SF:UK (2001– ) User Reviews

Hope they repeat this programme soon

[danielsan128 · 5 July 2002]

'SF:UK' was a great programme, detailing the developments in British science-fiction writing film and television over the last 100 years. It stretched all the way back to HG Wells, and covered everything in-between...'The Prisoner', 'Dr Who', 'Things To Come','2000AD', 'A Clockwork Orange', Quatermass, and so on.

Particularly brilliant was the episode dealing with comic book legend Alan Moore and his ground breaking comic series' 'Watchmen', and 'V for Vendetta'. Presenter Matthew de Abaitua even managed to secure an interview with the great man.

de Abaitua's droll contributions always made the programme watchable, and helped place developments in British sci-fi within the political and social goings on of the period in question.

Great television. Only problem was it was on at 2.30am!

Copyright Problems ?

[Theo Robertson · 26 May 2004]

This is a very patchy documentary series dealing with all aspects of British science fiction culture . The series opens by pointing that 20th century owes everything to one man - HG Wells . Yeah the French writer Jules Verne wrote about submarines and rockets to the moon before Wells but it was Wells who brought us subtext as well as alien invasions , mad scientists , genetic engineering , bombs that could destroy a city in one blast etc . It`s also nice to see what Horsfall common looks like because I`ve not seen as much as a still photo of the location . Unsurprisingly it looks nothing like the painting on the sleeve of Jeff Wayne`s album

There`s other editions that feature alien conspiracies etc many of which centre around the works of Nigel Kneale and this show goes to the trouble of interviewing the great man . Being a fan of Kneale`s work I didn`t really find out anything I didn`t already know but far , far worse than that it becomes obvious that all the clips from Kneale`s Quatermass stories are from the inferior Hammer movies . Even worse is that the narrator starts to poke fun at the clips like the scene from QUATERMASS 2 where Broadhead appears covered in the alien foodstuff " A foodstuff that causes human beings to turn into Norman Wisdom " as Broadhead screams " No don`t touch me " . There`s also little if anything in the way of DOCTOR WHO clips which had me wondering if this documentary series had some sort of copyright dispute with the BBC

It`s an okay series in parts I suppose and the moody techno soundtrack was memorable but it`s hardly the definitive documentary on British science fiction . Surprise surprise a book to accompany the series came out the same time