My experience with television sci-fi is limited to 'The Twilight Zone (1959-1965)," so I figured I might as well start at the beginning. The 1953 BBC serial "The Quatermass Experiment (1953)" was probably the first adult science-fiction TV series, and last night I watched the first two episodes. I must confess that I'm a little disheartened – not because they weren't enjoyable, but because the final four episodes are now considered lost (having been broadcast live). Audiences in 1953 need only have waited until the following Saturday to learn of the secrets harboured by returning astronaut Duncan Lamont (Victor Carroon), but I would never find out {admittedly, I did jump straight onto the internet to complete the story, but it's not the same}.
After Britain's first manned rocket returns to Earth with only one of its original crew, Dr. Quatermass (Reginald Tate) begins to wonder what happened up there. Curiously, it seems as though the surviving astronaut has taken on some of the physiological attributes of the missing crewmen. Though episode two finishes at this early stage, some online research revealed that the Lamont character eventually mutates into some sort of plant-like extraterrestrial organism, a prospect that would, I suspect, have astounded and fascinated me. The serial, which unfolds with minimal special effects, must surely have had a strong influence on everything from 'Invasion of the Body Snatchers (1956)' to 'Alien (1979).' At least the series was followed by "Quatermass II (1955)" and "Quatermass and the Pit (1958)," so all is not lost.
After Britain's first manned rocket returns to Earth with only one of its original crew, Dr. Quatermass (Reginald Tate) begins to wonder what happened up there. Curiously, it seems as though the surviving astronaut has taken on some of the physiological attributes of the missing crewmen. Though episode two finishes at this early stage, some online research revealed that the Lamont character eventually mutates into some sort of plant-like extraterrestrial organism, a prospect that would, I suspect, have astounded and fascinated me. The serial, which unfolds with minimal special effects, must surely have had a strong influence on everything from 'Invasion of the Body Snatchers (1956)' to 'Alien (1979).' At least the series was followed by "Quatermass II (1955)" and "Quatermass and the Pit (1958)," so all is not lost.