News
The Quatermass
Experiment
BBC Outside Broadcasts has captured the first live BBC TV drama
in twenty years –The Quatermass Experiment. The first episode
of the original small-screen sci-fi chiller, which gripped the nation
when it first appeared in 1953, was brought bang up to date in a
new two-hour adaptation for BBC Four’s ‘TV on Trial’
season. The original series led the way for future cult series Doctor
Who.
In the drama, a rocket crashes to earth unleashing a terrifying
chain of events. The Quatermass Experiment was not just scary for
the viewers, but was also a frightening prospect for the cast and
crew, who had to deliver 83 scenes, spread out across 9 locations
in 1 hour and 45 minutes.
BBC Outside Broadcasts captured The Quatermass Experiment in High
Definition with their multi-format truck Unit 2 – to ensure
the format is future proofed and available for DVD purposes.
“It was a huge logistical operation,” says Dave Chapman,
BBC Outside Broadcasts’ Engineering Manager. “We rigged
over 4000 metres of fibre optic cable. Normally we would arrive
at an event and prepare the cable rig, before installing cameras
and sound. In this case, as we were using 8 cameras to cover 26
camera positions across 9 different locations, the logistical operation
had to happen live alongside the drama. Each camera cable had to
be checked and double checked, number coded to scenes and then we
had to consider the provision of spares. There are points within
the hour and 45 minutes when cameramen literally have 90 seconds
to travel from one location to another to make the next scene –
for example from the press conference to the mission control. The
crew was certainly under as much pressure as the cast on the night.”
“BBC Outside Broadcasts recently delivered two plays live
from The Globe theatre. We’ve also captured a large number
of programmes in HD before – like The Proms, Carols from Kings
and the Princes Trust Concert . But Quatermass is a totally unique
project. It is the first time the BBC has shot live TV drama in
over twenty years. Back then HD didn’t even exist.”
The drama was adapted and brought up to date by Richard Fell, Executive
Producer and head of BBCFictionlab, whose credits include the acclaimed
Kenneth Tynan: In Praise of Hardcore and The Alan Clark Diaries.
Richard says “Quatermass is tense and scary, so the adrenalin,
the tension and the excitement generated by it being live as well
really suits it. We barely needed to update the characters or story
– they are timeless. It’s not that inconceivable today
to think that we could bring some deadly virus back from space –
or release something by accident. So we just needed to update some
of the language and the peripherals around it.”
“And viewers today compared with 1953 are much more sophisticated.
People expect more pace and more storyline quicker, so the adaptation
reflects this. “
“We had to have a very tight camera script as obviously we
couldn’t do any tweaks on the night. Everything was plotted
down to the last centimetre. That was the main difference between
Quatermass and ordinary TV drama. We needed much more rehearsal
time and much more rigorous planning. It’s not some hybrid
of theatre and TV drama, it’s a genre all of its own with
its own challenges.”
Quatermass was directed by Sam Miller (This Life, Quite Ugly One
Morning, Elephant Juice and Among Giants). Jason Flemyng (Lock,
Stock And Two Smoking Barrels, The League of Extraordinary Gentleman,
Snatch and Rock Star) plays rocket scientist Professor Quatermass.
The BBC Outside Broadcasts team included Dave Chapman (Engineer
Manager) Robin Sutherland (Camera Supervisor), Giles Pritchard (Cameras)
and Sam Curtis (Camera coordinator) with Bill Whistin, heading up
the sound team.
The Quatermass Experiment was transmitted live on BBC Four on Saturday
2 April and will be repeated on Wednesday 6 April. It achieved the
highest viewing figures for an origination on the channel in the
past twelve months, with a peak audience of 524,000 viewers. It
was the most watched programme in that timeslot across all the non-terrestrial
channels and is the second highest performing origination in the
channel’s history, beaten only by the acclaimed Alan Clark
Diaries starring John Hurt.
For further information, please contact:
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