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British Television Science Fiction
British television science fiction refers to popular programmes in the genre that have been produced by both the BBC and Britain's largest commercial channel, ITV (TV network), ITV. The BBC's ''Doctor Who'' is listed in the ''Guinness World Records'' as the longest-running science fiction television show in the world as well as the "most successful" science fiction series of all time. Early years The first known science fiction on television, science fiction television programme was produced by the BBC's prewar BBC Television, television service. On 11 February 1938, a thirty-five-minute adapted extract of the play ''R.U.R.'', written by the Czech playwright Karel Čapek, was broadcast Live television, live from the BBC's Alexandra Palace studios. Concerning a Future of the Earth, future world in which robots rise up against their human masters, it was the only piece of science fiction to be produced until the BBC television service resumed after the war. Only a few on-set publi ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
ITV (TV Network)
ITV is a British free-to-air public broadcast television network. It was launched in 1955 as Independent Television to provide competition to BBC Television (established in 1936). ITV is the oldest commercial network in the UK. Since the passing of the Broadcasting Act 1990, it has been legally known as Channel 3 to distinguish it from the other analogue channels at the time, BBC1, BBC2 and Channel 4. ITV was for four decades a network of separate companies which provided regional television services and also shared programmes between each other to be shown on the entire network. Each franchise was originally owned by a different company. After several mergers, the fifteen regional franchises are now held by two companies: ITV plc, which runs the ITV1 channel, and STV Group, which runs the STV channel. The ITV network is a separate entity from ITV plc, the company that resulted from the merger of Granada plc and Carlton Communications in 2004. ITV plc holds the Channel 3 ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Martian
Mars, the fourth planet from the Sun, has appeared as a setting in works of fiction since at least the mid-1600s. It became the most popular celestial object in fiction in the late 1800s as the Moon was evidently lifeless. At the time, the predominant genre depicting Mars was utopian fiction. Contemporaneously, the mistaken belief that there are canals on Mars emerged and made its way into fiction. ''The War of the Worlds'', H. G. Wells' story of an alien invasion of Earth by sinister Martians, was published in 1897 and went on to have a large influence on the science fiction genre. Life on Mars appeared frequently in fiction throughout the first half of the 1900s. Apart from enlightened as in the utopian works from the turn of the century, or evil as in the works inspired by Wells, intelligent and human-like Martians also began to be depicted as decadent, a portrayal that was popularized by Edgar Rice Burroughs in the '' Barsoom'' series and adopted by Leigh Brackett among othe ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Out Of This World (UK TV Series)
''Out of This World'' is a British science fiction anthology television series made by the ITV franchise ABC Weekend TV for ITV. It was broadcast on ITV in 1962. A spin-off from the ''Armchair Theatre'' anthology series, each episode was introduced by the actor Boris Karloff. Many of the episodes were adaptations of stories by science fiction writers including Isaac Asimov, Philip K. Dick and Clifford D. Simak. The series is described by the British Film Institute as a precursor to the BBC science fiction anthology series ''Out of the Unknown,'' which was produced by Out of This World creator Irene Shubik after she left ABC. (Only one episode exists today and is available on DVD.) Origins Series creator Irene Shubik joined ABC Television as a story editor on the anthology series ''Armchair Theatre'' under producer Sydney Newman in 1960. A science fiction fan since her university days, Shubik approached Newman during the summer of 1961 with the notion of making a science fiction ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Pathfinders In Space
''Target Luna'' was a British television serial broadcast by ABC Weekend TV in April 1960. It was written by Malcolm Hulke and Eric Paice, directed by Adrian Brown and produced by Sydney Newman who later co-created ''Doctor Who'' for the BBC. The first serial featured Frank Finlay as Conway Henderson and Michael Craze as Geoffrey Wedgwood. The success of the ''Target Luna'' spawned three sequels: ''Pathfinders in Space'' (September 1960), ''Pathfinders to Mars'' (December 1960 – January 1961) and ''Pathfinders to Venus'' (March 1961), starring Gerald Flood and Stewart Guidotti in the recast roles, as Henderson and Geoffrey respectively. Serials Over four serials, ''Target Luna'' and the ''Pathfinders'' proved successful with the viewing public, with episode 4 of ''Pathfinders to Mars'' getting to second place in audience ratings on New Year's Day 1961. ''Target Luna'' Number of episodes: 6 * ''The Rocket Station'' * ''Count Down'' * ''The Strange Illness'' * ''Storm in Space ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
ABC Weekend TV
ABC Weekend TV was the popular name of the British broadcaster ABC Television Limited, which provided the weekend service in the Midlands and Northern England regions of the Independent Television (ITV) network from 1956 to 1968. It was one of the " Big Four" companies that between them produced the majority of ITV networked programmes during this period. Originally created as Associated British Cinemas (Television) Ltd, ABC was one of a number of commercial television companies established during the 1950s by cinema chain companies, in an attempt to safeguard their business by becoming involved with television, which was taking away their cinema audiences. In this case, the parent company was the Associated British Picture Corporation (ABPC) — owner of ABC Cinemas — which initially did not wish to become involved with the new broadcasting system, but was persuaded to do so by the Independent Television Authority (ITA) and the manager of its Pathé News subsidiary Howard ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Sydney Newman
Sydney Cecil Newman (April 1, 1917 – October 30, 1997) was a Canadian film and television producer, who played a pioneering role in British television drama from the late 1950s to the late 1960s. After his return to Canada in 1970, Newman was appointed Acting Director of the Broadcast Programs Branch for the Canadian Radio and Television Commission (CRTC) and then head of the National Film Board of Canada (NFB). He also occupied senior positions at the Canadian Film Development Corporation and Canadian Broadcasting Corporation, and acted as an advisor to the Secretary of State. During his time in Britain in the 1950s and 1960s, he worked first with the ABC Weekend TV (later Thames Television), before moving across to the BBC in 1962, holding the role of Head of Drama with both organisations. During this phase of his career, he was responsible for initiating two hugely popular television programmes, the spy-fi series '' The Avengers'' and the science-fiction series ''Doctor ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
The Andromeda Breakthrough
''The Andromeda Breakthrough'' was a 1962 sequel to the popular BBC TV science fiction serial '' A for Andromeda'', again written by Fred Hoyle and John Elliot. Plot summary Kidnapped by ''Intel'' representative Kaufman (John Hollis), John Fleming (Peter Halliday) along with Professor Madeleine Dawnay (Mary Morris) and Andromeda, the artificially constructed female humanoid (Susan Hampshire), are brought to Azaran, a small Middle Eastern country. Upon arrival, the group find a duplicate of the machine Fleming designed has been built by ''Intel''. After many dangers, Fleming finds both the reason for the original message having been sent and the means to bring the machine under human control. Things take a deadly turn when Fleming discovers the politically unstable leader's hope to make use of his and Dawnay's skills and Andromeda's otherworldly abilities... Casting The title star of the previous serial, Julie Christie, was unavailable owing to other projects. As a result, the ro ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Julie Christie
Julie Frances Christie (born 14 April 1940) is a British actress. An icon of the Swinging Sixties, Christie is the recipient of numerous accolades including an Academy Award, a BAFTA Award, a Golden Globe, and a Screen Actors Guild Award. She has appeared in six films ranked in the British Film Institute's BFI Top 100 British films of the 20th century, and in 1997, she received the BAFTA Fellowship for lifetime achievement. Christie's breakthrough film role was in '' Billy Liar'' (1963). She came to international attention for her performances in '' Darling'' (1965), for which she won the Academy Award for Best Actress, and ''Doctor Zhivago'' (also 1965), the eighth highest-grossing film of all time after adjustment for inflation. She continued to receive Academy Award nominations, for '' McCabe & Mrs. Miller'' (1971), ''Afterglow'' (1997) and ''Away from Her'' (2007). In the following years, she starred in ''Fahrenheit 451'' (1966), '' Far from the Madding Crowd'' (1967), ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
A For Andromeda
''A for Andromeda'' is a British television science fiction drama serial first made and broadcast by the BBC in seven parts in 1961. Written by cosmologist Fred Hoyle, in conjunction with author and television producer John Elliot, it concerns a group of scientists who detect a radio signal from another galaxy that contains instructions for the design of an advanced computer. When the computer is built, it gives the scientists instructions for the creation of a living organism named Andromeda, but one of the scientists, John Fleming, fears that Andromeda's purpose is to subjugate humanity. The serial was the first major role for the actress Julie Christie. Only one episode of the original production survives, along with a few short extracts from other episodes. ''A for Andromeda'' has been remade twice: first by the Italian state television RAI in 1972 and by the BBC in 2006. A sequel, ''The Andromeda Breakthrough'', was made by the BBC in 1962. Plot The opening titles of eac ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Michael Barry (television Producer)
Michael Barry (15 May 1910 – June 1988) was a British television producer, director and executive, who was an important early influence on BBC television drama. He was educated at King's College London. He was one of the first producers to work in the field of drama for the BBC, producing and directing several plays for the fledgling BBC Television Service in the 1930s, before it was placed on hiatus for the duration of the Second World War in 1939. He also worked occasionally outside of drama, producing episodes of the magazine programme ''Picture Page'' during 1938. After the resumption of the service in 1946, Barry returned, and quickly became one of the senior drama producers. In 1952, he succeeded Val Gielgud to become the Head of Drama at BBC Television, a position he was to occupy for the next decade. He was responsible for commissioning several important productions, including the ''Quatermass'' science-fiction serials, and in 1954 an adaptation of George Orwell's ' ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Coronation Of Queen Elizabeth II
The coronation of Elizabeth II took place on 2 June 1953 at Westminster Abbey in London. She acceded to the throne at the age of 25 upon the death of her father, George VI, on 6 February 1952, being proclaimed queen by her privy and executive councils shortly afterwards. The coronation was held more than one year later because of the tradition of allowing an appropriate length of time to pass after a monarch dies before holding such festivals. It also gave the planning committees adequate time to make preparations for the ceremony. During the service, Elizabeth took an oath, was anointed with holy oil, was invested with robes and regalia, and was crowned Queen of the United Kingdom, Canada, Australia, New Zealand, South Africa, Pakistan, and Ceylon (now Sri Lanka). Celebrations took place across the Commonwealth realms and a commemorative medal was issued. It has been the only British coronation to be fully televised; television cameras had not been allowed inside the abbey ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Rudolph Cartier
Rudolph Cartier (born Rudolph Kacser, renamed himself in Germany to Rudolph Katscher; 17 April 1904 – 7 June 1994) was an Austrian television director, Filmmaking, filmmaker, screenwriter and Film producer, producer who worked predominantly in British television, exclusively for the BBC. He is best known for his 1950s collaborations with screenwriter Nigel Kneale, most notably the ''Bernard Quatermass, Quatermass'' serials and Nineteen Eighty-Four (UK TV programme), their 1954 adaptation of George Orwell's utopian and dystopian fiction, dystopian novel ''Nineteen Eighty-Four''. After studying architecture and then drama, Cartier began his career as a screenwriter and then film director in Berlin, working for Universum Film AG, UFA Studios. After a brief spell in the United States he moved to the United Kingdom in 1935. Initially failing to gain a foothold in the British film industry, he began working for BBC Television in the late 1930s (among other productions he was involve ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
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