Tomorrow's World : The Unearthly History Of Science Fiction

montyburns56montyburns56 Posts: 2,011
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Did no one else watch this series by Dominic Sandbrook on Saturday? It's a four part series with each episode having a theme about different aspects of Sci-Fi in the mainstream media. It's the same guy who did those BBC2 series about the 70s and the German car industry and like those shows I really enjoyed this one.

The first episode was about Space so they had features about Star Trek, Star Wars, BSG, Alien amongst others, but the good thing was they actually had interviews with people who were involved with the shows/films such as Doug Trumball, John Carpenter, Anthony Daniels and William Shatner (but don't let that put you off).

If you're a fan of mainstream Sci-fi then I'd check it out episode two on Saturday which is about Invasion!
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  • steve16steve16 Posts: 1,025
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    Thanks for the nod. I'll check that out on iPlayer.
  • Prince MonaluluPrince Monalulu Posts: 35,900
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    Mentioned this, the other day BBC seem to be having a Science Fiction 'season', but don't seem to have told anyone.
  • carl.waringcarl.waring Posts: 35,579
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    Thanks for the link.
  • JeffG1JeffG1 Posts: 15,243
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    To avoid any confusion with the other programme of that name, it's actually Tomorrow's Worlds.
  • Prince MonaluluPrince Monalulu Posts: 35,900
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    Bumpity bump part II 21:45

    Dominic Sandbrook starts the second volume in his history of sci-fi on Horsell Common in Surrey.
    This tranquil spot is, he explains, the “ground zero of the alien invasion story”, a setting for HG Wells’s 1897 classic, The War of the Worlds. A seminal work, it gave rise to The Thing, Quatermass, The Midwich Cuckoos, Daleks invading Earth and Godzilla, all of which reflected the political anxieties and paranoia of their day.
  • montyburns56montyburns56 Posts: 2,011
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    JeffG1 wrote: »
    To avoid any confusion with the other programme of that name, it's actually Tomorrow's Worlds.

    So that's why I didn't see Maggie Philbin in last weeks episode! :D
  • Prince MonaluluPrince Monalulu Posts: 35,900
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    So that's why I didn't see Maggie Philbin in last weeks episode! :D

    Isn't Maggie back on TV, doing something science based?
  • alcockellalcockell Posts: 25,160
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    Daleks on now..
  • LightningIguanaLightningIguana Posts: 21,847
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    I've really been enjoying this.
  • jonbwfcjonbwfc Posts: 18,050
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    It's good fun but they're playing very fast and loose with the concept of 'invasion' if they're including Jurassic park and E.T....
  • Prince MonaluluPrince Monalulu Posts: 35,900
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    Did anyone watch Moon with Sam Rockwell, caught a bit of it by accident and it looked interesting enough, but 'I came in too late' to really keep up.
  • TCD1975TCD1975 Posts: 3,039
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    I think this has been a great series so far. Looking forward to the next part on AI, robots and cyborgs.
  • montyburns56montyburns56 Posts: 2,011
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    jonbwfc wrote: »
    It's good fun but they're playing very fast and loose with the concept of 'invasion' if they're including Jurassic park and E.T....

    I'd say that ET definitely fits in with the Invasion theme as they invaded Earth even if their intentions were peaceful, but including Jurassic Park was a bit of crowbar job!
  • montyburns56montyburns56 Posts: 2,011
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    Isn't Maggie back on TV, doing something science based?

    Yeah, I did see in her something, it might have been Bang Goes The Theory. Incidentally when I first saw Ruth Langsford on TV I actually thought that she was Maggie Philbin!
  • Prince MonaluluPrince Monalulu Posts: 35,900
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    Yeah, I did see in her something, it might have been Bang Goes The Theory. Incidentally when I first saw Ruth Langsford on TV I actually thought that she was Maggie Philbin!

    That must be where I saw her then, must have caught it while surfing.
  • ayrshireman1ayrshireman1 Posts: 2,999
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    Did anyone watch Moon with Sam Rockwell, caught a bit of it by accident and it looked interesting enough, but 'I came in too late' to really keep up.

    Superb film ,well worth catching next time.
  • mike65mike65 Posts: 11,386
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    Its obviously skimming over the surface of Science-fiction but its enjoyable at that level plus its given the BBC an excuse to screen the Quatermass films. It would be nice if they could throw in a few less well known titles along the way - Colossus - The Forbin Project, Demon Seed, The Crack in the World etc films like that rather than A.I. and the like.
  • StaffsyeomanStaffsyeoman Posts: 613
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    They aren't making an explicit connection, but the British Film Institute have been having a season called "Sci-Fi: Days of Fear and Wonder" at the National Film Theatre. One of the jewels in the crown was the first screening of the re-release of 2001: A Space Odyssey with Keir Dullea and Gary Lockwood being interviewed beforehand by Sir Christopher Frayling. Even with advance booking privileges as a BFI member I couldn't get a ticket - so "imagine my surprise" that this interview was recorded for the BBC (radio).
  • montyburns56montyburns56 Posts: 2,011
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    They aren't making an explicit connection, but the British Film Institute have been having a season called "Sci-Fi: Days of Fear and Wonder" at the National Film Theatre. One of the jewels in the crown was the first screening of the re-release of 2001: A Space Odyssey with Keir Dullea and Gary Lockwood being interviewed beforehand by Sir Christopher Frayling. Even with advance booking privileges as a BFI member I couldn't get a ticket - so "imagine my surprise" that this interview was recorded for the BBC (radio).

    As someone mentioned earlier in the thread there is some extra stuff on iPlayer that features some of those events.
  • montyburns56montyburns56 Posts: 2,011
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    The latest episode was about Robots and it was delayed due to the snooker running late, but when I flicked over I saw Stephen Hendry doing his punditry and I thought that the show had actually started! :D
  • newyorkcitygirlnewyorkcitygirl Posts: 558
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    The last episode was about time travel, yet quite a lot of it was just about stories set in the future with no time travel element whatsoever. Far too much time spent on Dr Who, and the biggest travesty of all - NO TERMINATOR!!!!!!
  • montyburns56montyburns56 Posts: 2,011
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    Yeah it was a bit Dr Who heavy, but to honest I was kind of expecting it. I was also surprised that they didn't have clips from the superior original version of The Time Machine instead showing the one starring Guy Pierce. I must admit that I wasn't aware that it was directed by H.G.Wells's great grandson and perhaps that's the reason why they showed that version.

    Also that story about Quantum Leap producer Don Bellisario meeting Lee Harvey Oswald when he was in the Army was an eye opener and certainly made me think "what if?".

    It's a shame that it was the last episode though as it's been one of my favourite shows in recent months.
  • mike65mike65 Posts: 11,386
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    The last episode was about time travel, yet quite a lot of it was just about stories set in the future with no time travel element whatsoever. Far too much time spent on Dr Who, and the biggest travesty of all - NO TERMINATOR!!!!!!

    Terminator was in the robots edition.
  • TCD1975TCD1975 Posts: 3,039
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    I had been enjoying the series but I thought the time travel episode was a bit of a let down. The programme's examples rarely travel far from well known mainstream media so I didn't feel there was anything new for me to discover.
  • KookyKatieKookyKatie Posts: 3,031
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    Did anyone watch Moon with Sam Rockwell, caught a bit of it by accident and it looked interesting enough, but 'I came in too late' to really keep up.

    It received many plaudits, but I thought it was a dull, disappointing movie. It tried too hard to be 2001: A Space Odyssey and Solaris, but failed to reach their heights.
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