I wish Bernard was here - A Quatermass Thread

General / off topic
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Professor Bernard Quatermass has been described as “Britian’s first television hero”, having been created just over a decade before Doctor Who.

While Nigel Kneale, Quatermass’ creator, expressed particular dislike for Doctor Who (and Blake’s 7, calling it the lowest point in British Sci-fi television), his series has heavily influenced Doctor Who (most notable in the Pertwee era, and The Lazarus Experiment).

There have also been many allusions to the series, especially the British Rocket Group that Quatermass works for in Doctor Who. Who Killed Kennedy establishes that Ambassadors of Death’s British Space Centre was one and the same as this group, having been renamed. More explicitly on the TV show however, and giving this thread it’s title, is this exchange from Rememberance of the Daleks:

ALLISON: I wish Bernard was here.

RACHEL: The British Rocket Group’s got its own problems.

Though admittedly it’s unclear from this if this is intended as a pop cultural joke, I choose to believe that it’s referencing Quatermass as a part of Doctor Who’s ‘adjacent canon’ (series’ that are separate from the show, with no full blown cross-overs, but that absolutely work as part of the same universe).

Title Year Medium (/Notes)
The Quatermass Experiment 1953 TV Series (only 2/6 episodes remain)
The Quatermass Xperiment 1955 Film (Remake of the '53 series)
Quatermass II 1955 TV Series
Quatermass 2 1957 Film (Remake of the '55 series)
Quatermass and the Pit 1958-59 TV Series
Quatermass and the Pit 1967 Film (Remake of the '58-59 series)
Quatermass 1979 TV Series
Quatermass 1979 Film (Recut of the '79 series)
The Quatermass Memoirs 1996 Radio Series
The Quatermass Experiment 2005 TV Movie (Remake of the '53 series, Broadcast live, Starring David Tennant, Mark Gatiss, and Indira Varma)

Have you seen any Quatermass?
Do you think it’s part of Doctor Who canon?
What other shows do you think of as ‘adjacent canon’? (baring the obvious one)

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I have not seen Quatermass even though I definitely should, though I am pretty sure Allison’s line is totally on purpose as a reference to it

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Oh it’s absolutely a reference, it’s just a question of if it’s referencing the show existing in universe, or if she’s friends with Quatermass himself (which I absolutely believe)

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They totally are, I think it’s canon that Rachel and/or Allison worked with British Rocket Group. I really do have to get round to watching some of this some time, it’s been on my list for years

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I watched the two existing episodes of The Quatermass Experiment off the back of Paul Cornell and Lizbeth Myles Telefantasy Time Jump podcast and I have to admit that I found them a struggle. They are very 1950s in their style and whilst Cornell and Myles waxed lyrical about them, I can’t say I could agree.

That said, its still obviously a very important influence on British science fiction so I was able to appreciate it as an historical artefact.

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I haven’t watched any Quatermass.

It seems interesting, so I probably should check it out, but Nigel Kneale hated Doctor Who so watching it would actually go against my beliefs

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I also haven’t watched it but I’m mildly interested about it, mainly due to its important status in British pop culture.

You can’t watch shows by people who hate Doctor Who?

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Yes it’s stupid I know

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Obviously not. What sort of person hates Doctor Who? Horrible people, that’s who.

:wink:

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Still, you somehow thought it was a good idea to watch the show?

:wink:

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I just wanted to see if the people who effuse about it like Cornell and Toby Hadoke were right.

Couldn’t honestly see it myself.

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I LOVE QUATERMASS!!!
My favourite one is Quatermass and the Pit!
Haven’t watched the 1979 series though.

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I’ve seen the existing episodes of the first series and the whole of the second series. It’s been a long time since I watched them but I seem to remember enjoying them at the time. My main memory of the second series is spotting a youngish Roger Delgado as a news reporter.

If Quatermass is part of the Whoniverse then I’m assuming he’s secretly a Time Lord as he looks completely different in every series!

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I haven’t seen Quatermass, but I’ve seen it for streaming on Tubi, so it’s on my longlist of things to check out.

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Quatermass Quatermass Quatermass. I love him. First got into it via the movies then the TV stuff. Quatermass & the Pit is fantastic in both its versions & probably my favourite. Andre Morell my favourite Quatermass. Brian Donlevy the worst.

No wonder Nigel Kneale hates Doctor Who given how it has ripped off his work, particularly the early 3rd Doctor stuff.

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Just started The Quatermass Xperiment

Not sure if the TV series or the films are the better way to go, but with my ADHD, I figured it made the most sense to go for the shorter of the two options

Got to say, there’s something delightfully charming, and almost timeless, in just how '50s it is. If someone were to make this in the modern day and age, but as a period piece, it’d probably look exactly the same, if that makes sense.

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Since there’s no Quatermass guide, will say here, The Quatermass Xperiment (1955) is an 8/10 for me

Solid building of suspense, incredible practical effects, especially for the time, and while the defeat of the creature at the end felt a little underwhelming, the practical effects brought me right, and the walk away that Quatermass does, just ignoring the people asking him questions until the last line of the film, I really enjoyed it.

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Which one you’ll watch next? Quatermass 2 (the movie) or Quatermass II (the serial)?

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All this talk of Quatermass makes me want to try it as well…

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