The Quatermass Experiment (2005)

Very very predictable, including the post credit scene !!!

Please don't spend money on this.

I wanted to like it more than I actually did... But much of the humor totally escaped me and I walked out only mildly impressed.

Tells a fascinating and unsettling true story, and does so well, without pretending to have all the answers.

This film must be about cosmology and astro-physics, because it has a black hole at its centre. That black hole is the actor Jason Flemyng, one of the most catastrophically miscast actors I have seen in a long time in a film. Doubtless he is a very fine fellow, and can act very well in certain roles. But unfortunately some lunatic has cast him as Professor Quatermass, the lead character of this story who is meant to be brilliant and charismatic. Flemyng has about as much charisma as a woodlouse. All the people around him, such as David Tennant, give the impression of being far more intelligent than he is. The story thus streams over the event horizon into the black hole that is Jason Flemyng and disappears out of sight, taking with it all possible drama and interest. What a pathetic disaster this is. The production was mounted as a BBC live production, the first in 20 years. That part of it was an interesting challenge, and I would say that the production manager pulled it off. But otherwise, this effort is worse than an embarrassment. They used the original scripts of Nigel Kneale, who created Quatermass. (Maybe slightly out of date by now 57 years later??) So many films and series have been made over the years since 1953 exploiting this material. Some of the actors who have played Quatermass in the past, such as Brian Donlevy and John Mills, were excellent. I think this disastrous failure tells us something about the state of the BBC at the moment, a monstrously mismanaged organisation which itself has become a disgrace and a disaster.

I saw the original when it went out live and have copies of episodes 1 and 2, and the Exclusive Films version made in 1955. By far the worst version is this 2005 version.I quite understand why the recording techniques in 1953 were not good, but did the BBC really give up trying to record episodes 3 onwards? And if it went out live in 1953, was it really so hard to achieve that in 2005? I realize that the director Sam Miller was probably told to recreate the atmosphere of the original broadcast, but I think he got confused between the poor technical abilities of that time and poor direction/poor script.I agree with Theo Robertson when he says "All in all this version of a Nigel Kneale classic is more of a nostalgic gimmick than anything else. If the BBC are thinking of doing a live version of 'Quatermass And The Pit' then my advice is don't. It'd be terrible to see the greatest SF drama in the history of television turned in to something like this." Absolutely, Theo.And the scene near the end with the guy describing "Turbine Hall"? What he actually said was: "If man has to destroy beauty in order to survive, perhaps he denies his right to do so. This is utter madness. Do you hear me? Utter madness". We hear you! Couldn't have put it better.That one scene sums it all up for me - diabolical script! But at least I now know why Indira Varma - "Judith Carroon" in Quatermass - got the part of "Suzie Costello" in Torchwood... she was kissing Doctor Who in Quatermass!

n 2005 the BBC did a live version of Nigel Kneale's Quatermass Experiment. Originally a 6 part three hour TV series about a rocket that returns to earth with only one of its crew still alive, and he's horribly changed. It was the first appearance of Professor Quatermass a flawed genius who is in a way the precursor to Dr Who.(This version co starred David Tennant, the current Dr Who).The production is very good and the cast is excellent with Jason Flemyng making an excellent Quatermass.The show is for the most part very creepy and had it held together until the end it might have actually crossed into scary. The problems with the show come from two places. First the 96 minute program effectively removes half of the originals 180 minutes. There is a great deal of story compression especially in the second half as the plot does not zip along as much as it jumps. I have not seen the original series (only two episodes survive the last I heard) but I've read on the show and seen the film that was made from it so I know there was a bit more towards the end than we see. The other problem with the show is that in adapting the 195-something scripts for modern day broadcast they didn't update enough. the space shot is secret, the technology is often out of date (audio cassettes in a black box?), the media is much too trusting and not enough in your face. It creates a nice sense of its own world, but at the same time its not wholly believable. That said its still a very good retro-sci-fi drama 7 put of 10

I'm all for people trying out different things and a live scifi programme is certainly different! I'll be honest and say that I bought this because David Tennant was in it. And he was very good in the supporting role he had. Mark Gatiss was another highlight which surprised me. I'd only ever seen him in League of Gentlemen sketches. I look forward to seeing him take on other dramatic roles. Unfortunately, I found Jason Flemyng's central performance to be flat and unengaging. I fast forwarded through most of his scenes.For something that was filmed live, it lacked the excitement and adrenalin of a live performance. Perhaps the Experiment could have been improved on DVD with some judicious editing.