As promised, here’s the second part of the schedule for BBC4’s Science Fiction Britannia season:
Monday 27th November
7.10pm Doctor Who – The Ark in Space (parts 1 and 2)
Excellent creepy story from Tom Baker’s first season as the Doctor. Warning: contains more than slightly iffy special effects. Available on DVD.
8.30pm The Day of the Triffids (part 3)
Still creepy. Still great. Three more episodes to go after this.
9pm The Martians and Us (part 3) (repeated Wednesday 7pm, 12am
Third in a series of documentaries on British sci-fi. This episode looks at apocalyptic sci-fi.
10pm Random Quest (repeated 1.40am; Tuesday 11.35pm; Saturday 9.10pm and 1.55am)
New dramatisation of the John Wyndham short story about a disenchanted physicist finds himself in a parallel world where he is a successful writer with a beautiful wife.
11pm John Wyndham: The Invisible Man
Interesting documentary with Chris Langham playing the part of the writer of Chocky and The Day of the Triffids.
12am JG Ballard Profile
Profile of you know who.
12.40am Home
Drama based on a JG Ballard short story about a disturbed man who attempts to sever all contact with the outside world by staying at home. Not really sci-fi, but still quite eerie.
Tuesday 28th November
8.30pm The Cult Of?��Ǩ�� Star Cops (repeated 12.35am; 3.35am; Thursday 10pm and 1.25am)
Yey! Star Cops! One of the best sci-fi shows of the 80s. They’re cops, but they’re in outer space and there’s not an alien in sight. Proper sci-fi. But hey! What? No actual episode to go with it? What’s up BBC4? Oh well, the series itself is available on DVD.
9pm Parallel Worlds (Timeshift) (repeated 1.35am; Wednesday 11pm and 2am; Saturday 1.55am)
Repeated documentary about parallel universe theories in science fiction.
10pm Star Trek: Mirror Mirror
Whaddaya know. The Star Trek episode set in a parallel universe. What were the odds of that happening? Not quite sure how this qualifies for entry in a British sci-fi season, though. Available on DVD.
10.50pm Star Trek: The Next Generation: Yesterday’s Enterprise
Spooky. A parallel universe ST:TNG episode. At least this one has a British actor in it. Available on DVD.
Saturday 2nd December
8.10pm The Cinema Show (repeated 2.55am; Monday 11.55pm-12.55am; Wednesday 12am)
“Stuart Maconie examines the idiosyncratic world of British science fiction.”
Sunday 3rd December
9pm How To Be Sci-Fi (repeated 11.30pm, 3am; Wednesday 7pm, 11pm, 2am)
Nigel Planer plays thespian Nicholas Craig in this comic class in science fiction acting. Lessons include how to play green slime and master the look of horror. These usually are funnier on paper than in practice, but I’m prepared to be amazed.
Monday 4th December
7.10pm Doctor Who – The Ark in Space (parts 3 and 4)
The conclusion of the story.
8.30pm The Day of the Triffids (part 4)
Continues.
Tuesday 5th December
8.30pm The Cult Of?��Ǩ�� Survivors (repeated 3.30am; Thursday 10pm, 1.25am)
Another Cult Of?��Ǩ�� looks at this classic 70s piece of gloom by Terry Nation, creator of Blake’s 7 and the Daleks. A deadly virus is unleashed, wiping out almost all humans on Earth. Only a few survivors remain and they have to learn to fend for themselves. As with last week’s Cult Of?��Ǩ��, there’s no accompanying episode of the show, which is a shame. It’s available on DVD though.
Since The Cult Of?��Ǩ�� is supposed to feature Blake’s 7 and Tripods and there are two more episodes of The Day of the Triffids still to go, the season will continue running till Christmas, I’m guessing. But they’re likely to be the only highlights, unless BBC4 pulls something out of its hat – like that show based on My Science Fiction Life that they promised.
