91Èȱ¬ FOUR Autumn
2006
Science Fiction Britannia
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Fans of British science fiction are in for a
special treat this autumn as 91Èȱ¬ FOUR pays
homage to the genre with a season of films and
programmes.
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Covering everything from the cult
appeal of Blake's 7 to the literary genius of John
Wyndham, the channel boldly explores all
aspects of the subject to get to the heart of its
seemingly universal appeal.
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The Martians And Us
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The Martians And Us, a three-part series of films, traces
the history of the literary genre. Each of the three films
looks at one of the central driving themes of British
science fiction.
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Apes And Aliens explores the fascination
with evolution in all its forms. Through A Glass Darkly examines the British tradition of Utopias and Dystopias;
whilst the third film, Last Man Alive, reflects the British
fascination with catastrophe and the end of the world as
we know it.
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How To Be Sci-Fi
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Examining the lighter side of being in a British science
fiction television series, Nigel Planer plays classically-trained "actawr" Nicholas Craig in a one-hour special,
How To Be Sci-Fi, which looks at the perils and pitfalls that
lie ahead for anyone brave enough to grapple with that
most demanding of mistresses – "outer-space acting".
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Nicholas supplements tips for the aspiring thespian with
clips from classic British sci-fi series and offers invaluable
advice and guidance on, among other topics, how to wear
a roll neck, gain motivation for playing green slime and
master that all-important look of horror.
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Random Quest
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At the centre of the season is Random Quest, a science fiction romance drama based on a
short story by John Wyndham.
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Adapted for television by Richard Fell, Random Quest tells
the extraordinary story of Colin Trafford, a research physicist who, knocked unconscious
in an experiment which goes wrong, wakes to find himself in a parallel world.
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In this other
world Colin finds he has another life including a beautiful wife, Ottilie, who he proceeds
to fall in love with.
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Pulled back into his own world, he is told he has been in a coma
since the accident but Colin believes the other world and Ottilie exist and he goes in
search of her.
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The Story Of British Sci-Fi
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In The Story Of British Sci-Fi (working title) Phill Jupitus goes in search of the origins and
stories behind the starriest shows in the television universe.
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He meets actors, writers and
others to talk about some of the best-loved British science-fiction series, including Adam
Adamant, Doomwatch, The Survivors, Blake's 7, The Tripods and Starcops.
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Timeshift – Parallel Worlds
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91Èȱ¬ FOUR's Timeshift – Parallel Worlds takes a look at the belief which pervades so much of
British science fiction – that there is another world sitting shoulder to shoulder with
Earth but with a difference.
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The strand examines how the idea unfolded from its origins in
religion and mythology, got transformed by the theory of quantum mechanics and
multiplied trillions of times into multi-universes by modern science fiction writers.
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Other programming in the season includes feature films and television archive.
The Martians And Us is a Blast films production.
The Story Of British Sci-Fi, Timeshift – Parallel Worlds, How To Be Sci-Fi
and Random Quest are 91Èȱ¬ productions.
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CW
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