The Quatermass Experiment

TV Movie
2005
TV-PG
1h 37m

IMDb RATING

5.2/10

760

YOUR RATING

Space Sci-Fi Drama Sci-Fi Thriller

Professor Bernard Quatermass' manned rocket ship returns to Earth but two of the astronauts are missing and the survivor seems ill and unable to communicate.Professor Bernard Quatermass' manned rocket ship returns to Earth but two of the astronauts are missing and the survivor seems ill and unable to communicate.Professor Bernard Quatermass' manned rocket ship returns to Earth but two of the astronauts are missing and the survivor seems ill and unable to communicate.

See production info at IMDbPro

IMDb RATING

5.2/10

760

YOUR RATING

See production info at IMDbPro

User reviews37

Featured review

2/10

appalling

The idea of a modern version of Quatermass is an intriguing one, but unfortunately this poor effort is a wasted opportunity.

The decision to transmit the programme live is ultimately a gimmick that damages the project. It would appear that the budget was quite low, which, when combined with the live aspects make this look like a you tube video.

Jason Flemyng is arguably miscast as Quatermass, although it might be argued that this incompetent production doesn't give him a fair chance.

David Tennant fares a little better , but of the rest of the cast the females are the only ones who seem to be even trying. Isla Blair and Indira varma bring a bit of much needed credibility to the proceedings.

The really big problem is Richard Fell's awful script which is amateurish in every imaginable way. When listening to the dialogue one imagines of the writer or director have ever heard real people speak. Fail.

Trivia
During the rehearsals for the film, David Tennant was offered the role of the Tenth Doctor in Doctor Who (2005). This casting was not announced to the public until April 16, 2005, two weeks after the broadcast, but his fellow castmembers, and crew, became aware of the speculation surrounding Tennant. In the live broadcast, Jason Flemyng changed Quatermass' first line to Tennant's character Dr. Gordon Briscoe from "Good to have you back, Gordon" to "Good to have you back, Doctor" as a deliberate reference.

Goofs
When they show Victor the film in the hospital, we are looking through the transparent screen towards Victor. But the countdown numbers at the start of the film appear the right way round to us so they'd be the wrong way round for those watching from the other side of the screen.

Alternate versions
The 2005 Simply Home Entertainment DVD release contains over 50 small or major differences, notably Adrian Bower's line-drying being replaced with the tech rehearsal sequence prerecorded from the previous night (52:02), and the removal of a loud offscreen crash following an exit from Adrian Dunbar (1:07:49). The strapline "Major news announcement on BBC NEWS 24 now" (alerting viewers to the death of Pope John Paul II) is another noticeable if understandable omission.