Snowpiercer (2020– ) The interest in making British TV science fiction seemed to return to broadcasters towards the middle of the 1990s in that companies began to see the possibility of lucrative overseas sales and tie-in products that other genres could not match. of episodes6 Production Running time50 minutes Release Original networkBBC First shown in8 May 1998 8 December 1998 Invasion: Earth is a BBC science fiction TV series. 1990 (TV series) A. Davies' first sci-fi serial was the six-part Dark Season (1991), which co-starred a young Kate Winslet as well as former Blake's 7 star Jacqueline Pearce. Various series have followed the new success of Doctor Who, including two spin-offs entitled Torchwood (2006–2011) and The Sarah Jane Adventures (2007–2011), a new time travel drama Life on Mars (BBC 2006–2007), Eleventh Hour (ITV 2008–2009), Primeval (ITV 2007–2011) and in 2009 new story for Red Dwarf, now shown exclusively on Dave rather than the BBC, followed by Red Dwarf X in 2012. Apart from a television movie in 1996, Doctor Who did not re-emerge in a bigger budget version until 2005. Charles Chilton - Journey into Space. Con-artist Sarah discovers her real origins are stranger than she could have imagined. For the television channel controllers, these had the benefit of transmission rights having a lower cost than any domestic productions. Shop bestselling DVDs, Blu-rays and merchandise direct from the BBC Shop. Matthew Broughton's virtual reality saga stars Tessa Nicholson and Adjoa Andoh. Synopsis. BBC Jodie Whittaker could depart iconic BBC science fiction series “ Doctor Who,” according to a report in U.K. tabloid Daily Mirror. It appeared to be generally felt at the BBC that science fiction was more expensive to produce than other types of programme but did not return any higher audiences for the outlay or particular critical acclaim. Perhaps the most high-profile of those behind the movement to return Doctor Who to the screens is writer Russell T Davies, who initially worked in the BBC children's department earlier in his career, and contributed to British TV science fiction there. With Ben Moor and Alex Tregear. on videotape using a serial form) was Sapphire & Steel (1979–82). A much more respected show, produced by ATV in a similar production manner to Doctor Who (i.e. Science-fiction drama created by Russell T Davies. The BBC did begin producing more science fiction, with further literary adaptations such as The Time Machine (1949) and children's serials like Stranger from Space (1951–1952). To hear about all the latest great non-fiction, join us over at the Science Focus Book Club. New ... Science Fiction. Pages in category "1970s British science fiction television series" The following 21 pages are in this category, out of 21 total. The BBC developed an idea of Newman's into Britain's first durable science-fiction television series. Skip to content. The second serial Quatermass II (1955) is the earliest BBC science fiction production to exist in its entirety. Classic science fiction series following the adventures of the starship USS Enterprise. The top British sci fi shows tell stories about outer-space and what the future could look like with a few technological advances This is a list o f the best British sci fi shows, including everything from Red Dwarf to Torchwood to The Avengers.. What series will you find on this … The Quatermass Experiment is also the first piece of British television science fiction to partially survive, albeit only in the form of poor quality telerecordings of its first two episodes. Stillicide by Cynan Jones. … A proponent for such experimentation was Canadian-born producer Sydney Newman, who had become Head of Drama at ABC. One of the few science fiction series to have become part of the popular consciousness, its success led the BBC to produce other efforts in the genre. ITV contributed a new version of The Tomorrow People (1992–94) made as an international co-production with US and Australia companies, and there were various other child-oriented sci-fi type series such as ITV's Mike & Angelo (1989–99) and the BBC's Watt on Earth (1991), although these lacked the crossover adult appeal that Davies' shows had possessed. Science fiction adventure, adapted from a series of novels by John Christopher. Political thriller set in the nightmare, dystopian future of 1990. Celebrate your favourite shows: Doctor Who, Top Gear, Sherlock, and many more! ... 6/16 Unexpected science fiction and horror tales - new adaptations based on the classic TV series. The Watch. The BBC's Doctor Who is listed in the Guinness World Records as the longest-running science fiction television show in the world[1] and as the "most successful" science fiction series of all time.[2]. Although Doctor Who was still running, in terms of audience it was struggling to compete with US imports in the genre which began to re-emerge following the box-office success of contemporary films like the Star Wars franchise. csm_tv. Adaptation of the original TV series. Wells, War of the Worlds, is experiencing yet another resurgence. Of particular note being its own science fiction anthology series Out of the Unknown (1965–71), which ran for four seasons. Fantasy drama based on the legend of King Arthur and Merlin. Debris (2021– ) TV-PG | Drama, Mystery,... 2. Another favorite from our childhood, 3-2-1 Contact first aired in 1980, and remains … They co-produced the six-part serial Invasion: Earth (1998) with the US Sci Fi Channel, and ITV began attempting to market British sci-fi again with serials such as The Uninvited (1997) and The Last Train (1999). Darrow was best known for playing Avon in the BBC science fiction series Blake's 7, as well as appearances on Doctor Who, The Saint and Little Britain. Survivors was a post-apocalyptic tale of a small group of people who were the only humans left after a plague caused by biological warfare lab accident has wiped out most of humanity. Set in the near future, this fiction book tells the story of a Britain caught … The second was Red Dwarf (1988–99, 2009–present), created and originally written by Rob Grant and Doug Naylor. With Dominic Sandbrook, Charlie Jane Anders, Neil Gaiman, Mark Gatiss. Here you can listen to classic radio shows from the Golden Age of science fiction. An adult-themed science-fiction drama specially written for television by BBC staff writer Nigel Kneale,[4] its budget consumed the majority of the finances reserved for drama that year. This successful serial ultimately led to three further Quatermass serials and three feature film adaptations from Hammer Film Productions. Dramas that explore contemporary takes on future dystopias. Weird and wonderful tales by the American sci-fi writer. In the first of BBC Culture’s new series on fiction that predicted the future, Hephzibah Anderson looks at the work of John Brunner, whose vision of 2010 was eerily accurate. Although it presented some intriguing (if bizarre) storylines, it never rivalled Doctor Who, possibly because unlike the BBC programme it attempted to identify with children by featuring children, thus making the crossover appeal to an adult audience much more difficult. Fantasy tale of a hero cursed with immortality. Read about our approach to external linking. The BBC also produced several children's science fiction shows in the late 1990s to mid-2000s. For the television channel controllers, these had the benefit of transmission rights having a lower cost than any domestic productions. It lasted for twenty-six seasons in its original form, through which first emerged many of the writers who until the 1980s would create most of the genre's successful British shows. A short-lived but lively show Dirk Gently was made from the Douglas Adams' book Dirk Gently's Holistic Detective Agency" in 2010. Series reliving action from the legendary sci-fi show, featuring exclusive interviews. Adaptations of novels such as The Day of the Triffids (1981), The Invisible Man (1984) and The Nightmare Man (1981, from the novel Child of the Vodyanoi) were produced, and the BBC began an adaptation of The White Mountains novels, under the name The Tripods (1984–85). Two years later Davies wrote a second, much more complex serial called Century Falls (1993). Perhaps the last original series of its kind in the multi-camera era of BBC science fiction was Star Cops (1987), which ran for only nine episodes to poor viewing figures on the corporation's second channel, BBC2. Learn how and when to remove these template messages, Learn how and when to remove this template message, https://en.wikipedia.org/w/index.php?title=British_television_science_fiction&oldid=1008735881, Wikipedia articles with style issues from August 2009, Articles needing additional references from January 2009, All articles needing additional references, Articles with multiple maintenance issues, Creative Commons Attribution-ShareAlike License, This page was last edited on 24 February 2021, at 20:09. 1960s post-apocalyptic alternate history, read by Nigel Lindsay. Douglas Adams' sci-fi comedy following the misadventures of hapless human Arthur Dent. For the rest of the 1960s Nation had concentrated on writing for ITV film series, but in the early 1970s he returned to science fiction, contributing Dalek stories to Doctor Who again from 1973 to 1975 and in 1975 creating his own science-fiction show, Survivors (1975–77). Although Doctor Who was still running, in terms of audience it was struggling to compete with US imports in the genre which began to re-emerge following the box-office success of contemporary films like the Star Warsfranchise. Running for four seasons, the early evening series had a hard edge. Some of the ITV companies were imitating American styles of production, shooting some of their series on film rather than in the multi-camera electronic studio for lucrative sales in the 'international' market. Dr Who's place in the Saturday schedule was briefly lost when it was moved to a weekday slot. Various former Doctor Who alumni had moved on to produce their own acclaimed genre programmes as well. 1981 adaptation of John Wyndham's classic post-apocalyptic novel. ... or the BBC Radio adaptation of Isaac Asimov's classic Foundation Trilogy. Kneale could not rely on sophisticated special effects to convey his narratives. Classic 1950s science-fiction, set in the far-flung future of the late 20th century. 50 Best Science Fiction TV Shows of All Time - Rolling Stone csm_tv. British television science fiction refers to popular programmes in the genre that have been produced by both the BBC and Britain's largest commercial channel, ITV. The most known examples of which being Aquila (TV series) (1997–1998) based on the novel by Andrew Norriss and Jeopardy (BBC TV series) (2002–2004) which won the 2002 BAFTA for Best Children's Drama. At ABC, Newman produced the science-fiction serial Pathfinders in Space (1960) and its sequels Pathfinders to Mars (1960) and Pathfinders to Venus (1961) and oversaw the science-fiction anthology series Out of This World (1962), the first of its kind in the UK. Adaptations of tales from the great science fiction author and inventor. The first known science fiction television programme was produced by the BBC's prewar television service. Network: AMC, BBC America (2021) Continue reading. Keen to catch some of the young audience who followed Doctor Who, some of the ITV companies sought to create their own youth-oriented genre programmes, such as the 1970's cult classic sci-fi drama series, Timeslip (1970), and the original The Tomorrow People (1973–79). R.U.R. BBC One London, 6 November 1974 18.35. The first was that the BBC's Head of Light Entertainment, Eric Maschwitz, commissioned Head of the Script Department Donald Wilson to prepare a report on the viability of producing a new science-fiction series for television. Running for more than eight series, the idea was originally developed from the Dave Hollins: Space Cadet sketches introduced on Grant and Naylor's 1984 BBC Radio 4 show Son of Cliché. age 13+ Messy sci-fi crime series features violence, alcohol. QUICKVIEW. It was so controversial that it was debated in Parliament, and campaigners tried to have the second performance the following Thursday banned. ... Ten-part series, weekdays from 2nd March. ITV also made an attempt at children's science fiction, with its short-lived programme Emerald Soup (1963), which coincidentally aired the same night that Doctor Who premiered. If you are unsure how best to edit this programme please take a moment to read it. Writer Terry Nation had created the Dalek race for Doctor Who in 1963, and thus assuring much of its early popularity. Science-fiction drama following three families against a backdrop of alien abduction, John Wyndham's classic science fiction, in which humanity is threatened by giant plants. The tale of two "time detectives" played by David McCallum and Joanna Lumley, Sapphire & Steel was a superbly atmospheric piece of television, although its production run was often hampered by the unavailability of its two leads. Radio adaptations of the award-winning fantasy author's novels. Shop bestselling DVDs, Blu-rays and merchandise direct from the BBC Shop. One producer who was keen to make science fiction for the commercial network was Gerry Anderson, who initially used puppets for his shows. Some BBC popular and critical successes such as Edge of Darkness (1985) had science-fiction as a secondary element. Celebrate your favourite shows: Doctor Who, Top Gear, Sherlock, and many more! Shop bestselling DVDs, Blu-rays and merchandise direct from the BBC Shop. Strange and chilling tales from the master of thrillers. American science fiction drama series starring Patrick Stewart as Captain Jean-Luc Picard. The first was The Hitchhiker's Guide to the Galaxy (1981) by Douglas Adams which amalgamated aspects of the original radio series with that of the subsequent novel. The 1980s also saw the arrival on the BBC of two science fiction comedy series both of which had their origins on radio. The first television series, simply called Star Trek, is now referred to as “The Original Series”, and 79 episodes were broadcast in the US over three seasons between 1966 and 1969.. Star Trek was followed by “The Animated Series” between 1973 and 1974, The Next Generation (1987-1994), Deep Space Nine … The second was that Sydney Newman was tempted away from the ABC to take up the position of Head of Drama at the BBC, officially joining the Corporation at the beginning of 1963. Doctor Who: Genesis of the Daleks (1975) Tom Baker encounters the Doctor's arch-enemies in the trenches. The moral ambiguity of the leading characters made them interesting, and as with Doomwatch it was not afraid of shocking the audience by killing off leading characters, climaxing by wiping out the entire crew in its final episode. … Based on the book series by legendary sci-fi writer Isaac Asimov, Foundation is a chronicle of an intergalactic adventure that spans a thousand years. On 11 February 1938, a thirty-five-minute adapted extract of the play R.U.R., written by the Czech playwright Karel Čapek, was broadcast live from the BBC's Alexandra Palace studios. The original version of Doctor Who lasted until 1989. Taking advantage of the research Wilson's department had completed, Newman initiated the creation and along with Wilson and BBC staff writer C. E. Webber oversaw the development of this new series, which Newman named "Doctor Who". 1. Customer service ; Menu Search. BBC Radio 3, BBC Radio 4 and BBC Radio 7. Their success led his backers ITC to finance the live-action shows he most wanted to develop. Intriguing sci-fi tales by the Hugo and Nebula Award-winning writer. Edit Submit Cancel We have produced a Style Guide to help editors follow a standard format when editing a listing. Day of the Triffids, The (1981) Chilling adaptation of John Wyndham's sci-fi classic. At the same time Grade abandoned a whole season of Doctor Who; the series was on hiatus for eighteen months. After much development work, the series was launched on 23 November 1963. Whatever area of science you like the most, you’re sure to find something to take your interest in this month’s top 10 science books, from the depths of the Earth beneath our feet to the depths of space. Doctor Who may be the world’s longest-running science fiction television series, but it’s not the oldest sci-fi program to have been broadcast on television. In the Quatermass tradition of allegorical storytelling (Nigel Kneale was invited, but declined to contribute scripts to the programme), it used its science-fiction basis to try to convey real warnings about the state of the world, as well as telling tense, dramatic stories and not being afraid of shocking its audience, such as in the killing off of popular lead character Toby Wren (played by Robert Powell). A planned second season was delayed and eventually reformatted as a new show, entitled "Space: 1999" (1975–77), which ran for two seasons and was a moderate success. DI Alex Drake wakes up to some familiar faces in 1981. The best science fiction TV shows to stream right now | New Scientist Longer-running science-fiction series became few and far between. Pitched by Nation as "the Dirty Dozen in space", Blake's 7 originally revolved around righteous freedom fighter Roj Blake, his battle with a corrupt Galactic Federation and the rag-tag group of pirates, criminals and smugglers who are reluctantly forced to work with him after an escape from a prison ship. [3] Only a few on-set publicity photographs survive. Two important events for the future of the British television science fiction occurred in 1962. 3-2-1 Contact. The story of one of the liveliest and most stimulating genres in popular culture will be told through its impact on cinema, television and literature. was produced a second time on 4 March 1948, this time in a full ninety-minute live production, adapted for television by the producer Jan Bussell, who had also been responsible for the screening in 1938. A fantasy drama set in an ancient world of legendary heroes and mythical creatures. Factual-based drama set in the future when global warming leads to more severe hurricanes. Learn more. BBC7 goes behind the scenes of Doctor Who, Sci-fi tales to celebrate the work of American novelist Robert A Heinlein, Sci-fi comedy starring Dan Mersh, Tim Key, Prunella Scales and Dan Tetsell, Unexpected science fiction and horror tales. ... Science Fiction Upcoming Releases … Radio version of the popular TV sci-fi sitcom, written by Rob Grant and Doug Naylor, Abby and Zara were created by pan-dimensional beings to help save space and time, Dramas starring one of Doctor Who's most famous companions, journalist Sarah Jane Smith. 50 Best Science Fiction TV Shows of All Time From superhero shows and space operas to creepy anthology series, the greatest small-screen sci-fi of all time BBC Radio 4 Extra Star Trek. Journey into the universe of science fiction, across the BBC. One of the earliest genre examples, The Silver Swan (BBC, 1952-53), transported viewers into past eras by way of an heirloomed violin. A third of all Doctor Who stories in the series’ first three years were set in different periods of the Earth’s past – including trips to the ancient world (‘The Romans’ and ‘The Myth Makers’), the Middle Ages (‘Marco Polo’ and ‘The Crusade’) and the Old West (‘The Gunfighters’, which saw the Doctor at the Gunfight at the OK Corral). The Tripods had run for two of its planned three series when it was cancelled by the Controller of BBC1, Michael Grade. An in-depth look at the space-travelling Time Lord. Doctor Who: The Matt Smith … Dramas and adaptations from the famed writer for radio and TV. A for Andromeda (1961) (which starred a young Julie Christie) and its sequel (The Andromeda Breakthrough, 1962) were exceptions. More content will … But in truth this was closer to magic than rational science fiction. age 8+ Smart tween space drama with lots of suspense. FAQ; About Us; Links; Join Our Free Mailing List... ABOUT OLD TIME RADIO The buzz-term for Old … A 'live' remake of The Quatermass Experiment was broadcast on BBC Four on 2 April 2005. Nonetheless, in the early part of the decade there were several serials produced, albeit mainly by the BBC; the bought in series mainly aired on ITV.