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A Disappointing Continuation

Instead, you get a movie that's enjoyable enough, but leaves you feeling like it could have been much, much more.

The acting in this movie is really good.

This movie tries so hard to be funny, yet it falls flat every time. Just another example of recycled ideas repackaged with women in an attempt to appeal to a certain audience.

I'm not old enough to have seen the original transmissions of the Quatermass series on TV, but have since seen them on DVD. There is really no comparison, this version (caught online through Britbox) of the Quatermass Experiment is below the production levels and engagement I would expect at a high school play.The basic idea of a live version I think has merit. The problem is this feels like a production using the first draft of a screenplay that's undergone absolutely no development. I really feel sorry for the actors, none of them comes over well, a few fare worse than others. Jason Flemyng as the central character, is quite simply miscast - that this wasn't evident to either the director or producers during preproduction is inexplicable. The sets are ho-hum and the dialog trudging. For fans of Quatermass (or any decent teleplay), one to be avoided.

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.

I saw the original when it went out live and have copies of episodes 1 and 2, and the Exclusive Films version made in 1955. By far the worst version is this 2005 version.I quite understand why the recording techniques in 1953 were not good, but did the BBC really give up trying to record episodes 3 onwards? And if it went out live in 1953, was it really so hard to achieve that in 2005? I realize that the director Sam Miller was probably told to recreate the atmosphere of the original broadcast, but I think he got confused between the poor technical abilities of that time and poor direction/poor script.I agree with Theo Robertson when he says "All in all this version of a Nigel Kneale classic is more of a nostalgic gimmick than anything else. If the BBC are thinking of doing a live version of 'Quatermass And The Pit' then my advice is don't. It'd be terrible to see the greatest SF drama in the history of television turned in to something like this." Absolutely, Theo.And the scene near the end with the guy describing "Turbine Hall"? What he actually said was: "If man has to destroy beauty in order to survive, perhaps he denies his right to do so. This is utter madness. Do you hear me? Utter madness". We hear you! Couldn't have put it better.That one scene sums it all up for me - diabolical script! But at least I now know why Indira Varma - "Judith Carroon" in Quatermass - got the part of "Suzie Costello" in Torchwood... she was kissing Doctor Who in Quatermass!

Very, very different to the flash-bang wizardry of almost all TV sci-fi these days, but a marvellous and suspenseful piece of viewing.It requires more than the usual suspension of disbelief until the characters and story fall into place, but the acting--live remember--is powerful and extremely effective. Flemying is excellent as Quatermass, and the supporting cast uniformly good.It isn't perfect. It is acted live, with all the limitations that brings with it. It has a mix of styles and seems uncertain of what year it might actually be set in, but it becomes a riveting piece of television.