Nigel Kneale was one of the greatest horror/mystery writers of our times. On a par with Stephen King or H G Wells, his ideas were not only ahead of most contemporaries, but sadly most budgets.
These days, the BBC is sending more staff to (literally) cover the Chinese Olympics than Britain is sending competitors. Yet when it comes to producing good-quality drama of a horrific kind, writers have invariably been short-changed.
Mr Kneale was an astonishing national treasure who - if he'd been American - would, by now, have had a university named after him. But like H G Wells and many others, his memory is left to fend for itself whilst media and public alike pursue shallow, worthless celebrity.
Well; that's said.
For those who watched the 'Beasts' series as children, I'm not surprised they had nightmares. I was 25 when it was screened and still found the ideas disturbing. The items called 'During Barty's Party' and 'Baby' were particularly ill-timed as I had that year bought an old cottage, and as well as being attacked by a rat, found something trapped and mummified in the chimney. I buried it in the garden and hoped that nothing would turn up. Happily, nothing did.
Like all the collaborations between Kneale and the BBC, production values were hopelessly short-changed. The actors suffered from melodramatic excess, direction was often inadequate, and I say - money scarce. This applies right back to the Quatermass period.
Still, it is a testament to the depth and psychological power of Kneale's bogeys that they have transcended the mediocre production and budgeting. I should like to see them all done again. Only this time with the sort of costing enjoyed by James Cameron or Ridley Scott, and also with their talent for interpretive detail that quite clearly goes beyond anything possessed at Wood Lane.
I've given just 5 stars for the series, and this reflects the poor production values. For Mr Kneale's ideas alone I would readily give 9 or 10.
These days, the BBC is sending more staff to (literally) cover the Chinese Olympics than Britain is sending competitors. Yet when it comes to producing good-quality drama of a horrific kind, writers have invariably been short-changed.
Mr Kneale was an astonishing national treasure who - if he'd been American - would, by now, have had a university named after him. But like H G Wells and many others, his memory is left to fend for itself whilst media and public alike pursue shallow, worthless celebrity.
Well; that's said.
For those who watched the 'Beasts' series as children, I'm not surprised they had nightmares. I was 25 when it was screened and still found the ideas disturbing. The items called 'During Barty's Party' and 'Baby' were particularly ill-timed as I had that year bought an old cottage, and as well as being attacked by a rat, found something trapped and mummified in the chimney. I buried it in the garden and hoped that nothing would turn up. Happily, nothing did.
Like all the collaborations between Kneale and the BBC, production values were hopelessly short-changed. The actors suffered from melodramatic excess, direction was often inadequate, and I say - money scarce. This applies right back to the Quatermass period.
Still, it is a testament to the depth and psychological power of Kneale's bogeys that they have transcended the mediocre production and budgeting. I should like to see them all done again. Only this time with the sort of costing enjoyed by James Cameron or Ridley Scott, and also with their talent for interpretive detail that quite clearly goes beyond anything possessed at Wood Lane.
I've given just 5 stars for the series, and this reflects the poor production values. For Mr Kneale's ideas alone I would readily give 9 or 10.