STEVE HATCHER returns to tell us all about NIGEL KNEALE's work in the 1960s.

First broadcast on FAB RADIO INTERNATIONAL at 19:00 on November 17th 2024.

Following our recent conversation about NIGEL KNEALE’S BEASTS anthology from the 1970s, STEVE HATCHER and I thought we might continue discussing the career of NIGEL KNEALE, as STEVE has been systematically working his way through such television programmes as still exist from this great writer’s works, although he has been particularly focussing on the ones that mostly involve themes of science fiction, fantasy, magic, and folk horror – basically the kind of subjects that are most of interest to him, which seems a perfectly reasonable way of choosing what you want to watch to this old viewer.

Anyway, this week we’re going to focus mostly on NIGEL’S work from the 1960s, the period following the fifties successes of the first three QUATERMASS serials, the significant contribution to TV history that was his adaptation of George Orwell’s NINETEEN-EIGHTY-FOUR, and fascinating lost gems like THE CREATURE, but before the seventies which would bring the classic that is THE STONE TAPE, BEASTS, of course, and, later the fourth of the QUATERMASS stories, which starred SIR JOHN MILLS in the title role.

The nineteen-sixties would bring a whole lot of fascinating works including lost classics like the nuclear nightmares of THE ROAD, the Cold War terrors of THE CRUNCH, a different version of NINETEEN-EIGHTY-FOUR, and the prescient broadcasting allegories of THE YEAR OF THE SEX OLYMPICS.

We also take some time to discuss NIGEL’S film writing which involves several famous films that it might come as some surprise to you that he was involved in, as well as perhaps some less unexpected dabbles with science-fiction and fantasy with THE FIRST MEN IN THE MOON and THE WITCHES, as well as the inevitable QUATERMASS AND THE PIT remake.

PLEASE NOTE - For Copyright reasons, musical content sometimes has to be removed for the podcast edition. All the spoken word content remains (mostly) as it was in the broadcast version. Hopefully this won't spoil your enjoyment of the show.