As this classic series opens workmen in Knightsbridge discover a skull buried in the earth. It is clearly pre-human so Dr Matthew Roney, a palaeontologist, and his assistant Barbara Judd are called in. They believe the skulls are five million years old; much older than any skull of that type would be expected. As the dig continues more bones are discovered before a strange ceramic tube is found. At first it is suspected that it might be an unexploded German bomb but there are no records of one falling in the area and it conforms to no known type. Rocket expert Professor Quatermass is called in along with his new military boss Colonel Breen. As the investigation continues it emerges that there have been strange goings on in the area dating back centuries... Roney and Quatermass come to believe these reports are linked to the find; Breen it adamant that such talk is mumbo-jumbo.
While I've only just watched this series I'd heard of it long ago as my parents told me of a family dinner that was disrupted when several people refused to come to the table because they were engrossed in 'Quatermass and the Pit'! Having watched the series I can understand why they stayed with the programme. It may be over sixty years old but the story is still gripping. Things aren't rushed and it is some time before the truth about the tube emerges with sci-fi, supernatural and all too human possibilities being proposed. The main cast does a solid job; I'd never have guessed that the show originally went out live. The effects may seem dated by today's standards but they work well enough helped by the slightly grainy black and white picture; also we rarely saw the threat, just heard strange sounds and saw people's terrified reactions to what they saw; leaving one's mind to fill in the blanks. Overall I'd say this is a must see to all fans of classic science fiction/horror. I have to wonder whether the likes of 'Doctor Who' would have existed without this.
While I've only just watched this series I'd heard of it long ago as my parents told me of a family dinner that was disrupted when several people refused to come to the table because they were engrossed in 'Quatermass and the Pit'! Having watched the series I can understand why they stayed with the programme. It may be over sixty years old but the story is still gripping. Things aren't rushed and it is some time before the truth about the tube emerges with sci-fi, supernatural and all too human possibilities being proposed. The main cast does a solid job; I'd never have guessed that the show originally went out live. The effects may seem dated by today's standards but they work well enough helped by the slightly grainy black and white picture; also we rarely saw the threat, just heard strange sounds and saw people's terrified reactions to what they saw; leaving one's mind to fill in the blanks. Overall I'd say this is a must see to all fans of classic science fiction/horror. I have to wonder whether the likes of 'Doctor Who' would have existed without this.