off, Class, the juggernaut which was Luther and the BBC’s hit sci-fi-ish drama The Capture, which will soon return to our screen for a third series. Who better to ask about Quatermass and its influence on Doctor Who and current drama?

‘I’d have to agree that Quatermass couldn’t help but be a big influence on Doctor Who!’ Ritchie told us. ‘There’s a very clear comparison in the structure and stories of Season 7, with a Doctor confined to Earth as humankind faces some epic science fiction existential crises, from above and below. An inherited Earth, an alien intelligence reaching out to us through our astronauts, scientific hubris bringing about the end of the world – these are all very Kneale themes!’

And that influence only grew after the success of Season 7, right?

‘Going forward into Season 8,’ Ritchie replies, ‘The Daemons is perhaps the most perfect fusion of Doctor Who and Quatermass – the former very confident in its own skin, while enjoying some big ideas about where we came from and what influenced us. But beyond these perhaps more obvious parallels, I think there’s something more fundamental – the maverick scientist who sees further than most, who has a clear moral compass, and whose priority above all else is the preservation of life. Quatermass works for the establishment, but butts heads with the military and government whenever they fail to understand the truth of what may face them, and place their petty allegiances before what’s best for humanity. Both the Doctor and Quatermass are outsiders battling huge existential crises, and I think it’s in parallels between those characters that we see the greatest influence of one on the other.’

The central premise of Quatermass and the Pit cropped up in a number of classic Doctor Who stores including 1977’s Image of the Fendahl, written by the great Chris Boucher.

Digging a little deeper, the question was posed - not so much as an admirer of Kneale’s work, but more as a film and television producer - what is it about Quatermass that’s so effective and impactful?

‘I think it’s very simply – concept and character! There is huge imaginative breadth in Kneale’s writing, and with stories that touch the fundamental of what it means to be human in a universe we are only scratching the surface of. Quatermass and the Pit is probably the clearest example of this, with the revelation of our manipulation as a species, and the genetic timebomb that sits within us all. Again, it’s in these epic narratives that Quatermass finds himself encountering the worst of humanity – where small minds threaten to end us all, through design or incompetence. That’s a canvas for great drama!’

The serial that started it all… The Quatermass Experiment, directed by Rudolph Cartier.

Although the immediate impact of Quatermass, in televisual terms, was minimal, over the years, many writers who admired those first three serials and the Hammer adaptations have been inspired and influenced by their form and potency. Shows ranging from Sapphire and Steel to Steven Volk’s Ghostwatch all have the Professor’s DNA somewhere in their make-up. And filmmakers including John Carpenter and Guillermo del Toro have cited the Quatermass movies as important to their own creative development.

Their work in turn has influenced/continues to influence storytellers, meaning narrative elements perfected by Kneale are handed on to successive generations. So for example, someone watching Image of the Fendahl, a 4-part Doctor Who story from 1977, may not be the aware that its premise echoes much of Quatermass and the Pit. But they may take those elements and use them as a starting point for new tales of terror…

In Remembrance of the Daleks, the Doctor muses, ‘Every great decision creates ripples, like a huge boulder dropped in a lake. The ripples merge and rebound off the banks in unforeseeable ways. The heavier the decision, the larger the waves, the more uncertain the consequences.’ The same could be said of great drama, and the ripples caused by the Quatermass serials, movies and books continue to make waves in ways that could never have been anticipated in the 50s and 60s.

So perhaps it’s reductive to pick out further instances of where Kneale’s output has been a rich source of ideas. The main point is simple – Quatermass proved that science fiction can be intelligent and relevant, as well as thrilling and mind-boggling. And it demonstrated that stories about outer space are at their best when they’re down to earth.

From The Quatermass Xperiment… What could be more down to earth than dashing through the rain on a miserable English evening?

Nigel Kneale famously claimed not to write sci-fi and occasionally went even further, once reflecting, ‘I’m not really a science fiction fan.’ It’s a surprising comment, as counter-intuitive as hearing Mozart reflect he wasn’t really into opera, or Hitchcock expressing an apathy towards filmmaking. But it’s instructive nevertheless and makes a kind of sense because it’s easy to see the influence of Quatermass extends far beyond sci-fi. Like the other highlights of Kneale’s work, such as The Year of the Sex Olympics or The Stone Tape, its allure is in both its prophetic nature and its ability to tap into existing genuine and legitimate fears.

It's a point I put to Derek Ritchie. His show, The Capture, explores the perils that audio/visual technology could (and sometimes does) present as our abilities begin to outpace our morality. It strikes me that’s peak Quatermass. Am I stretching, or would he agree?

‘I’d love to agree!’ he replies without hesitation. ‘I think they are very different shows of course, but there’s something about the grey shades of morality, and the conflict that creates, that are central to both series. And yes, we have always tried to be a little ahead of the curve with The Capture when it comes to technology, perhaps even more so with series 3. And it’s what characters choose to do with that technology that creates our moral minestrone, in a similar vein to the authorities responding to the crises in Quatermass. So there is a parallel there, and I’m very chuffed you raised it!’

And so decades after The Quatermass Experiment first terrified audiences and seized the imagination of future writers, its impact continues to be felt. Kneale’s most famous creation still influences and cajoles. Still beckons and explains how to get it right. For those who strive to make great drama, and for those who simply seek to enjoy it, now, as then, Bernard Quatermass is always waiting.

Many thanks to Derek Ritchie for his time and insight!

And if you’re after the definitive boxsets of The Quatermass Xperiment and Quatermass 2, check out Hammer’s Quatermass Collection. Both of these limited editions are packed with additional material that combines archive rarities with brand new, specially commissioned programmes.