Monday, April 03, 2006

Archaeology of the Future

Archaeology of the Future is an excellent site on the history of British science fiction. I particularly liked the pieces on Science Fiction and the Suburbs and on the Greenwich Emotion Map.

Previously at Transpontine we have considered South London horror film locations, but what of science fiction? We've had Dr Who on the South Bank and Chislehurst caves. Then there's The Quatermass Xperiment (1955), where an astronaut returns from outer space harbouring a deadly alien life-form. He runs away and spends a night on a derelict boat at Deptford Creek, before causing havoc at London Zoo and Westminster Abbey. Any other candidates?

4 comments:

Anonymous said...

Got another Dr Who location, the Cutty Sark in Greenwich features in Dimensions in Time (1993). See: http://www.doctorwhoworld.org.uk/dimensions.htm

Anonymous said...

Also there's an episode of Dr Who called 'All done with mirrors' set in 16th century Deptford where Dr Who (Tom Baker) gets embroiled in the plot to murder Christopher Marlowe. See: http://www.clivebanks.co.uk/Shorttripspasttense.htm

Anonymous said...

I have said on here before that I had heard that Nunhead Cemetary had been used for a location for several things. Hammer Horror and the like.
It is a great location.
Just add some smoke-machines & you'd be away.

Anonymous said...

Hmmm... will need to poke around a bit more on google to confirm this. All I've found so far using Nunhead is a 1990s TV adaption of Terry Pratchett's 'Johnny and the Dead' (starring Brian Blessed). See: http://www.lspace.org/ftp/words/misc/jatd-press-release