British Science Fiction Film and Television

Written by international experts from a range of disciplines, these essays examine the uniquely British contribution to science fiction film and television. Viewing British SF as a cultural phenomenon that challenges straightforward definitions of genre, nationhood, authorship and media, the editors provide a conceptual introduction placing the essays within their critical context. Essay topics include Hammer science fiction films, the various incarnations of Doctor Who, Stanley Kubrick’s A Clockwork Orange, and such 21st-century productions as 28 Days Later and Torchwood.

Tobias Hochscherf is a professor of audio-visual media at University of Applied Sciences in Kiel, Germany. His research on European film and television culture has been widely published.
James Leggott is a senior lecturer in film and television studies at Northumbria University, Newcastle-upon-Tyne, England. He has published on various aspects of British film and television culture.

Edited by Tobias Hochscherf and James Leggott. Series Editors Donald E. Palumbo and C.W. Sullivan III
Format: softcover (6 x 9)
Pages: 237
Bibliographic Info: notes, bibliography, index
Copyright Date: 2011
pISBN: 978-0-7864-4621-6
eISBN: 978-0-7864-8483-6
Imprint: McFarland
Series: Critical Explorations in Science Fiction and Fantasy

Acknowledgments      vii

Introduction: British Science Fiction Beyond the TARDIS

TOBIAS HOCHSCHERF and JAMES LEGGOTT      1

1. H.G. Wells and Science Fiction Cinema

JAMES CHAPMAN      11

2. Aftermaths: Post-Apocalyptic Imagery

CHRISTIAN HOFFSTADT and DOMINIK SCHREY      28

3. The BBC Versus “Science Fiction”: The Collision of Transnational Genre and National Identity in Television of the Early 1950s

DEREK JOHNSTON      40

4. Hammer Horror and Science Fiction

DAVID SIMMONS      50

5. Robert Fuest and The Final Programme: Science Fiction and the Question of Style

MICHAEL DU PLESSIS      60

6. “Anything Can Happen in the Next Half-Hour”: Gerry Anderson’s Transnational Science Fiction

JONATHAN BIGNELL      73

7. Tracking UFO: Format, Text and Context

PETER HUTCHINGS      85

8. A Clockwork Orange, Exploitation and the Art Film

I.Q. HUNTER      96

9. Visions of an English Dystopia: History, Technology and the Rural Landscape in The Tripods

LINCOLN GERAGHTY      104

10. The Future of History in Dennis Potter’s Cold Lazarus

CHRISTINE SPRENGLER      117

11. Expatriate! Expatriate! Doctor Who: The Movie and Commercial Negotiation of a Multiple Text

PETER WRIGHT      128

12. Invasion of the Brit-Snatchers: National Identity in Contemporary Science Fiction Cinema

AIDAN POWER      143

13. A Cosy Catastrophe: Genre, National Cinema, and Fan Responses to 28 Days Later

BRIGID CHERRY      156

14. Desiring the Doctor: Identity, Gender and Genre in Online Fandom

REBECCA WILLIAMS      167

15. Invaders from Space, Time Travel and Omnisexuality: The Multi-Layered Narrative of Torchwood

LEE BARRON      178

Chapter Notes      193

Select Bibliography      213

About the Contributors      217

Index      221