Underplayed Gems

Quatermass (1979)

Quatermass poster
Directed by
Piers Haggard
Genre
science fiction television series
Country
United Kingdom
Length
1 season, 4 episodes
Rated
15
Rating
6.8 of 10 from 17 voters
Elsewhere
IMDb
The 3D catalogue: film cases on wooden shelves, with the cat sitting at the counter next to its greeting.

The catalogue in 3D

The film shelves have a room of their own that you can walk around in. The cat behind the counter is the AI Catbot, and they pick real films from the same catalogue when you tell them what you feel like watching. Nothing is for sale, here or in there. Go in from here and this series is already out on the counter, with more like it waiting on the shelf next to it.

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How it feels

An elderly professor searches for his missing granddaughter in a near-future London. He discovers that many young people are joining a cult that gathers at ancient stone circles expecting to be taken to another planet. He investigates a mysterious force that destroys spacecraft and makes people vanish at these sites.

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What happens

Quatermass (also known as Quatermass IV, or The Quatermass Conclusion for its limited international theatrical release) is a 1979 British television science fiction serial. Produced by Euston Films for Thames Television, it was broadcast on the ITV network in October and November 1979. Like its three predecessors, Quatermass was written by Nigel Kneale. It is the fourth and, to date, final television serial to feature the character of Professor Bernard Quatermass, this time played by John Mills. Influenced by the social and geopolitical situation of the early 1970s and the hippie youth movement of the late 1960s, Quatermass is set in a near future in which large numbers of young people are joining a cult known as the Planet People who gather at prehistoric sites, believing they will be transported to a better life on another planet. The series begins with Professor Quatermass arriving in London to look for his granddaughter, Hettie Carlson, and witnessing the destruction of two spacecraft and the disappearance of a group of Planet People at a stone circle by an unknown force. He investigates this force, believing that Hettie may be in danger. As the series progresses, it becomes apparent that the Planet People are being harvested by an alien force rather than transported. Quatermass was originally conceived as a BBC production, but after the corporation lost faith in the project because of spiralling costs, work was halted. The scripts were acquired by Euston Films and Kneale, who was commissioned to rewrite the scripts into two versions: a four-part television serial and The Quatermass Conclusion, a 100-minute film, intended for international theatrical release. Despite ITV making the series its flagship premier for its 1979 autumn schedule, the four-part serial was met with lukewarm reviews. Reasons were blamed on the plot, casting and character development. The cinematic edited version, The Quatermass Conclusion, was given a limited release due to lack of interest from distributors. (from Wikipedia, CC BY-SA)

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